PSS builds - F104, Rafale, A10

The F104 progressed well through paint and into lacquer this past weekend, so that's all done and ready to fly again, short of a quick check on the C of G.  I'm hoping the small amount of lead in the front can be removed to allow her to be weight neutral after the repairs!

The little Raphael has had some work done on it, as I am waiting a large run of free time to mask then spray the remainder of the A10 parts.  The new tailplane has been top-coated, and the fins and rear flying surfaces have also had a smattering of white enamel, ready for the camo to be re-applied.

Anyway, the Raphael then.  First off, remove the jet pipes.  These just get in the way and add weight that I don't need :

One out..

I can see through now

Both out!

I used the pipes to create balsa blanking plates for the intakes, then glued them in thickened epoxy.  No pictures yet!

Whilst the dremel was still out with a cutting disc, I sliced off the fin spigot from the top of the fus, as that's not needed now either :

I made up a small radio tray, to which I mounted the servos and a switch, then stuck that in again with thickened epoxy :

Here is the new fin, made from balsa - 16g!  The old glassfibre one weighed 55g, so a decent weight saving from the rear of the aircraft.  The fin will be plug-in-able on carbon rods, so some of that weight will come back, but not much.

A small change to the A10 - both engine pods now lined with 1.5mm black ABS for smoother airflow:

So, some spraying in the garage this week as I want the A10 ready for 2 week's time!

PSS HET F15 - paint, decals, panel lines etc.

The Eagle continues apace, with the addition of some decals that really "pop" against the camo background :

I then painted up the exhaust nozzles that I'd 3D printed so long ago, and stuck them on to the rear of the aircraft with thickened 5 minute epoxy :

I then spent far too much time adding panel lines, and a tiny bit of weathering :

And with that, the airframe was ready for my current favourite finish - Halford's "satin clear lacquer" :

I just need to finish off the cockpit glass work, balance her, then she's ready for the hill!

PSS HET F15 - progress into paint

The little HET F15 has come along nicely, and with about a day's worth of masking then spraying, the camo part of the paint is done.  She represents a Japanese F15JD:

All the control systems and servos are already in, so it's down to the final furlong now - panel lines, decals, lacquer, attaching exhausts, radio setup, balancing etc.  Only a couple of weeks left and she'll be good to go.

Fifth scale Hawker Typhoon - for PSS!

And of course, another project - why not?!

This is a Willis' Warbirds 1:4.7 scale Typhoon, that originally had a 70cc single cylinder petrol engine in. She weighed about 38lb in that state, but I helped the seller strip the engine, noseweight, and retracts before I took her home - she now weighs 21lb "dry".

She needs for very little, really - just some tidying up and painting.  The paint job was half-sanded off, but leaving some lovely panel lines and rivet detail that I want to keep.  I've had a good look around at colour schemes too, as I'm not a fan of repeating letters in a registration - don't know why, it just looks odd!

So, this is another big project to get in alongside the C17 for (hopefully) April, or sooner if she's done.

Quarter scale Fw190 for PSS

I picked this one up at the beginning of the year, and bought some more slope-oriented wings for it from Cloud Models.

I hope to get this one done in the summer of 2018, if everything else goes OK.