OOH so nice. Love that Canopy. Are you going to use paint or tape on the frame?

I was thinking aluminum tape.

Yep, aluminum tape. Not loving how far the window sills overlap the sides of the fuselage... not scale at all. I could trim as much as 3/8" from it if I can figure out a way to mount it without the overlap.

*edit* I did trim about 1/4" excess from the bottom of the side-windows... it looks a little less "chunky" and reduced the weight by .1oz... so a net gain of nothing to add the foil tape.

Adding some access panels with aluminum tape. Looks pretty decent and masks some of the covering imperfections. I think rivets will help too. I'm going to try tacky glue mixed with silver acrylic, using the comb-dip technique for raised rivets.

BTW... the canopy was 1.6oz before adding aluminum tape. The tape raised it to 1.75oz. Funny that the entire cockpit was only 1oz.

I'm posting lots of pics 'cuz this chrome is hard to photograph with all the reflections. Sorry. Not sorry.

Rivets using a comb and paint/glue mix.

Also I trimmed about 1/4" of the excess window frame from the sides... looks cleaner IMO. And it reduced the weight back down to 1.65 oz... only .05oz more than the original canopy.

Wow, the details are popping out. Can you show how you apply those rivets?

The rivets on the canopy I don't love.. I mixed in too much paint in proportion to the glue. They are not as raised as I'd hoped, and dark gray instead of silver. And a few of them dripped a bit as the paint dried. But they'll just wipe off with a wet cloth and a little rubbing.... I'll try again when I hit a lull with covering the wing next. Or remove them completely... I think it looked better without.

But the method is pretty simple: I mix up my paint/glue (I did about 50/50... think I'll try 20/80), smooth it onto a flat plastic plate, run the comb through it so each tine has a drop on it, then gently press the comb onto the surface. Takes a steady hand and a good eye to lay the lines on straight, but if you mess up it can be wiped off and started over. You could lay a piece of masking tape or draw a thin guide-line with a washable marker to help with alignment. The comb will get globbed-up too as the paint dries... so I rinse it clean every 10 minutes or so.

If you want to adjust the spacing on your rivets, you can remove alternate comb tines... or however far apart you want your spacing. Dollartree is a great place to pick up a pack of disposable combs.

The rivets on the access panels I simply pressed in with a ball-point pen onto the piece of aluminum tape (sitting on my cutting mat) before I peeled the backing paper and applied it to the airframe. Same idea for the hinges and flush handles... they are just "drawn" into the foil with a ballpoint (or Xacto for finer lines) while the backing paper is still attached. Then peel and stick.

This shiny covering job definitely looks better from 5ft away. Close-ups show every flaw and the wood-grain texture. But with some distance the glaring shininess seems to smooth it all out. I keep reminding myself that the real plane is the same way... ripples and waves from the stressed-skin being bent and riveted into place...

Thank you Sir great explanation. I see from that picture what you mentioned a few post earlier about the canopy frame being too long. If the fuse was another color part of the canopy frame could be made to look thinner by coloring the lower portion the same color of the fuse.

My components have arrived so I can start installation: Value Hobby Gforce G32/800kv motor, electric retracts, and servos.

The firewall already has blind nuts installed that appear to align perfectly with the G32 X-mount, but I'll need some 2" stand-off spacers and longer bolts. Then I'll probably zip-tie the ESC to the spacers.

The servos are HS-81 equivalents: they each weigh .56oz with 37oz-in torque (compared to a standard S3003 servo which weighs 1.3oz and 44oz-in torque). Quite a weight savings after 4 servos. I'll run pull-pull wires directly to the rudder to save weight. The elevator halves were independently connected with two "gold-n-rod" flexible pushrods, soldered together just before the servo arm. I could reinstall those or just run a conventional balsa pushrod with piano-wire ends... I'll have to check the clearances to make sure there is no binding.

Still undecided about adding flaps. But it's now or never... I'd need to add the crank-shaft before covering the wing.

The all-metal electric retracts have a smaller mounting plate than the mechanical retracts it was designed for. I'll have to shim the hard-wood mounting blocks and re-sheet the balsa around it to cover the gap. But they look really solid... they are rated for 3.5kg (7.7lbs) -- should do nicely. I can't wait to get the plane on its wheels again!

Originally Posted by warhead_71

Slow afternoon at work... started working on the dummy "paper" Wasp JR engine. I scaled it down to 6.5" which is 1/8 scale for a P&W Wasp 1340... .

Where did you get the templates for the card engine parts? Much simpler and just as nice as buying a 3D printer...
btw your cockpit looks lovely

You are doing wonders with your T-6. If you want to, you can dull the mirror-like covering with Scotchbrite green scouring pads rubbing in vertical and horizontal directons. I didn't realize that T-6's were fitted with rear guns. They showed a T-6 firing at a UFO on Project Blue Book TV series and I questioned it.

Nice job on the ARF bash

I can provide you with some brushed aluminum colored vinyl rub-on rivets for your canopy if you're interested.

Originally Posted by flyyyer

Where did you get the templates for the card engine parts? Much simpler and just as nice as buying a 3D printer...
btw your cockpit looks lovely

I made them. Drew it up in Illustrator. If you follow the links, they are available to download for free.

*edit* - here is the latest version... scaled to 6.5in diameter. But you can easily scale it to whatever size you need.

Originally Posted by E-Challenged

You are doing wonders with your T-6. If you want to, you can dull the mirror-like covering with Scotchbrite green scouring pads rubbing in vertical and horizontal directons. I didn't realize that T-6's were fitted with rear guns. They showed a T-6 firing at a UFO on Project Blue Book TV series and I questioned it.

I've found dozens of images now showing the tail gunner position... they would live-fire train on tow-targets. Also one or (rarely) two guns in the cockpit. And sometimes a gun in each wing in a small blister just inboard of the landing lights. In all cases the guns are .30 cal. Brownings. Also up to three small practice bombs in a pod under each wing (6 total).