First Scratch Build

[buzzbomb]

I bought some Adams Readi-board at DollarTree today. I spent some time getting the plans for the Tiny Trainer to print onto cardstock so I could make replacement parts. Then I had an amazing thought: I have foam board. I can print plans onto card stock...

Not only could I make parts for the plane I just built, I could build another plane! So here it begins: My first scratch build, the FT Mighty Mini, Mini Scout.

Here are the assembled plans.

All taped up on the backside and ready to go. Time to start some seriously complicated (for me) cutting.

Does this plane need the landing gear to balance? I'd rather not have to deal with it. I'd rather just throw it and belly land.

 

[Userofmuchtape&glue]

No its fine without.

 

[buzzbomb]

I've still got to cut out the cut-outs but the template is pretty much complete. Next is to put template to board. I'm thinking trace the parts I can and pin-push the lines I can't trace and then connect the dots. It's easy to see where on the main part of the fuselage alone, that is a monumental task for a newb.

Is that the way to go - make dots and try to connect them with a ruler, or does anyone have a better suggestion?

 

[Scooter The White Rabbit]

That was my idea once I get my first Guinea Pig. Only I'm thinking of getting some dress makers chalk to run the marking wheel through. Red and Blue, and black. That way you get red, blue and black dotted lines in your foam board to follow. That will show cut lines, fold, and score lines as well.

 

[PsyBorg]

Nice start mate. I did the same thing with pins on my builds for things like servo hopes and such.

Getting plans on to poster board takes me forever to glue and cut. Being able to print directly to poster board would be a great service to scratch builders.

 

[Scooter The White Rabbit]

Nice start mate. I did the same thing with pins on my builds for things like servo hopes and such.

Getting plans on to poster board takes me forever to glue and cut. Being able to print directly to poster board would be a great service to scratch builders.

Must build fleet of Guinea Pigs... SAR yellow and red bird 001X, other birds camo, Silver with Florescent Orange nose-wing tips-tail!

 

[buzzbomb]

Just trying to finish cutting and I screwed up the fuselage. My mother is in the hospital having surgery, and I was hoping to destress a bit, but I can't concentrate. She's going to be fine and I can reprint and tape and cut.

Tomorrow is another day.

 

[d8veh]

After a few trials, I found that the easiest way to cut out the parts was to selotape the A4 printed sheets directly to the foam board using Scotch Magic Tape, which can be unpealed.

 

[Scooter The White Rabbit]

Hang in there Buzzbomb. I just went through times like that with the other half. Take out a sketch pad, colored pens, and practice what you want to paint your bird. If you screw up, only the garbage can knows at the end of the day!

 

[Scooter The White Rabbit]

Oct. 20th 2018. Does anyone else remember Peter's Pink Pre-Guinea? I caught a YouTube video of it today, and went nuts making screen grabs. Why?

Okay, I love the look of this nose! And this bird has a C-130 wide fuselage tail box, and Herc tail assembly.

 

[buzzbomb]

Oct. 20th 2018. Does anyone else remember Peter's Pink Pre-Guinea? I caught a YouTube video of it today, and went nuts making screen grabs. Why? View attachment 117135 Okay, I love the look of this nose! And this bird has a C-130 wide fuselage tail box, and Herc tail assembly. View attachment 117133

Peter takes everything to the next level. His battleship episode really shows off his crazed level of fabrication skills. Everything from fiberglass to copper. His cargo plane not only flies and flies well, it took two or three FliteFests with crazy level combat to finally take it down. It wasn't even a hit that did it, one of the motor mounts finally came off.

Peter's designs are really awesome and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. They are seldom boring. His cargo plane may be what you are looking for.

 

[buzzbomb]

OK. Plans done. Time to take it to the foam board.

 

[buzzbomb]

Pin-punch method to save the template: Pinned down and traced:

Pins pushed through to make the lines. I was pushing through every single point, and though it was relaxing, it was also very tedious. So I decided just do the points that mattered. You can see in this image where I started marking all points and then decided not to.

 

[buzzbomb]

Then I screwed it up and connected the wrong dots. You can see it on the image below.

Lesson learned? I'm going to make stuff up. I've learned how to print the plans and put them together. I honestly have no need to save them since it's so easy just to make another template.

Tape the plan to the board and try to work all that out? Nope. Hotglue. Hotglue has weight. Understood. Just a few dots here and there, to mate the plans to the foam. Cut stuff out and maybe then remove the weight. We'll have to see how that goes. The journey continues.

 

[buzzbomb]

The hotglue actually didn't stick. Go figure.

 

[Mhesche]

Looks way better than mine did. I'm going to have to reprint the fuselage and try again.
Edit: (Picture) Reprinted and cut out. Stuck to foamboard using small nails, traced the outside then marked inside cuts using another small nail. Drew them with a ruler. Now its on to the hardest part of cutting it out which will have to wait until tomorrow.

 

[buzzbomb]

OK. Taking it to the next level. I didn't like any of the methods available, so my first scratch build has become experimental. If you want plans printed on foamboard, buy a SpeedBuild kit. Not only is it printed it's already cut.

I want an in between. I want to be able to print and attach the plans to the foam, use them, then discard them. If I need them again, it's easy peasy to just to print cut and tape another. Now that I've learned how to do that, it is the easiest piece of this puzzle.

So, easily reproducible template, attached to the foam and then easily removed after they've done their job. Goal. My first thought was just a few spots of hot glue. Didn't work. The hot glue stuck to the foam board, stuck to the cardstock, but the two did not stick together.

OK. I had to very carefully cut the hot glue off of both, and now we're ready for the next experiment. Tacky glue and Elmer's School glue. I was actually thinking Elmer's white glue and some glue sticks. At DollarGeneral, I found these:

 

[buzzbomb]

Someone tell me what I'm missing. Why can't I put text below pictures? Anyway you can see the test, and here is how it came out. Both adhesives peeled the paper away from the foam. So. I tried another test with less glue.

 

[Scooter The White Rabbit]

I vote Tacky Glue. Elmer's might bond the paper too tightly to let go later. Although I could be wrong. LOL

 

[buzzbomb]

I don't have a pic of it, but it was successful. I glued the cardstock to the foamboard and then separated them. Next step I decided where to put the glue dots on the fuse plan. You can see the blue zeroes with the slashes through them.