seiran01

Hi, I've been building model aircraft for years now (the plastic scale ones not RC) and I want to build a large-scale model of some sort of warbird. I'm talking here of maybe the 3.5-5.5 foot wingspan range as a large static model, not flyable. My logic is to find dimensionally accurate rc plans and use them to build this static thingie and detail the hell out of it, so my question is this: Where are good places to find accurate warbird (any era) plans or schematics in said size? I basically want the most accurate plans I can find of preferably WWII axis aircraft or anything else that looks cool (an a-4 skyhawk for example)

a huge thanks in advance,
Mike Swinburne

William Robison

My Feedback: (3)

Mike:

Very few R/C planes are accurately scaled, compromises are almost always made for flying ability.

If you want a true scale static model, just find a three view of the plane you want to do, scale it to the size you want, and start hacking styrofoam to make it.

Bill.

BMatthews

A lot of the structure and building techniques may be new to you if you use a flying model set of plans. Also the need for many tools and setups that you'll never use again will frustrate you and cost significant money.

Having said this is you want to carry on any way then anything by Dave Platt is going to be as close to scale as you'll find. He did a big 6 foot Fock Wulf a few years back that plans may still be available for. There's others as well although I can't remember them just now.

In many ways you would be better off to buy some planks and blocks of basswood and just carve a solid model out of the wood much like they had back in the days before the highly detailed plastic stuff you have now. You could carve out the cockpit and engine areas and replace some of that with metal for the covers. But you WOULD have to learn to carve accurately and with templates. Not an easy task but probably easier than learning what you need to build a built up model.

In fact if you can find the right drawings why not do the whole model out of metal much like the real ones were. There was a P-51 done by a fellow a lot of years ago that was done that way. Rib for rib and spar for spar. Large areas of the skin were cut away much like an artists drawing to show off the internal work. There was a scratch made engine, guns and all the cockpit detail. It was gorgeous and now resides in some mueseum. Of course for such a project you would have to get very good prototype drawings. But isn't the search for documentation half the fun?

Patrick Underwo

My Feedback: (1)

Mike, I've been thinking about doing the same thing with a favorite Russian jet of mine, only a little smaller, like 1/24. Since you are familiar with plastic modeling, you might try using styrene sheeting and planking over formers. Although this might be a tad expensive...

Haven't I seen your name at hyperscale or some such?

Patrick