Originally Posted by dz1sfb

Water based acrylic is the very best for lightweight paint job. Mine only added 3g.

Ken

Sorta off topic but can I ask are you using a airbrush or can the spray can stuff?

Shoot me a brand name or something I'll see what I can find for the stocking :-)

Hope you don't mind, - S

Here are a few pics of my build progress. One coat of Rustoleum from about 3 feet away. If you get too close this paint will attack the foam. I tested first on some scrap foam. Made the tail wheel from a nickel sized piece of foam turned in my dremel. Weight at this point is approx. 3.5 ounces. Waiting on motor and servos to arrive.

Originally Posted by -S-

Sorta off topic but can I ask are you using a airbrush or can the spray can stuff?

Shoot me a brand name or something I'll see what I can find for the stocking :-)

Hope you don't mind, - S

Believe it or not, mine is totally brushed on, with the exception of some light dusting with white for contour effects with an airbrush.

Wal-Mart Apple Barrel Acrylics.

Ken

Originally Posted by dz1sfb

Believe it or not, mine is totally brushed on, with the exception of some light dusting with white for contour effects with an airbrush.

Wal-Mart Apple Barrel Acrylics.

Ken

Absolute Genius, I have a ton of those paints and never thought of using them, Wow you just made my year!

Thank you very much, - S

Originally Posted by arcaknob

Here are a few pics of my build progress. One coat of Rustoleum from about 3 feet away. If you get too close this paint will attack the foam. I tested first on some scrap foam. Made the tail wheel from a nickel sized piece of foam turned in my dremel. Weight at this point is approx. 3.5 grams. Waiting on motor and servos to arrive.

Arcaknob, That looks really good as well, I know I have the acrylics and I might have some rattle can, I love this hobby, and all the folks here, ya learn something new everyday.

Cool stuff I can't wait till mine arrives if it's not here tomorrow I may just print the plans and start one

Thanks - S

Originally Posted by arcaknob

Here are a few pics of my build progress. One coat of Rustoleum from about 3 feet away. If you get too close this paint will attack the foam. I tested first on some scrap foam. Made the tail wheel from a nickel sized piece of foam turned in my dremel. Weight at this point is approx. 3.5 grams. Waiting on motor and servos to arrive.

Nice to know that this paint worked out and not too heavy.

Great to see your kit coming along so nicely.

Kudos,
Ken

Originally Posted by dz1sfb

Believe it or not, mine is totally brushed on, with the exception of some light dusting with white for contour effects with an airbrush.

Wal-Mart Apple Barrel Acrylics.

Ken

Thanks Ken, I was wondering how you achieved that effect. It really made the final result outstanding.

I just got my kit today. All I can say is "Wow." Shipping was super quick even with the holiday rush. Everything was nicely sealed in a plastic bag and inside a sturdy box. Everything is precisely cut and I was surprised when I took the wing halves out and they were already pre-bent to the proper airfoil shape and the wing root cuts were at the desired angle and curvature to simplify getting the wing glued together at the proper dihedral angle. All of the bend points in the bendable areas are routed to the proper depth and the slots for the fuse part tabs are routed out to the proper depth without piercing the fuse sides, so the finished fuse will look much better than the one I am cutting out of sheets.

It is a super quality kit at a bargain price. Very nice job Ken.

After a 12 day trip from Ken to Texas VIA 2 day Priority mail, I have started the build! I think USPS sent it via Russia

I took a few pics, there were a few things in the build I was confused on, and after Ken reviews them I hope that they will help someone else.

Glue is drying, and I will form the nose filler tomorrow!

I used BSI Foam Cure for everything but the Nose filler that was some reconstituted Gorilla Glue, (adding Acetone will thin dead Gorilla Glue)

Not sure if I have posted this anywhere else, but after contacting BSI it was found that Methanol can be added to the Foam Cure safely to thin it down. I was unable to find pure methanol but I found Denatured Alcohol which is a combination of Methanol and Ethanol.

I keep three bottles of Foam Cure, one thinned to a Medium viscosity with some methanol and one thin which has a lot more I have a third bottle I refill the two from, I don't like using the Foam Cure as I have purchased it in the store it get stringy...

It works out great for different applications and I guess in some small way reduces a gram of weight here and there by thinning it down maybe not.... I'll post my final foam build weight when I'm done for comparison with the group.

This was a nice build for me, a little more advanced than the flat fomaies so i'm learning how to do more with this great product called MPF.

More later!

- S

Originally Posted by Rickochet

I just got my kit today. All I can say is "Wow." Shipping was super quick even with the holiday rush. Everything was nicely sealed in a plastic bag and inside a sturdy box. Everything is precisely cut and I was surprised when I took the wing halves out and they were already pre-bent to the proper airfoil shape and the wing root cuts were at the desired angle and curvature to simplify getting the wing glued together at the proper dihedral angle. All of the bend points in the bendable areas are routed to the proper depth and the slots for the fuse part tabs are routed out to the proper depth without piercing the fuse sides, so the finished fuse will look much better than the one I am cutting out of sheets.

It is a super quality kit at a bargain price. Very nice job Ken.

I agree, the kit is top notch quality, I have purchased a few kits and I am spoiled and don't like cutting my own now Although I love building more than flying at times, the quality of the kits is so much better than I can do with a razor blade everything just falls together with the kits!

- S

Originally Posted by -S-

I agree, the kit is top notch quality, I have purchased a few kits and I am spoiled and don't like cutting my own now Although I love building more than flying at times, the quality of the kits is so much better than I can do with a razor blade everything just falls together with the kits!

- S

I will also give a big thumbs up to the quality of this kit, I was a little more fortunate with the shipping, Ken put it in the mail on Monday morning and I had it Wednesday afternoon Christmas Eve. Pretty impressive with the holiday shipping volume.

This kit just falls together. The cutting is perfect. I used foam safe CA for the internal structure and white Gorilla Glue with out water for the rest. I have not used the GG before for anything but a small repair and am really impressed with the product, The white stuff is gap filling and invisible when cured.

I am really enjoying this build.

First day of the build!

Next indoor meet is just over 1 week away!

Originally Posted by PHerder

First day of the build!

Next indoor meet is just over 1 week away!

Looks good so far!

I learned something today building mine, The plastic that Ken ships the bird in is adhesive resistant, I used it under the bird to put something between it and my table and the glue does not stick to it much at all peels right off.

It's built and I'll be trying the Walmart paints tomorrow, I tried some test foam and a light sanding with 200 ish grit paper to take the gloss off and it yields a nice finish.

I've never put much time into making planes "pretty" because they usually don't last to long but this one is going to be my best try at making a good looking plane to date.

We shall see how it goes. The brush on paints looks great, I have no idea why I never thought of it. - Thanks Ken for the tip.

I'm sorta doubting the glue job I did joining the wings, but I'm just going to try it, I tend to over engineer stuff, I used GG and a few light coats of Foam Cure I guess we shall see how it holds up.

have fun! - S

Just finished my build tonight. Came in at 183 grams using a Nano Tech 2s 370 mah battery.
Motor: Power Up 250 Sport 2300kv. 23 grams with 2mm connectors
Prop 7x3.5
Servos Tower Pro 5 gram
ESC Hurc 10 amp with 2mm connectors
RX Lemon 6ch
Heavier than I wanted, but I used connectors instead of direct soldering and heavy wheels because they look better to me. I also am sure that I am too liberal with the glue. BTW I put 4 two inch wide strips of fiber reinforced tape under the wing joint to strengthen it. I'll try to add a few pics tomorrow.

-S-,
If you have some doubts about the integrity of the glue joint on the wings. Definitely do something about it. You do not want the joint to fail. A simple solution would be to use some clear packing around the joint after painting. Or just on the LE and TE of the wing. The flight loads want to pull the joint apart at these points. If you prevent that from happening then the wing will not fail.

Ken