Hey Dean,

Well I'm back and now ready to get back on the V3. But here is one photo for my interuption from building.

Lawrence

PS: STAY FOCUSED

My uneducated guess is that this is the location he preferred for the servo and since it's sitting on the floor he had to make something to mount the servo to.
Eddie

Hi Jason,

All of your assumptions are correct. The main function of the first coat of primer in this application is to fill pin holes, help fill surface defects, fill the weave and to help create plate flatness. It also gives the finisher another look at the surface of the plane and gives another opportunity to continue block sanding.

for a lot of people this method is way over kill. I could of easily sanded the primer to a smooth and even base and been ready to shoot color basecoats - and for a lot of guys that would of been all that is needed and that would be fine.

The finish that I am trying to achieve will have and undistorted mirror like reflection off the gloss of the surface. go back a couple of pages and look at my examples of other finishes that I did. It's about that plate flatness, something that most paint jobs don't have. For most it's way over kill.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6882401 - examples of ultimate plate flatness on a wood plane

It's also a huge amount amount of time spent going to this extreme, again for the average builder maybe not worth it. I have been told that you could go straight to a white base coat at this step. But since i am so light I am going to shoot another coat of primer reduced to 50% and then finish sand it to a even coat of primer. I haven't weighed where I am at yet but I bet I haven't added 14 grams yet as I sanded almost all of the primer off.

the other reason is that I am planning to use multiple colors in my scheme and a 2 -stage clear...

I guess that is the reason for my obsession...... an attempt at perfection

I am just crazy like that - ask Mike !!!

Hi Lawrence !

Dude, you bringing any of that swordfish back home, man I am hungry....

I know you guys had a good time....

later, Dean

Here is a link to the Red VF3 I did last summer

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=5919221

total removal of the first coat of primer and the resulting finish. It's a lot of elbow grease and sweet, and maybe not for everybody....

I did spray a second coat of primer on the red dragon and I am leaning toward the same on this plane. the second coat of primer just helps build the base better if sanded properly.

Looking back at that old thread - what is awesome is the gloss I get without buffing from my sata minijet. that glossy shine is without buffing. I took that picture about 10 mins after it kicked.....

dang that plane was pretty

RIP

I don't know if my eyes are lpaying tricks on me or know or did I do something wrong on the canopy on the V3 the canopy frount looks way to high. or is it a reason for it before I go to far, The pic's are on Page 9, post 210 4 th piture.measure 10 times,cut once.

Wendell...this again goes back to that particular kit that you have being a prototype that someone else had, and knew about things like this. After this long it's hard for me to remember everything, but if you're referring to the piece that sits on top of F2....are there lines drawn on the back on the raw wood in sharpie? Those are cut lines. The original piece there was 1/4" too tall. So if you didn't cut it, then you're 1/4" too tall. if it's already glued you need to cut it loose and adjust it or it won't work.

-Mike

Mine is perfect Mike, I was refering to the pitures on page 9, I just didn't read feather on. So far mine is coming along fine. Fuse is complete. Working on the canopy now,

Check it anyway

Nope that pic is correct. That part is substantially taller than the V2 however. But if you have one of those first 4 parts, it may be 1/4" too tall. I may have cut it before I gave it to Cass. In which case, yep it's just your eyes that's the way it's supposed to be.

-Mike

When I built the V2 it required a 3/8 motor mount spacer to be used with the O.S. 1.40. On the V3 I am using the OS 1.60 with the AR80 mount which is a universal mount. What size spacer is needed for this setup if any,or will this be a trial an aira type deal. I know someone out there has this setup, so how about your trials an I want have no eara's Plus I came up with a removeable servo mount for the Elevator.

Wendell, my v3 with AR80 and os160 did not require any spacer and I have about 1/16 inch gap between fuse and spinner.

Thats what I wanted to know, plus Where did you get your nose ring, Centeral hobbies don't have them no more or did you make it. I read some where it can be made with fuel line, oh yea some one at Centeral hobbies sais I could make one useing fuel line an the material that is used for PC boards

I use Light ply and fuel tubing, there is someone out there machining alum. nose rings but not sure who, maybe someone can chime in about that. I find the lite ply and fuel tubing nose rings I make quite functional and reliable, I glue the tubing to the ply with rubberized CA {ugly but it works}

[quotethere is someone out there machining alum. nose rings but not sure who, maybe someone can chime in about that.][/quote]
[email protected] ----in Canada.

A friend here has one , never used one myself.

Mike or someone, On the landing gear which way,sloop to the rear or to the front on the FAI large?

Wendell,

The sweep goes to the rear of the airplane.

Is a nose ring nesseray, With my OS 140 I know it had to have one because only 2 bolts were used to hold engine in place along with the nose ring, BUT with the 1.60 all 4 lugs are used with the unierversal mount,soft mount from Centreal Hobbies,with that said is the nose ring nessery for a weekend flyer?

YES!!!!

It will walk all over the place without it. Trust me, find a nose ring.....or just get YS

-Mike

Hey Dean,

I know those suprise rains are rough, but I'm sure we all would like to see some more posts on your thread.

Lawrence

Hi All,

Here is where I am at with the base.

I put up a small gallery of work over the last two weeks, i've attached a few too. here http://dragonfirecustoms.com/dps

After block sanding the first coat of rolled-on k-36, almost completely off using 150 grit.

I sprayed on a nice coat of 50% reduced k-36 using my new primer gun. It was actually 3 good wet coats of the reduced k36. I shot the primer last Saturday and spent about 4 hours on the following sunday blocking that with 220 grit.

You want to take as much off as possible with the 220 grit while maintaining thin coverage.

You can see how nice the large block works to create "plate flatness" Check this link - http://dragonfirecustoms.com/dps/pages/DSC_7542.htm - you can see the flatness in the side of the fuse and the edges of the turtles decks along the length of the fuse. That edge helps create that flatness that looks so cool. It''s just time consuming and you only sand the plane with the block, never touch the plane with a piece of sandpaper in you hand.

What I did was sand the spayed primer wit h220 grit till I started sanding through some high spots. Try to sand consistently over the largest area possible. And look for balsa color to come up though the primer. I really enjoy sanding the k-36, 220 cuts it really nice. You can almost carve the primer base with the sanding block and create defined edges.

t's okay to lightly sand thru some high spots as the next step I do is go back and using a small sprayer, to basically airbrush reduced primer over the thin areas - just enough to get an even and thin coat of k-36 with fairly even coverage...

then sand to 400 grit wet or dry - you could go to 600 but it's not really needed...

We have had two cold fronts come through during the last two weeks, with any luck I maybe able to finish my primer base this weekend and I'll be shooting color next week. I may actually have a good amount of time to get things done next week. ( I hope I didn't just jinx myself )

So I hope to be ready to shot some color real soon !!!

cheers all !

Dean

I actually cheated when I did my Haya Ji, and fitted curved sides to alleviate the "Flat plate" issue, which can sometimes look concave to the eye.

Just a little trick I've learned from Boat building for 10 years, also a pre stressed curved side is stronger, getting very close to a semi monocoque construction

Hi all,

I shot final primer today, the plane is ready for final sanding and color base.

I also did a practice panel of the tribal dragon that I am gong to do for the nose of the plane. Mostly just playing with colors and learning my new airbrush....

I'll be shooting color next week, all the sanding is done

cheers !

Anybody got any good Ideas on fueling setups. I am using a OS 1.60 with a Perry pump.Do I need to use bigger lines or standard one's, how about me using the easy-fueler, or using all three holes in the fuel stopper an one of them as a fueler. How about some pitures or advice.

G'day Mate,

Checkout the OS 1.60 cookbook on Mike Hester's support forum. It goes into detail about fuel lines etc.

Cheers
Jason.