Topgun Spitfire

[Steve Skipp]

hi all i have just bourght a top gun spit and thourght id give you my views so far ok comes in a great big box everything is well packeged on first inspection wow it looks great best artf i have ever bourght looking closeer when buikding the paint job on the wing is not the best a pin holeing reaction on wing wile on the fault side throw away the hardwhere pack these fitings are crap and lack of things you would expect in a £300 kit the instructions could have some better pics in and worst of all you cant get the wheel well cover to go flush with the wing well in instructions thay have used a straight leg in kit the leg has a spring wound in to it (this can be got round with a set of oleos) ok there me gripes ok started buid and the build of kit is exerlant everything fits v well and looks the muts nuts when put togeather dont be tempted to fit the 90 in go for the 120 the sc fits great i also opted to fit a on bord glow system for back up i used futaba 3003 servos forthe retract valve and throttle and hitec 7kg for elevater airlons and rudder you cant get away with the standerd 3kg on this model its asking for troubble battwise i have decided to fit a 6volt system which im making myself the last big job did not want to cut cowl so am makeing a in cowl silencer with exit out the bottom have changed foam wheels for nice rubber ones bit more softer on landing my last job and still waiting for bits is the cockpit have some diles and a nice pilot gun sight to fit will also make up a seat back and cover cockpit in a brown vinel hope to finish spitfire by next sat will then take some pics and be able to give a flying report all in all so far the kit has some faults but dont be put off you can overcome them all and the finish result is exerlant id give kit so far 8/10

[Steve Ebbon]

I have also just bought a Top Gun Spitfire, I agree with what Steve says and would add that the instruction for setting up the retacts are very poor, more information is given on assembling the fuel tank, I have never fitted air retracts so will have to look on the web for instructions, not good. I intend to join the elevators together and use good quality snakes for both elevator and rudder, the wheels supplied are undersized should be 4 inch diameter at this scale so I will fit as big as possible but not much room, oleos a good idea Steve. The top wing roundels need to be moved nearer the wing tips so will get the hair dryer our and have a go at lifting the vinyl adhesive. I will also add some detail to the cockpit cutting out the floor, adding instruments pilot etc., it would have cost nothing to print an instrument panel in the instruction manual page or pence to provide a self-adhesive one. Also engine centre lines on the bulkhead would have been helpful. I will be fitting my RCV 91CD as this was used on the CML test model or might have been the YT Spit (not sure) and fits in the cowl well plus sounds superb and is British (what would Riginald Mitchell have thought about a Jap engine in a Spit) Would give 8/10 too but with a bit more thought could have been 10/10

[Steve Skipp]

hi steve im verry luckey that my best friends dad ownes clacton modles and yes im spoilt i help out at weekend and in week i saw the protoyype as it was bourght in by jason the cml rep it had a sc 90 in and he did say that the 90 did the job 0k but 120 could be better my view with the rcv90 is that it will be well ok with that 90 as it can swing a bigger prop let me know how it went please im intrested iv fited my retracts if you are haveing probs i can take some pics and e mail them to you the retract system apart from the legs is exerlatnt as for instructions looked for the back page with throws on and threw away thay are absolute shit nise idea abou joining the elevators not so shure about the snakes though i used a light carbon rod think you may find doing it that way you get a bit of slop in it not good on a model of this size i did try that idea on my mosquito was not good and went to rods this is the same sut up as the spit ok put glow start in and reciever and retracts agree chuck them wheels when will thay lern we would rather pay a extra £30 on the kit and have everything exerlant qualaty and all the bits not have to go and sorce things out score on kit i still stick to 8 / 10 as outher steve said shame it could of so easy been a ten saying that thir me109 is out soon see how this handles but first impresion an temped am seeing the prototype next month so will give you a update but first signs from cml rep jason are promiseing

[Steve Ebbon]

Thanks for your comments Steve, I wish I had a friend with a model shop but would end up spending too much I think.
I hope the RCV 91 will be OK I don't want to zoom round too fast just to keep it at scale like speeds but would agree a bigger engine would be better also help with the balance, the new RCV 130 would be my ideal engine but out of the question at the moment. Will try my snakes out as bought now any slop and will use carbon rod not the wooden efforts supplied, a alloy spinner would finnish the front end off nicely but they are not cheap. It would help if you can email any pics of the retract set-up the manual shows two air pipes entering each wing but I have only one connector on each retract, also how and with what do you use to pump up the air cylinder with ? Look forward to seeing some photo's

[Steve Skipp]

ok first copy cat i also have put a alloy spinner on go for it it looks great ok to retract set up ill talk you through it ok join up pipes out of wing in to the small y piece blue in colour you then want to cut of about 8inch of tube and join to y piece on wing on the end of that you are surplieed with a white plastic valve if you twist this valve it seperates in to 2bits take the smallest part and conect to the 8" pipe on y piece on wing that is all you need to do wing wise STAGE TWO ok will take siome pics of that bit to morrow can i have a e mail addy please

[Steve Skipp]

ok you ned a purpose pump for the job we sell them at my mates shop will get you a price tomorrow

[Steve Skipp]

hi have the drawing on how to fit retracts buy need your e mail steve

[Steve Ebbon]

My email should be enabled if you click on it. - Joined my wings together today - found it quite difficult to align evenly but not to bad, fitted valve acutator and bracket to servo tray and will use a micro servo for this as I have one laying around will help with the weight a smidge.

[Steve Skipp]

ok about pump thay are around 30 but you can adapet a bike pump for a lot cheeper you just have to count the pumps

[Steve Skipp]

hi my e mail is [email protected] cant seem to get you on here so e mail me ill send pics for you

[Steve Skipp]

hi ok made up batt pack went for the 6 volt option all that is left is to make up the in cowl silencer pin the hinges we done a quick c/g and even with all that we could mannage to get all weight up front we still need to add quite a bit of lead up front worrying at this time but we will see model is reallly tail heavy ok thats it for now should have more on this come the weekend

[Steve Ebbon]

Hi, I'm about at the same stage as you Steve, contemplating fitting an in-cowl silencer too from Just Engines as I think having a pipe sticking out of the side will spoil the looks. Yes mine too is looking like needing quite a bit of lead up front, I think the fit of the air intake moulding that goes under the engine cowl is a very bad fit and the wrong shape with a large gap between it and the wing also how to attach it is left up to the builder to figure out, it should have been moulded to fit against the bottom of the wing properly as the real thing, might fabricate something to tidy this up or remake if I can find some paint to match. I will not be flying it untill I get my 2,4ghz gear so looks like you will be flying before me, look forward to hearing how you do.

[Steve Skipp]

well done the hard bit made up the in cowl exhaust have add weight for c/g and total flying weight is about 10 1/2 pound will try firt flight sat weather permiting wish me luck

[Andrew Dale]

I have been reading these posts (and also mag reviews) with interest as I have been building mine over the last few weeks. A reviewer in Model World found the undercarriage mount to be weak and by the time he wrote in another mag it had broken and he showed how to strengthen it. I did mine before the build. I also noted comments about 4 inch wheels being the correct scale size (2 3/4 supplied) and I found that Robart 3 1/4 inch fit great (need to buy a 5.3mm drill to drill out the centres) but have treaded tyres and really look the part as well as fitting the recess a treat. Woolworths sell a 12v 100psi air compressor for £19.99 and the football inflator tool fits the air line supplied with the kit!

[Steve Skipp]

oh well weather looks good so its hold me breath clench me but and sat well have a go all pre checks are ok lets hope

[Steve Ebbon]

Hi Andrew, interesting info about strengthening undercarriage mount, is it in a current mag. - any info would be of help, I have already applied some fibreglass resin to the inside of the top wing surface inside the wheel wells to help a bit, what engine are you fitting to yours ? Purchased a car compressor with gauge from Halfords for mine usefull for the car too.

[Andrew Dale]

Steve

I will look out the mag over the weekend. OS 1.2 III surpass pump fitted so should go well!

[Steve Skipp]

hi andrew what is the total all up weight of aircraft please and how much lead did you have to add thanks please answer asp as she goes up when shop shuts tomorrow steve

[Andrew Dale]

I have a pdf file of the article on strengthening undercarriage if anyone wants a copy but I will need your email address as I can't attach it here!

Have not done c of G yet

[Steve Ebbon]

Hi Andrew, Thanks for the PDF cheers.
Steve E

[Andrew Dale]

all up weight now 11.8lbs.

Will be fitting Robart oleos (660s) soon

Robart 3 1/4 inch wheels are much better when you cut the core out of the original foam wheels and fit the "ring" of foam inside the hollow Robarts!

[Andrew Dale]

Had my Spitfire checked over and test flown professionally at the weekend.

Although C of G set up exactly as required it nosed over as soon as power was applied. Paul Heckles took ALL counter weight out and said that I should totaly ignore what the build manual said. Plane then flew perfectly!

Robart in USA will supply oleos at HALF the cost of buying in UK and you can buy direct from them. I have now ordered them. Delivery is just $15 and each leg is just $47 (£52 in UK)

[Steve Ebbon]

Glad to hear of your successful maiden flight, I would be interested in knowing where the new balance point is after removing the weights. It is good to know that I can possibly remove some lead from my model as the lighter the better.

[Tony Jones]

Steve

I may be an old fogie, but your posts would be much easier to read if you used the normal conventions of splitting them up into sentences and put in a bit of punctuation. Have a look at your first post and ask 'Do I ever see stuff like that in print?'

Of course, if you think running the whole lot together is 'cool', so be it.

Best wishes
Tony Jones.

[Andrew Dale]

Tony - I am an old fogie and if you do not like it then quite simply do not bother coming on here. As the saying goes - if you having nothing good to say... say nothing!