LOL, I throw mine all the time .
That is a sweet build

Originally Posted by Atomic Skull

This is your head right?



The grip on the right has the spots I'm talking about in the silver part on top. It's hard to see except in bright light. Now that you've seen it you'll never be able to unsee it.

That is my head. I didn't really pay it much attention since it is so superficial. I guess i could buff it out with silver polish but I'm not loosing sleep over it. No problems with my grips feeling notchy or gritty.

Originally Posted by mhills51

Well after lots of dremel work, cutting here, grinding over there and poking here and there. I got it all in and mounted. I cut and rounded off the top mounting bolt so only a small screw holds it together. That made it slide in like a glove.

It's funny people are always thinking, "whats the big deal you just take it and throw it in a body" lol! I wish!

and yes the flash light is required

Looks Great Hills !!! Show iz shiny ....Looking at these two pics makes me wish i would have never sold mine I sell off way to much in this hobby and end up missing it all in the long run. .....Post a vid of your maiden if ya can.

Will do!

Originally Posted by ridge_racer

That is my head. I didn't really pay it much attention since it is so superficial. I guess i could buff it out with silver polish but I'm not loosing sleep over it. No problems with my grips feeling notchy or gritty.

Wouldn't recommend that as it would remove the anodizing.

You know how the clone haters like to say that building a clone costs as much as an actual Align?

We'll they're kinda right, except that the Tarot is FBL and blinged out with metal parts for the price of a Trex 500E and when I'm done I'll have almost enough parts left over to build a second flybarred 500 frame. (just need bottom plate, torque tube upgrade set from HK, and skids)

There is a difference between clone haters and people who have been there and done that. One of the biggest things you have left out is resale. You can have a HK or Tarot blinged out to the max and not only will the old standard Align 500 sell for more, but will sell first and I would still take the Align nylon/plastic over the clone metal.

Reminds me of a guy who kept arguing with my father about how his lincoln continental was so much better than my dads cadillac. Finally My dad turned to him and said, "You know your right the Lincoln is the CADILLAC of cars" lol!

No disagreement there. I bought the cheapest electronics to start, but quickly found out I wanted or needed better quality.
As far as the airframe, I'll never sell a clone probably, just move on to an Align or something else in the future and use the old clone for parts where appropriate.

I dunno exactly how I feel about clones now vs back when I started flying, as I hardly ever crash any more, but I probably won't buy another one. It was interesting, and I learned quite a bit. I just built this one cuz' I got the airframe for $40, and had some extra Align and other 500 parts like motor, head and tail servo.

This priced out heli flies well, and should be pretty reliable. I just received an inexpensive 1700kV 500 motor from a member here, it should fly with a lot more authoritar. I don't see why it won't fly well for a couple hundred flights. Could not have done it without all your help RCG

I just found out about Blade 500 X BNF heli for $900 today It seems it will be ready to order in November. It seems like a lot for a Blade.
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...ess-Helicopter

Anyway, I'm going with Align for quite a while, 'cuz that's what I'm familiar with.

Originally Posted by mhills51

There is a difference between clone haters and people who have been there and done that. One of the biggest things you have left out is resale. You can have a HK or Tarot blinged out to the max and not only will the old standard Align 500 sell for more, but will sell first and I would still take the Align nylon/plastic over the clone metal.

Reminds me of a guy who kept arguing with my father about how his lincoln continental was so much better than my dads cadillac. Finally My dad turned to him and said, "You know your right the Lincoln is the CADILLAC of cars" lol!

Resale value is irrelevant because I want to fly it not sell it. The FBL 500 I've put together will fly better than a stock plastic flybarred Align 500E

I bought a few Align parts for my 450 Sport at first, but I stopped when I saw that the quality was the same, and in one case actually worse (the Align aluminum bolts that hold the boom holder together were the worst fasteners I've ever seen)

Align "quality" can be seen in 450 pro tail grip bearings disintegrating while Align refuses to acknowledge the problem. Funny how it took a clone manufacturer to step in and actually fix it.

Align is moving sideways, not up. If I want to move up I'll go to Mikado.

I just use a mix of Align, Copter X, EXI, Tarot, HK, etc. Another reason I still am buying Align compatible helicopters.

Originally Posted by eagle777

I just found out about Blade 500 X BNF heli for $900 today It seems it will be ready to order in November. It seems like a lot for a Blade.
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...ess-Helicopter

Anyway, I'm going with Align for quite a while, 'cuz that's what I'm familiar with.

Why do you think it's a bit high for a blade? Blade BNF 130 $279 Walkera BNF 120 (that blade copyed more or less) $159

Originally Posted by mhills51

Why do you think it's a bit high for a blade? Blade BNF 130 $279 Walkera BNF 120 (that blade copyed more or less) $159

True. Heh, I'm not the intended customer I guess

Originally Posted by eagle777

I just use a mix of Align, Copter X, EXI, Tarot, HK, etc. Another reason I still am buying Align compatible helicopters.

I use Tarot and a few ALZRC parts, the only Align part in my 450 Sport is the metal hub auto rotation tail drive gear and shaft insert (the tail drive gear is the source of wobble in clone gears not the main gear) and now that Tarot is coming out with their own version maybe not that anymore. I also use VWinRC brass boom holder bolts which are a vast improvement over the Align and Tarot versions (though the Tarot ones are still better than the Align, which isn't saying much) Tarot feathering shafts and main shafts seem just as true as the Align ones (ALZRC though are slightly off true). They could be softer but I've almost never had the main and feathering shaft survive a crash without bending at least slightly even with the Align ones so eh, whatever.

For servos I like the Ino Labs, though the annoying thing about those is that there are basically only two places on the net to get replacement gears. For cheapo servos the Coronas are pretty robust for their price range (internal wiring and soldering in the 929's is good for a $6 servo, I'd like to take a look at the mini and standard size Coronas eventually). I've heard that the HK MI servos (actually Blue Arrow MI) are pretty good so long as you don't drive them over 250hz (up till last year Blue Arrow's website said 280hz max then it mysteriously changed to 333hz) so I'm giving those a go in my 500 build.

So I bought a pair of RJX 430 blades from HK for my RJX 500 head...Ironically, they are way too tight in the head. Did I just buy a pair of paint stirrers? They seem to be of pretty good quality.
Sand them down on the bottom of the root?

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...270&aff=346897