AIR RACER GROUP BUILD BECAUSE WE FEEL THE NEED FOR SPEED

Okay, I'm done.  GOing to work on my Helicopter GB entry for a while then I'll pick another racer to do.  I do have a couple minor issues to fix, like smooth the spinner out and paint the propeller stripes.  Love the Monogram T-6, such and easy yet nice building kit.

Chris

Lookin good there Richard. Just cant wait to see the super top secret, secret kermified paint job.

Randy,

Thanks for the compliments and i totally agree with simpilot there. Nice scratchwork. It is something i didn't even dare touch yet but your work inspires me and you have my admiration.

The LA-5FN is coming along nicely. She will soon be ready for the booth and hope to have some serious progress before i leave to the US next saturday...

She is now puttied and sanded and im working on the canopy:

Richard (who keeps his paintjob a well guarded secret for now...)

simpilot34 wrote:

Creative gizzmology and representation not duplication are a modelers best friends!

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!! Love that saying Simpilot34, never heard it before. Thanks for the compliment.

Hey guys I am toying with the idea of a FW190 F8 racer, what do ya think ? Clipped wings,streamlined canopy, maybe a PW 2800 under the cowling.

Kermit I'm with Simpilot34, cant wait to see what you come up with for a paint job. You did pick a great subject too, it just reaks of speed. You do too, man you got a lot of work done fast.

I decided to do a decompression build and started the Laird Solution instead of Miss America, well it started out that way anyhow. These little Testers kits are fun and simple to build, doesnt look like there will be any seam issues just a lower wing to fuse issue that will need some putty. The kits also come with little to none in the way of cockpit detail and it has a large very clear canopy. Not wanting to see nothing thru the canopy and after following Chukw's 410 build (sigh), I decided to hummm fix that problem. Got out my newly purchased plasticard, evergreen rod, some .013 dia copper wire and set to work. I couldnt find any pictures of the cockpit so I kind of faked it for my first scratch built pit.

Heres the right side, I used evergreen rod for the truss, the seat, rear buldhead, and IP are from plasticard.

Left side, I made the throttle quadrant from sprue, the levers are from copper wire dipped in ca glue to form the knob at the top then painted.

A couple of shots of the fuse clamped togeather. The IP decals are from my just finished P-38 build go figure huh LOL.

I love the idea and you are in !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cant wait to see it kermified.

Thank you thank you thank you!. This morning after our last email i kinda got excited and started already with my "what iffski"... Not fully sure yet but i'm thinking gloss black with red and white pinstripe...

Some pics to get you guys up to speed:

Box...

Interior detail on this pit was rather non existant so there was little to kermiefy... just a light drybrush with white and a bit of soot on the cockpit floor and sides:

Gluing the wings and air intake...

And gluing the whole lot together... Genuine old style revell fitting of parts all around. Especially the wheel wells have a very nasty seam right across. Definately going to NOT bother myself with it and build it with retracted gear...:

And here is where i left it minutes ago. The putty manufacturers must LOVE this kit:

Thanks for watching and see y'all back soon.

Richard

kermit wrote:

You know... these GeeBee racers fascinate me....reminded me of something ive seen in a scientifical mag years ago. Just did a bit of digging around and finally found what was in my mind all that time: the Stipa Caprioni, built and tested in the very early 30's: There's only a slight resemblance now that i have seen both of the planes again but thought it would be fun to share this bit of useless info Richard

Looks kinda like one of the EGG plane kits doesnt it

Kermit A Lavochkin LA-5FN huh ?? Well now leme see .............

I love the idea and you are in !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cant wait to see it kermified.

kermit wrote:

Then i had the idea of doing The spitXIV that participated but found out that Jmabx is already doing that one, looking at all the entries on page 1.... (hope you make it a smashing one!)

I see nothing that says we can't build the same bird... the more, the merrier!

kermit wrote:

My choice, therefore and if Randy would allow it , will be a completely fictional, almost stock Lavochkin La-5FN in 1:72 scale by Revell.

La-5 will be a cool build.

Had a bit of a conversation with Vetteman the other night about the racing group and the rules involved. At first i had the idea of modeling a P47D but found out that the only P47 ever to participate in the Cleveland air races was a P47M model and it didn't even start

Then i had the idea of doing The spitXIV that participated but found out that Jmabx is already doing that one, looking at all the entries on page 1.... (hope you make it a smashing one!)

Without having to order a new model and looking at my stash i was kind of forced to try a fictional, what-if model because all the suitable kits in my stash are radial engine kits with the spit being an exception. Also i would want to try out some stuff before i commit myself with a historically accurate model, experimenting with racing paintjobs and things...

My choice, therefore and if Randy would allow it, will be a completely fictional, almost stock Lavochkin La-5FN in 1:72 scale by Revell.

Richard

kermit wrote:

You know... these GeeBee racers fascinate me....reminded me of something ive seen in a scientifical mag years ago. Just did a bit of digging around and finally found what was in my mind all that time: the Stipa Caprioni, built and tested in the very early 30's: There's only a slight resemblance now that i have seen both of the planes again but thought it would be fun to share this bit of useless info Richard

 I remember seeing an artical or two over the years on this plane. A real oddity, but they were on the right track with early ducted fan technoligy.

 vetteman 42- Randy, The GeeBee Z at Kermit Weeks Fantasy of Flight museum is an exact replica. Almost exact, seems he did some flight testing with his replica and found that aileron/wing flutter most likely brought down the original. It was at a time when not much was known about the phenomina, or how to address the problem. 

 Weeks made some mods including the addition of mass balancing the ailerons and he feels the original never came close to fulfilling it's potential due to lack of knowledge at the time. Evendently, he has exceded the speed at which the original crashed , without any problems since the modifications.

  I've always liked the GeeBee racers . Not much more than a big motor with wings attached.

You know... these GeeBee racers fascinate me....reminded me of something ive seen in a scientifical mag years ago. Just did a bit of digging around and finally found what was in my mind all that time: the Stipa Caprioni, built and tested in the very early 30's:

There's only a slight resemblance now that i have seen both of the planes again but thought it would be fun to share this bit of useless info

Richard

Bigfoot01 I have to go along with Jmabx and vote for the Cobra II. I have never seen one that was flyable. Just my 2 cents worth.

Daddy1 Thanks for sharing the link. I have a Gee Bee R-1 in the closet waiting to be built. I did get to see the replica R-1 being built at Flabob airport along with a Gee Bee Z. The R-1 truly was a very small airframe bolted to a huge motor. It was built to origenal plans other than a few changes to make the air frame safer and stronger.When I saw it the R-1 it was very close to being ready for its first test flight. The Gee Bee Z was built for the movie studios, if memory serves me for the Rocketeer, but with a larger wing and tail surfaces so it would be easier to fly. Wish I had had a camera with me that day.

Salmon and Venison Steak BBQ at Fermis's airport office on Wednesday Nite !!!!!!!!!! Bring your own beer. Fermis I'll bring the cheesy hash browns.

Fermis Lookin good so far, just cant wait to see this one. I dont know but I dont think I would go with a single vertical tail. Just a thought Fermis I would maybe cut down the vertical tails and add a dorsel fillet for a sleeker look and would also help with stability I would think.

fermis wrote:

I just assumed them bullets were some antenna of sorts. I'm also considering just a single vert.stab. (if I have a spare that looks good)

On the back end of them they were, one was a RWR, forgot what the other was. If you are keeping the speed brake in the same position, a single vertical won't work. The buffetting behind that thing would make it get unstable VERY quick!

John, I vote for all of them!!

Howard, thanks for the link!!!

Fermis, looking good so far!!! Depending on the g's being pulled going round the pylons, I would have left the bullets on the vertical stabs. They are weighted and are designed to dampen the vibrations due to high g manoevures. Clipping the wings looks great!!!

 Well, I've got her stripped down and rid of all things military. The vert.stabs were trimmed down and rounded off(along with the bumps and bulges removed) also clipped off the wingtips, rounded off and sanded to shape. Have a couple ideas for different flame jobs, just can't nail one down yet.

 Will be back next week, I'm flying(WOOHOO!!!) up north for another weekend of salmon on the beautiful Manistee river!!!

 Have any of you out there seen this site? It's very cool, with lots of great old Gee Bee pics and info. Also a link to some other Cleveland Air Race pics.

http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/4515/index3.html

 A great walk around of the exact replica R-1 is in there too.

Wow... that's a nice selection!

bigfoot01 wrote:

I vote for this one... of course "Cobra I" should probably come first.  

Well I suppose it's time to start building. I have been in a slump the past few months. First I need to decide what to build first!

lewbud wrote:

Randy, Just one problem with the update.  I'm building a L-39 Albatros, not the Delfin.

Lewbud Sorry about that the front page has been corrected. And thanks for letting me know.

Randy,

Just one problem with the update.  I'm building a L-39 Albatros, not the Delfin.

Lewbud the front page is updated with your build the Delfin.

Fermis your Extreme F-15 build is in, have a feelin this one is gonna be good

fermis wrote:

Alright, our little early deer season's over(got 2) and have a bit of time before oct. bow season starts, so I think I got a little something I can squeeze in. Cleaning up and re-arranging the war room the other day, some old builds were due for the scrapyard. I'm not quite ready to completely part with this F-15(mono), I built it about 10 yrs ago, the build itself is decent, but the finish and weathering just doesn't measure up anymore. So hopefully this "re-cycle" will put some new life in her and be acceptable for this GB.  She will be "de-militarized", and I'm thinking gear up, in flight display. "Future-2020, World Air Race"

WOOHOOO this I can't wait to see!!!!

 Alright, our little early deer season's over(got 2) and have a bit of time before oct. bow season starts, so I think I got a little something I can squeeze in. Cleaning up and re-arranging the war room the other day, some old builds were due for the scrapyard. I'm not quite ready to completely part with this F-15(mono), I built it about 10 yrs ago, the build itself is decent, but the finish and weathering just doesn't measure up anymore. So hopefully this "re-cycle" will put some new life in her and be acceptable for this GB.

 She will be "de-militarized", and I'm thinking gear up, in flight display. "Future-2020, World Air Race"

lewbud wrote:

Richie, If you're going to do RB-51 by High Planes, get a Hasegawa P-51D as well (at least in 1/72).  It will provide all of the poorly molded bits from the High Planes kit, which is most of the kit.

Thanks Mate!!! Will make a note!!

Randy,

The kit will be the 1/72 Eduard kit.  Don't know where I'll scrounge the decals.

Richie,

If you're going to do RB-51 by High Planes, get a Hasegawa P-51D as well (at least in 1/72).  It will provide all of the poorly molded bits from the High Planes kit, which is most of the kit. 

Lewbud Great subject you have chosen ! Yours will be the first jet build in the group I think. Can you let me know the scale and what kit you will be using so I can list it on the front page ?

Simpilot34 I will be more than happy to keep you posted on issues with this kit. I also have 2 other Hawk kits waiting to be built, the Gee Bee R-1 and the Travel Air Mystery Ship. I think the Testers kits were made from the old Hawk molds so they will be the same. I am waiting for High Planes to come out with both of those kits Red Baron and Rare Bear in 1/48 so I can build them. I do have a Testers Bear Cat F8F in 1/48 I was going to build as Rare Bear but they may come out with that kit before I start on mine.

Kermit Here are a couple of links to some vids you might like The first one is Steve Hinton flying the Red Baron for a speed record back in 1979. His son Steve jr won the unlimited gold at the Reno Air Races yesterday. Its a pretty cool vid with lots of realaited links, I spent a couple of hours this morning browsing them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO87ssbtY48&feature=related

This second one is of young Steve Hinton getting his license to race Strega this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rbz4IwVbj4

Enjoy my friend And anyone else who wishes to see them.