Stuka Restoration

fredvon4 wrote:Stuntflyr AKA Chris

you said "We built to Nats competitive Golden Bees from reading an article and following the directions!
Chris..."

Would that have been Paul Gibeault's Mouse racing engine set up recipe/hints?

If true, much discussed here over the years, and a few links still in a few threads to his recommended set up and modifications

If not true, could you remember what article

It was a guy named Morey from SoCal that was a WWII fighter pilot and big into C/L Racing in the 80's and 90's. I moved away and lost touch but may be able to find the article in storage sometime.
Chris...

Well, I finally got the stencils made for the "KS" symbols and painted them. Unfortunately they did not work as good as my tape I normally use for preventing bleed through. When I peeled off the stencils it was a total mess. I didn't bother to take pics. I went ahead and completely stripped off the work (including crosses) on both fuse halves and started  over. This time what I did was to trace out the letters from a remaining extra stencil that was provided to me and drew out the letters individually on Frog Tape. They were then cut out using (always) a fresh #11 Exacto blade and applied to the surface and painted separately as seen in the photos. It worked this time but this procedure was VERY difficult to do. Last pic shows the final black painted crosses I did this afternoon. All I need to do now is give it about three coats of Superpoxy Clear coat and I can start to assemble the plane.

Very Nice. Looking foward to seeing the finished product.

Yes, looks great.  Hard work is it's own reward.

I think your using acrylics and enamels. Any problems with the Frog tape lifting? Would it work with dope?

Bob

I'm using Tamiya acrylic enamels. They airbrush very smoothly and dry fast. I clear coat with fuel proof epoxy clear to protect it because even Iso Alcohol will rub the finish right off if not protected. I had no problem with Frog Tape lifting paint with either acrylics or oil base enamels. I also really like using Scotch Painter's masking tape. I just used Frog tape on an electric powered old timer R/C aircraft using nitrate dope for some color trim and had no problems.

I sprayed on my Superpoxy clear coat this morning on my emblems and small parts. I'll let it cure for another day and then I get to assemble this thing!

I put it together this morning. It wasn't as hard to reassemble as I thought it would be. I would say that it was a little easier than the A-25.

looking good!  Pictures are great, bet it looks even better up close in person!

Thanks for the compliments all!  The canopy pieces are the original ones that came with the plane. Only things that I purchased that were missing were the antenna, bomb, and poorly made wing props that were not worth the price. I might consider flying this one but again, with all the work involved it would most likely be a show piece.
 Unless I get another project plane, and I probably will, the next project coming up would be this:



This will be a departure from what I normally do but it's a good challenge. I already went through the motor and fired it up recently to test it and it works fine. I have an NOS tether bracket for it for circle runs. The rear valance is there but the front valance and all external chrome except the rear license plate is missing. Very hard to find separate parts and usually the only way is to purchase a second car which are no longer cheap, at least out here. Both rear body clips where they snap onto the chassis are broken off which is common. I can rebuild those with no problem. The front brackets are complete and unbroken which is good. I'm thinking of buying a 1/18th scale Corvette by Maisto or any decent maker within this size and grafting the parts onto this one. I'm open to any suggestions on this build!

Nice Job on both of them

akjgardner wrote:Nice Job on both of them

It is definitely. I admire your paint job on the Stuka. I'm sure the Corvette will be as beautiful when finished!!

Is there room for a heat sink?

There may be room for a small aftermarket heat sink although it would be a real challenge to clear the body clip brackets. I know that when running these it is best to get it going and turn it loose or some overheating could quickly ensue.