Ordered mine today Keith! Can't wait to get my hands on it and build it. May not look as pretty as yours...but hopefully it'll fly just as good.

Cheers, -Lee

Got home from work today to find a rectangular white box awaiting my arrival!
Damn that was fast. Had I thought that it would get here today I may have taken off work early. Instead I didn't come straight home. lol Oh well.
Popped the box open to check it out and am very stoked. I can't wait to start building her. I will report back if I have any questions. I may get started tonight if all goes as planned.

hi sparks
how much would it cost to get your book on building with foam send to the uk????
Love your aircraft. What is the jet in the background on your 1st photo ????? How do you colour your foam?????. I should get the book i think.......
Keep up the good work.

Willhappy

@Willhappy

It cost me $28 to get it shipped to India. I think it will cost you less than that to get it to UK. My book is on the way and I am eagerly waiting for it

Ankur

@Willhappy

It cost me something like 18 USD and I ordered the book & the cartoon me-109. Should be about the same to UK I think. There are tips for painting etc. in the cartoon mustang thread (in the others too). You can get there for example through Sparks profile -> threads started by Sparks. There are other threads there well worth reading too


cheers
raipe

All I can say is we had a fun day yesterday

Cartoon P-40.wmv (4 min 26 sec)

Now for some stills.

YES!! I see this clearly under my christmas tree. I hope my wife will like it as much as I will.

Fantastic work Sparks on all the Cartoon Planes.

Evelys

Originally Posted by willhappy

hi sparks
how much would it cost to get your book on building with foam send to the uk????
Love your aircraft. What is the jet in the background on your 1st photo ????? How do you colour your foam?????. I should get the book i think.......
Keep up the good work.

Willhappy

I bought the book from Sams in UK.
Cost me 20 pounds shipped to sweden.


Will start reading soon.

Great, I hope you get something out of it, most do.
I tend to think of it as 15 years of mistakes to avoid but that is not much of a title for a book.

This is kind of a hit and run building project. you can either work several components at the same time or take it one step at a time. As a modeler that loves to build wings I worked the fuselage secondary as the wing was drying. The point is we will reach a point where we can't go further without one or the other.
So before I start the wing instructions we have to talk plastic parts so we have something to do during the wing drying time.

Please go to post #564 on page 38.
There has been an easier / better way to bond the plastic to the foam frame.

Lets pause and see how the plastic parts trimmed and bonded in place.
Rule #1 NO CA ADHEASIVES allowed to touch the white plastic. It will cause cracks.
Before we fit the fuselage to the wing we have to "lock it down" or add the plastic so it is not so flexible.
Trim the flanges away from the plastic parts saving as much as the plastic as you can. all we are really doing is removing the flanges that supported the parts shape for shipping.
Put the plastic on the frame and adjust it's position for the best fit. (some formers may not make complete contact and this is OK.)
Also any formers that overhang the side sheeting will need to be sanded flush with the sheeting.
Use a short piece of tape to hold the part in position.
Hold the frame up to a bright light to give you an "X-ray" view of where the frame meets the plastic.
Mark the plastic so there will be a 1/2 inch overlap or bond area. (sharpie dots in the photo)
Lay the plastic on the corner of a flat surface: a piece of some kind of flat stock slid over the edge of a table works well. Mark straight lines mark to mark and use a straight edge to cut the plastic. Note the washer I used in the photo to make a radius in the angle changes. This makes for cleaner looking part and avoids stress points in the plastic.

A very small amount of polyurethane glue is needed to attach the sides of the plastic to the fuselage sides. This bead should be right on the edge of the fuselage foam sheeting to avoid the glue reaching the outside edge of the plastic. A heavy bead of glue is alright for the former to plastic bond. any glue foaming here will only close any miss match gaps mentioned earlier.
When you are happy with the fit make small marks along the edge so the alignment can be easily repeated. Apply the small bead along the edges of the plastic about 1/8 inch from the very edge.
Place the plastic on the fuselage being careful to not smear the glue on the sides. ( spreading the plastic a bit helps.) Apply narrow strips of plastic tape to the side seams to hold the plastic against the foam sheeting.
Running your fingernail along the edge will improve the tape to foam contact and better seal the plastic edge. Place the fuselage with the plastic down to allow any excess glue to travel toward the plastic. Remove the tape when the glue cures completely; about 2 hours.

Pull the tape at a sharp angle (not 90 degrees to the surface) warming the tape with a blow dryer will also help the tape adhesive release.

Narrow plastic tape strips:
Shipping tape used to close cardboard boxes did the best job at holding the plastic parts down. The plastic tape has a smooth surface and makes the best seal between the two forcing the glue inward when it foams so don't use masking tape.

The front turtle deck Has a step formed into it to align the cowl . This step must be bonded aligned with the aft side of the F-1 former.

The elevator servo mount plate bonds inside the fuselage and keeping it in it's proper place may be a challenge. My servo had a case that measured 3/4 inch so I folded a piece of foam to make a spacer that can be removed after the plate dried. Yours may have a different dimension but you get the idea.
since the plate is made with 3mm foam a 6mm foam strip helps to support it and keep the weight down. A 6mm plate will not need this support should you wand a more robust mount.