Dr Kiwi
11-13-2002, 05:52 PM
Since I'm on a roll here, permit me to continue with the latest of my building projects.
Building the Todd's Models Wing-E
This is a well-produced kit which was very straight-forward to build. All the laser-cut parts fitted precisely and the instructions provided with the kit (and from the web-site - http://www.toddsmodels.com) were generally excellent.
Minor modifications:
I did have to devise a hatch securing mechanism, since nowhere in the instructions could I find how it was supposed to be done. I glued a piece of 1/64" ply to the underside of the front edge of the hatch to locate it, and a small piece of 1/64" ply on the top to strengthen the hatch for the hold-down screw. Under the fuselage top sheeting at the rear of the hatch opening I glued a small tab of 1/32" ply - the hold down screw was anchored into this (see photo). I used SR Batteries Gapless hinge tape instead of the Fast 'n E-Z type CA hinge material supplied (cutting hinge slots in 1/16" thick trailing edges is no fun). I made a padded box for the receiver, from GWS receiver packing foam on a 1/64" ply base, and velcroed it in place.
Equipment used:
Completed airframe, covered in transparent SoLite: 72g.
GWS IPS-DX-1XC 4.14:1 [= EPU4 (S1)], with heatsink and 7x5 APC prop: 36g.
GWS R4-P receiver (protected), with Micro Z-72 antenna: 8g.
2 GWS Pico BB servos: 12 g.
GWS V-tail mixer: 3g.
FMA mini-5 ESC: 5g.
Flat 7-cell 370mAh NiMH battery: 56g.
RTF weight: 192g (6.75oz).
My only bones of contention with this kit is that the recommended weight of 163g-178g (5.75-6.25oz) seems unrealistically low, and, as with the Herr StarLite, I wonder how one could remove as much as a full ounce (28.4g) from this airplane!
Here is the basic frame.
Building the Todd's Models Wing-E
This is a well-produced kit which was very straight-forward to build. All the laser-cut parts fitted precisely and the instructions provided with the kit (and from the web-site - http://www.toddsmodels.com) were generally excellent.
Minor modifications:
I did have to devise a hatch securing mechanism, since nowhere in the instructions could I find how it was supposed to be done. I glued a piece of 1/64" ply to the underside of the front edge of the hatch to locate it, and a small piece of 1/64" ply on the top to strengthen the hatch for the hold-down screw. Under the fuselage top sheeting at the rear of the hatch opening I glued a small tab of 1/32" ply - the hold down screw was anchored into this (see photo). I used SR Batteries Gapless hinge tape instead of the Fast 'n E-Z type CA hinge material supplied (cutting hinge slots in 1/16" thick trailing edges is no fun). I made a padded box for the receiver, from GWS receiver packing foam on a 1/64" ply base, and velcroed it in place.
Equipment used:
Completed airframe, covered in transparent SoLite: 72g.
GWS IPS-DX-1XC 4.14:1 [= EPU4 (S1)], with heatsink and 7x5 APC prop: 36g.
GWS R4-P receiver (protected), with Micro Z-72 antenna: 8g.
2 GWS Pico BB servos: 12 g.
GWS V-tail mixer: 3g.
FMA mini-5 ESC: 5g.
Flat 7-cell 370mAh NiMH battery: 56g.
RTF weight: 192g (6.75oz).
My only bones of contention with this kit is that the recommended weight of 163g-178g (5.75-6.25oz) seems unrealistically low, and, as with the Herr StarLite, I wonder how one could remove as much as a full ounce (28.4g) from this airplane!
Here is the basic frame.