So i picked up a new kit, the 1000 series hellcat. i am going to build it for fully functional display (hopefully) a few parts were die crushed, but that wont slow me down.. most of the parts so far have came out pretty easily.
i am pretty disopointed how acurately the parts fit together but..
the nose cone was damaged too, which im not too happy about.
guillows really wasnt thinking with how the notche's die cut cuts were positioned. it really just makes everything worse. but i managed to take care of the mods for fully functional display so far and cutting out the notches so its ok.
I cannot wait until Guillows laser cuts the larger planes, there is a lot of us out here that would like to convert these to electric RC. I don't mind messing with the poor wood and die crushed parts on the small planes, but there is no way I am going to mess with it on the larger birds.
I am now on the finishing stage of my last 1000 series and yes some of the die cut parts were a little discouraging but all in all nothing that could'nt be worked out to be acceptable. You have to make sure all the parts match the drawings as some of the notches in the formers sometimes don't match up but nothing that's not fixable. The corsair and the hellcat seemed the most problematic but after some tinkering worked out fine. I saved the lightning for last and it's going together quite well. But, if they came out laser cut I would probably build them all over again.
i usually just work it out. it wories me a little that its not as aurate as id like, but i will just have to deal. as i mentioned, i will build to fully functional (or try to) it only worries me if everything desnt fit in very nicely. then one bit could be off, and the next thing i know my moving part doesnt move ebcause its been moved over too far or something. so far it hasnt been so bad with the mods, but im sure i will have some fun with them later. and by fun i mean im gunna wanna throw my plane in the trash.
After fumbling thru the first retract gear on the 1000 series the others were quite easy to install. The lightning has a couple different twists to it but the mechanics are basically the same. The hellcat is nice in that it's easy to adjust so it functions properly. I was never a real fan of the thunderbolt but after I built it is my favorite of the series. A lot of patience and a good study of the plans will eventually make it clear to you. Getting the wire bent perfectly is a major challenge so I used some test pieces from some softer mechanics wire before doing the real stuff.
I agree Cliff that the retracts aren't too bad to setup. I have my Hellcat retracts setup per plans. I glued a small, rare earth magnet behind the card stock retract bays, directly aligned with the wheel axles. The axles have metal set screw tightened wheel collars holding the wheels on, so there is a good mass of metal there for the magnets to attract. The wheels stay in the bays quite well with the magnets.
The plane is converted to rc, and one of these days I'll get around to flying it.
BTW, the Dauntless has really nice molded wheel bays for retracts. I couldn't resist the urge to install micro rc retracts in that plane.
I need to watch what I say about having a favorite guillow's kit. I enjoyed each and every one that I've done. Putting all the holes in the brakes of the dauntless looked like quite the task but a hand held leather punch did the job nicely.
you know, i am for the most part happy with guillows. i sometimes blow hot and cold with them, but when you actually take a step back and look at some finished aircraft....
i cant believe how messed up the stringers are. not only are they not in line well on the fuse, but also the stringers are just not cut well. cant believe how poor they are
here is some progress. i got all of the stringers on except a few. its a time consuming process!!! im ok with the results so far. i know guillows can do better than this though. ill just deal with it. i think so far most of the mods have been quite simple. i hope they dont kill me on the retractable main gear.
Guillow's will happily send you a new cowl for free if you call them up. I've done it before for decals and crushed plastic parts.
I've seen guys pay DPC Models to laser cut new wood for a Guillow's kit based on the shapes given in the plans and to a great result. I don't think he's done any of the 1000 series planes before, but he might be able to help. Other people photo copy the portion of the plans showing the ribs and formers and use it as a template. The die cut/crushed wood is atrocious, but the nostalgia is priceless.
Bill, DPC Models typically charges $18 for WW1 series kit wood, which is a few sheets 3" wide and about 16" long. I've no idea if he has tooling costs or what his prices would be for a custom job.
