• If you are new to GiantScaleNews.com, please register, introduce yourself, and make yourself at home.

    We're 1st in Giant Scale RC because we've got the best membership on the internet! Take a look around and don't forget to register to get all of the benefits of GSN membership!

    Welcome!

Scale Don Smith P-51 Mustang

stangflyer

I like 'em "BIG"!
Have you looked at the plans yet? Wood looks good from your pics. Any issues noted?
Actually I have. I have been studying the plans for about a month now. The wood does look good and it seems to be very quality wood as well. However... I am not very pleased right now. Let me explain.

I started tinkering this evening by going through the wood and inventorying everything. As far as I could tell, it was all there. So, according to the plans, the left side is built right on "top" of the plans. I layed out the fuse and protected them with plastic wrap. I've been doing this for years and as long as a guy is cautious, the plans stay perfectly clean with no glue droplets or cut marks. I then started laying out the formers. First one, then another and before I knew it I had all 23 fuse formers layed out and basically resting in position.

20181211_012422.jpg

I kept tinkering and before I knew it, I had "officially" started the build with the angle cut of two 1/4x1/4 inch balsa sticks then glued them together to make a fuselage longeron. Yep, it is now official. Make one cut or one glue joint and the build has started. LOL. I positioned the wing saddle support and decided I would keep adding parts as per the plans. Bottom fuse crutch...check. Top (forward) fuse crutch...check. Hey, hold the phone...

missing the top turtle deck crutch,

20181211_012406.jpg

the canopy crutch

20181211_012412.jpg

and the lower rear fuse crutch.

20181211_012352.jpg

Not to mention I am also missing two 1/4"x 1/4" balsa stringers for the lower sides of the fuse formers. This is "NOT" the way I wanted to start this build. So I guess I need to round up the two balsa stringers. Not a huge deal on that. Michaels and Hobby Lobby are basically down the street. Hobby Clown (Town) is just a short ten minutes away in Boise. The problem is going to be the three missing crutches. I am going to try to locate some 1/2"x1/4" balsa and then pin it to the building board over the plans. If I moisten them before pinning them into position, they will take the shape needed from the plans. At that point, I could actually start gluing the formers to the crutches.

These are not such big concerns really. It is just the idea that "what if" I am missing more pieces from like say, the wing construction or worse yet, the major construction for the landing gear and such. Plus, when you pay nearly $1000.00 for a kit with plans, canopy and glass parts, you expect to get all that you paid for. I did speak to Pat from Solo Props yesterday and posed the hypothetical question regarding missing parts. (I am always thinking ahead of the game. Guess because I have been there more than once) Since he purchased PCK's from Larry Katana, it has been a night mare for him. He is still finding orders that have not shipped that were originally ordered and paid for from way back in January. Yes, January of 2018. He is not even taking orders for Solo Props and a new cut kit is about 5 months out due to his back log. He told me there would be nothing he could do about replacing damaged or missing parts to a kit. So "that" as they say...is that! I just hope nothing else is missing from the kit.

Other than that, the plans are beautiful and the wood is nice and I really enjoyed "tinkering" for a couple of hours this evening with the big Stang build. This is going to be one fun ride. I have missed building.

I will update all y'all tomorrow after work.
 
Last edited:

Snoopy1

640cc Uber Pimp
The Velox is his history he in to the mustang and on a fire , he already has in his mind that the fuselage should be all jigged up by Christmas.
 

stangflyer

I like 'em "BIG"!
Besides making headway on the Velox, (Photos coming soon) I also made some progress on the DS Mustang. After acquiring the necessary 1/4" square balsa sticks and 1/4" x 1/2" balsa strips, I made up the correct length "crutches" to replace the missing ones from the kit. Really pretty easy actually. I pinned them down to the building board and began "gluing" in fuselage formers.

20181211_194033.jpg 20181211_194043.jpg 20181211_201104.jpg 20181211_201957.jpg 20181211_203337.jpg

Making sure each former is exactly perfectly straight, I continued until I had the left side fuse formers framed and glued into position.

20181211_220734.jpg 20181211_220758.jpg 20181211_231453.jpg 20181211_231502.jpg 20181211_231507.jpg 20181211_231519.jpg 20181211_231542.jpg

I also added the two quarter squared balsa sticks to the fuse side. If the rest of this plane frames up as easy as the left side, I have no doubt I can have this plane framed by no later than middle to end of January. More to come soon.
 

acerc

640cc Uber Pimp
OH I know that feeling well. I have been waiting and anticipating and looking forward to this day for nearly 25 years. It gives me a really fuzzy warmth inside to see that fuse finally taking shape. Thank you for being so elated as I.
I am still going through the pictures as it takes a couple minutes for my slow ass internet to load one. Just gorgeous what I have seen so far. Hey, that buddy of yours with the Kolm 220 is talking about ya.... He he.
 

stangflyer

I like 'em "BIG"!
I am still going through the pictures as it takes a couple minutes for my slow ass internet to load one. Just gorgeous what I have seen so far. Hey, that buddy of yours with the Kolm 220 is talking about ya.... He he.
??? Not sure I know what you are meaning? LOL
 
Top