PSS HET Rafale - complete

Well, she's just about done now.  All balanced, and needed no noseweight, which is nice.  AUW is 2lb 2ozs - thank god I replaced the fin with a balsa one!

I was going for three colours on the top, but have stopped where she is for now.

A white nose, panel lines and weathering done :

Weathering and jet exhausts done here :

Exhaust detail :

That's it, and she's ready for this weekend's (windless) PSS event in North Wales.  Done!

PSS HET Rafale - colour being shot at last!

With a to do list of about 22 items, and realistically only 3 days to get it done (and still working for a living), the Antonov has been put on the back burner for the April meet.  So what to finish off instead? Well, the little Dassault Rafale is so close, it'd be rude not to!

Masked up the blue underside :

Here we go :

Light sand colour shot first :

Drying off in the (new) kitchen :

Masking up for camo :

Darker sand colour sprayed :

Off with the masking! :

Very happy with the sand / blue contrast :

Time to get some decals and panel lines on, then she's ready for top coat.

Workshop change-around; C17 / Typhoon / Rafale progress

It's been a while since I've posted, but things have been hectic.  I've moved a lot of models around the house in preparation for the new extension being built (work started today!), so now I've moved my benches around, creating a just "work" area and a storage area for the server and models where I used to have a workbench.

"new" workbench from through the room which is now model storage

"old" workbench, unmoved but cleaned up

So all that means is that I now have a lot more clear room to build in, and all my tools can be right next to each other.  Here is the C17 tail, undergoing a trial fit now as I am adding a location tab at the front.

Here's the location tab - two layers of 3mm liteply wood-glued together, and gorilla glued into the tailplane assembly.  This will then fit inside a liteply pocket in the fin.

So whilst all that was drying...the Typhoon fuselage also had some love - I removed all the servos and wiring, and started on sanding down the paintwork.  A couple more hours on the sandpaper and I will risk a light primer coat to see how smooth she is.  I'll be building new elevators and rudder, as well as a new cockpit installation in this one.

Then lastly, the Rafale is nearing the end of it's build.  Here ready for bottom colour..

Bottom colour on!

Cockpit masked ready for primer...

Primer done!

Lot's more to do on all the airframes, but things are so much easier now with the reconfigured work area.

PSS HET Rafale - into primer

Not that much of interest really - the Rafale has been filled where necessary, sanded down all over, and primed ready for some colours :

Bottom..

..Top

Before spraying - filler lines and some cockpit detail in pink foam

PSS HET Rafale - build continues

The little Rafale is coming along well.  The new "removable" tail had an incident when I was tacking the carbon tubes into the fuselage - cyano managed to wick around the ends and into the tube and dowel.  It stuck solid within seconds, so that was that!  No amount of tugging would free it, it was in solid.  Only one thing to do - go with it!  I firmed up the rest of the joint all the way around, then took everything for glassing.

Fin side one glassed :

Wings glass on bottom :

Then top :

Then line up and epoxied into the funselage with 1 hour epoxy, after a good blocking back :

I'm looking forward to being at the controls for the little beauties maiden.

New baby! Dassault Rafale for PSS

At the weekend Dirk Tink brought across a model for me from a chap in Belgium who seems to have a huge supply of the old HET models (same manufacturer as my glass Mig29 and the F15 that Matt Jones now has).

It's a little (950mm) Dassault Rafale!  I love those aircraft, with their sexy sucked-in cheeks and pointy noses, and had planned one for a balsa build at some point - I had drawn up about 6 formers for a much bigger one.

This'll do me for now though, with a lightweight glass fuselage, foam-veneered wings and a lovely clear canopy.

Here's some full-size pics for reference :

I have no idea when this build will start or finish, but there isn't much to do in reality, so it might be quick?

Onwards!