RE: Gilbert .074 Powered Ringmaster Gee Bee Z Variant
Thanks, Dan and Don! I forgot to install the landing gear before putting the wing on. No problem! I drilled a 1/16" hole near the wing, insert a half bent landing gear through it. Then used heavy duty needle nose and standard pliers to bend at hole location on other side. Then I completed bending the rest of the gear. I drilled 2 holes on both sides of the landing gear wire. I wrapped about 5 winds of bell wire copper around the gear, then soldered it with a 40 Watt soldering iron. Normally I would have coated both sides of the gear along the profile fuselage sides to help lock the gear in place, but forgot. It's stable and not moving.
After a thorough sanding, I brush coated the model with a thin layer of gyp board primer. This stuff is sandable when dry. One thing I found out immediately is that cardboard covered foam board can warp if you are not careful. It was night and I forgot to paint the rear portion of the right fuselage side. This morning I picked up the plane and immediately noticed the warp. The tail was curved over about a quarter inch (6 mm) toward the left. Again no problem, I recoated the left side and put a new coat on the right side. Dry a few hours later, the problem straightened out. Also there was a slight downward bowing (sag) of the wing. It is only slightly noticeable, not worth fixing.
With the PVA dry, the material has stiffened up quite a bit. It's looking good thus far. Next is sanding and applying another coat of PVA primer.