Now this one has me excited...! I haven't had a P-51 in flying condition since my mini-P-51 tried digging a hole through a paved parking lot. It was pretty small and not overly quick, but looked good in flight. That was a couple years ago and it is still waiting to be re-built.
Fast-foward, and I'm given the opportunity to check out the FMS/Roc Hobbies P-51 Voodo from GearBest. The P-51 is obviously a classic design and every company under the sun makes one (or more). FMS is no different, offering different sizes and even simply different color schemes on the same plane. This version can be purchased as the Voodoo or Strega racers, and I went the Voodoo route. My daughter now calls it my Mardi Gras plane due to the colors.
The order was placed and the waiting game started. It took a few weeks, and of course showed up after I left for a business trip!
When it arrived, I found out why it was delayed. Our government did their due diligence and made sure there was nothing nefarious in the box. Packaging was in good shape and everything was wrapped in heavy paper with yards of tape covering every seam. This was certainly better than most of my HK shipments!
Under the heavy paper was a layer of cardboard, again taped heavily. It's starting to feel like I'm opening an onion - layer after layer!
Soon I get to the actual box and am greeted with the P-51's picture, but the Strega and not the Voodoo. It turns out they use the same box for both planes, and the Voodoo picture is on the other side of the box.
Off comes the last layer of cardboard and I'm greeted with a very colorful and nice looking plane.
All laid out for inspection prior to assembly.
It's a foamie, so I don't expect perfection. However, check out the smooth(ish) paint over the foam which does a great job hiding what is underneath. Decals are sharp as well.
The canopy isn't super clear, but at full speed I won't care as long as it stays on.
The prop included is a 4-blade, which looks much better than the generic 2-blade found on most P-51 models. The spinner is nice and shiny, and quite large.
Again, nice details and graphics.
Retracts and flaps are standard, and one interesting detail is the gear doors. Notice how the leading edge of the gear door (towards the right of the pic) is sitting down inside the wheel well a bit? I'm guessing this wasn't a mistake, and that is to help make sure the gear door doesn't catch the wind and rip off in flight. Both doors are like this and the molding of the foam allows that edge to recess slightly. Wheels are typical quality, nothing special and better than some garbage wheels on other RTF kits.
Here is the only problem I have had with the kit so far - the decals. The boxed out area should have the checkerboard decal, but they put a piece of paper behind the decal so that the wing fairings could be installed. The paper would then be removed and the decal stuck down. However, with the paper backing you can't stick the decal down! I'll do some trimming and just glue it in place, not a huge issue. The tail wheel is steerable.
This is before I added a receiver. Plenty of room for a 2200 3S, but a 2200 4S is getting pretty cramped. I removed the Deans connector and replaced it with an XT-60. With a 4S at storage charge, this bird has a LOT of power! It should really be a screamer with a full charge.
Not finished, but it's starting to look like it is. All servos still need to be connected, radio programmed, etc. It's gaudy, but very sharp looking!
Mmmmmm, shiny.
More details as I get it finished up. Hopefully I have time to maiden it this weekend, as I'm heading out on vacation Monday and need to pack.
Fast-foward, and I'm given the opportunity to check out the FMS/Roc Hobbies P-51 Voodo from GearBest. The P-51 is obviously a classic design and every company under the sun makes one (or more). FMS is no different, offering different sizes and even simply different color schemes on the same plane. This version can be purchased as the Voodoo or Strega racers, and I went the Voodoo route. My daughter now calls it my Mardi Gras plane due to the colors.
The order was placed and the waiting game started. It took a few weeks, and of course showed up after I left for a business trip!
When it arrived, I found out why it was delayed. Our government did their due diligence and made sure there was nothing nefarious in the box. Packaging was in good shape and everything was wrapped in heavy paper with yards of tape covering every seam. This was certainly better than most of my HK shipments!
Under the heavy paper was a layer of cardboard, again taped heavily. It's starting to feel like I'm opening an onion - layer after layer!
Soon I get to the actual box and am greeted with the P-51's picture, but the Strega and not the Voodoo. It turns out they use the same box for both planes, and the Voodoo picture is on the other side of the box.
Off comes the last layer of cardboard and I'm greeted with a very colorful and nice looking plane.
All laid out for inspection prior to assembly.
It's a foamie, so I don't expect perfection. However, check out the smooth(ish) paint over the foam which does a great job hiding what is underneath. Decals are sharp as well.
The canopy isn't super clear, but at full speed I won't care as long as it stays on.
The prop included is a 4-blade, which looks much better than the generic 2-blade found on most P-51 models. The spinner is nice and shiny, and quite large.
Again, nice details and graphics.
Retracts and flaps are standard, and one interesting detail is the gear doors. Notice how the leading edge of the gear door (towards the right of the pic) is sitting down inside the wheel well a bit? I'm guessing this wasn't a mistake, and that is to help make sure the gear door doesn't catch the wind and rip off in flight. Both doors are like this and the molding of the foam allows that edge to recess slightly. Wheels are typical quality, nothing special and better than some garbage wheels on other RTF kits.
Here is the only problem I have had with the kit so far - the decals. The boxed out area should have the checkerboard decal, but they put a piece of paper behind the decal so that the wing fairings could be installed. The paper would then be removed and the decal stuck down. However, with the paper backing you can't stick the decal down! I'll do some trimming and just glue it in place, not a huge issue. The tail wheel is steerable.
This is before I added a receiver. Plenty of room for a 2200 3S, but a 2200 4S is getting pretty cramped. I removed the Deans connector and replaced it with an XT-60. With a 4S at storage charge, this bird has a LOT of power! It should really be a screamer with a full charge.
Not finished, but it's starting to look like it is. All servos still need to be connected, radio programmed, etc. It's gaudy, but very sharp looking!
Mmmmmm, shiny.
More details as I get it finished up. Hopefully I have time to maiden it this weekend, as I'm heading out on vacation Monday and need to pack.
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