Just wanted to share some progress of another project I am doing. I'm creating a Saab B17 model for RealFlight G4.5 and I'm spending a lot of time getting things right. Sitting now at 16406 polygons with everything mirrored out. I can do some reducing once permanently mirrored but I have a few more details to do on the tail gear and lights on the wingtips. Then the cockpit needs some detail and antennae. Dont forget the collision mesh! GAAH! ahh I got plenty.

Got more painting completed tonight on the guts. I've got the aluminum wire for the magneto glued in place with a couple drops of gorilla glue. Since this may perhaps be flying I figured I should use something a little stronger for that bond.

I think one of the big advantages to this kit on the finishing end is actually the black plastic. I like to usually do my painting in coats. Its just more conservative. In this case I feel it gives this engine a more "dirty" look without applying other paints or stains. I really like it.

The cast steel look can also be easily be achieved by going back after the paint has set a little and is still wet and dabbing at it. This removes the typical brush streaks and adds that bumped texture to flat surfaces. A great example of cast metal can be easily seen on a piano plate. The metal support structure. Its not smooth and polished but rather rough and bumpy. These early motors were cast and I think this adds a bit more scale appearance.

Not really much left to do on this model so I'll have to find something else to post on my blog.

Finished the guts today. Had a bit more cleanup on these parts compared to the cylinders. Turned out ok I think. Sorry for the washed out pics. I'm playing with a different camera and trying to figure out how to use it. Needs some paint and place to mount.

As promised:

So I managed to get some of the inside parts assembled. I misplaced my razor for cutting so some parts are not as well-trimmed yet as I would like. I'll try to post a video I took of the throttle body, which is fun to say the least. I wanted to make a video of it before I completely assembled it because it was so functional! I'll try and incorporate as much of the guts as I can in my model but it sorta depends on how much room I have for the battery up front. I'm fine with servos about mid-ship but the battery for sure will need to be up front for a more scale flight. Very nose-heavy subject. After all this motor was made with stainless steel.

Ok, put a few finishing touches and test fitted my Eflite power 15 motor. The instructions do point out how the motor attaches to the firewall. Basically I am torn between cutting the front of the motor or skip out on the details behind the motor. I may be able to place the spark distribution ring behind the motor but it would be very difficult to wire up the spark wires. Its not impossible ... just difficult. Poking out the front the outrunner would be exposed and the prop placement would be about 1.5cm forward of where it ought to be... but the area where nobody would see would be scale. Sooo. Yeah, when the model gets here.

In the meantime I ventured out and ordered a prop. The Xoar Lance series will compliment this well and add a nice touch to the project. got a prop adapter on my list and I'm still searching for the right pilot. I've found one but it does not have quite the wow factor. I want a full-size scale pilot... no busts but a Swedish post-WWI pilot is a little hard to come by... ooopps did I give a hint at what I am building? Figure it out and post it!

Got all the rocker arms trimmed and painted. Then placed the springs and glued in place. Touch up paint on the arms and that part is done.

Upon further review of the instructions I would like to incorporate the wires to the spark plugs but I think I'll have to get out my outrunner as I place things before gluing to see what can be done there.

Well, the guitar string turned out to be a banjo string and the $0.40 turned out to be $0.28! This is what Swedish steel can make. Very easy to do with a pair of needle-nose pliers, a piece of home copper-core electrical wire and some side cutters. Started fitting intakes. Need some trim on a few before gluing in place but had to put in a nice shot of it tonight. Its going to be perfect for my bird!

Yeah, spent a couple hours painting. Not quite finished but got the really important parts. Still need to bite the bullet and finish those springs... need a spare $.40 for another guitar string. Maybe on the way home from work tomorrow. I think I have 40 pennies in my ash tray. Sorry for the rather poor detail shot of the copper air intake... Not the best photographer and my detail shots did not come out well at all so I'll leave that in suspense. Once the paint dries tomorrow I will glue the copper pieces on and touch up some seams with paint.

OK, got all the cylinders done today and fitted them with the crank case front and back pieces. The push rods were also installed to aid in positioning the cylinders correctly. I've not yet placed the air intake valves as I would like to paint the area under where they go first. I also want to paint the majority of the intakes as well as the copper finish will look great in contrast to the steel silver finish I am giving the cylinders and crank case.

As I am planning this for a build I would like to note the tremendous space available for a motor at this point. The front portion of the crank case can easily be trimmed with a steady hand and your favorite cutting tool. I'll use my cordless dremel. If you exclude this piece you have 1 15/16" opening for a motor. The rear has an opening of 1 3/8". Pretty good size for an outrunner. What is also good about the back is that you have some space to mount the motor to the aircraft. Epoxy might do the trick or even some standoffs. I would like to see how this thing mounted originally. I've seen pictures but nothing inside a cowl or the like.

Looks like more springs and some paint next.

Ok, so I tried a couple pieces of wire I thought might do the trick and the winner is.. wait for it.. wait for it.. 18 gauge guitar string. First I wrapped it around a piece of standard household copper insulated wire. Trimmed and used needle-nose pliers to shape a little more... voila!! Trimmed the molded pieces a bit and temporarily put in place for the picture. I can see where some of this will need to be painted before final assembly. Since the instructions explain that the push rods and air intake manifolds are to be glued while installing the cylinder to the crankcase I will look for tight spots where a brush will be difficult to manipulate. Mostly I need to paint the rocker arms and under the valve springs so I can glue the arms in place with the springs.

On another note... I completely neglected to mention this was a 1/6 scale Williams Brothers Kit. I love you guys... I really do! Seriously, they make great stuff... keep them in business.

Well, I was not sure quite where to post this in the forums so I thought I would start here. Been very interested in building a plane and thought I might want to go a bit more scale. I found this gem online and was glad to see Tower Hobbies had it. While this model is meant for display I will make it fly and in so doing will not complete all of the intended parts.

To start off I wanted to show the box. I was impressed with how well it looked and shrink wrapped very well. Two bags of parts separated logically... All 9 cylinders and the crank case.

The instructions are on a single side of one piece of paper in ONLY English. I read through all of the instructions and they are surprisingly thorough and straight-forward for how brief they are. The diagrams are great and well-placed in relation to the instructions.

According to the instructions I began assembling one cylinder of nine. I Noticed right away this model really is made to go together easy.... One cylinder was in one plastic tree. Whoever thought of that gets an honorary pH.D. from me. The parts are well-molded with very little "excess" plastic on the edges of parts. I usually have to grab my sanding block to smooth things out before I glue but this was different. Little scrape with the razor blade and she fits! The cooling fins mostly aligned but as you can see from the picture they are quite small... or my hand is enormous. The nuts had the most excess plastic to be trimmed but I thought I would wait until the glue dried to trim it. I could hold it with my hand as opposed to tweezers this way.... and my tweezers were two flights of stairs away.

One thing I may change. Since this model will be a crowning jewel on another model I will be adding one additional detail. Valve springs. There is enough plastic on the rockers for me to carve a guide-post and I can make a spring by wrapping some wire around something... I gotta have something around here. Until then I have 8 more cylinders and 18 springs to make.