RE: Show us your Beaver!
Hey Paul,
I read one can paint over plastic mylar coverings if it is scuffed up real good. I never tried that and don't know how well it will hold up. I chose just to recover the wings to change color and so I could install blind nuts in the wings for the strut attach points and wing tube. I didn't much care for thier mounting methods (small screw into soft balsa as shown in the instructions.)
As far as the landing gear, I think one can use the wire gear and make up some more scale looking fairings over them. I'm only using mine for a few test flights until I get it all dialed in and then permanently installing the floats on it.
I plan on using the servo mounts depending on how it balances out and making up my own push rods.
I would beef up the tail area where the stabilizer mounts to the fuse and the fuselage to the firewall. (You can twist the firewall the way it comes out of the box.) As far as beefing up the fuse between the tail and wing, I don't think is necessary. It's not meant to be an aerobatic airplane.
Check to make sure the formers or secure. On mine they were hot glued in and some were loose right out of the box.
1/2" gap? Mine is about 3/16"on the elevators to fuse and I did add an 1/8" to the flap ends to close up the gap to the fuse.
Overall I think it's a nice plane. It's just that some of the hardware and mounting methods need to be improved and or modified along with the instructions.