So, my ability to take part in the upcoming build-along....
It seems as my wonderful, caring, and understanding wife DOES have a limit when it comes to me playing with RC planes. I mentioned to her the build-along, and my plan to build a gyrocopter (spoiler alert, she was not impressed), and little did I know she's actually been paying attention to what I am working on and what is sitting on the shelf collecting dust!
The tipping point appears to have been the last swap meet I hit, and me bringing home a fiberglass fuselage for a 1/5 scale FW-109 (WWII German fighter) and a Sig Tclips. I'm not sure why I bought the Sig, but it seemed like a good idea at the time, and that plane is fairly easy to hide.
However, that FW-109 bare fuselage is very long for a plane with an 85" wingspan. Heck, it's almost as long as my 1/3 scale Sopwith Pup, so it was hard to sneak it in the house. Even without a wing (it's just the fuselage, plans, and some assorted vacuum formed parts) it stands out and was quickly spotted! Cue the "sad trombone" sound effect.
<her pointing to a Hobbico Extra 300 bare balsa fuselage> "What about THAT plane that has been sitting there for two years?" I wasn't stupid enough to say it, but there are actually TWO of them I got from a swap meet.
<pointing to another one> "And that one your dad gave you is broken, why are you even keeping it?" In my defense, it was my first RC plane and has sentimental value, and is completely repairable.
<and yet another plane meets her steely eye> "What the hell did you do to that one, it looked nice when you got it and now it's..." Ah, but that was originally built as a static display for a hobby store, and I just need to finish stripping it so I can add electronics!
It was hopeless, I've learned to pick my battles and I prefer to pick ones that I can actually win.
And I hate to say it, but she's at least 51% right, as my collection of "projects" is getting a little out of hand. But at least I don't have a secret storage locker filled with planes. Yet...
So I did what any guy with an un-diagnosed RC obsession would do in a situation like this, I threw my wallet at her and ran screaming out of the basement like a child and hid until it was safe to come out.
With all that said, she's actually been ridiculously understanding about this hobby and everything that goes along with it, so I'll listen to her suggestion that I
temporarily stop adding to the fleet until some of the old work is finished up. That means the gyrocopter project is back on-hold, but it also means I finally have a reason - nay, a MISSION - to finish one of the older projects.
Here's what I'm thinking, and others in the Build-Along can veto the idea if they wish:
I've got at 4 or 5 different balsa projects at various stages of completion that have stalled or were never started by me, and I could list them along with pictures and descriptions. There is a bit of variety in the types of planes and what needs to be done, from simply re-building a crashed plane to finishing a partial-plane with scratch-built parts. Whoever is so inclined could vote for which one I should build, and that would be my project. The biggest projects in my hangar would not be included as there just isn't time to do them right during the contest time-frame.
Thoughts?
