Blink's still damp behind the ears, eh George?

I, too, built a Minimoa when but an innocent and unassuming teenager; of course I still have the same sterling qualities to this day, albeit a little older.

Black fuseage, white surfaces as I recall. Looked pretty. It did go up a time or two from a reel of thread, maintaining thereafter a determined 'glide' towards terra firma. Then a wing departed company on the way up ... the other fell off during the wild downward gyrations and the freefall fuselage compressed itself back to the rear of the cockpit.

Oddly enough I have never had the urge to build another.

Originally Posted by Applehoney

I, too, built a Minimoa..........Oddly enough I have never had the urge to build another.

Personally, I think they are beautiful aircraft. When I reach the heady vista of retirement, I may even lay the wood to the plan of a 120" version that I have.....just think of the spectacular pile of post tip stall wreckage!!

And now we have three photos, one embarassing for hair, one for a moustache, and a third for the shirt.....

Originally Posted by RFJ

My KK Minimoa story. Spent the whole of the school summer holidays making one. Put it together to admire and set it down on the sofa. Left the room for five minutes and returned to find that my mother had sat on it Completely destroyed ( the Minimoa that is, not my mother)

Our relationship was never quite the same after that

Ray

I may have told this one before, but never mind, here goes. Around the age of 12 I was seized by the desire to build a model that would be good enough to warrent display in the local model shop. The chosen subject was a KK Chipmunk from the (then)3/3d range. Two weeks of careful labour produced a completed airframe which was light years better than anything I had built up to that time - not a wavy stringer in sight. All Friday at school I was happily anticipating spending the weekend covering and finishing it to the same standard. I arrived home to discover that my dear mother (who was unfailingly supportive of my modelling efforts) had accidentally dropped a large glass vase on the Chipmunk but "....not to worry, your father went into town and bought you this" "This" was another Chipmunk kit! Arrgghhh! I hadn't the heart to be upset with her - but neither did I have the heart to start all over again, so it was another five years before one of my models achieved display status.

>a third for the shirt.....

At least the flourescent lime-green socks are not visible .... as an aside the airplane was built to 'Creep' outlines but with geodetics, profile fuselage, Webra Mach 1. Lighter and better - just wish was Nostalgia-legal in this form. Model on ground one of the early Applehoney 430's, either Oliver or Enya 15D powered.

Now back to the Colonel's Ajax as normal service is resumed

Well, as it was Father's Day - young Pippa Blinkette went out . Having helped Lady Blink in the garden (she seems to be trying to grow grape vines for wine - I hope they are more successful than the unfortunate episode when she tried to distil her homegrown sloes into gin - her eyebrows have only just grown back), I managed to get in the loft for a short session.

The results of said session were a sanded fin with the rudder seperated; only needs covering, hinging and a control horn added.

Attacked the centre section next - I decided to notch the ribs into the TE, and so I had left the ribs slightly over length. I wasn't happy with the original butt joint of the end of a 1/16" rib to the edge of a piece of 1/16"x1/4"!!! Added my extra 3/32"sq spars as well. Not 110% happy, but I'll see what it's like when I get it off the board and with some gussets added.

Really impressed with the progress Colonel - for a man who had to be coerced back to the building board you seem to be taking to it rather well! I reckon your centre section will be OK with a few well placed gussets (cut with the grain parallel to the hypotenuse in the approved manner of course!)

Re Jim's dayglo lime green socks; he wasn't joking you know, we were all snappy dressers on the F/F scene back then!! My own personal affectation was cravats in nice shades of green and pink with flowered patterns!

Suffice it to say that when once arriving to a Northern Area dinner venue I momentarily failed to recognise the suave nattily-suited gentleman standing by the door until he started to nibble dried balsa cement from his fingertips. 'twas George .....

Originally Posted by Applehoney

.... until he started to nibble dried balsa cement from his fingertips. ...

And I thought that I was the only one who used to do that......

Originally Posted by Sundancer

... for a man who had to be coerced back to the building board you seem to be taking to it rather well!!

I always knew that I would enjoy it.... though it does cross my mind occasionally that perhaps I would have been a little better off making my return with something a little less lightweight - like the KK Snipe or DC Ballerina (both of which were under consideration)..

No, it has all been perfectly top hole - though I know that I can be a little prone to giving up when something goes wrong! The other concern is always whether something domestic will crop up, meaning that attention will need to be directed elsewhere.....which is the main reason that I have been Armchair Modelling for years (see my blog).

Originally Posted by Colonel Blink

And I thought that I was the only one who used to do that......

Hardly - with care the results of an evening's building could provide entertainment through an entire double Latin period the following day! Which probably explains why I would translate "Sic transit gloria" as "Gloria has thrown up in the Ford van"!

Nah .. couldn't have been the same Gloria.. Could it?

Hmmm.... leaving aside Applehoney's reminiscences of Forgotten Fumbles of the Fifties, back to the case in hand....

The centre section is now complete and the LE & TE have been sanded to a shape approximating to the aerofoil. Gussets (I have always found that word a little unsavoury!) added - with the appropriate grain direction, George! I have added some 1/64" ply braces in addition to Mr Hatfull's 3/32" balsa ones (the Amerang version only has 1/16" balsa braces) - possibly overkill with hindsight, given that if a wing is going to fold it is more likely to happen at the LE to rib joint rather than where two ribs are sandwiched with adhesive.

Started work on the outer panels next - tip pieces glued together and left overlong for furtling to fit at an angle between the TE and the raised LE when the time comes; they will not be affixed to either until the rest of the wing structure is completed.

Hope to get a little more done this evening whilst Lady Blink is at work and young Pippa Blinkette is at drama class - not that she needs it.......!

Well, construction has continued in half-hour portions in the West Belfry at Blink Towers.

Firstly, the wingtip issue seems to have been solved and by furtling it and adding it after the rest of the structure is almost complete has enabled it to look reasonable.

Second outer panel framework is also completed but needs finish sanding including shaping of LE & TE. Then comes the joining of the wing panels, which I am facing with trepidation, as I very much doubt that both outer panels will fit at the same angle and neither will have the required 2 3/4" dihedral. I have been test fitting the first and it was miles out.......

Now a question for you highly experienced chaps - when I tape the plan down to begin building, I have it luvverly and flat. Within a day or two (I'm not a quick builder), it is loose and ripply and any structure that is being built upon it needs weighting to keep it flat to the board. This is likely to be caused in part by temperature and humidity variations, but how do you chaps deal with it? Is it because I am stretching the plan too far to start with?

Started on the tailplane this afternoon - laid out and glued the outline and spar and left to drive. Sitting downstairs an hour later, suddenly realised that I had started building it to plan - ie freeflight rather than with an elevator......Quack, quack, oops..... Luckily it's adaptable!

Originally Posted by Colonel Blink

Now a question for you highly experienced chaps - when I tape the plan down to begin building, I have it luvverly and flat. Within a day or two (I'm not a quick builder), it is loose and ripply and any structure that is being built upon it needs weighting to keep it flat to the board. This is likely to be caused in part by temperature and humidity variations, but how do you chaps deal with it? Is it because I am stretching the plan too far to start with?

I don't build over the plan. Since it's essentially a rectangular structure it can be laid out with no more than a square and straightedge and be more accurate too. Leaves the plan in original condition for future sale on fleabay at a ridiculous price!

Paper will change size quite dramatically due to humidity changes. I must say though it has never been a great problem for me, probably because most of my models are built over outlines drawn up on tracing film. On the occasions when I have used a paper plan I usually cut it up for convenience and hence each bit is built as soon as that part of the plan has been pinned down.