The peoples projects

[david clarke]

Hello Phil,i have used the decals from pyramid many times they are superb,recently refurbed a 20 year old hornet moth using spectrum paints and decals from pyramid.Some before and after pics.

Cheers,Dave

[ian redshaw]

Ooooh now thats very nice Dave, lovely job

Ian.

[stuart knowles 1611]

Thats a lovely model of a lovely subject.

Would you mind adding a few details about the model, size weight & power and how it came to be.

Thanks

Stu K

[Alan Cantwell 1131]

I wish i had a hapenny worth of the talent on these pages, some superb work, i would like to see some more pre restoration shots of the moth if its possible,

[Phil Clark]

Tiz a lovely job that

Phil

[david clarke]

Not sure of the origons of it but i think it was built from a Mike Smart plan,it's 77" span,Laser 75 engine weighs just a tad over 15lb.When it landed here it was nylon cover,very fuel soaked and in a pretty desperate state,the doors had been stuck in with mastic,servos also stuck in with mastic,so stripped it back replaced all the wet wood a recovered in solatex,new rigging and radio,put a cockpit in job done.I have put a few more pics of it before and after.

Dave.

[Alan Cantwell 1131]

if that model had a smile, it would be beaming, to start with a worn out wreck, and produce this, must be very satisfying,

[david clarke]

I find this side of the hobby more satisfying than scratch building,to take firewood and make something special out of it gives me a real buzz.
Better than all that pushing and sweating malarky.

[stuart knowles 1611]

Thanks Dave, that's really interesting. It appeared to be much bigger (p'raps because this is the LMA site) but there's a thought, scaled up for a Z38 would be worth a try sometime.

Very impressed with the transformation that you did on yours, it just shows that wrecks and relics are often worth a good look at before the matches come out. I've always found a rebuild to be way quicker than making a fresh start.
Thanks for posting
stu k

[stewart clifford]

Two cracking refurb jobs there with the Hornet Moth and the Spitfire, nice one

[david clarke]

Suppose i ought to post this one as well,C-arf spitfire done for a customer,again came to me in a bit of a state.It was painted with the small tins of Humbrol paint's,So i flatted it back sealed it and painted it in my usual way with Spectrum paint thinned with celly thinners,nigel did the stencils all sealed up with Aerocoat gloss and matt mixed,it doesn't look that shiny in the flesh just a nice satin finish,Customer wanted a well weathered used look.

Dave.

[chris willis]

Very nice David, as ever fine workmanship

[Phil Clark]

Another renovation on the go here.......this time a Ziroli Corsair. Came to me in a very sorry state as can be seen below.

[Phil Clark]

350+ hrs later, it's all patched up, re-glassed in many areas, new cowl, mounts & firewall (ZG62 being replaced with ZG80 twin), new fabric covered control surfaces, all surfaces re-hinged, new gear doors etc etc.......I'm now part way through applying I don't know how many thoudand flush rivets.....

[Simon Willey]

350+ hrs later,

That seams a lot of hours ,nearly 9 weeks at 40 hours a week. Would hate to have to pay that bill.

Si

[Phil Clark]

It's been a lengthy one this I agree....but it's been one of those projects where there more yo do, the more problems you uncover. I'm not a 'that'll do' type, so everything has to be done properly.

Nice things like the flap hinging........this was so bad, there was well over 1/2" of slop at the TE. The problem was down to poor building in the 1st place. Due to the nature of the flaps and how the 3 sections move, the flap hinges (1/8 ply) were bonded in at 90 degrees to the underside surface......all well and good for the inner & outer sections which are flat, but the small mid sections incorporates the crank, so each end of the flap is at a different angle. The original builder had abviously spotted this after doing it, and as the flap lowered, the hinges bound up, so all he'd done is eased out the holes in the ply flap hinges to introduce slop allowing the surfaces to move without binding......worked Ok, but woddled about all over the place.

12 new flap hinges were therefore made from carbon plate with all pivot holes bushed with brass tube to take M2.5 pivot bolts. All 6 flap sections had to be cut into and pockets made to accept the new hinges (all set parallel to each other)....with corresponding pockets fitting into the false TE.......

Add to this changing the non scale top hinged ailerons to freis hinged, leveling the entire surface which was very dry and 'starved' to bring back something resembling a smooth surface, new rear end control surfces to replace the bamaged originals, new hinges all round to replace the multitude of broken ones, new gear doors all round, reinforced main spars in the wing crank area where the original shear spars had been drilled through to take retract airlines (not necessary with some thought about where else they could go), and the upper main spar which was partically ground away to allow clearance for the main gear air rams. The front end has also been reinforced due to fuel soakage, plus a bigger heavier engine being fitted, new cowl with internally accessed cowl fixing so nothing is visible from the outside. Every single servo has been re-mounted as well......some of the originals were bonded in with silicone!!!......same goes for the battery & fuel tank. It's also having a full rewire & externally a full complement of panel lines, hatches and rivets etc.....

A lot of work I agree, but not sure a new airframe could have been built, glassed, surface finished & partially detailed in less time......so reworking the original airframe has still prooved worth while.

Phil

[Mike Booth]

Beautiful lads. Careful with that airbrush though. So much better with a bit of tee shirt and the MK 1 finger.

[sean smith]

Picture update on my Rawle Mosquito-Wings:

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-5.jpg (94.57 KiB) Viewed 11981 times

Sean.

[Phil Clark]

All done on the CompARF Spit.......ready for customer collection. A few small mouldings jobs to complete next, then straight back to the Ziroli Corsair.

Phil

[frank fearn]

The talent is never ending, stunning Phil...