The Harbinger

Here it is guys.

The vitals:

58 WS
625 sq
49 3/4 oz
SSW ASP 53
Monokote wings, flaps, stab, and elevators
Brodak and 3/10 cf on fuse, fin, and rudder
Lost Foam wing

Just in time for the St. Louis contest this weekend.

Crist,

Now that looks nice. Almost the same setup I'm planing for my USA-1. SSW Magnum 53, Monokote on flying surfaces and CF on fuse, but I'll use autopaint instead of dope. Hope mine comes out as well.

It is a very good looking ship.

Thanks Randy. You'll have to give me the skinny on autopaint. I'm about done using dope. Don't ask. I'm looking for alternatives.

Crist,

There are a couple of advantages. The colors are high in solids so it takes many less coats to cover. The color coats are not real stable (no hardener), but are obscenely light. They leave a matte finish so inking is pretty easy. The catalyzed clearcoat is almost impervious to nitro, so no more having to repaint he cowl after a fuel accident.

The overall process is pretty simple and has a lot less steps than dope (generally). I use Minwax Polycrylic on the bare wood. Silkspan wet and coat with PC on wood areas. You can use PC on the open bays, but it's a pain to get it to shrink right again. I will use nitrate on the open bays from now on. A bit of primer or PC and zinc sterate to fill in the few low spots that are left (the Polycrylic really fills well). Shoot color, ink and shoot one or at most two coats of the clear topcoat. On my last plane, there were 6 coats of paint from bare wood to done.

Check the archives here on SSW for a more complete description of the process. We've discussed it quite a bit before. Me, Godzilla and a few others have been using this method for a bit and I can say I'm really starting to get the hang of it. If your not too heavyhanded with the clear, it is a very light and slick way to finish planes.

Randy Powell

Edit: Oooo, I alomst forgot. You can have ANY color your want. See a car with a color you like and bamm, you got it.

Crist, Nice job on the new bird. Really looks nice. I hope you and the plane can make it to Columbus this year.

>Check the archives here on SSW for a more complete
>description of the process. We've discussed it quite a bit
>before. Me, Godzilla and a few others have been using this
>method for a bit and I can say I'm really starting to get
>the hang of it. If your not too heavyhanded with the clear,
>it is a very light and slick way to finish planes.

The article is due in Flying Models in the May issue.

Nice to see a cabin model instead of all those bubble canopies....

>Crist,
>
>Now that looks nice. Almost the same setup I'm planing for
>my USA-1. SSW Magnum 53, Monokote on flying surfaces and CF
>on fuse, but I'll use autopaint instead of dope. Hope mine
>comes out as well.
>
>It is a very good looking ship.
>
>

Randy Powell

Randy,
A bit of advise on the wing, if you are going to use $cote.
Use a strip of .007 CF strip on the face of the TE, and be sure to use the 1/16th sub spar. That is a BIG low aspect ratio wing that "might" have a tendency to flex with the $cote. I even added caps to the spar on mine. With silkspan and dope, with the mods I mentioned, it was pretty ridgid.
Bill <><

Crist,
Looks real good! Waiting on the flight report.
Bill <><

Crist,

Beautiful! I hope this flies at least as good as 'Actroma'. Too bad I won't be in St. Louis this weekend. We're having family visiting. Bill Calkins should be there, so he can give me a report on the new plane.

I wish I was as far along with my latest, but my 'honey do' list is killing me this Winter.

See you in the Summer 'stunt wars'!

Nice looking ship..
How did you do the inklines on the Monokote?

>Nice looking ship..
>How did you do the inklines on the Monokote?

Crist,

I hope that stuff works, honestly I do. But I wouldn't bet on it.

I have done something similar--although not to the degree shown on your model--with MonoKote cut into strips.

Very nice finish on your new model.

Look's great Crist. See you at Milwaukee.