Official FlightLine F4U-1A Corsair 1600mm (63") Wingspan

[Grossman56]

Love this pilot, Elbee, Dave and I were talking about using him in an RAF livery, is there any way you can modify the STL to roll down the sleeves??

[Grossman56]

check this out, a bit of surgery and a couple of shims and there he sits!



He looks like he owns the plane! Gluing him in shouldn't be a problem as he sits just fine. As you can see the painting is coming along, harness straps are painted in, have to dirty them up a bit yet. The arms look good as well, just have to decide how to angle them. I was thinking, Dave, if you have a control stick, I'd maybe trim the bottom a bit and put the top in his hand.
Just waiting for my fine detail paint brush to arrive and I also ordered a magnifying set of glass, up to 5X so I can zoom right in on those eyeballs. Man, if I was really creative, it would have been cool to run a rod up to the head and have it swivel with the rudder. Maybe next time. The pilot is so good that it would look so real!
BTW:
EXTRA CONTENT!!
Butch O'Hare in color!
Who says bell bottoms were a 60's thing??

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[Elbee]

Grossman56

I used a 1"+/- square of balsa 3/16" thick that I sanded a little at a time to get the height I needed in the end.

That height was determined by the sliding the canopy aft until the balsa was short enough to allow the canopy to clear the pilot's head.

I sanded another 1/32nd or so to allow for the glue, then glued the square to the assembled seat/pilot into the cockpit.

Is goes without saying, I centered the balsa square under the seat bottom.

Best, LB

[davegee]

Hi Dan: I used a 7/8 inch dimeter dowel (you can use anything approximately that diameter that should work) and cut a disc about 1/2 inch thick. I then took a sander to one side, beveling it from the original thickness on one end and tapering it so it was basically flush with the bottom at the other side of the disc. I put the thickest part of the disc facing forward and glued it in place with some foam glue in case I want'ed to change it again, or remove the pilot. You'lll just have to experiment but you want to put the pilot's butt so it sits on the disc and the legs go up a bit, clearing the control cables with his boots. Once he is glued in, he should remain free of touching the controls with his boots. It is a fairly tight fit for clearance, but it works on mine, anyway. Let me know if you have more problems with it. We have the same pilot so it should work for you as well, maybe with a little fiddling around to get it to sit right.

Here's a couple pics of the disc that I cut this morning to serve as an example.

[davegee]

Hey guys!
Been trying to figure out how to seat the pilot in the cockpit with all the pesky control rods running just where his feet are. The biggest problem is the rudder control rod as it comes right up where he should sit, Dave, you said you made a wedge to seat him in but for the life of me, I can't envision what you did, can you send a pic of the wedge in place! I know there's a joke in there about giving the pilot a wedgey.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

Hi Dan: I used a 7/8 inch dimeter dowel (you can use anything approximately that diameter that should work) and cut a disc about 1/2 inch thick. I then took a sander to one side, beveling it from the original thickness on one end and tapering it so it was basically flush with the bottom at the other side of the disc. I put the thickest part of the disc facing forward and glued it in place with some foam glue in case I want'ed to change it again, or remove the pilot. You'lll just have to experiment but you want to put the pilot's butt so it sits on the disc and the legs go up a bit, clearing the control cables with his boots. Once he is glued in, he should remain free of touching the controls with his boots. It is a fairly tight fit for clearance, but it works, on mine, anyway.

Here's a couple pics of the disc that I cut this morning to serve as an example.

[davegee]

And radar or antenna

Hi Marbugs: That is an ADF (automatic direction finder) loop antenna that operated at lower frequencies for navigation purposes. These were common on aircraft flown in WWII and into the 1950s. It is an important part of navigation systems for long-leg missions. They were also used to fly non-precision instrument approaches into airports. There had to be a a station on the other end where they are going to get the signal and naviagate to it. They were placed in various locations on the aircraft where they could get a good signal. For the B-25 model, there is a slot behind and to the right of the nose gear door and you can just put it there. I think it has a magnet to ensure it stays in place during flight. They were often painted flat black, but sometimes were painted the underneath color of the airplane, like the grey that this model has.

Cheers

Davegee

[Elbee]

Hi I’m a new member , just bought a Flightline B-25 Mitchell and there’s a part in the box I don’t know what it’s for ? Can anyone enlighten me please

Hey Marbugs,

Welcome to Hobby Squawk, glad to have you onboard.

There is an Official FlightLine B-25 thread here at the Squawk, check it out.

https://www.hobbysquawk.com/forum/rc-airplanes/rc-propeller-airplanes/380695-official-flightline-1600mm-b-25j-mitchell-pnp-thread

Best, LB

[f4u ausie]

And radar or antenna

[f4u ausie]

Hi I’m a new member , just bought a Flightline B-25 Mitchell and there’s a part in the box I don’t know what it’s for ? Can anyone enlighten me please

Yep glue it down where battery goes... stops it slipping

[Marbugs62]

Hi I’m a new member , just bought a Flightline B-25 Mitchell and there’s a part in the box I don’t know what it’s for ? Can anyone enlighten me please

[Grossman56]

Thanks Elbee!

[Elbee]

Hey guys!
Been trying to figure out how to seat the pilot in the cockpit with all the pesky control rods running just where his feet are. The biggest problem is the rudder control rod as it comes right up where he should sit,Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

Danger,

That's part of the reason I moved my rudder servo aft of the cockpit.

Bit I had cut the turtle-deck off to facilitate the canopy slide mod, so I had the space.

If you check RCAV8R youtoob vids, you'll see where tied the elevator control rods into one and then fed that to the elevator servo.

That could give you some more room in which to work.

Best, LB

[jetfool]

Davegee,

I believe Lucky had the Curtiss prop hub by the looks of this picture. What do you think? Going to turn a wooden mock-up of the prop hub to get the correct profile, then when I have the alum. I'll know what I'm doing. Hopefully!
It amazes me how much detail the plastic modelers put into their models. The pictures will be a big help.

Down to final sanding and it is really getting smooth. Need to clean out a few panel lines then one light coat of primer so the paint all blends. If you look close you can see the foam but this is buried under 4 clear coats of poly and won't show after last thin primer coat. I have tried to sand most of primer off to keep weight down. Hasn't gained much weight.
My hands and shoulders are sore from the sanding, wet sanding is making a mess on the building table too. What Joy!




Just starting the final wet sanding. You can see where filler was applied after stencils removed. Really smooth

[Grossman56]

Hey guys!
Been trying to figure out how to seat the pilot in the cockpit with all the pesky control rods running just where his feet are. The biggest problem is the rudder control rod as it comes right up where he should sit, Dave, you said you made a wedge to seat him in but for the life of me, I can't envision what you did, can you send a pic of the wedge in place! I know there's a joke in there about giving the pilot a wedgey.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[davegee]

Rex: check this link out: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/...y-electrified/

It comes from a BritModeler article online, and I think now this confirms it was a Curtiss Electric prop, as you had been looking for a piece of aluminum for a spinner.

Cheers

Davegee

[davegee]

Davegee,

Thanks for the dimensions. Looks like I need to see my friend who has a machine shop, biggest alum. stock I have is 1" dia. If I can make a decent spinner I will make enough for our planes. Would be nice to make our models the correct period appearance when we can.

Best Regards, Rex

Hi Rex: I'm getting a little confused here as I haven't been able to find a period photo of Lucky yet. Have we determined that this aircraft had a Ham Stan prop or a Curtiss Electric prop? I really am not sure with this one yet. If you have any photos of this plane or accurate drawings, please post them here.

Thanks,

Dave

[davegee]

Davegee,

Thanks for the dimensions. Looks like I need to see my friend who has a machine shop, biggest alum. stock I have is 1" dia. If I can make a decent spinner I will make enough for our planes. Would be nice to make our models the correct period appearance when we can.

Best Regards, Rex

Hi Rex: I'm getting a little confused here as I haven't been able to find a period photo of Lucky yet. Have we determined that this aircraft had a Ham Stan prop or a Curtiss Electric prop? I really am not sure with this one yet. If you have any photos of this plane or accurate drawings, please post them here.

I did a little more research after this post was written. I have an interesting article from BritModeler, which usually has some very sharp and astute authors and plastic modelers.

I'll attach this link: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/...y-electrified/

This modeler did a great job making a plastic model of Johnson's Lucky, and it shows a Curtiss Electric prop on that plane. I tend now to agree that he is right. Actually, the vast majority of P-47s in WWII did have the Curtiss Electric prop, less so the Ham Stand prop with its shorter rounder prop bub. In my opinion it is good to go ahead planning for the Curtiss Electric prop hub that you are going to try and turn on the lathe. You'll also need some cuffs to put on the base of the props. You might have some ideas on that. I had some success making them out of a piece of vinyl and folding them over the prop and gluing them in place. For the mostpart, they stayed in place during flight, but I had some fly off during this testing process. There was NO effect on flying with one or more of the cuffs coming off the prop during some of those flights. Might need a bit more research to finalize.

Thanks,

Dave

[jetfool]

Davegee,

Thanks for the dimensions. Looks like I need to see my friend who has a machine shop, biggest alum. stock I have is 1" dia. If I can make a decent spinner I will make enough for our planes. Would be nice to make our models the correct period appearance when we can.

Best Regards, Rex

[davegee]

Davegee,

I plan to make the spinner from alum to screw on the vs3 prop shaft. I need to get the length and diameter so I can look in my metal stash and find what I need.

Dangerous,
Your pilot is looking great.

Still sanding filling a few imperfections, getting there.

Best Regards, Rex

Keep me apprised of how it goes, Rex. If I can be of any help, let me know. I'd much prefer to have a lightweight aluminum spinner over a printed one.

For what it's worth, the printed one I had someone do a couple of years ago is approximately 2.48 inches long by 1.36 inches in diameter at the base. I wasn't satisfied with the overall shape of it, it needed to refined a bit to look more like the real CE prop domes.

Cheers

Davegee

[Grossman56]

Hard to keep the little guy together and get a pic at the same time!