Thanks!

Yes, it's a modified Parkzone P-51 pilot.

The only other thing I've found is some 1/18th action figures. They're a little small, as the P-40 is around 1/12th scale, but they look good. They're "Ulitmate Soldier" figures. I ordered a P-38 pilot off eBay, but haven't received it yet...

They look perfect , the only thing i have found to scale is a skeleton , could be a good ghost plane . I will have a look on ebay though , thanks , i will post the pics of my bird when i have the pilot in .

Capt. "Wild Bill" Kelso kind of looks like "Pappy" Boyington !

My only disappointment with this kit is the spinner, which is utter crap. I've seen a couple of ideas here that would be easy to implement from a production standpoint, but are difficult for a modeler without a lathe...

Anyway, I'm wondering what folks are using for their spinners that is working? And I mean 'stays on while flying' working...??

Tower Hobbies has a 3 blade spinner - a bit heavy - but it works

Hyperion 2 blade spinner from RCdude.com

Which Hyperion spinner? The one thats about the right size looks pretty heavy... 76mm is 57grams...

The largest all plastic spinner is only 63mm...

ummm - I'm getting that feeling - ya know... de'ja post?

OK, that looks like the 63mm... right?

Yep - 63mm for the 2 blade

I can't lay hands on the 3 blade right now...

I tried a Du-Bro 3 blade 2 1/2". It fits well and looks about right - a bit long, but not too bad. The problem is, between a 70g motor and a 30g spinner, the model is too nose - heavy.

I wish GWS made a spinner adapter that would fit a 6 mm shaft. I made one for my GWS-40, but didn't enjoy that part of the build all that much.

Originally Posted by Rodan

My only disappointment with this kit is the spinner, which is utter crap. I've seen a couple of ideas here that would be easy to implement from a production standpoint, but are difficult for a modeler without a lathe...

Anyway, I'm wondering what folks are using for their spinners that is working? And I mean 'stays on while flying' working...??

Either of these 3 in. spinners are the closest in dia. to the stock spinner... one is all plastic, but both are too heavy for me, but they are being used by others (there's a pic somewhere in this massive thread if you search for it.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXEBE6&P=7
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXK225&P=7

A spinner this big needs both a front and rear centering piece. I used the stock spinner with a 3mm ply backing plate. Getting the backing plate perfectly circular AND balanced was a PITA. I also use a collet prop adaptor with a 5mm shaft. I used a GWS rubber spinner in the nose of the stock foam one... not sure if it was the one that came with the kit or not. I reamed it out so it would slide over an extension I put on the front of the collet. I used a Hyperion extra long collet so several threads were left in front of the nut. Then I force-threaded a small piece of hard nylon tubing on the threads to make a short extension which engages the rubber spinner I reamed out. That solved the front centering nicely.

I then used Perfect Glue #1 to adhere the foam spinner to the ply backing plate. This glue sets up slowly so you can run the motor slowly to get the spinner centered pretty good. When the glue sets up, it stays flexible so you can slice through the bond with a razor blade if you have to take off the prop. Once the glue was fully cured, I ran the motor at higher speeds to check balance centering. If you're lucky, it still balances nicely. If not you need to true it up with a rasp or coarse sand paper until you can run at WOT without much vibration. Then paint it and HOPE it's still balanced after that.

On my first attempt I paid more attention to getting it to spin true and less that it was also balanced. It vibrated at the nose about 3/16 in. at WOT, and although it sounded neat, it required more power to spin the prop (not to mention stressing the motor bearings) and noticably affected performance. When I got it balanced better, it quieted down and flew better.

If you have to change a prop, you cut through the glue on the backing plate, remove the spinner, then do this ALL over again, so what was once a PITA is now a ROYAL PITA.

If GWS reads this and has any empathy for us, they might at least include a rigid plastic spinner backing plate with a simple means of attaching and removing the foam piece. That's needed even if you use one of their motors with the long skinny shaft.

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

If GWS reads this and has any empathy for us, they might at least include a rigid plastic spinner backing plate with a simple means of attaching and removing the foam piece. That's needed even if you use one of their motors with the long skinny shaft.

That is EXACTLY what I was thinking about in my above comment... seems like this would be pretty easy from the manufacturing end of things...

I read through this whole thread once (ugh..) and your solution was something I have been considering, but as you noted it's a PITA if you need to change the prop...

Do you know the weight of the GP plastic spinner? It would be nice if Tower would list that...

Get yer P-40 for FREE!

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...25#post9391475

At current gas prices, you're P-40 would cost me $100...

Originally Posted by Rodan

That is EXACTLY what I was thinking about in my above comment... seems like this would be pretty easy from the manufacturing end of things...

I read through this whole thread once (ugh..) and your solution was something I have been considering, but as you noted it's a PITA if you need to change the prop...

Do you know the weight of the GP plastic spinner? It would be nice if Tower would list that...

I had asked that question back in the thread, but it was for the spinner with the aluminum backing plate. I doubt there's much difference between the two. I don't recall the exact weight, but it was on the order of an oz. as I recall. And being that far forward, it will be way nose heavy unless you revamp the battery compartment and move your pack aft. I know I ruled out that option due to the weight issue (I'm using 1300 mAH packs weighing about 105 gms. with plugs).