I know from motorcycle painting, fenders and such, ABS does not take standard paint very well. Either the paint gets to hard and breaks away or a softer flexible paint can dissolve the plastic. A bridge primer, designed for ABS, is what I would think would be best.
Of course you could use the ABS as a mold and make a glass one.

VJ,

I glued the headrest onto the fiberglass and then primered with Glass Kote epoxy primer and had no problems what so ever. I think your glue will bond to the fiberglass better than to the primer. Oh yeh, sand your ABS with some light sandpaper before primer. My 2 cents.

Don

Don, thanks for your input. Since I am using the same type of primer (Klass Kote) you have dispersed my fears of the plastic disolving from the primer.

Headrest is now in place. More cowl work to do next.

Great thread and I'm following it w/ interest. Where'd you get that builders' stand you're using? I'd really like to have one of those.
You and Jaybird stay indoors, warm and dry!
Al

Welcome to the threadAl. The stand that I've been using is made by Precision Aero, it's called the "Ultimate Flight Stand"here's the link: http://www.precision-aero.com/
Comes assembled however with no finish applied.

I have to admit, I really like this plane, and have oogled over the few for sale on RCU and Ebay. What is keeping my from the final purchase is all of that ABS. I never seem to have good luck with the ABS stuff. Does the real plane have a lip where the headrest is mounted, or do you have to blend it into the fuse somehow? Just wondering. Looks great so far, thanks for the build thread, its been great viewing!

Dave

Dave don't sweat the ABS. There are six sheets, and you cut them out and sand to final size with some sandpaper. The lip that your talking about is already there as you can see from the photo of the cut out scoop. Getting it to fit is up to the builder.

Thanks, Vince.
Soon as I can raise them on the phone I'm gonna order one.
Al

Another snow storm came through last night. You can see what it left for all of us....I keep telling myself the days ARE getting longer!

Put the last of the plastic pieces on the cowl (this is the oil filler cap). All I have left on the cowlare the panel lines and of course rivets/boltswhich will all be done after the primer issprayed. I didn't put allthe bells and whistles onthe cowl that came in thekit as the Ryan that I amcopying does not havethem.

Only 79 days until springI know those NH winters though, they can be long.HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!

Always the optimist, that's good Raptureboy...

Been trying to keep busy since I am in a holding pattern on the paint. I cut out and fitted the dorsal fin piece. This piece has not been epoxied into place as I will have to cover the fin first with Solartex, but you still can get a good idea of how it will appear once installed. I also finished the axle on the tail wheel.

Vinnie, I guess I am going flying tomorrow, are you?

I can, but need to put skis on the Tiger...that is if this wind stops howling.

I have some aluminum ones if you want to borrow some.

I have several pairs that I can use. Thanks anyway!</p>

Hey, this isn't Ryan related.  Come on, back on topic! 

Looking good VJ!  Can't wait to see the paint go on!</p>

VJ,

N 48587 (1941 ST-M converted) does not have the mini dorsal fin (pic 1109). It is always good to check references. The Paul Matt drawing of NC 14985 (1936) does show it. Wind Canyon Books has the ST-A drawings in 1/24 scale (1/2" = 1") on 2 - 18" x 24" sheets available (rolled in a Tube additional cost). http://www.windcanyonbooks.com/books.php?pid=17&cat=1 They also have all of Paul Matts drawings on 4 CDs ($20/CD) or all 4 CDs on 1 DVD for $50.

John the plane that I have been trying to replicate isthe 1937 Ryan ST-A Special N17368 which does have the dorsal fin. Ryan N48587 is close in appearance which is why your CD has been soimportant for me to reference.

78 days till spring!

VJ,

Other differences I noted in a quick look at the photos of N 17368.

It appears to have the original Menasco C-4 Four cylinder 125 hp engine (4 exhaust Stacks vs 6 on the Ranger in N 48587)

Cowl may be slightly shorter due to engine (extra stacks may cause the illusion).

No starboard side cowl air scoop and the Top Cowl scoops may be slightly lower on N 17368. (Only noticeable on direct comparison of photos or planes)

Pitot tube appears to be missing on N 17368.

There are no strut fairings covering the strut ends.

Minor details for sure, makes your job a bit easier (less detail to add).

I would like to see a Fly In of Ryan STs all together at one place like the Wacos and Mustangs have.

Otherr differences between the two is that N48587doesn't haveanyfin fairings as well as the already noted dorsal fin.The way the flying wires are attatched to the fuse has a different type of bracket. I too would love to see a fly-in for Ryans,who knows maybe it will happen...

And speaking of fin flaring, that's exactly what I've been fitting on my Ryan. Looks harmless enough, but it took me a bit of time to get the fit where you see it here. Again it can't be installed along with the dorsal fin beacuse I want to get theprimer down first and the fin covered.

Looks really good VJ,
You will also want to get all your panel line details down before applying the fairings.
Later!!
Anthony

Happy New Year everyone...

I'm going to go and buy some Acetone today so I can assemble the wheel pants and spats. The acetone will soften the ABS plastic and weld them together. I'm running out of things to do waiting for the paint to arrive.

Happy New Year as well!

Well, it's mighty windy and cold today so my first flight of the year will have to wait until next weekend. Spent some more time with the landing gear on this almost completed kit build. I bent up some support braces and drilled the blocks already under the wings for anchor points. Both wheel axles are now about 5/8" in front of the leading edge rather than behind. The wheel pants aren't mounted quite the same way on both landing gear legs so one sits about 1/4" ahead of the other, but the axles are in-line. This has been quite a struggle but the plans helped a lot to give me some reference dimensions as the parts and assemblies were out of position. Since the landing gear wire has to thread up through the wheel pants the way this one was built I made the brace a clamp on assembly. I'm using small steel cable clamps to secure it the gear wire. I'll have to test it to see if it will hold up.

I have verified that at 2 degrees positive incidence at the wing the stabilizer is 0 degrees and the motor shaft is 0 degrees (pretty close anyway). I used a lazer level to check the alignmemt of the end of the motor shaft, centerline of the firewall and vertical stabilizer and that is in good shape as well. The next step will be to figure out the aileron and flap servo mounting and connection as well as the rest of the radio gear. Fuel tank is still not installed either.

There is a club meeting tonight that I hope to attend and maybe get some ideas.

Stay warm!

Jaybird.