Guillows TBF Avenger #509

[TexMechsRobot]

I'm going to be starting a Bird of Time kit build sometime towards the end of April and I'm going stir crazy until then. I decided to pop over to the LHS and see what they had on the shelves that I could mess around with over the next few weeks. I already knew that they didn't have high quality kits and a limited selection of the kits they do carry. I settled on the TBF Avenger by Guillows because it has a smallish wing span, is laser cut, and I haven't built a TBF Avenger before. Before I even bought it I was expecting poor wood, heavy tissue, and less than stellar motor parts. I was dead on. Luckily, I don't actually care if this flies well. I bought it to fill time and not really to be a top performer. I'm still learning FF rubber so I thought I could use this air frame to experiment with things and not feel too much sadness if I destroy it in the process. I am going to purchase some better tissue and motor parts from FAI or Easy Built Models and I'll probably use balsa stock I have on hand in place of their stringer material. Other than that, I'll be using all of their laser cut parts.

 

[nhk750]

Thats a wee little guy, my ape hands would probably crush it try to build it.

 

[TexMechsRobot]

It is a bit delicate (although the dense, heavy wood from Guillows makes construction a bit easier). I plan to get some peanut scale from Peck Polymers here in a couple of months as well. I think those would be fun to build and fly.

 

[nhk750]

I know what you mean about stir crazy, I'm going crazy wanting to build on my new system.

 

[earthsciteach]

Getting into endurance free flight is an affliction that I am afraid will happen to me some day. Those planes are so simple and light that the smallest nuance can make a massive difference in flight. So fascinating!

 

[Joker 53150]

Do they have a category for gas-powered giant-scale free-flight? Talk about scary: an un-guided 20 pound plane with a screaming gas engine heading right for the spectators!

 

[earthsciteach]

Do they have a category for gas-powered giant-scale free-flight? Talk about scary: an un-guided 20 pound plane with a screaming gas engine heading right for the spectators!

I am pretty sure there is a category. I've watched youtube videos of large, gas, free-flight events. It is absolute insanity! Imaging a crowd of perhaps hundreds of people standing around, without focusing in any particular direction. From random locations within this crowd, without notification, gas powered, free-flight planes are launched. Some climb, some dive, some climb then dive. Sometimes a plane flies long enough to clear the crowd. Here, see for yourself!

 

[Joker 53150]

Well that just looks like a HORRIBLE idea! I'm in.

 

[JimCR120]

That must be an HMB flying club where the only rule BYOB and waivers are optional.

Insanity indeed!

 

[TexMechsRobot]

I am pleasantly surprised with the laser cut quality of the parts! I haven't built a Guillows kit in a while and that was back in the day when die crushing was still their method. They have the laser settings figured out for sure. The back side of the cut sheet is pristine and cut all the way through. A little light sanding on the parts to remove the burn edges is all that's required. The wood is a bit dense but uniform. I could reduce the weight a little by cutting holes in the formers and ribs but I'm not going to this time around. I am upgrading to Esaki tissue and I have a few sheets of white on the way. I'll lightly airbrush to get the desired colors. I'm also going to use FAI rubber and a 6" Peck prop to start. I plan to add in some washout to both wing tips. Here's a couple of shots of the build in process.

 

[jsknockoff]

It looks like they are sending nicer plans than what I've received in the last few Guillows kits that I have built. Maybe that's an upgrade with the laser cut kits.

 

[TexMechsRobot]

I got a bunch done over the last few days. I'm at the point now that I'm waiting on the tissue to arrive. I am impressed with the quality of the laser cut parts but not necessarily the quality of the wood. It does feel really heavy and I still don't expect it to be a great flyer but maybe that will surprise me as well. Here are some pictures of the progress.

The fuselage went together really well. I probably should have taken the time to remove the lettering but oh well.




1-2-3 blocks were one of my best investments for my tools. I use these things for everything.








Parts complete.


Test fitting the wing in the fuselage. It slides through a cut slot.


Whoops. See if you can spot the mistake. I'll give you a hint. Think about how the wing and fuselage are assembled.


Painting the interior of the cockpit, the canopy, and the cowling. I probably added too much weight doing this but I wanted it to look nice. I think it was a mistake though because I'm going to wind up with different colors because of the different surfaces. The canopy is clear plastic, the cowling is a white plastic, and the body will be white tissue. This means that even though I'm using the same blue paint, the blue will look different unless I lay it on thick and heavy. So, I'm going to go light and will likely have 3 different shades of blue to show for it. Oh well.

 

[rockyboy]

It'll be interesting sliding that wing through with the landing gear installed like that.

 

[nhk750]

Nice work, you work fast!

 

[TexMechsRobot]

It'll be interesting sliding that wing through with the landing gear installed like that.

Tell me about it lol. I just removed the gear and will make this an "in flight" model. I had thought to do this in the first place and my mistake just helped steer me in that direction.

Nice work, you work fast!

Thanks! The point of this kit was to give me something to do until April 22 when I could begin the Bird of Time. I work too fast for that though lol. I'll still have a couple of weeks after I finish this one.

 

[nhk750]

I would be building too, but we are working on the house a bit. We cleaned out this strange little room downstairs we use for storage and I think it will be perfect for storing and building airplanes in. Its about an 8' x 10' room with a ventilation fan in the ceiling, kinda weird and not sure what is was used for by the original owners, but looks to be perfect to build in. It is aslo cool and dark in the basement room, so good for storage of airplanes! I could build in there when it's hot out in the summer as it's naturally cool down there.

 

[TexMechsRobot]

The covering adventure has started! I'm using white Esaki tissue and I plan to airbrush it. I really like the way the white is so translucent though and I may have to keep a plane covered like this at some point in the future. Maybe something from the early 20th century...

 

[nhk750]

That's interesting, I have never seen that type of covering applied yet. Always used mono or some other heat covering.

 

[TexMechsRobot]

Tissue paper is real common for models of this size. All of the other build thread of stick models I've done on here have been stick and tissue. Easaki is a brand that makes really lightweight and quality tissue.

 

[bhursey]

Wow laser cut guillous kit i built plenty of die cut ones. They are not the best. Allot of sandingand triming needed.