<<...curious as to why no discussion...>>

Me too. You might be right about the price thing. One can get a UCD 46 for $50 less. That's what I was looking for when I walked into the hobby shop. But the last UCD 46 had just walked out the door, this Matrix was just off the UPS truck, it was Xmas, and I was in a buying mood...

Thanks for the leg work on the bellcranks, but I got this one smoothed up; by the simple method of pulling it all apart and fitting the parts properly (NOT per the instructions). Took all yesterday afternoon. I believe there is a distinct possibility that as the parts wear, some slop will develop, which may or may not be taken out with shims. All in all, this is a real cheesy arrangement and not up to the rest of the model's quality.

Have you looked closely at the wing? It is TINY! I'll wager this model will not have near the slow-speed float of the UCD. I hope I'm wrong.

As to a flying report, I'll get this model done eventually. But to be honest, I could have built and finished a Sig SE in the time I've spent dicking around with this ARF; between surgery to get the tank as low as possible (for the inverted engine), getting the MPI on-board glow hooked up and installed (okay, THAT hassle was not the models's fault), and now this elevator hook-up, this model has been one crisis after another. Yeah, I know; that's why they call it modeling.

But things should go quickly now, unless something else is lurking in the shadows waiting to bite me. The already-joined wing and integral vertical fin cut assembly time, and so far everything but that bellcrank assembly has fit like a glove. The wing dropped right into place, and the pre-drilled bolt holes line up perfectly. It is a bit cock-eyed and will require shimming one side of the wing saddle, but that's no big deal. BTW, the book says the wing bolts are 5x40mm. The blind nuts which are already installed are 4mm, and 4x35mm bolts are provided; and they're not long enough. Fortunately, I had some 4x45mm bolts handy- that's what you need. And use the biggest washers you can under the heads; the "hardwood" block they tighten against is about the consistency of soft basswood.

So, stay tuned. I guess this will be a good model, but I'm rather neutral about it right now...[&o]

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