I just began building the Proctor Mini Antic Biplane about a week ago and thought it would be fun to share my build with the community and solicit ideas when needed. My father in-law gave me this kit (circa ~mid 80s I think) a few years ago and I've been anxious to begin the build, especially since I've heard so many great things about the Proctor kits and the Antic's flight qualities. The Antic is available in a few different sizes and styles, but the kit I have is the 40 size biplane. If you would like more information on the Antic here's a link to Proctor's website: http://www.proctor-enterprises.com/p...e/ant_bipe.htm

This Antic will be powered by the E-Flite Power 46 brushless outrunner so I will be doing a glow to electric conversion. I'll be using a proven electric setup so I'm not too concerned about that right now and am instead focusing on the build. The one nice thing about the electric power system is that I can create a more scale looking front end. The typical (non-cowled) way for mounting a glow engine on an Antic leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion, so by being able to fabricate a more scale front end is ideal and has given me a lot of ideas.

I love the looks of the Curtis Jenny and since the Antic is not a scale model, I will be taking liberty to do a few modifications to make the Antic look more like a Jenny. I'll discuss my planned modification in more detail in a later post, but here are some ideas going around in my head:
1. Addition of a Jenny style cowl - Another modeler that goes by steve crewdog posted a great thread on his e-conversion of an Antic Mono plane and recreated a Jenny looking front end. I'll be doing something very similar and have already ordered the dummy engine kit that Proctor produces for their engine. Here's a link to Steve's build thread: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...83#post8544597
2. Turtle deck - I'll be making the top of the cowl 'domed' like it is in the Jenny, and thought that it would look best to continue this 'dome' by adding a turtle deck that tapers to the vertical fin. The Antic normally has an open fuse at the tail, so I'm not sure if by adding a turtle deck I'll want to keep it open. I'm build as if I am keeping it open (i.e. I'm staining the wood) so I can make a decision further down the road.
3. Clipped bottom wing - The wing has a nice stager, like the Jenny, but I'm considering clipping the bottom wing by two ribs on either side. This will make the wingspan on the lower wing slightly smaller than the wingspan on the top wing. The Jenny has a pretty significant difference in top/bottom wingspan, but I think that by clipping the wing by just two or three ribs on either side will give the Antic a more graceful look.
4. Mod of tail surfaces - Here's where I'm really going out on a limb... With the mods described above, the plane is really starting to resemble a Jenny rather than the Eindecker style the Antic normally captures. To complete this transformation all I would need to do is redesign the tail surfaces to look more like a Jenny. I found some plans online that I can size and build to if I decide to go this route.

I'll discuss the mods as they come up, on to the build...

Steve