Ok, time to let the 'Cool Cat' out of the bag. This thread is to document mine and anyone elses impressions and modifications of the new Freewing 80/90mm A-10. I received mine on May 4th after being given an opportunity to get it early because of the modifications I planned to make to it and the fact that I intend to take it to NEFI this year. I am extremely appreciative to Motion RC for even considering me and the time it would take to make these modifications. It is truly an honor to be the first customer to receive this awesome plane. The changes I have in store are an operable canopy, semi-scale cockpit interior, JHH 1/10th scale pilot figure, my powder canon, the Shockwave2 sound system, an extendable ladder, wing leading edge slats, Nerf Vortex whistles and Euro green camo done up in the 82-0665 markings for the 'Cool Cat' or 'The Last Tiger' which is in line with the markings offered by Callie Graphics. I will also be adding additional custom made water-slide decals and some personal touches. So far I have installed the speakers, began the mod to install the ladder box, lined the canopy with sheet styrene, fabricated the Acess II ejection seat and cockpit interior, modified the pilot to fit, and assembled the model to make sure everything works and prepare it for painting. I am hoping to have it at least painted enough by this Thursday the 18th to take it to Joe Nall where I would love to get Kelly Leggette (legman01) to autograph it since he is an experienced A-10 pilot. I will not have it completed by then but it will be by NEFI. Very soon people will start receiving their shipping notifications and this plane will not disappoint. The packaging is the typical two sections of molded styrofoam in a heavy duty box and was received without any damage. The unboxing was straight forward and the only issue I had with it was that some interleaving paper slid out from between the insignia and chaff dispenser decals allowing them to stick together and I destroyed them trying to get them apart. I reported the issue but for me it was not a big deal as I just duplicated the decals I needed and made my own. My first impression was that the overall quality of this kit is extremely high. The foam is firm with very little grain visible in it. There was no thin paint anywhere and the fit of the parts is solid. All the servos worked with no issues and the gear cycled without fail. I did have one spot on one of the flaps where a little extra glue got out onto the flap at a hinge causing it to be stiffer than it should but an xacto knife broke the bond and I flexed it up and down to which it freed right up. It has been said before but the plane is huge and even though it has the same wingspan as my 1700mm Corsair, it seems huge compared to it. I have an 8' x 8' work table and it takes up a significant amount of space on it so be prepared as you will need some room for this beast! Fishing some of the wires can be a little tricky but with some patience you will get it. Mike did an excellent job in the build video outlining how to assemble it and Kloverzero has also mentioned that connecting the servo leads to the connector board can be tricky to which I agree. If the spacing on the board was just a little wider between pins it would make things a lot easier but it will work with some effort. This plane is a "modders" dream because it is big and as a result the interior is very open needless to say. I will have no trouble fitting my powder canon and other goodies inside it although I most likely will have to relocate the connector board to do it. My plan is to document each phase of the modification process starting with the canopy/cockpit. There are many ways to skin the proverbial cat so to speak (pun intended) and I am sure there are better ways to do the things that I will present so I hope this stimulates some actual modification experiences very soon as people start to get theirs. I will post pictures of the canopy/cockpit modifications soon but for now here are a few pictures to help wet the appetite. After the 18th I will get more details up but bear in mind I am trying to get some paint on this thing before Thursday.
Here is a list of all the changes I made to the plane and some additional specs.
- Shockwave2 sound system using two TT-25 speakers wired in series utilizing the original turbofan start up and shut down sound files but using a custom GAU-8 sound file that I created. Integrated with the custom powder canon.
- Custom pneumatic powder canon good for several shots.
- Semi scale cockpit detail including removable pilot figure and ejection seat.
- Opening canopy.
- Onboard leading edge wing slats.
- Stowable ladder.
- Painted landing gear struts.
- Custom paint in the European camo scheme using exterior latex paint.
- IR window on sniper pod.
- Maverick rails.
- Custom decals mostly from Callie Graphics.
- Custom battery tray to allow stacking batteries in the aft location.
- GT POWER gear door sequencing module.
- TIGRB custom nose gear bracket.
- 5mm square carbon fiber tube fuselage reinforcements.
- Removed Pave Penny pod.
- Stock 80mm 9-blade fans and 100A ESC's.
- Scorpion Backup Guard.
- Hobby Eagle A3-L gyro.
- Spektrum DX9 radio and AR9020 9-chanel receiver.
- Roaring Top 5800mAh 35C 6S or 5000mAh 70C 6S batteries.
- AUW ready to fly with ordnance - 16lbs 1oz.
Some of the cockpit detail...
The look I am shooting for.
Steve
Here is a list of all the changes I made to the plane and some additional specs.
- Shockwave2 sound system using two TT-25 speakers wired in series utilizing the original turbofan start up and shut down sound files but using a custom GAU-8 sound file that I created. Integrated with the custom powder canon.
- Custom pneumatic powder canon good for several shots.
- Semi scale cockpit detail including removable pilot figure and ejection seat.
- Opening canopy.
- Onboard leading edge wing slats.
- Stowable ladder.
- Painted landing gear struts.
- Custom paint in the European camo scheme using exterior latex paint.
- IR window on sniper pod.
- Maverick rails.
- Custom decals mostly from Callie Graphics.
- Custom battery tray to allow stacking batteries in the aft location.
- GT POWER gear door sequencing module.
- TIGRB custom nose gear bracket.
- 5mm square carbon fiber tube fuselage reinforcements.
- Removed Pave Penny pod.
- Stock 80mm 9-blade fans and 100A ESC's.
- Scorpion Backup Guard.
- Hobby Eagle A3-L gyro.
- Spektrum DX9 radio and AR9020 9-chanel receiver.
- Roaring Top 5800mAh 35C 6S or 5000mAh 70C 6S batteries.
- AUW ready to fly with ordnance - 16lbs 1oz.
Some of the cockpit detail...
The look I am shooting for.
Steve
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