TOPIC: New Models for 2020

Looks fine to me.
On Jet-Ex- Press I got the tip to mould a second canopy over the first, no need to fine finish the mould then! I never tried it as my low tech no vacuum method works good enough even if it takes several goes. I once finished the balsa mould with many layers of balsa cement rubbed on with a finger then wet and dried to a polish, that worked well too but took a few days - I was fifteen!

Wow, two great looking models.

My supply of L-2X type Rapier motors is now all but exhausted, and if modellers want a motor more powerful than a Rapier L-2 LT (these are just great for profile models) then from now on it will have to be a Tender L-2L, which Terry Kidd is measuring as more powerful than my experiments indicate.

These motors will be great for those models which require a bit of 'OOMPH', like, say, Howard's Viggen or F-4 Phantom, or the Aerographics P.1B Lightning.

I sent practically my last batch of Rapier L-2X motors to Allan Patrick for just this model, as Alan is building one; in return, Alan is sending me some nice photos of his build.

As it is an interesting and unusual structure, these will be of great interest to perusers of this thread.

It's a Pete Smart design:


Note it was originally for 'Jet-X' which shows how early it is., so fitting a Tender L-2 should be, as they say, 'no problem'

Here is Alan's progress so far:



Alan tells me it will actually be his second Lightning, as he built one way back in (gulp!) 2007:



which he remembers, "Flew very successfully".


You will of course remember Daniel also built one:



As did master-modeller Ivan Taylor:



Ivan managed some lovely hand-painted detail on his model - something us guys must try and emulate!


I hope to post more of Alan's build in due course - it should be inspirational!

One day I'll get mine back in the air!

Roger adds:

Promises, promises!

But, with the Tender L-2L, we do seem now to have the 'right' motor for this large model, so there are no excuses!

Hi Guys,

some progress with the Grumman F-11 Tiger:



The flying surfaces were built following my usual practice: composite leading edge (hard balsa outermost) with webbed main spar and an extra spar at the front. The diagonal ribs add stiffness and 1/16" washout is built in. The tail feathers are essentially 3/32" sanded to a symmetrical aerofoil.
It's nice when things begin to 'take shape':



The interesting shape of the tail end is mimicked with a 1/64" ply former.

Next: doping the structure and covering with pre-printed tissue.

Does this photo deceive or is this actually similar to the Talon with small wing area compared to fus size? If so it could be another great performer. Looking good.