The Spit of All Spits

[BATTLEAXE]

Got some work done on the Spit over the past couple of nights. This Master Series stuff is definitely a slower process then the original FT models but it is definitely more rewarding in the end. This is where I got to as of last night...

Tonight I installed the servos in the wing and the tail section. Kinda went off the beaten path of following the build vid with a few areas. You can see the former stack for the nose has the plywood glued on for the firewall that the X mount gets screwed to. The only reason I will still use the FB power pod is to tie all the nose sections together for strength and support.

Spent about half hour just forming the outer skin for the tail section. This is one of the areas that I left the build vid behind. Instead of flying the bottom seam the full length of the skin first then sliding the spine in, I only glued the front 3-4" and left the rest open at the seam. This gave me access to slide the spine in while lining up the control rods with the exit tubes and be sure the top of the spine was securely glued tot he skin the full length of the tail. Once the spine was in place then I glued the rest of the seam one section of masking tape at a time till it was full closed up. It all worked out square and straight and finished off nice. The more i build the more I want it done just to see it all together.

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Got this far tonight, down to my last stick of glue. Should have enough for the canopy, last section of the nose and the wing root fairings...

This thing is just as big as the Kitfox, which tells me that if I am able to get unlimited vertical on the Kitfox with a draggy airframe, then a 3s in here should not be an issue. And I can fit the 5450mah in there, on a 10x5 APC it should fly well

 

[herbertjalarcon]

Got this far tonight, down to my last stick of glue. Should have enough for the canopy, last section of the nose and the wing root fairings... View attachment 158900
This thing is just as big as the Kitfox, which tells me that if I am able to get unlimited vertical on the Kitfox with a draggy airframe, then a 3s in here should not be an issue. And I can fit the 5450mah in there, on a 10x5 APC it should fly well

Looking good!

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Got all I am going to do for tonight, canopy and the rest of the nose on. Still gonna go back to the vid just to see how the wing fairings are formed.

This one has some dings and wrinkles, but it will fly.

 

[Zetoyoc]

It is looking great. And I can't see any dents or wrinkles from here so I am sure no one will see them when in flight either

 

[BATTLEAXE]

It is looking great. And I can't see any dents or wrinkles from here so I am sure no one will see them when in flight either

They will show up in the paint for sure, but in flight won't be seen. It's just aesthetics

 

[Mr.Grinch]

Just use a little lightweight spackle over the dings to smooth things out. It doesn’t work as well for the seams, but every little bit helps, right?

 

[Wildthing]

Got this far tonight, down to my last stick of glue. Should have enough for the canopy, last section of the nose and the wing root fairings... View attachment 158900
This thing is just as big as the Kitfox, which tells me that if I am able to get unlimited vertical on the Kitfox with a draggy airframe, then a 3s in here should not be an issue. And I can fit the 5450mah in there, on a 10x5 APC it should fly well

That's looking really nice, well done

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Spit construction complete...

Being this is my first Master Series build it was a learning experience for sure. I learned a lot with this as compared to the traditional folded designs. One thing I did notice that it is really important to take your time, do lots of dry fitting and adjustments if needed, patience is key. Plus a couple new techniques that I hadn't done before.

On my next M.S. build I will either order a kit or get someone to needle cut for me, mostly for accuracy and fit. There were a few areas I had to trim and sand to get things to fit right. I did make a couple mistakes as well, just due to not following the video to the T. But all in all I am happy with the result and this definitely won't be my last M.S. build for sure. Definitely gives me more confidence to move on to other models like the P-47, or maybe the upcoming Mustang or P-40. The P-40 is something I definitely want to re-visit given my last effort only lasted a couple minutes in the maiden.

Here on the underside you can see the flaps and how i did the hidden servo trick. The radiator intakes are a little further apart then you would find in a scale Spitfire but the servos had to go this far out because the inside of the wing is reinforced with the ply for LG. So this is the only place i could have put the servos, due to lack of cognitive planning, so to cover them that's where the intakes ended up. One of the new techniques was the inside curve of the wing fairings, this took a couple of tries to get the curve without totally messing things up, again patience. They still aren't perfect but again this will be the flyer.

One mistake i did make was the wing was glued on almost an inch to far forward. I attached the wing with everything right side up, fuse over the wing, instead of upside down, to line everything up properly. It was a lack of paying enough attention to the vid and i was prioritizing getting the wing square to the fuse as opposed to being indexed properly. On the upside i now have a vent hole for warm air to exit so not to bad. The battery hatch is mounted with pop sticks holding the front edge and magnets in the back so it is easy access with a zip-tie for a pull strap.

I think for a paint scheme i will be goin with this one...

I am liking the brown on beige, I was thinking of the green on grey as well but its the desert colors i find more appealing. Over all a fun build and I cant wait to take on the next

 

[Grifflyer]

Love the dog in the third pic

Why not try a scheme that the RCAF used during WW2? It's a grey on green, but you gotta support your peeps

Notice the invasion stripes on the bottom? That'd be pretty unique...

 

[BATTLEAXE]

I will be doing the invasion stripes on the bottom for sure

 

[herbertjalarcon]

Spit construction complete... View attachment 158952
View attachment 158944
Being this is my first Master Series build it was a learning experience for sure. I learned a lot with this as compared to the traditional folded designs. One thing I did notice that it is really important to take your time, do lots of dry fitting and adjustments if needed, patience is key. Plus a couple new techniques that I hadn't done before. View attachment 158945
On my next M.S. build I will either order a kit or get someone to needle cut for me, mostly for accuracy and fit. There were a few areas I had to trim and sand to get things to fit right. I did make a couple mistakes as well, just due to not following the video to the T. But all in all I am happy with the result and this definitely won't be my last M.S. build for sure. Definitely gives me more confidence to move on to other models like the P-47, or maybe the upcoming Mustang or P-40. The P-40 is something I definitely want to re-visit given my last effort only lasted a couple minutes in the maiden.
View attachment 158946 View attachment 158947
Here on the underside you can see the flaps and how i did the hidden servo trick. The radiator intakes are a little further apart then you would find in a scale Spitfire but the servos had to go this far out because the inside of the wing is reinforced with the ply for LG. So this is the only place i could have put the servos, due to lack of cognitive planning, so to cover them that's where the intakes ended up. One of the new techniques was the inside curve of the wing fairings, this took a couple of tries to get the curve without totally messing things up, again patience. They still aren't perfect but again this will be the flyer.

One mistake i did make was the wing was glued on almost an inch to far forward. I attached the wing with everything right side up, fuse over the wing, instead of upside down, to line everything up properly. It was a lack of paying enough attention to the vid and i was prioritizing getting the wing square to the fuse as opposed to being indexed properly. On the upside i now have a vent hole for warm air to exit so not to bad. The battery hatch is mounted with pop sticks holding the front edge and magnets in the back so it is easy access with a zip-tie for a pull strap.

I think for a paint scheme i will be goin with this one... View attachment 158948
I am liking the brown on beige, I was thinking of the green on grey as well but its the desert colors i find more appealing. Over all a fun build and I cant wait to take on the next

Very, very nice!

 

[The Hangar]

@BATTLEAXE it looks awesome!

 

[Mr. Gandalf]

Nice work BATTLEAXE! How much does that bird weigh?

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Nice work BATTLEAXE! How much does that bird weigh?

No idea, no scale

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Just thought I would toss this in the mix...

 

[Maxx]

It's beautiful work man ! congratulations !

 

[bracesport]

@BATTLEAXE - you sir, are officially a master builder!

 

[The Hangar]

@bracesport you are a big spitfire fan, right? Do you have plans to add a master series spit to your fleet?

 

[bracesport]

@The Hangar - it is certainly my next FB build!