Top rc full composite 89" blondie p-51d
12-16-2017, 11:30 PM
#176
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Location: Bradenton Florida
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Can someone tell me the length of the main gear door rods without the ball ends ? I also need to replace the control horns on the main gear doors. Any ideas on the size & where I can purchase them ?
Thanks
Paul
Thanks
Paul
Last edited by PVS41960; 12-16-2017 at 11:34 PM.
03-01-2018, 09:59 AM
#178
My Feedback: (41)
Guys as many of you know these planes are brought in exclusively to the North American market thru two of my companies.
Caimandist.com and Gator-RC.com
The best place to buy the planes is thru Caiman Distribution a jointly owned company between myself and Robart Mfg.
Tower Hobbies was at one time selling the 3 Warbirds thru us on their site and to their dealer network Great Planes.
They still have the listings up but they will not be selling planes for us in the future as you are surely aware of the reasons. If you may have been waiting for Tower to get new stock I promise you it will not happen.
All I can say is ouch. And trust me I am not alone. Their issues have hurt a lot of good companies. For the people who work there, I am very grateful for the relationships we formed. They really have fantastic employees.
I have some dealers situated in various locations that are stocking and selling for us.
The best bet if you want one is to contact me. I have a pretty good inventory with next day shipping in most cases.
Our array of planes can be seen at Top RC Model USA - RC Scale Warbirds, Jets - Top RC Model USA - Scale RC Warbirds and Jets
Links to us exist on these sites.
To all that have tried our product line a big thank you for your support.
For those considering a purchase, we are a strong company and I can help you.
We sell all the accessories needed and a package deal is possible.
Thanks and have a nice day.
Mike Mueller
Gator-RC, Caiman Distribution, and F3A Unlimited.
800 803 3658
Caimandist.com and Gator-RC.com
The best place to buy the planes is thru Caiman Distribution a jointly owned company between myself and Robart Mfg.
Tower Hobbies was at one time selling the 3 Warbirds thru us on their site and to their dealer network Great Planes.
They still have the listings up but they will not be selling planes for us in the future as you are surely aware of the reasons. If you may have been waiting for Tower to get new stock I promise you it will not happen.
All I can say is ouch. And trust me I am not alone. Their issues have hurt a lot of good companies. For the people who work there, I am very grateful for the relationships we formed. They really have fantastic employees.
I have some dealers situated in various locations that are stocking and selling for us.
The best bet if you want one is to contact me. I have a pretty good inventory with next day shipping in most cases.
Our array of planes can be seen at Top RC Model USA - RC Scale Warbirds, Jets - Top RC Model USA - Scale RC Warbirds and Jets
Links to us exist on these sites.
To all that have tried our product line a big thank you for your support.
For those considering a purchase, we are a strong company and I can help you.
We sell all the accessories needed and a package deal is possible.
Thanks and have a nice day.
Mike Mueller
Gator-RC, Caiman Distribution, and F3A Unlimited.
800 803 3658
03-02-2018, 06:07 AM
#179
I have personally communicated with Mike about some parts I have needed for my Toprc P51, and I can tell you that his customer service is outstanding, and look forward to more purchases from him in the future. Buy with confidence guys! Thanks again Mike!
04-21-2018, 01:07 AM
#185
Aros,
I am in finishing stage of my 51. Although I cant give a flight report yet I can give a building report. Overall, I have been very impressed with the construction and quality of this plane. Being all composite, the mfg was able and did put significant detail into it. The panel lines and rivets are off the chart for an arf. Everything has fit nicely with no surprises. I chose the Top RC retracts vs the robart. Both are electric which isn't my first choice but it is what it is. Obliviously I can't comment on which will be more reliable (hopefully either would be) but I can attest that the TOP RC appear to be much more beefy than the robarts. The TOP RC also come packaged with some nice aluminum spoke wheels. The whole canopy/front top can be removed with a latch so it is nice you can get to anything you want without having to pull the wings off. I put a DLE 61 with jtec slim exhaust and all fits inside of cowl except a small opening on bottom for spark plug.
Now with that said, I am not sure I could call this a winter project as so much has already been done at mfg. I just don't want you think this will be a time consuming build. It builds fast but of course everyone has their own pace. It even comes with an already painted cockpit.
If you decide to get it, I would recommend using thinker pull pull wire for rudder and tail wheel then what comes with it. I was pulling mine to tighten before crimping and it actually snapped in half. The instructions are typically for an overseas arf but really I haven't referred to them much since most assembly is self explanatory.
The one major change I did do was shoot an automotive clear coat on it before assembling. It comes in a dull finish which is certainly more "scale" of the real one but I like my planes to "pop" and this was an easy way to do it.
Hope this helps
Mike
I am in finishing stage of my 51. Although I cant give a flight report yet I can give a building report. Overall, I have been very impressed with the construction and quality of this plane. Being all composite, the mfg was able and did put significant detail into it. The panel lines and rivets are off the chart for an arf. Everything has fit nicely with no surprises. I chose the Top RC retracts vs the robart. Both are electric which isn't my first choice but it is what it is. Obliviously I can't comment on which will be more reliable (hopefully either would be) but I can attest that the TOP RC appear to be much more beefy than the robarts. The TOP RC also come packaged with some nice aluminum spoke wheels. The whole canopy/front top can be removed with a latch so it is nice you can get to anything you want without having to pull the wings off. I put a DLE 61 with jtec slim exhaust and all fits inside of cowl except a small opening on bottom for spark plug.
Now with that said, I am not sure I could call this a winter project as so much has already been done at mfg. I just don't want you think this will be a time consuming build. It builds fast but of course everyone has their own pace. It even comes with an already painted cockpit.
If you decide to get it, I would recommend using thinker pull pull wire for rudder and tail wheel then what comes with it. I was pulling mine to tighten before crimping and it actually snapped in half. The instructions are typically for an overseas arf but really I haven't referred to them much since most assembly is self explanatory.
The one major change I did do was shoot an automotive clear coat on it before assembling. It comes in a dull finish which is certainly more "scale" of the real one but I like my planes to "pop" and this was an easy way to do it.
Hope this helps
Mike
Thank you for the information! I did end up finding an ESM 85" Corsair which scratched that initial itch. However, this model has never been far from my wish list and it remains so today. Thank you for the insightful info, I hope you get this message.
04-26-2018, 09:25 PM
#186
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Fullerton, CA
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mups53 - I just ordered the P51-D (Blondie) from Caiman Distro (on Thu) but was unable to order the required spinner. Do you know when that will be instock?
Thanks for the call today (Friday morning). If this is the kind of support I can expect - I am totally blown away.
Thanks for the call today (Friday morning). If this is the kind of support I can expect - I am totally blown away.
Last edited by heirmeistr; 04-27-2018 at 09:00 PM. Reason: Impressed
04-27-2018, 09:10 PM
#187
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I am sure I will have many questions on the build once my plane arrives but for now I have a paint question.
I am thinking about adding invasion stripes to my model and possibly a gloss or semi-gloss coat to the plane to make the grey-silver paint look more like silver. Can anyone recommend a brand of paint to use that won't hurt the product finish and is fuel proof?
I am thinking about adding invasion stripes to my model and possibly a gloss or semi-gloss coat to the plane to make the grey-silver paint look more like silver. Can anyone recommend a brand of paint to use that won't hurt the product finish and is fuel proof?
05-10-2018, 08:31 PM
#188
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I received my Blondie! I was surprised to see that the red spinner did not match the red on the nose and rudder of the plane. I will need to fix that. First thing I did was to improve on the machine guns by adding 5/16" thick walled aluminum tubing. I think it looks much better now.
06-29-2018, 08:52 PM
#190
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I took a look at installing my exhaust stacks and I seem to have quite a gap inside the cowl between the wood mounting strip and the cowl itself. Did others have this same problem? Did everyone else just enlarge the manifold holes to get a better fit?
08-02-2018, 04:17 PM
#192
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Any chance someone is willing to post pictures of their equipment placement?
I'm not sure where to place the throttle servo and the servo for the UP8 air retract valve.
I plan on installing a DLE-55RA, and Sierra Giant air retracts . I would like to see what others have done. Thank you
I'm not sure where to place the throttle servo and the servo for the UP8 air retract valve.
I plan on installing a DLE-55RA, and Sierra Giant air retracts . I would like to see what others have done. Thank you
Last edited by heirmeistr; 08-03-2018 at 10:58 AM. Reason: better description of help needed
09-06-2018, 03:49 PM
#193
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Below are pictures of some of the mods I have made to my plane. I felt adding balsa to the back of the headrest would help keep it from vibrating too bad. When I went to tie my pilot to the seat back, it popped right off. So I added balsa to that as well so I could epoxy the seat back to the seat frame. Sure don't want the pilot coming loose in flight. Not pictured are the Sierra Giant Retracts I purchased or the nomenclature I purchased from Callie graphics.
I didn't like the stock red the plane comes in so in the one picture you can see the red I chose is much brighter and I feel more correct. One picture shows the fuselage ready for its clear coat.
1/4" tubing for machine guns
Dry wall sandpaper for the belly scoop
Bottom wing invasion stripes
Balsa added to headrest
Balsa added to seat back
I didn't like the stock red the plane comes in so in the one picture you can see the red I chose is much brighter and I feel more correct. One picture shows the fuselage ready for its clear coat.
1/4" tubing for machine guns
Dry wall sandpaper for the belly scoop
Bottom wing invasion stripes
Balsa added to headrest
Balsa added to seat back
02-25-2024, 07:06 AM
#194
Junior Member
Dear all,
I've finally found some time to unpack my Gunfighter and get started with it. Now the questions start to pop-up. Apparently the previous versions of the model had flap hinges hidden between the wing and the middle of the flap, as far as I can tell from previousely posted images. Mine however has them exposed on the outside i.e. the bottom. I wonder what happened that they went ahead and changed that.
I've finally found some time to unpack my Gunfighter and get started with it. Now the questions start to pop-up. Apparently the previous versions of the model had flap hinges hidden between the wing and the middle of the flap, as far as I can tell from previousely posted images. Mine however has them exposed on the outside i.e. the bottom. I wonder what happened that they went ahead and changed that.
