Aerodrome RC 1/10 Alb D Va

Jecull · 24 October 2009, 09:09 PM

Then on to the jig for the upper wing...

...so I can line the spars up to bend the cabanes.

Also taped up the ailerons to get the control rods worked up.

Jecull · 14 November 2009, 01:29 AM

I finally decided to take the plunge & slap on some fabric. It's been some 28-30 years since I've done this (I'll locate the pics of my Elder, which is the first model I'd used Monocoat on, & post those). Did the rudder & first half of the elevator & I'm thinking "Why is it such a pain to get this stuff to stick?"

Then it hits me to READ THE DIRECTIONS! Dope everything first, let dry for 24 hours, dope to tighten material. D'oh! So then I do the other half of the elevator & the lower wings.

I've been working on my Range Box during this time too. I have the basics done via decoupage & clear coat.

The Charger/Tool Box end is painted gloss red with the other end emerald green. This is to reflect the scheme on the model. Been thinking of zinc chromate for the handle & radio tray...

Lucky Dog · 14 November 2009, 08:49 AM

Looking good! Love the flight box.

Jecull · 15 November 2009, 06:32 PM

Thank you, Mike. I think that it should be pretty obvious, when I'm at the field, who it belongs to!

I should pop over to your site to get registered...

Jecull · 24 November 2009, 04:10 AM

Yes! Progress in the Use of Polyspan

Rudder unpainted & 2x doped.

Rudder with green base painted. Good thing I was planning on clear coating the fin & stab. That should bring the sheen up to this & the elevator.

Lower wing starting coverage. The wingtips were a bit difficult but nothing compared to later.

Lower wing covered with reasonable wingtip finish.

Scallops being unreasonable! This is where Polyspan has major issues. On these I just decided to cut out the fabric and go with a painted edge.

Jecull · 24 November 2009, 04:22 AM

More fun with Polyspan & curves. This time with the ailerons but I was starting to get a handle on it.

Looking pretty decent but taking A LOT more time in allowing the dope to cure a minute or so before moving on to the next little bit.

Oy vey! The idea seemed sound; dope the fabric to the underside of the leading edge then flip it over. This didn't go so well...

...but it does show how forgiving Polyspan can be. I did patch over the first bay in from the tip as I couldn't get the wrinkle out.

This did give me a few ideas on how to NOT do this on the next wing. I'll also do the upper wing in sections as the one piece method is a right pain in the bum. I also managed to get two coats of dope on both lower wing undersides & the control surfaces. Will also look for BalsaLok and Minwax Polycrylic as I'm not able to put up with the abuse dope gives me (the headaches are a bit much).

Jecull · 24 November 2009, 04:29 AM

I did develop an interesting technique; dope the fabric down then smooth it with a medium hot iron. This shrank the fabric at the same time it cured the dope. The effect being that of an iron on covering (probably really brutal on the lungs w/o a vapor mask on) with much less time spent on waiting to move on. I've yet to try it on the scallops but I'm not sure it'd be worth the trouble. It did make the leading edge much easier to deal with though.

Jecull · 26 November 2009, 12:11 AM

So, the suggestion over at aerodromerc.com was to use SIG Stix-it. Dope is pretty hard on me nowadays & this could be an alternative. We'll see..

Got some good work done last night. Second coat of green on the rudder makes me want to do another coat on the fin & tail cone...

Fixed up the battery hatch..

got the cabanes bent with just a bit of rework to do.

Jecull · 26 November 2009, 12:12 AM

A few beauty shots then.

Jecull · 28 December 2009, 05:54 PM

Okay! I feel a bit embarrassed by it being so long since an update. I got my cabanes basically complete. I'd started with the original pieces but they didn't fit with the upper wing in position. I'd traced the originals but they didn't fit even with adjustment.

So I put a bit of card behind the wires to come up with this plan.

The difference is pretty obvious between the two. This led to trying to work them with the fuse over each knee and the wing perpendicular to the ground. This was a real pain when the left side wires popped out, falling to the floor. *sigh* This is when the brain overrode the impulse causing me to put it on its back. This helped me find out that my upper strut was too long and the cross strut was at the wrong angle. So I had to break and cut down a bit...

finally getting to this point.

I figure I'll tweak the alignment with channeled balsa to lock the wires in.

I've generated some decal files from the lozenge Doug Baumann generated. My frist print didn't feed well so I'm using that before I get real with it. The thought is to use Micro Sol & Set to get the decals to conform to the wing surfaces. I'm not sure what this will do to the fixative yet but that's the joys of experimentation!