Well the UPS guy dropped off my first kit yesterday, a 4*40 with all the peices and parts to complete it. I have a Magnum .52 for power and will only do some slight modifications (open cockpit, maybe remove a bay from the wings). I'm going to try and post pics of my progress but it may be a bit sporadic as I only have a little time after work and have a 3 month old to take care of as well.

I opened the box and dug through everything, not a formal inventory yet, and flipped through the instructions. It's pretty intimidating but I think I can do it. The part I'm most afraid of, of course, is the covering but I have some time to work that out. I'm going to Home Depot tonight to get a ceiling tile for a building surface and some wax paper to go over the plans. Question 1: Do you just fold the plans over to the part you are working on or cut them out? I know you have to cut out a part for the left wing.

I'll post pics of the building area when I can, hopefully tonight.

I prefer to cut them. Folding them makes creases

Also it depends on what you want to do with the plan after you build your kit. I prefer to preserve the plan in case I want to build another (or make repairs) in the future. You can either get the plan copied or trace the parts off the plan onto another surface - I use carbon paper and poster board. Also, if you trace all your wood parts onto a sheet you can save that as a cut sheet for future 4*s. This may seem like a great deal of work, but years from now you'll be happy you did this ... you never know how many kits will be around in the near future.

Anyway, that's another option for you.

-MA

Cut them out.
If you fold you offer the opportunity to make the building surface of the board uneven.
I tried folding ONE TIME. Never again!
Fold only if you want a crooked plane.
When the plane is completed you can tape the plans back together again.
Ron

If you fold and then drop some glue on the plan, they are stuck together now. Ruined.

Even with wax paper on top of your plans, glue can soak through. Ruined plans. []

I wouldn't cut my plans up either. Never have.

Let the excess hang over the side of the bench.

Building a kit may seem daunting.

But remember this...

At any given time, you are glueing one piece of wood to one other piece of wood.

If you keep that in the back of your head when you'll looking through the instructions.. you'll be OK. And you'll have a plane before you know it.

Another thing.....

This isn't the space shuttle. It's a small wooden rc airplane. Obviously you want to build your plane to the very best of your abilities, build it as straight as you can... and you'll be fine.

If I recall, the Four Star plan actually requires you to cut and splice part of it in order to get the full length on the board (I could be wrong). I know that I cut up my original Four Star plans. It was my first build. On every build since, I have had a copy made prior to starting the kit, and have saved the original plans. I also save all of the scrap sheets after punching out the parts. I keep it all in the original box, along with the manual, in case I ever have to do major repairs in the future.

Good luck. The Four Star is a really easy build and a great flying plane. The .52 four stroke is a great choice.

Thanks for the replies. I may take the plans to Kinkos or somewhere and have a copy made, that sounds like a good idea. Hopefully I can start at least with the inventory tonight and start building ASAP!

You can usually get the plans copied at Kinko's or Staples for about $10 a sheet. One bit of advice that comes up here is that you should be sure to check the accuracy of the scale on the copy before you pay for it. Copiers can tend to be a bit off, and the operator should be able to adjust it until it is close to perfect.

Good luck

Well I got 2 ceiling tiles for 47 cents each... kind of worked a deal in a way. Here is a pic of the bench, ready for construction to begin.

Stick a 4 foot level on that building board and make sure it's positively dead

FLAT

A FLAT board is your BEST tool in building kits. Flat boards make straight wings and straight fuselages. Warped boards make planes that fly crooked.

Use LONG sanding blocks. A small hand held palm sander does nothing but sand waves and warps in your model. My favorite sanding block is a piece of MFB countertop 3/4" thick and 4"x11" Wrap a piece of sandpaper around it and hold it on with your hand. This long sanding block makes nice finishes on sheeted wings and tails.

Also the Great Planes easy touch sanders work great and come in 3 or 4 different sizes:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXK317

I've already made sure the surface is level and flat. Don't know how I got lucky that it needed no adjustment.

I have 2 of the 11" GP sanding blocks and longer pieces of 2x4 if needed in standby.

Just have to go get a copy of the plans made tomorrow morning and should be ready to start. I'm starting to get excited.

I flew my 4 star with a Fox .50. It was a wonderful airplane. Two suggestions. First, mount the engine as low on the firewall as possible to get the car on the same level as the fuel tank for a more consistent fuel draw. and second put some triangle stock around the landing gear mount. Not that my landings were the smoothest in the world but I managed to skim the gear off of a 4 star 40 and a 4 star 60. It is a great everyday flier and you should have a lot of fun with it.

Well I've inventoried and building has begun. Here are pics of the first 3 ribs in place. I lightly sanded the notches left on the wood from the cutting and fit them before gluing making sure they were flat on the board and in contact with the main spar. I'm just using a drop of glue (titebond), spreading it with a small scrap of balsa and then putting the pieces together. then spreading the glue along the outside of the joint using the same scrap of wood. Is this acceptable? Any other methods?

You're doing just fine... Maybe a little too much glue on the one joint I can see, where the rib is connecting to the trailing edge...

A brush would probably be better to spread the glue as opposed to a scrap of balsa. Why? The brush will "hold" glue better.


But....

You're missing the lower rear spar...


I also believe you should have also laid down some sheeting on the bottom of the wing, near the center (left side of your pictures) between the spars...

Yep, sure was. Just went out and slid it in place and glued the 3 ribs to it. It does not mention the rear spar in the instructions so I guess my lesson here is read the instructions but also pay close attention to what's on the plans.

You're also missing the "1/16" center sheeting top and bottom"

You need to put those down, glue the edges to the spars as needed. Then You put the W-1 ribs on top of them....

The instructions say when I mount the W-1 ribs to place a piece of scrap 1/16" under them to make room for the sheeting later.

OK.. If that's what the instructions say.. cool.. As long as you're aware of it.. you're good...

If I may suggest a building tip...

I too bought a big bottle of Tightbond. But it can be unwieldly to work with. So I bought the smallest bottle of glue I could find. Like 1 or 2 oz bottle. You know the ones that you'd buy a kid..... Then I'd refill it from the big bottle as needed.


Oh.. here are the brushes I speak of..

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXK361&P=ML

Tightbond, Elmers wood glue.. They'll wash out of these brushes with water. (as long as the glue hasn't dried.) Something like this will help you....

The larger bottle hasn't been a problem so far, but we'll see how that holds out over the long haul. I may run to Hobby Lobby later and get some brushes like that.

Here are the rest of the wing ribs in place and glued (with the rear spar in place now). You can see the stick I've been using to spread the glue in the first pic.

Are these kits laser cut now? Ribs look like they are. When I built mine about 12yrs. ago, they were not.

The 4 Star 40 & 60 as well as the LT40 are laser cut

Well I got up to the step where you install the top main spar but have to call it a day. Hopefully I'll get to do a little more tomorrow.

What are those "notches" or lines on the trailing edge sheeting running perp to the trailing edge. The one I build about year did not have that.. .are they some sort of alignment tab? By the way.. you will LOVE This plane once you get her in the air!
Mike