here's a photo of the almost finished Champ

the tailfeather is entirely made of foam plates the wing Dollar Foam board

also made the landing wires longer taller heavier guage and replaced the foam on the hub with larger foam ala tundra tires

see closeup pic to see size difference between stock and the one I made.


forgot to mention the windshield glass is made out of Doritos Chips Bag yummy !!

Originally Posted by Kamov

here's a photo of the almost finished Champ

the tailfeather is entirely made of foam plates the wing Dollar Foam board

also made the landing wires longer taller heavier guage and replaced the foam on the hub with larger foam ala tundra tires

see closeup pic to see size difference between stock and the one I made.


forgot to mention the windshield glass is made out of Doritos Chips Bag yummy !!

A man after my own heart!

Good job on the tail feathers!!..they look good.

Did the same thing with the landing gear to make room for the keychain cam to clear the ground on take offs and landings.

And the larger tires will work a lot better than those matchbox car sized stock ones.

Ridgewalker

I learned a lot from your posts !!

still wondering how did you bend those wires cleanly when you built the champ floats
i had a hard time bending the wires to make each side symmetrical so they match both side

is there a wire bending tool you suggest or is it even necessary

Originally Posted by Kamov

here's a photo of the almost finished Champ

the tailfeather is entirely made of foam plates the wing Dollar Foam board

also made the landing wires longer taller heavier guage and replaced the foam on the hub with larger foam ala tundra tires

see closeup pic to see size difference between stock and the one I made.


forgot to mention the windshield glass is made out of Doritos Chips Bag yummy !!

Excellent!

How did you get such a perfect color match though?

And if I want to make spare tails, or at least try to, how do you get the little plastic pieces to stick the control rods into? The ones that are embedded in the tail, and the ones with the holes which stick out. Thanks!

How did you get such a perfect color match though?

Apple Barrel Paint Apricot color see my previous posts here...[click on a photo and hit go back til you see it]

its almost 99% match depending on how many coats you make 2 coats will almost match it. simple $15~20 airbrush will also help I attempted handbrushing but did not like the 'grain' look its just my hands im pretty sure someone with skill will do brush just fine.

the control horns ? yes you can buy or make them out of any thin plastic let say milk jug to install just poke a hole on the foam with an exacto knife and use 2 part epoxy to attach.

don't know if you have Dollar stores in canada but thats where i get the epoxy tubes they are a $1 each set and the foam plates are $1 for 22 pieces you can make dozens of tail out of that !! and while your there get a $1 foamboard and make a dozen wings

see this is why i like the champ you can practically fly it on an extremely tight budget lol !

Originally Posted by Kamov

I learned a lot from your posts !!

still wondering how did you bend those wires cleanly when you built the champ floats
i had a hard time bending the wires to make each side symmetrical so they match both side

is there a wire bending tool you suggest or is it even necessary

Thanks Kamov for the kind words ,i appreciate it,and i'm glad that some of my posts were a help for you.

The only tool i use to bend the landing gear is a pair of needle nose pliers.

I use the plans and start with one end of a wire and first bend the axle part,then move up and make the next bend,always checking against the plans.

The key is you need to keep all the bends on the same plane,or else the landing gear will be crocked.

Just take your time and go at it slow,you will get it.

Hey...you don't see the ones i goofed on!
Sometimes it takes me a couple tries and sometimes i get it on the first try.

One thing about that music wire though...if you bend it to many times in one spot it will break.

When i bend the wire,i also put it down on the plan and grab it right from the plan with the side to be bent on the top side of the pliers and bend away from myself,you have to grab the wire at about 1/2 way on the bend..or just a tiny smidge below the 1/2 way point in the bend.

I used to custom bend exhaust pipe,...had my share of bending! lol


Ridgewalker

Originally Posted by Kamov

Apple Barrel Paint Apricot color see my previous posts here...[click on a photo and hit go back til you see it]

its almost 99% match depending on how many coats you make 2 coats will almost match it. simple $15~20 airbrush will also help I attempted handbrushing but did not like the 'grain' look its just my hands im pretty sure someone with skill will do brush just fine.

the control horns ? yes you can buy or make them out of any thin plastic let say milk jug to install just poke a hole on the foam with an exacto knife and use 2 part epoxy to attach.

don't know if you have Dollar stores in canada but thats where i get the epoxy tubes they are a $1 each set and the foam plates are $1 for 22 pieces you can make dozens of tail out of that !! and while your there get a $1 foamboard and make a dozen wings

see this is why i like the champ you can practically fly it on an extremely tight budget lol !

Awesome, I'll try to snag a bottle or two, thanks! The best I could find was eBay so far, any suggestions?

Excellent solution to the control horns, and stupid of me to ask. Next time I'll think of some solutions myself!

We definitely do have dollar stores here, they are EXCELLENT! We have a wonderful chain called Dollarama, I have one 2 mins from my house. I get foam boards from there too. Are there templates for the tail cut outs anywhere?

Last, the airbrush. I looked at them, but you seem to need a compressor or something which costs a lot of money. Can you link me to the $15 - $20 airbrush you are talking about - and can I use this Apple Barrel Paint Apricot paint in it? Thanks a lot!!!

Originally Posted by astronaut

Excellent solution to the control horns, and stupid of me to ask.

No question is a stupid question to ask,i don't care what anyone else says,how else is a person supposed to learn if they don't ask questions?

With out failure there can be no success.


Ridgewalker

Astronaut...

Here is a link to the sprayer i have used....http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...postcount=1333...scroll down a bit you will see it in the pics.

The sprayer was bought at an Ace Hardware store.under $20 iirc...maybe around $12..was some time ago.lol

I have since stopped using it and now paint by brush.

Long as you do light coats..like three of them...then you shouldn't get any brush strokes on the finished paint job.

The brush i use is from the art store and is about 3/8'' wide and of medium firmness.

Practice on a scrap piece of foam forst,like a foam plate.

The first coat might not look good,but do it light and after two or three light coats it will look good...the olive green took a few coats but the yellow should not need as many.



Ridgewalker

Originally Posted by ridgewalker

Astronaut...

Here is a link to the sprayer i have used....http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...postcount=1333...scroll down a bit you will see it in the pics.

The sprayer was bought at an Ace Hardware store.under $20 iirc...maybe around $12..was some time ago.lol

I have since stopped using it and now paint by brush.

Long as you do light coats..like three of them...then you shouldn't get any brush strokes on the finished paint job.

The brush i use is from the art store and is about 3/8'' wide and of medium firmness.

Practice on a scrap piece of foam forst,like a foam plate.

The first coat might not look good,but do it light and after two or three light coats it will look good...the olive green took a few coats but the yellow should not need as many.



Ridgewalker

Ah I see. Okay thanks!

I use the plans and start with one end of a wire and first bend the axle part

...ah..the plans thats what im missing

yeah first i tried came out twisted and crooked and had to redo as dimensions were off

thanks ridgew for the tips

Last, the airbrush. I looked at them, but you seem to need a compressor or something which costs a lot of money. Can you link me to the $15 - $20 airbrush you are talking about - and can I use this Apple Barrel Paint Apricot paint in it? Thanks a lot!!!

try a brush first ! you can get a $20 Badger airbrush but then you need a compressor or compressed canned air which cost $$ I happen to have a garage compressor already so that was not a problem. LHS / ebay / craft store should carry the low end airbrush

not sure if you guys have harborfreight.com tool stores they some times go on sale for less than $10.


does anyone remember way back where you can buy a hand spayer used to spray insecticide ?? basically a mechanical venturi device where you pour insecticide on the built in container and you pump the handle to spray the liquid ?

if you can get your hands on one of those that might work as a mechanical paint sprayer though not efficient but im almost sure it will work as my cheap $20 bager airbrush is built just like that a simple venturi tube

see the attached photos and the similarities

Originally Posted by Kamov

...ah..the plans thats what im missing

yeah first i tried came out twisted and crooked and had to redo as dimensions were off

thanks ridgew for the tips



try a brush first ! you can get a $20 Badger airbrush but then you need a compressor or compressed canned air which cost $$ I happen to have a garage compressor already so that was not a problem. LHS / ebay / craft store should carry the low end airbrush

not sure if you guys have harborfreight.com tool stores they some times go on sale for less than $10.


does anyone remember way back where you can buy a hand spayer used to spray insecticide ?? basically a mechanical venturi device where you pour insecticide on the built in container and you pump the handle to spray the liquid ?

if you can get your hands on one of those that might work as a mechanical paint sprayer though not efficient but im almost sure it will work as my cheap $20 bager airbrush is built just like that a simple venturi tube

Hmm, good idea. I'll try to find one and give it a shot tomorrow. Thanks for the awesome suggestions, you guys rock!

Originally Posted by astronaut

Hmm, good idea. I'll try to find one and give it a shot tomorrow. Thanks for the awesome suggestions, you guys rock!

Astronaut... if you are anywhere near a Princess Auto outlet you can get a cheap airbrush there for $14. That is what I am using. I'm no Rembrandt and really new at this model thing but I'm having fun with it.

Originally Posted by Redcoat

Astronaut... if you are anywhere near a Princess Auto outlet you can get a cheap airbrush there for $14. That is what I am using. I'm no Rembrandt and really new at this model thing but I'm having fun with it.

Hey! So nice to see a local

Is this airbrush a complete set, or do I need some other tools with it too. Thanks a lot Red!

Hello

I like this thread and see that it's pretty active with the same users so I want to share my creation with y'all - if you're interested.

While there is a brushless Champ thread already going, I don't feel it's the right place for this mod because the entire discussion is based on using the parkzone brick with brushless motors. This mod just doesn't fit there.

I took pictures during the build but don't have video yet. I hope to get some over the weekend...

My brushless Champ is completely redone with new motor, ESC, Rx, servos, pushrods, and battery. It flies good, but it doesn't float like a stock Champ because of the extra weight.

SB