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.

NYE flying, and happy new year!

Well, 2018 is here, and many lovely flying days await us, I'm sure.

Over the holiday period, I managed to meet up with some PSSA pals, and get a bit of flying done on the Great Orme, in a stunning 45mph SW wind on the best slope.  The F15 and Fouga both flew well, but both were damaged on the ground in separate incidents unfortunately, both easy repairs though.

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.

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 - 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.

Where was I? Ah yes, more building - PSS F15 & C17

It's been a little while, and I can't remember where I got to with what builds are in progress on here, so some explanation is needed.

The HET F15 that I swapped with Matt Jones for a HET MiG 29 is now back in my possession.  He ran out of interest in it in the final furlong, and has nearly finished a large model of his own design for the slope, so I snapped it up at Weston Park model show.  Matt has done a lot of lovely work, including blanking off intakes, converting to a 2 seater, glassing the wings, making the fins plug-in, creating better tailplane bearings, installing servos, correcting oil-canning of the fibreglass etc etc.

There are just a few little bits to do and she will be ready for paint.  Some spot putty going in on the wing / fus joint :

Sanded down this side : 

Servo install all done.  Oh yes, all carbon pushrods have been made up and supplied too : 

A lovely twin seat cockpit, with ejector seats and pilots from Real Model Pilots : 

Canopy plug, hand made by Matt.  So one of those to mould by me : 

I am also finalising the fitment of the flaps on the C17, and prepping the U2 for a partial respray and decals.  

Speaking of C17, the engine halves came quite a few weeks ago, and I set about fettling the first one together :

Not too shabby, but I will blow over the joint with a guide coat before filling and rubbing back again: 

Right, that's it for now.  RIAT tomorrow and Sunday!

New mini-Fulcrum

..although it is about the same length as my own design version!

This new HET MiG is now in my possession, but I've been very very lucky.  Matt Jones (of the PSSA) kindly did all the repairs for me that was needed, as well as removing extra hardware from inside; rubbing down the extrerior and priming it; turned up aluminium pegs and created a magnetized fin removal system; cut-in ailerons and added torque rods; recovered the wings; blanked off the intakes; tidied up the cockpit.

Unbelievable!  It was so very kind of him, and I am very chuffed that he applied his extensive skill set to my airframe for free.

I have chosen a darker Slovakian digital camo scheme for this one, but I will get onto that after sorting out the servo installation.

Another PSS project? OK, go on then!

Matt Jones (of PSSA fame) sent me a link to a model on the BMFA classifieds site the other night, and after a quick few texts with him and the owner, a plan was hatched. I now own another Fulcrum!

Snug as a bug!

Currently holidaying in Didcot

I do love my MiG 29's, so very happy to get this one.  All glass fuselage, with built up wings - the same manufacturer as my F15.  Which, incidentally, I am now selling to Matt! I'm sure he will more than do it justice.

Now I just need to get and see him soon so I can get my sweaty palms on this one, but in the mean time, the fun part - choosing colour schemes!