Help! FT Mini Corsair/Foam board

[Concodroid]

So I'm going to buy/build a mini Corsair, but I can't buy a power pack right now. Is it possible to build the model, paint it, etc, then open it up later and put all the electronics in?

Also, I'm curious if I can build more than one model with the 25-pack foam board, (if so, how many? mini or standard, I don't really care) and how I can transfer the plans from my printer to the board (I just have a normal Letter printer). Obviously, if I can build more than two with the foam, it's more worth it!

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Battery800]

So I'm going to buy/build a mini Corsair, but I can't buy a power pack right now. Is it possible to build the model, paint it, etc, then open it up later and put all the electronics in?

Also, I'm curious if I can build more than one model with the 25-pack foam board, (if so, how many? mini or standard, I don't really care) and how I can transfer the plans from my printer to the board (I just have a normal Letter printer). Obviously, if I can build more than two with the foam, it's more worth it!

Any help is appreciated.

I definitely think that you can makes more than a few mm planes with a 25 pack. Also, I don’t use poster board since I just throw away the guides afterwards. Just tape the necessary pieces together

 

[AIRFORGE]

So I'm going to buy/build a mini Corsair, but I can't buy a power pack right now. Is it possible to build the model, paint it, etc, then open it up later and put all the electronics in?

Also, I'm curious if I can build more than one model with the 25-pack foam board, (if so, how many? mini or standard, I don't really care) and how I can transfer the plans from my printer to the board (I just have a normal Letter printer). Obviously, if I can build more than two with the foam, it's more worth it!

Any help is appreciated.

You could build it to the point of gluing the paper on the tail, after that, I would wait for the electronics.
If you situate your parts correctly, you can cut 2 Mini Corsairs from only 3 sheets of foam board. So, you'll be able to make 16 Mini Corsairs from the 25 pack. That's a lot of Corsairs!

 

[Concodroid]

You could build it to the point of gluing the paper on the tail, after that, I would wait for the electronics.
If you situate your parts correctly, you can cut 2 Mini Corsairs from only 3 sheets of foam board. So, you'll be able to make 16 Mini Corsairs from the 25 pack. That's a lot of Corsairs!

Hmm, 16?

I'll build one for show, then I'll wait for electronics later!

Also, how do I actually draw the designs on the foam? Freehand?

 

[AIRFORGE]

Hmm, 16?

I'll build one for show, then I'll wait for electronics later!

Also, how do I actually draw the designs on the foam? Freehand?

I use a CNC, and have never cut full plans/parts by hand. The plans should be PROPERLY printed, and then glued or taped to the foam board, then cut by hand. This is a great article to get you going: https://www.flitetest.com/articles/printing-flite-test-plans

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Hmm, 16?

I'll build one for show, then I'll wait for electronics later!

Also, how do I actually draw the designs on the foam? Freehand?

Each mini build will be one to one and a half sheets, max two depending on the model. The standard size can go from 2 sheets to 6-7 depending on the model. It also depends on how you lay your pieces out on the FB as well. You were asking how do you transfer the patterns... There are a bunch of ways to skin that cat but the way i have been doing it works for me. I, like you only have a letter printer so I either go for the TILED plans to down load and print. That way should take about 8 sheets of paper per sheet of FB. These sheets then get taped together. Or you could go with the FULL SIZE plans and use Adobe Acrobat Reader to tile the sheets for you, I find this way to be a bit more accurate with the cut marks, but it will be 12 sheets of paper per sheet of FB. The second way works well if you want to scale up or scale down plans as well.

After you get the tiles taped together I like to cut the individual pieces out and place them on the sheets of FB so as to get the maximum out of your foam board sheets, sometimes they aren't the most efficient. Sometimes you have to watch for grain direction like you do with the Corsairs, because it is a molded model. Once the pieces are placed on the FB where you like i tape them down to the FB and cut on the lines where needed. Once the piece is cut out the plan piece should be the perfect size for the next model. If that makes any sense. Or you could go to Staples and have them print you full size sheets from a USB stick, cost about 5 bucks a sheet though

 

[Innaviation]

Hmm, 16?

I'll build one for show, then I'll wait for electronics later!

Also, how do I actually draw the designs on the foam? Freehand?

I typically cut curves freehand but I use a ruler to cut the straight lines

 

[FrankFly]

Also, how do I actually draw the designs on the foam? Freehand?

I print the tiled plans, full-size on the printer. Trim each page so they fit together exactly, and use "restickable" glue stick

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001GXFB4K/?tag=lstir-20

to paste them to the foam board. Cut through the plans and peel them off once the piece is cut out. Assemble just the pages for a given piece, say the fuselage, rather than try stick all the pages together at once.

 

[mackaiver]

Hmm, 16?

I'll build one for show, then I'll wait for electronics later!

Also, how do I actually draw the designs on the foam? Freehand?

i usualy take the plans and cut them out then trace all the parts and so far that has served me well.

 

[Battery800]

Cessna longitude?

 

[TheFlyingBrit]

Never yet cut a plan out and stuck it on the foam board. I start with A4 sheets and stick them together, then trace the plan onto semi transparent grease proof (baking) paper. I then reverse the tracing onto a foam board and draw along the lines on the back of the tracing paper. That imparts the original pencil and pen marks to the foam board after which I can cut it out. My plans remain in one piece and are then rolled up and archived for future repeat builds. The tracings will serve to replicate three models before I would need to copy from the plan again.
Just need to remember if any details from the plan are side specific you need to turn the tracing paper twice, so the image isnt inverted. Works every time and if you use a ruler and sharp pencil the images are as accurate as the original plans (unless you mistakenly print the wrong plan size to begin with ie the B version - A3, instead of A version - A4, which happend once) .

Works for me and I still have every plan Ive ever printed in one piece.