Scratch built scale helis?

[Cj67]

I'd like to get into scale helis sometime, but I want a larger one, however kits are very expensive. I've seen a thread or two about guys completely scratch building the fiberglass fueslage and everything and was wondering how hard it would be to do so. I was thinking maybe around a 600-700 size? And the particular model would be like a MD-900/902 or MD-520N with the NOTAR tails. Any thoughts? Tips? Ideas? Thanks!

 

[F106DeltaDart]

I'd like to get into scale helis sometime, but I want a larger one, however kits are very expensive. I've seen a thread or two about guys completely scratch building the fiberglass fueslage and everything and was wondering how hard it would be to do so. I was thinking maybe around a 600-700 size? And the particular model would be like a MD-900/902 or MD-520N with the NOTAR tails. Any thoughts? Tips? Ideas? Thanks!

It's absolutely doable if you have the space and facilities. There are a few guys who have now been using 3D printed templates as the plug for their fiberglass layups. I am planning to do something similar with an Enstrom F-28 and Bell 525 at some point down the road. One of the biggest holdups for me is having a ventilated space to do the layups, so I've been putting it off until the summer months.

For the NOTAR setup, that adds an extra complication. I suggest looking at this guys build for reference, he's done some awesome work with a NOTAR on the big Vario MD500: http://www.scalerchelis.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=18454.