trainrider06
Active Member
Uhgg I hate shots! Lol that was funny!
Hope you've recovered from the flu!
Hope you've recovered from the flu!
Scale Vario Robinson R22
- Thread starter Sweetfrost
- Start date
Sweetfrost
Member
Hi there trainrider06.
Yes, i've recovered from (and survived) the flu. It took some time but its finally over and its my first day at work tomorrow. Haven't done so much on the R22 these days, but did however start and finish the Mass Effect 2 PC game - it was quite entertaining. But now its time for some serious work on the R22 and "project-paintbooth". And soon i have the first pics on some details on the heli.
regards
trainrider06
Active Member
Can't wait to see pix! Glad your feeling better! I am an absolute big pain when sick! I hate feeling sickly! 
Nade
Member
Thank for your interest. I like to point out that this is my first build ever that demands a little skill and patience - i have never build anything like this before only Trex 450, 550 and 600. The R22 has always bin one of my favorite helicopters and for a first-time large scale helicopter i think this is perfect because it can be driven with piston engine or electric motor and i opt for the electric since i know very little about engines. And it does not differ much when compared to my 600 setup ... 12S setup etc. I get good help and advice form another guy that build the same model - in fact i am copying many things he has done with his build to mine - seen his build on Helifreak countless times.
Right now im working on the doors - sanding sanding sanding sanding ... one door finished and heres a picture for comparison. Doors and tailboom are made of carbonfiber and sanding the edges on the doors takes ages .. atom by atom .. sheesh .. nah its quite fun sitting here listening to music (AC/DC thunder struck right now).
regards
Hello sweet frost, that is going to be a beautiful machine indeed! I am in the middle of a Bell 47GII from Vario. I'd very much like to know how things go as you sort everything out. Mine had a number of items missing that were assumed by both me and the sales rep to be part of the kit. I've also had a number of hardware item i.e. Screws, clips etc, that were missing. But in the meantime, here is a few pics of my Bell 47G.
trainrider06
Active Member
Some cool birds for sure!
Sweetfrost
Member
Hi Nade.
First of all what a super fine 47G you have there and i really like the rotorhead. That might very well be my next heli project .. have a dream of a M*A*S*H helicopter. ;0)
I have not encountered any missing parts on my R22 kit, everything was just as i expected form a Vario kit. I did some readings on different fora and did also get amazing help and service from a guy in Belgium (RC heliservice/Vario Belgium) regarding the head geometry. So i ended up getting a "custom" head for the R22. The head is all Vario parts but not 100 % identical to the flybarless head originally offered by Vario for this R22. There was some issues about the phasing and to make thing a little less complicated to set up other blade-grips are mounted and also the push-rods are now on the leading edge side of the blades. Pictures coming later.
But all in all a impressive kit. I have already made many upgrades and also changed some phillips-head screws (hate them) to pan-head hex screws and so on.
thanks for sharing
First of all what a super fine 47G you have there and i really like the rotorhead. That might very well be my next heli project .. have a dream of a M*A*S*H helicopter. ;0)
I have not encountered any missing parts on my R22 kit, everything was just as i expected form a Vario kit. I did some readings on different fora and did also get amazing help and service from a guy in Belgium (RC heliservice/Vario Belgium) regarding the head geometry. So i ended up getting a "custom" head for the R22. The head is all Vario parts but not 100 % identical to the flybarless head originally offered by Vario for this R22. There was some issues about the phasing and to make thing a little less complicated to set up other blade-grips are mounted and also the push-rods are now on the leading edge side of the blades. Pictures coming later.
But all in all a impressive kit. I have already made many upgrades and also changed some phillips-head screws (hate them) to pan-head hex screws and so on.
thanks for sharing
Sweetfrost
Member
Just wanted to show you guys something. This happened in august 2008. I work in an prison and some the buildings (wooden barracks really) are old .. from the WWII and the part which is the school/library and gym hall had some roof and facade work done that summer. I was at work that day but did not take this fine picture. Someone found hidden in the wall these two well preserved German hand grenades. The wooden shaft was like new and the "igniters" was found wrapped in parchment paper ready to be inserted in the grenades.
trainrider06
Active Member
Wow! Goes to show that we never know what could be right under our noses!
Sweetfrost
Member
True and it has happened a few times here in denmark that old sea mines has washed ashore along the coast and people have spottet them and called the police. Some small fishing boats has caught "mustard"-gas bombs in their net. I now very little about these things but seen it on danish news a few times. I googled my first post with the grenades and after reading a little i dont think those "igniters" are for the granades but instead are detonators for explosives.
trainrider06
Active Member
Unbelievable the junk laying around! Crazy!
Sweetfrost
Member
2 weeks ago i moved all the stuff that was in the room out. Today i did some light cleaning and then covered walls, ceiling and the floor with plastic so i wont have dust all over the place 2 of the windows are left a little open covered with mosquitonet The only thing i need to make it perfect is a bright lightsource and a ventilationg system - thinking of a vaccumcleaner - that would be the cheapest and also the easiest way to to it i think. But all in all i am quite satisfied with the result. The priming stuff is done using spraycans and once that is done the rest of the painting is going to be done with airbrush. Tomorrow i'm going to get a airbrush compressor so everything is ready when the time comes ;o) So much stuff to do .. i need a beer.
Tony
Staff member
For ventilation, put a box fan in one window pushing air out. Then in the other window, put a high quality air filter in there to trap the dust that wants to come in. This is the exact setup I use when painting. If you are worried about an explosion, you can use the fan to push air into the room, but you will need two filters. One before the fan (between the fan and window screen) and another one on the exhaust window. This works well when you are using lacquer based paints since most fans can create sparks. If it's a brushless fan, then there should not be any hazard of sparking a fire.
but yes, that is a nice room. Makes me want one lmao.
but yes, that is a nice room. Makes me want one lmao.
Sweetfrost
Member
Good idea with the fan but the problem is that they are not easy to come by at low cost (read free). There is a while yet before the real painting is happening so i might very well get some sort of trashed fan.
trainrider06
Active Member
Looks like you are planning a gruesome murder! hehe....but if you don't want any dust in your stuff you work hard on painting thats what ya gotta do!
Sweetfrost
Member
LoL ! Working faster with the paintjob is one solution but i so slow at building that if it goes any slower i travel backwards in time. I have added a few details and pictures coming soon.
Nade
Member
Ah, so you are experiencing the same time consuming slow motion torture of building a Vario kit. I feel your pain Sweetfrost! It's been some eight weeks for my Bell 47G! I'm hoping, I'm really hoping that today I can get the programming completed so I can finish it's final assembly! I'm having to bind it to a new TX and programming a new more complicated RX. Sorry, I digress.
With 15 years as an automotive collision and refinish tech, in case you're not aware, I would like to offer two suggestions to avoid getting dirt in the project. 1st, just before you start spraying your first coat dampen a cloth with a wax and grease remover and wipe down the surfaces followed with a dry cloth. This will eliminate any contaminates that could cause fish eyes in the coat. I tried to skip this step and paid for it with a load of fish eyes. 2nd, use a tack cloth, a sticky feeling cloth specifically designed for wiping off dust particles from automotive panels, over the surfaces before spray painting. If you allow each coat to flash off and wipe again with the tack cloth before your next coat, you'll eliminate a lot of dust, etc.
These two steps will go a long way in producing that beautiful finish you're striving for.
With 15 years as an automotive collision and refinish tech, in case you're not aware, I would like to offer two suggestions to avoid getting dirt in the project. 1st, just before you start spraying your first coat dampen a cloth with a wax and grease remover and wipe down the surfaces followed with a dry cloth. This will eliminate any contaminates that could cause fish eyes in the coat. I tried to skip this step and paid for it with a load of fish eyes. 2nd, use a tack cloth, a sticky feeling cloth specifically designed for wiping off dust particles from automotive panels, over the surfaces before spray painting. If you allow each coat to flash off and wipe again with the tack cloth before your next coat, you'll eliminate a lot of dust, etc.
These two steps will go a long way in producing that beautiful finish you're striving for.
Sweetfrost
Member
Thanks Nade for those good advices - i will do that if i can find that sticky feeling cloth. I could not wait to test my paintbooth yesterday so i gave it a go. The mast on top of the heli was given the grey primer. The result was pretty darn good - and that was just using spraycans (Tamiya). So i have now sanded the main fuselage and its ready for primer tomorrow i hope. I have cleaned the surface (after blowing the white dust away with a compressor) with spirit and i use latex gloves when i handle the unpainted parts. Airbrush is going to be used rest of the painting and clear coat. After the first layer of clearcoat i am thinking of wet-sanding and then - when dry - givet it a layer more.
But first the primer and then adding details .. like rivets and so on.
thanks
Nade
Member
You're on the right track. I'll bet this baby's going to look sweet! And I did the same thing on a car I restored back in 1980. Not on the entire vehicle but I sanded the clearcoat on the sides then resprayed them with a couple, few more coats of clear. However, a thick coat of paint is not recommended because the paint has to breath along with the substrate.
Don't forget, pics ASAP!
Don't forget, pics ASAP!
trainrider06
Active Member
Looking forward to seeing em!