ORIGINAL: Viktor D
David,
I would suggest that we start to figure out on a living sample :-)
could you post an image of the parts as you did it on the previous page and mark with a brush the parts you think should be milled. It would help me getting an overview what has to be done. We should also decide if the parts should be milled as they were in the Kato kits or ready to the final shape. It might be that milling the balsa blocs to the final shape is almost the same as to the shape of the blocks of the Kato kit! I have to figure it out - it depends on the shape. The other question is do we want it ?
What two kits are you working now, the same order as listed in post #3? As I would be interested in one electric version I would prefer the Curare or Magic to make the trials. They are of very simple construction.
(normally I fly gliders - and therefore I´m usually in the glider corner of rcg)
Once again - great thread!
Viktor,
sure thing. The two kits that I'm working on at the moment are indeed the Cosmos 20 (32 sized model) and the Curare 20 (25 sized model). As you mention, the Cosmos is somewhat more complex and has a few more custom blocks. For a starters, I'd say that yes, provided the blocks are reasonable in cost to produce, there is no reason to omit them from the kits. Part of the beauty of MK kits is in these custom balsa shapes.
In terms of milling them to final shape, I'd say mostly no. These parts are cut to the shape in the kits to facilitate the build process. The various parts need to interlock and bond at right angles and also help to ensure that the build is straight. Most of the final shaping occurs around the nose area and in the fuse to fin transition. Carving and sanding to final shape is not overly complex and provides material to produce a smooth surface for finishing. The other complexity in producing these parts to final shape is that, in the absence of feeding the CNC software a 3D part from a 3D render of the model, there is no way to extract the exact dimensions of the part.
In short, I see no great advantage in producing final shapes as opposed to reproducing kit shapes. Doing so also sounds more elaborate and costly.
I'll assemble some of the Cosmos blocks and post a picture to give you an idea of what's entailed. The various plane drawings I'm making of the parts would probably provide a better guide. The good news, is that these blocks are neither imperial nor metric, they are just milled balsa shapes that should fit into place equally well on an imperial wood model as in the metric version.
Cool. This project is going global!
David.