More KK Radians

944_Jim wrote:Is this the $70 kit advertised on eBay, or the one advertised on FaceBook from Canada?

I like it a lot,.and plan one building one once I thin down my "to be build."

Latest source

https://www.vintagemodelcompany.com/kk-radian.html

Thanks for the heads-up.

Good for Stan! This has to be a new addition to his line...I didn't see it at Christmas-time. His kits are supposed to be really nice.

ian1954 wrote:As mentioned in a previous post

Back to the new builds - one will have a PAW engine and the other a Cox.

It looks like it even has four paws!

dirk gently wrote:

ian1954 wrote:As mentioned in a previous post

Back to the new builds - one will have a PAW engine and the other a Cox.

It looks like it even has four paws!

I had rested the wings against the cushion and then went to find the camera. When I returned, my little prodigious gas passer had decided to rearrange them.

Now for the tanks.

The original plan just says 1/2A stunt tank. The plan for the "Kittywasp" has exactly the same tank and says Mercury economy wedge 7cc. These tanks are sold still as Mercury small but cost £10 each (plus postage).  I remembered seeing one in another of my kits and so dragged it out. £10 seems alot for such a small tank.




So out came the tin plate and four strips - 2 x 1" and 2x 5/8" taken from it.






£1.99 for the sheet of tinplate and enough metal to make 5 tanks.

A bit of folding and trimming



Into the vice for soldering



All tested for leaks and ready for installation

Ian, Nice job on making your own tank. I really like that design, adjustments can be made to fit the airframe while maximizing fuel capacity and flight time!

Fuselages underway

I covered the wings with some of that heat shrinky stuff. Don't ask me which one, it is not monokote, but from odds and ends that I acquired years ago with no labels but very, very cheap.





Now back to the fussylages. These are fiddly models to build and it would probably be easier to completed the build and then cover it, The problem I have is that I err on the clumsy side and sanding and finishing a complete model is almost certainly going to end up with dings and breakages.

Beautiful workmanship, congratulations Ian

Seriously Nice Build There !!!!!

Sweet hinge work! I can't wait to watch the videos.

I need to economize my construction. Two of one kit seems to be the most effect for the clocktime!

Now some of you may be wondering why I refer to the fuselage as the "fussylage". This is the the third(and fourth time) I have built this model and this is the section of assembly that I do not look forward to.

There are several problems to overcome here and I only hope my description of them makes some sense.

The first is - cover the wing before fitting or not? It would probably be easier not to and would make gluing the wing in place a much simple task removing the need to remove covering to get a good glue joint.

When you look at the pictures below, you will see that the pushrods create a problem! Now a warning here - the pushrods are 14 swg - use anything thcker and you will not be able to apply a temporary bend to wiggle the pushrod through the fussylage to the elevator.

Why do you have to bend it? Because the undercarriage is in the way and this is stitched and glued to one of the formers.



The pushrod also has to exit at the rear side of the fussylage and needs to be encouraged by further bending to pass through all the formers and exit at the slot.





It is not all over yet. The wing has to be continually eased in and out for a neat fit and to get a close joint with the fussylage followed by trimming away the covering.

Now back to covering or not. Covering the wing first makes it easier to avoid the wing snagging on ribs etc. while all this manipulation is going on.

I often thing that it would be easier to build the fussylage around the wing but keeping it straight would be difficult. Also to leave off the upper decking before the wing is fitted bit there is no strength in the fussylage until that has been applied. I also prefer to get all the rough shaping and sanding done while I can still hold the fussylage and avoid clouting the wing.

Glueing the wing to the fussylage is also a tad fraut at this stage. The pushrod is through the slot at the rear end and is forcing the wing out of line. It needs to be bent at the end through the slot to get a straight run through the fuselage in exactly the right position for full forward and aft movement. Not easy if the wing is not firmly attached! This required the use of rubber bands to hold the wing and get the alignment and then careful use of some fine nosed pliers,



The wing could then be glued in place.





This took me about 6 hours but I am finding (as an answer to Jim) that the second model is done far quicker as I am more prepared. About half the time.

Excellent work! I really like your custom tanks.

In other members postings, I have often referred to the difficulty I have with canopies. I look at the neat lines on Mauricos models canopy fitment with great regard.

I have ruined numerous canopies - split them, over trimmed them, messed up gluing them in and trod on a few.

I have devised a way of making it a little easier (not perfect but easier) and provide a backup fitment in the event of me ruining one.

in this instance, two Radian kits from different manufacturers - the canopies are a different shape although the fitment area remains the same.

So I cut 1/4" balsa sheet into slabs to follow the canopy profile in fit into to opening.



Then sand it to shape.



This way if I mess up the canopy I can paint this and stick it in. I suppose I could also use it as a plug to shape a new one but my attempts at this have not been too sucessful.

Using the shape lets me trim the canopy.



This works fine for everything except where the canopy overlaps the "bonnet" but it helps.

getback wrote:Thats a great idea Ian , i have seen a tool that works kind of the same way , but can't find it right now . Did you glue them blocks together after fitting?

They were glued together before fitting and then tack glued in place for sanding. 80 grit followed by 150 and then 240.

Then cut out with a razor blade at the tack joints.

Looking good Ian . I like the P.A.W. diesel model . I have several P.A.W.'s and I like them all . Keep up the good work .Nice tanks !

Mike1484

Almost ready to fly. Still mulling over decorations and trim but finished.





The blue one with the PAW engine weighs 80z (228g)




The red one with the Cox thingy weighs 7 3/4oz (220g)

Perfect, loving them both!