Hi all,
My name is Ollie, I've been lurking here on and off for a while gathering tips and info. I've been in the R/C aircraft game in some shape or another for the last 15 years, but I've only flown pre formed planes during that time. A few years ago I saw a SLEC tent at Weston Park model airshow, and ws hooked by the look of the Huntsman they had on display. I chickened out of starting a balsa kit at that time, but never quite managed to get the shape of that boat out of my mind ever since. In these times of lockdown, my dad sent me a message out of the blue saying he'd bought a Billing Boats Calypso to work on, and wanted some help and advice on running gear etc. After I saw that, I decided to bite the bullet and order my own kit. for a while I couldnt decide between the new Huntress or modifying the older Huntsman to have an aft cockpit ( that might be a future project) and then settled on the Swordsman, which has really stunning lines. I'm using a mixture of Gel superglue and Aliphatic glue for the construction.
Here's how I've been finding it:
It felt a bit daunting at first, but I have to give credit to Dave, as the instructions are top notch and the accuracy is great, everything just fits!
And here's where I am now:
I'm a little nervous about the next steps; sanding the chines to shape and then affixing the hull panels, and later on sanding the balsa hull blocks to shape. I think Im going to go at it with 400 grit paper to keep my progress metered; I don't want to be overzealous in my material removal!
Thanks for looking!
Ollie