Yesterday, I assembled my new P-38. Having had a early version and am now assembling this later version, I have a few observations:
1. I like the ribbon connector between the inner and out wings.
2. I like that all of the wiring was run within the wings and fuselage, instead of having to figure out which wire goes where.
3. There seems to be more space at the back of the bay of cockpit/battery bay for stuffing wires and the blue box. It's still tight, but it doesn't seem as tight as it was in my V1 P-38.
4. Some servo leads are still too short and I had use my own extensions to be able to mount the RX in the bay (instead of having to leave it stuffed in the compartment/feed-through for the cables. Not a big deal, just a touch annoying.
5. I do find it odd that the oleo struts are still considered upgrade struts, to be purchased separately. I still had a set on hand from my first P-38 and bought another set, when I purchased this P-38. In my mind, the compressible oleo struts should be standard equipment. The Nose Gear Strut is still a PITA to replace, as you have to disassemble the NG trunion.
6. Related to the above item, I like that the oleo NG strut doesn't require an E-Clip to hold it in the trunion. It was a bit of pain to get the E-Clip off of the stock NG strut, but I liked that I could install the upgrade strut by disassembling the strut, no E-Clip required. I hate those tiny E-Clips!
7. I was disappointed that the spinner backplates haven't been upgraded. In my opinion, the plastic backplates are the weakest part of the entire P-38 design. On my first P-38, I lost a prop twice inflight, due to a broken backplate. Motion has come out with some good backplates, such as on the 1.6m Spit. I'm kind of baffled that they haven't upgraded the plastic backplates for the P-38, for as long as this plane has been on the market.
Related to my last comment, I'd like to take the opportunity to praise Motion for keeping product lines, and replacement components, going for years. Most other toy-airplane companies seem to only make a run or two, then shut down the product line. To me, this shows that Motion really is customer focused. For that, they get my gratitude and a large portion of my toy warbird budget. Thanks, Motion!!!
Chuck
1. I like the ribbon connector between the inner and out wings.
2. I like that all of the wiring was run within the wings and fuselage, instead of having to figure out which wire goes where.
3. There seems to be more space at the back of the bay of cockpit/battery bay for stuffing wires and the blue box. It's still tight, but it doesn't seem as tight as it was in my V1 P-38.
4. Some servo leads are still too short and I had use my own extensions to be able to mount the RX in the bay (instead of having to leave it stuffed in the compartment/feed-through for the cables. Not a big deal, just a touch annoying.
5. I do find it odd that the oleo struts are still considered upgrade struts, to be purchased separately. I still had a set on hand from my first P-38 and bought another set, when I purchased this P-38. In my mind, the compressible oleo struts should be standard equipment. The Nose Gear Strut is still a PITA to replace, as you have to disassemble the NG trunion.
6. Related to the above item, I like that the oleo NG strut doesn't require an E-Clip to hold it in the trunion. It was a bit of pain to get the E-Clip off of the stock NG strut, but I liked that I could install the upgrade strut by disassembling the strut, no E-Clip required. I hate those tiny E-Clips!
7. I was disappointed that the spinner backplates haven't been upgraded. In my opinion, the plastic backplates are the weakest part of the entire P-38 design. On my first P-38, I lost a prop twice inflight, due to a broken backplate. Motion has come out with some good backplates, such as on the 1.6m Spit. I'm kind of baffled that they haven't upgraded the plastic backplates for the P-38, for as long as this plane has been on the market.
Related to my last comment, I'd like to take the opportunity to praise Motion for keeping product lines, and replacement components, going for years. Most other toy-airplane companies seem to only make a run or two, then shut down the product line. To me, this shows that Motion really is customer focused. For that, they get my gratitude and a large portion of my toy warbird budget. Thanks, Motion!!!
Chuck
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