beautiful !

WOW jetpaitner, that is nice, i like that one!!

Originally Posted by orthobird

WOW jetpaitner, that is nice, i like that one!!

I found a lot of good pictures of it in a Bing Image search. The best ones were copyrighted so I didn't post them here. The plane had several different schemes over the years, so there's a lot to pick from.

Thom Richards in Florida owns it now.. New for 2013 was a color scheme change as well as Radiator scoop , wingtips and new canopy.. Still a Griffon Powered Contra-Rotating prop setup..

Originally Posted by Rickster

Thom Richards in Florida owns it now.. New for 2013 was a color scheme change as well as Radiator scoop , wingtips and new canopy.. Still a Griffon Powered Contra-Rotating prop setup..

2013 Reno. Very cool!

i wonder how i can make my canopy like that as well?

Build a turtledeck and then try and find a canopy that is close to the right size and shape or make a plug and pull you one ... If there is a will theres a way.. Biggest hinderance on doing PM is the prop setup.. That is what kept me from doing the Red Baron for so many years...

You would really have to do some polishing on the Flite Metal to get to this...

Originally Posted by orthobird

i wonder how i can make my canopy like that as well?

Build your turtle deck and vacuum form your own canopy. Easier than it sounds It should be way easier than modding an already build plane. I never could find the right shape canopy already available

Take a look at my plane on the Strega thread and see if you like that shape and size canopy. Its a wee bit tall IMHO, but that is what the proportional measurements led to when I scaled it from full size to the stand-off scale of our Top Flites.

If you like shape, I would be happy to vacuum form a few for you. The time is all in the form making vs. pulling canopies...but it is fun in its own way.

Originally Posted by Rickster

Build a turtledeck and then try and find a canopy that is close to the right size and shape or make a plug and pull you one ... If there is a will theres a way.. Biggest hinderance on doing PM is the prop setup.. That is what kept me from doing the Red Baron for so many years...

You do not quite have enough saw dust and scraps lying under your build....

Originally Posted by orthobird

i wonder how i can make my canopy like that as well?

Like im doing for my Cap 232. Here are some shots. They probably will not load in the proper order but I started with foam shaped it, tow layers of fiberglass cloth put down with gorilla glue, then bondo, now Im in the high build primer stage. Once I get it smooth like I want it I will paint with high temp paint and put a couple coats of wax and try and pull a part off of it.

Originally Posted by Rickster

You would really have to do some polishing on the Flite Metal to get to this...

If you can pull that off with Flite Metal, you would be one of the most bad ass r/c plane builders in the USA. It is not just the Flite Metal that needs polished, the spinner, prop, and of course the landing gear also need done.
I say go for it! I will be watching the whole build just to see someone more insane then myself.
Just remember any wrinkle or imperfection in the metal will show up 10 fold after polished like that.

Flite Metal is all about the surface underneath. Your underlying surface needs to be PERFECT or the Flight Metal will show every single little ripple, seam, speck of dirt, crease, joint, etc.

For the polished prop and spinner on my project I'm going to use a product called MirraChrome. I've used it in the past for replicating polished stainless. It's a pretty involved painting process to get a good result, but it looks great.

Here it is on a railroad car I did for a friend.

Originally Posted by seattlebuoy

You do not quite have enough saw dust and scraps lying under your build....

That is my "Cushion" if it falls off the stand...LOL Plus it gives a good hiding spot for screws and stuff when you drop one....

All are remnants of the cockpit fill, turtledeck build , vertical fin and new lower cowling build... I am now ready for a shopvac suction hose on the table...

Rick