RE: top flite p-51 giant scale build
Flite metal is easy to apply and moves along pretty quickly but obviously takes longer than monokote or fiberglass and paint. It's definitely a learn as you go procedure and then I learned a few new things after flying it as well. My plane flies on a moki 2.1 and fuel gets under the flitemetal pretty easily and the glue doesn't stand up at all. Any surface that will get fuel residue on it will be subject to peeling back. I've tried to seal seams with thin CA and I've also sprayed areas of the plane with flat clear lusterkote with some success. I personally wouldn't use flite metal with a scale exhaust system and a glow engine. That residue going across the entire side of the plane could add up to a lot of covering repairs. My p-51 weights 24.5 lbs with a full pilot, mcdaniel glow driver and full cockpit and wheel wells with working inner doors. I don't feel that flitemetal adds that much weight. The topflite kit can do with a lot of lightning holes,(especially in the tail area) and the sheeting can be sanded down before and after it's installed to save quite a bit of weight if you're going to glass it anyway. Jim