I'm new to the forum and building balsa planes. I've been building plastic kits for years, but have lost some motivation and decided on a change, hence balsa!
So, here's my first effort - what a learning experience! Although I followed the instructions closely, I'm sure I've mucked up the dihedral as it has ended up slightly more than suggested in the plans. I've left the wheels off as I thought that might make landings more forgiving. I used the kit tissue and deluxe materials ezedope to cover it. It went on OK, but I've got to get neater, and I think I'll thin it and apply it with an airbrush next time. I've also only just noticed a slight warp in the rudder and stabiliser. Anyway, it looks rough as heck to me, but it glides OK (I've not taken it outside for a proper 'flight' yet), and it's helped me get into the swing of things. Next up is kit 402 - P-40 Warhawk.
your first balsa build, looks pretty good to me. it is a challange to get one to fly really well but when you do it is a thrill. keep up the good work.
FYI- I built the skyraider as my second build not long ago. I used the kit dihedral angle thingys, and it ended up with waaaay more dihedreal than anticipated too.
Not intentionally - I used the bits in the kit that set the angle of the final former to get the dihedral. I measured it on a flat surface and the wing tips have come out slightly higher (about an 1/8 of an inch) on both sides. I could have added shims to adjust it, but felt that it would look messy and ultimately this wasn't meant to be a show-piece so I lived with it. It just looks nothing like the real thing!
Like I said before. My first build looked very bad, but now I have greatly improved, I hope you stick with it. As long as you have a passion for flight; you will be hooked. I got nothing against plastic models, but when you get that first flight, there's nothing better, and you'll be hooked.
Nice Job! The dihedral looks good to me for flying. Leaving off the landing gear is a good idea for a flying model.
The 400 series are my favorite. Make sure you take care with the plans for your P-40. If you choose to build it a second time, you can just buy a few of the laser cut sheets from Guillow's and what ever plastic parts you need. I have built all the 400 series, and most more than once.
once you go to wood built planes that fly; you'll never go back to plastic. Even if you build for scale display like Dave Ducket, they are just better IMHO.
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I don't think don't think one is necessarily better than the other, instead both different and cool, having their own merits.
For a start, you'll never match the level of detail you can get with injection moulded plastic. But you'll struggle to get an injection moulded kit of the size of the Guillows P-40 I'm building. And if anyone did make one, it would be outrageously expensive. But for showing-off's sake, here's one of my more usual subjects, in 1:48th scale ...
That's enough showing off for now, back to the P-40!
