ZERO-322

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I haven't seen a recent build thread on this plane , so I figured I would start one of my own , I got started on the right wing and figured on using Robart struts with 60-1 Lado retracts , I may even attempt a sliding 3 piece canopy and a full cockpit with a full figure pilot figure not sure if i have the room for it , but we'll see , Engine I am using is going to be a Thunder Tiger 9195 120 2 stoke with a Slim line pitts to keep everything in the cowl and looking pretty , I will post new pic as I progress
I had to open up the wheel well to accommodate the Robart struts and fabricate a new wheel well , I opted to make the new wheel wells removable just in case I need to service the retract .
this is my progress so far

ZERO-322

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here is the new wheel wells painted up and fitted , I also test fit the strut and it seems to clear perfectly

ZERO-322

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One more with the gear door test fitted

ZERO-322

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Ok since I had to hold off any more work to the wings pending the arrival of my Lado 60-1 retracts , I thought I would get some work done on the engine installation , I actually got quite a bit done today , I know that this bird is going to need some weight in the nose so I was a little proactive and installed the battery in a box off a bracket that is bolted to the motor mount , I also had to cut and install a gasket from the muffler to the cylinder head (it wouldn't clear the mount otherwise ) I fitted the cowl and cut out my needle valve access

will post my progress hopefully again soon

ZERO-322

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didn't get much done today , but here is a pic of the cowl fitted and cut out for needle valve access , the spinner is from World models at 76 mm I think its a good fit , what do you guys think of the fit and color I selected ?

Chad Veich

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322,

Just touching base to say I'm watching. I have one of these that I'm "pimping" as well, though I have not worked on it in quite some time. I'll get back to it sooner or later though. Here are a few pics of where I'm at.

ZERO-322

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Very nice ! I see you opted to cut and deepen the cockpit area , I have been considering a full cockpit but its at the very threashold of having enough room or not , not sure if I want to open up a can of worms ....but the cool factor would so be there ! I'm on the fence . LOL .....I was a little stumped as far as what to do about the tail wheel on mine , don't really want it to be retractable but I would like to put something in a little more scale looking then the wire they provide you with , any ideas or more pic of yours might be of some help and or inspire me , please share

ZERO-322

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Ok so I've been inspired , I have begun fabricating a full cockpit , going off of some pic I found on the internet and a couple of scaled drawings of a A6M2 cockpit I came across a few years ago , I has to scale them down for my purposes and its been really tedious and I may have to improvise it a little bit for the sake of getting it to fit properly and still leave me enough clearance for servos fuel tank etc , needless to say It may take me a while as I have never done a full cockpit before and I would like to add as much detail as I can with the space i have

ZERO-322

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The cockpit so far

ZERO-322

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And one of course of the pilot I plan on using

Chad Veich

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Thanks for the kind words -322. I wanted enough cockpit so that it appeared, at least from a distance, that there was a cockpit in there. I don't like it when all you can fit in there is the pilot from the shoulders up!

The tailwheel retract is simply the Robart .60 size unit. Not real scale but it fits my intentions for this project and was easy to install. It's not shown in the pic but I made a new fiberglass hatch to go around the tailwheel opening as well since the supplied one was a really lousy fit. This is the only other pic of the t.w. that I have at the moment.

ZERO-322

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I have recently stumbled across your group build thread on the hellcat Great Stuff ! , and you have to let me know when and if you'll be doing the K1 Tony or the Zero I would be very much looking forward to those

Chad Veich

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Thanks for the kind words -322. If the Hellcat group build proves to be successful then a group build of the Ki-61 is a real possibility. I'm already flying the prototype so I know it performs well. Unfortunately, I did not document the Tony build very well when I was putting it together so I don't have many construction pictures. However, I have a beta builder lined up to build a second one who is going to get started next month if all goes as planned. Beyond that, who knows? I've always wanted to do a Ki-43 Oscar and have some CAD work done on that one but I've also got some Zero drawings started as well. (Along with about 25 others) So many projects...

ZERO-322

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Ok so the cockpit has proven to be more of a challange then I had figured being the limited space that I have , none the less after a few mock ups and one proto type I think I am starting to get a handle on it , however it is going to wind up more functional for the sake of getting a full figured pilot in and hiding the switch and remote glow as apposed to be being very scale looking , all in all I will do what I can to give a good representation of what a cockpit should look like , really I am going for the look good as apposed to looking accurate

Not very far as progress goes LOL but I did cut the deck ( great so now I'm commited ! ) LOL ..... and placed him in there just to see if he is oversized or undersized for the room that I have to work with

ZERO-322

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Ok Guys I could use a little help , I'm in the process of building a full cockpit for this bird and have found that at least one or two servos would have to be relocated....Full figure pilot won't fit and the cockpit just doesn't look right with the bottom of the servos sticking up that far , two reasons I don't want to do this is I don't want to cut out the servo tray completely and have to do all that work , but the main reason is I know this Zero is going to need some nose weight let alone relocate the servos further back , so the solution I have come up with is to go with a low profile servos for the rudder and elevator , Can anyone suggest a low profile high torque digital servo that would work ? any help would be greatly appreciated

thanks
Mike

ZERO-322

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moving along at a snail's pace...... I have cut the canopy and proceeded to put together a three piece sliding canopy that will be manual operated on a magnetic latch , my progress is slow being that i am so swaped at work , but will continue to post as I go along

here is what it looks like so far

ZERO-322

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moving along at a snail's pace...... I have cut the canopy and proceeded to put together a three piece sliding canopy that will be manual operated on a magnetic latch , my progress is slow being that i am so swaped at work , but will continue to post as I go along

here is what it looks like so far

Chad Veich

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That looks great -322, keep the pics coming. ( although maybe a bit smaller )

ZERO-322

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LOL I didn't intend for that pic to come out as big as it did , sometimes it just does that I guess , thanks for the compliment

Baldeagle

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Chad I have considered the Oscar also. I have a set of royal plans blowen up to 74 in. That I might start on this winter, It would fit in with the two Zeros,Toni Kate andVal. That I allready have. The Zeros are looking good. Keep up the good work .

ZERO-322

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thanks Rich ! , I would love to see some pic of your Zeros that you mentioned , why not post some pic on here ?

Chad Veich

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That would be a perfect size for the Oscar for my tastes. The Tony I did is 71 inches but the full size has such a long, skinny wing that it still ends up being a relatively small airplane. Wish I had done it about 76 inches instead. It flies great, just need to find the time to get it detailed and painted now. Really thinking about doing a 76 inch Wildcat in the very near future as well. I would like to find a machine shop willing to make up a kit of the gear parts per the Karlson plans. So many planes...

Baldeagle

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I can't find a pic of the green Zero , but it is in my gallry.

Baldeagle

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Try it again

ZERO-322

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Nice ! Very Nice ! ...... On the zero Do the half gear doors actuate with the main gear ? and is that a functional or dummy radial engine I see ?