Official Freewing Twin 80mm/90mm A-10 Thunderbolt II Thread

[Christen Eagle 1]

Nice work on those pilots guys, I'll have to order myself one and have it ready for the A-10 when it finally gets released.

Jim

[Alpha]

Hi Mobywon, welcome to Hobby Squawk! As Aros said, we're getting close to announcing the pre-order. We'll know in about a week or so when we will plan to open it, and we'll let you guys know. It will be soon; we anticipate shipping within the month.

[Despotes]

Hi Mobywon, welcome to Hobby Squawk! As Aros said, we're getting close to announcing the pre-order. We'll know in about a week or so when we will plan to open it, and we'll let you guys know. It will be soon; we anticipate shipping within the month.

Shipping this month?!

[dkalwishky]

Hi Mobywon, welcome to Hobby Squawk! As Aros said, we're getting close to announcing the pre-order. We'll know in about a week or so when we will plan to open it, and we'll let you guys know. It will be soon; we anticipate shipping within the month.

Maybe I'm over excited but do you mean "we anticipate shipping within the month" as in February / March or within the month after the pre-order date is announced?

I'm really excited for this plane, guess that Tomcat is going to have to wait a little longer. :)

[Aros]

I believe Alpha meant launch the pre-sale within the month.

Sorry. :saywha

[Alpha]

I am happy to report after my testing that the 1/10 full body pilot from our friend Jet Mang at jethangar.com fits nicely into the Freewing 80mm A-10. I chopped off the boots, and sliced an appropriate amount under the instrument panel so his legs went all the way through, then dremeled off the pilot's butt to achieve the ride height I wanted. That's it!

Hog drivers have a high seat position and this figure is close enough to satisfy me. Note, the pilot figure I'm using is a Second, quality casting, which is why the resin is uneven inside the figure. Jet Mang's production pilots that he sends to customers are always First quality castings, inside and out. The detail on the figure itself is very crisp. In these photos I shot a quick gray and drab, and used black Sharpie for the visor, directly over the resin itself. I'll detail the figure and seal the visor with Future later. I don't have more than 30 minutes of free time each day when not working on work projects, so it's slow going.

I highly recommend anyone wanting a full body pilot in their Freewing 80mm A-10 to consider the pilot figure from jethangar.com. It is the best full body jet pilot figure I've found in this size. With a couple minutes of work, it fits into the airplane nicely, and the detail level really rewards someone with painting skills to up the scale factor of their A-10. Chris is in California and ships quickly. Any of us who've dealt with him and his father, a pioneer in our hobby, know their work speaks for itself.

[Alpha]

I believe Alpha meant launch the pre-sale within the month.

Sorry. :saywha

Correct. As I've mentioned before, we typically aim to begin the pre-order only after a new model's first shipment has actually departed Asia. That way we and our customers know it's on the way and the only things standing between us and the product is the ocean and Customs. And train schedules. Well, and acts of God and natural disasters. And dock worker strikes. ..the point is, at least it would have left Asia, which is usually the biggest hurdle.

[Alpha]

The Freewing 80mm MiG-21 and FlightLineRC F7F-3 Tigercat are recent examples of people personalizing their aircraft. As a developer, that is really, really, REALLY encouraging to see. The Freewing 80mm A-10 Warthog is intended to carry on this growing tradition of providing pilots with a base aircraft that is worthy of their time to detail and "scale out". The A-10's landing gear will take you anywhere, and the powerplant is proven to satisfy, so don't worry about needing to upgrade those. Instead, if you get an itchy modeling finger, there are many options available to take this A-10 up yet another notch above.

Here is an update as to where we stand on various add-ons.

Pilots:
Jethangar.com sells the best 1/10 Full Body jet figure I've found anywhere online that nearly drops into the A-10 with little effort. See my mini-review, above.

Ordnance:
Jethangar.com offers Scale Masters detail level TERs and ordnance for 1/10, at a price
Parkflyerplastics.com sells ordnance sets as well and I highly recommend Keith's work. I'm unsure which of his sets are 1/10 exactly, so check his dimensions listed.
For anyone making their own ordnance, or for example adding an additional rail onto the AGM-65 pylon, we recommend the Freewing MWS slot set to retain the ability to easily remove the component from the stock pylon. Same goes for Mobius cameras.

Decals:
I'm working directly with Callie to offer a range of A-10 decal sets that are perfectly sized to the Freewing aircraft. She and I are working on both livery sets, and a full set of accurate stencils/marking..

We plan to have "Remove Before Flight" vinyl tags AND intake covers for 1/10 scale, too. You heard it here, first.

Lights:
In addition to the stock DayBright LEDs (static wingtip, blinking dorsal, blinking tail, and single landing light), I'm working with a soon-to-be-revealed lighting supplier for ultra realistic lighting with correct flash sequences and other features.

Wheels:
The stock PNP wheels will be scale, instead of the spoked wheels shown in my prototype photos, so I don't anticipate there being a better source than what will already be on the model. The only caveat is if we use a scale nose wheel and tire for the still TBD scale nose strut, in which case it would be smaller than the stock PNP's wheel and tire.

Chocks:
Does anyone have interest in scale wheel chocks in 1/10, 1/7, and 1/12 scale? That would encompass most of our 80mm and 90mm jets.

Sound:
I need to check on this but as of this writing, I believe we do have at least two BrrrT soundfiles and a TF-34 soundfile being incorporated into the Mr.RCSound system, both v4.1 and ASPIRE.

Pow Pow Powder:
For liability's sake I'm not calling it a firing cannon. But my fingers are crossed for a functioning pneumatic powder emitter, in sync with the sound file referenced above.


Of course, there are many things we can do as modelers at home, without needing to buy anything fancy. With a few minutes of planning and less than five minutes of execution (not including painting), I rigged up a magnetic crew ladder to use when displaying the model.









I've also added rivets with a and begun to weather the model as well in ten different shades of grays, browns, and metallics, and painted on various inlets and ports and other marking that I don't have because the factory waterslide decal sheets weren't ready at the time. I'm excited to see what kind of personal touches each of you will add to your Hogs!

[xviper]

I'm a bit confused with all this talk about the pilot figure. Doesn't it come with a little guy in the seat? Or is it that everyone is not happy with it because it's not "scale"? No matter, I plan to eventually put one of these in the seat anyway, scale or no scale.

[Mike_Then]

<snip>

Wheels:
The stock PNP wheels will be scale, instead of the spoked wheels shown in my prototype photos, so I don't anticipate there being a better source than what will already be on the model. The only caveat is if we use a scale nose wheel and tire for the still TBD scale nose strut, in which case it would be smaller than the stock PNP's wheel and tire.

<snip>

No smaller nose wheel, please. I'm thrilled that my favorite airplane is practically designed for grass/unprepared runways; don't care if the wheel is plaid just as long as it's big and rolls through the grass.

[TiredIronGRB]

No smaller nose wheel, please. I'm thrilled that my favorite airplane is practically designed for grass/unprepared runways; don't care if the wheel is plaid just as long as it's big and rolls through the grass.

Right on Mike :)

[FastBob]

I am happy to see the many options for this plane. I am a grass field flyer and combine with my favorite AC I am in RC heaven. I really do appreciate all the work MRC, T&E, and all the others have put into this project. I think this will be a winner that will be around for a long time like the Parkzone T-28 which you will see on most airfields.

Question; have the final spec's on EDF, Fan, ESC be posted ? Thanks

[xplaneguy]

Weathering and ladder look awesome! Great job Alpha!

[RCjetdude]

Love the attention to detail Alpha. Thank you! Little things make a big difference. Looks like one could even trick out the cockpit if desired. Your details look great.

[Alpha]

No smaller nose wheel, please. I'm thrilled that my favorite airplane is practically designed for grass/unprepared runways; don't care if the wheel is plaid just as long as it's big and rolls through the grass.

To clarify, Mike, the stock PNP wheels will be the same size as what has been shown in my photos thus far. I was talking about using a scale sized wheel and tire only on the [TBD] "Scale Nose Strut" option, which would be sold separately for people who wanted to add a scale detail at the cost of less rough handling capability. In the same way that the other "optional strut" sets we've sold for past models typically reflect ~5% of the PNP models sold, I expect the A-10 to be similar, so as always it comes down to the question of does it make financial sense for us to offer an upgrade if we'll never come close to breaking even on it. I'm still weighing the math on a scale strut/wheel/tire aftermarket option. But in the meantime don't worry, your unprepared runway will love the stock PNP's trailing links and tires.

[Alpha]

I'm a bit confused with all this talk about the pilot figure. Doesn't it come with a little guy in the seat? Or is it that everyone is not happy with it because it's not "scale"? No matter, I plan to eventually put one of these in the seat anyway, scale or no scale.

The PNP model will include a pilot bust, that we're designing all new just for this aircraft. My chatter about a full scale pilot is in the context of scale updates for those out there who like to take things a step further. There aren't many foam electric planes out there that can fit a full figure, or for which a full figure is available in an appropriate scale. Until now.

Go for the Minion, by the way. Those are great. He can make the BrrrT sound as you fly by.

I am happy to see the many options for this plane. I am a grass field flyer and combine with my favorite AC I am in RC heaven. I really do appreciate all the work MRC, T&E, and all the others have put into this project. I think this will be a winner that will be around for a long time like the Parkzone T-28 which you will see on most airfields.

Question; have the final spec's on EDF, Fan, ESC be posted ? Thanks

Hey there FastBob, the videos we've posted so far have all been on the planned setup, which utilizes a pair of Hobbywing 80A ESCs and an all new 1930kv motor spinning an all new 9 blade fan. The performance once can expect from the stock PNP is what has been shown. Which, judging from many of the comments posted here, is sure to satisfy many people. The aircraft can literally fly a circle around our other twin 80mm jet, the F-14.

[T-CAT]

The PNP model will include a pilot bust, that we're designing all new just for this aircraft. My chatter about a full scale pilot is in the context of scale updates for those out there who like to take things a step further. There aren't many foam electric planes out there that can fit a full figure, or for which a full figure is available in an appropriate scale. Until now.

Go for the Minion, by the way. Those are great. He can make the BrrrT sound as you fly by.




Hey there FastBob, the videos we've posted so far have all been on the planned setup, which utilizes a pair of Hobbywing 80A ESCs and an all new 1930kv motor spinning an all new 9 blade fan. The performance once can expect from the stock PNP is what has been shown. Which, judging from many of the comments posted here, is sure to satisfy many people. The aircraft can literally fly a circle around our other twin 80mm jet, the F-14.

The original plan was 100A ESC's, correct? Did you scale back the motor KV you originally had that was shown in the prototype videos? The reason I ask is because I remember you explaining the current being between the 80-90 range per side.

[T-CAT]

The Freewing 80mm MiG-21 and FlightLineRC F7F-3 Tigercat are recent examples of people personalizing their aircraft. As a developer, that is really, really, REALLY encouraging to see. The Freewing 80mm A-10 Warthog is intended to carry on this growing tradition of providing pilots with a base aircraft that is worthy of their time to detail and "scale out". The A-10's landing gear will take you anywhere, and the powerplant is proven to satisfy, so don't worry about needing to upgrade those. Instead, if you get an itchy modeling finger, there are many options available to take this A-10 up yet another notch above.

Here is an update as to where we stand on various add-ons.

Pilots:
Jethangar.com sells the best 1/10 Full Body jet figure I've found anywhere online that nearly drops into the A-10 with little effort. See my mini-review, above.

Ordnance:
Jethangar.com offers Scale Masters detail level TERs and ordnance for 1/10, at a price
Parkflyerplastics.com sells ordnance sets as well and I highly recommend Keith's work. I'm unsure which of his sets are 1/10 exactly, so check his dimensions listed.
For anyone making their own ordnance, or for example adding an additional rail onto the AGM-65 pylon, we recommend the Freewing MWS slot set to retain the ability to easily remove the component from the stock pylon. Same goes for Mobius cameras.

Decals:
I'm working directly with Callie to offer a range of A-10 decal sets that are perfectly sized to the Freewing aircraft. She and I are working on both livery sets, and a full set of accurate stencils/marking..

We plan to have "Remove Before Flight" vinyl tags AND intake covers for 1/10 scale, too. You heard it here, first.

Lights:
In addition to the stock DayBright LEDs (static wingtip, blinking dorsal, blinking tail, and single landing light), I'm working with a soon-to-be-revealed lighting supplier for ultra realistic lighting with correct flash sequences and other features.

Wheels:
The stock PNP wheels will be scale, instead of the spoked wheels shown in my prototype photos, so I don't anticipate there being a better source than what will already be on the model. The only caveat is if we use a scale nose wheel and tire for the still TBD scale nose strut, in which case it would be smaller than the stock PNP's wheel and tire.

Chocks:
Does anyone have interest in scale wheel chocks in 1/10, 1/7, and 1/12 scale? That would encompass most of our 80mm and 90mm jets.

Sound:
I need to check on this but as of this writing, I believe we do have at least two BrrrT soundfiles and a TF-34 soundfile being incorporated into the Mr.RCSound system, both v4.1 and ASPIRE.

Pow Pow Powder:
For liability's sake I'm not calling it a firing cannon. But my fingers are crossed for a functioning pneumatic powder emitter, in sync with the sound file referenced above.


Of course, there are many things we can do as modelers at home, without needing to buy anything fancy. With a few minutes of planning and less than five minutes of execution (not including painting), I rigged up a magnetic crew ladder to use when displaying the model.









I've also added rivets with a and begun to weather the model as well in ten different shades of grays, browns, and metallics, and painted on various inlets and ports and other marking that I don't have because the factory waterslide decal sheets weren't ready at the time. I'm excited to see what kind of personal touches each of you will add to your Hogs!

LOL, I love it! It all looks great, and the information provided is excellent. That's even more to look forward now :D.

[FastBob]

"Hey there FastBob, the videos we've posted so far have all been on the planned setup, which utilizes a pair of Hobbywing 80A ESCs and an all new 1930kv motor spinning an all new 9 blade fan. The performance once can expect from the stock PNP is what has been shown. Which, judging from many of the comments posted here, is sure to satisfy many people. The aircraft can literally fly a circle around our other twin 80mm jet, the F-14."

Thanks for the info, excited to receive this one for sure!

[Alpha]

Thanks, guys, all of us here at Motion RC are pilots, too, so we experience the same excitement when a new plane is headed into our respective hangars and fleets. There are so many options with an A-10 and I'm eager to see what you come up with to make it more yours.

I painted the door white, to give the illusion that it is opened and showing the interior airframe color. The crew ladder doesn't actually pivot out of a recessed bay and telescope downward like the real thing, but a Kit of something like that is being looked at it. In the meantime, my magnetic ladder idea is easy to implement if anyone is interested and has some scrap plastic and tubes lying around. I might add an American flag inside this locker door, but for now it's just white. I noticed in many reference photos that pilots and their crews would paint "nose art" type doodles on this door, visible whenever they opened the door to deploy the crew ladder. It's a neat way to see our fighting men and women personalize the aircraft with which they serve.