American Gyro AG4 Crusader 36" span

[Bill G]

Originally Posted by pmullen503

Foam fillets may not have taken the heat either.

I like the color; looks like a something from the 30's.

Foam certainly wouldn't take the heat, given the amount of pressure needed to bond this covering. Not much choice with covering either, as this is the only covering I found with the correct color. I like the color also, and it's different from any color I've used before. For the fillets, I used a technique that I used numerous times before, using Monokote metallic silver. The idea is to heat small areas with the curved side of the iron, which avoids score marks, and then quickly rub the covering down while working out any small wrinkles, while it's still hot enough to bond. The problem with using any other method to shrink out any wrinkles, is that it will lift the covering away from the fillet. When applying covering over filler, the problem of lifting can become even worse. With enough patience the results are reasonable, using smaller covering sections. The covering seam lines resemble the panel lines of the real aircraft, so it actually looks somewhat scale like.

The windows will be installed using a method I've used before, which is to use thin strips of covering to hold them down, aligned with the window frame edge. The fuse side windows will be made from a single piece of clear sheet, and the two front window panes should also be able to be made from a single section. To simplify the task, the window pillars and corner rounds are already framed in and covered, which should show through the clear plastic sheet reasonably well. With the pillars already covered, the covering strips should only need to be applied around the outer window outer perimeters, to fasten them down and neatly trim the window edge.

[baz49exe]

Wow, that colour looks fantastic Bill. When the whole model is covered it's going to look superb.
It's very thirties isn't it;- reminds me of a Flash Gordon rocket ship at the moment.

[Bill G]

Originally Posted by baz49exe

Wow, that colour looks fantastic Bill. When the whole model is covered it's going to look superb.
It's very thirties isn't it;- reminds me of a Flash Gordon rocket ship at the moment.

I even have a near matching trash can to go with the plane, that I believe has been around for quite some time. Most of the difficult areas are covered now, and the plane also finally has a stab, with rudders to be mounted soon. Just out of interest, I looked up Model Builder magazine, and by sheer coincidence one of the first images that came up, was the exact issue that this plan was featured in. I just missed a sale of the issue on Ebay by only days.

[Bill G]

The Crusader finally has wheels on it now, and is getting close. Still have the windows, linkage, and some other details yet to go. The rudders still need to be mounted, and will require a bit of faring work to blend into the booms. The engine nacelles also have a slight amount of faring work needed to blend them into the wheel pants.

[Bill G]

Made a list of the remaining details, and there's always more than one thinks. Cutting the decals alone will be a bit of work, along with exhaust pipes and those windows I've been putting off forever. Since this plane is fairly simple in details, the small details really make the model.

[baz49exe]

Bill, the nacelles and wheel spats look perfect - great work!
In fact the whole model is looking very good indeed and I'll bet that you can't wait to see it airborne.
I really like the idea of using a single sheet of plastic to cover the windows in one go. When I get around to it I'll use that method to simulate the side windows on the Wellington fuselage. To actually cut them out would have weakened the fuz too much but with your method they can now be added.

[pmullen503]

Really nice. The small details on your models really do make them special.

I'm loving the color! Do you have a matching paint?

[Bill G]

Originally Posted by pmullen503

Really nice. The small details on your models really do make them special.

I'm loving the color! Do you have a matching paint?

The paint has been a really interesting issue. I bought a match that looked close, but was a bit on the purplish side, so I ended up mixing one. I would get something that looked really good, and then it would dry differently, which is often the case. Making things more difficult is that this color, like all metallics, tends to "flip" like a pearl color, depending on how a surface is oriented to the light. If you stand straight above the painted parts with the light overhead, then they actually match the color, but otherwise they are not quite on, but I'll live with it. Mixing paints is interesting, and the tints used are not always what one would expect. Using white or black to lighten/darken a color can be disastrous. I've found browns to use yellow, orange, red, green, and blue as some of the tinting colors, for example. Some are more obvious than others. This one has used mostly silver/gold/brown. I may experiment some more in attempts to get this one closer, but one of the issues I won't resolve is matching the gloss/depth of the Monokote, without a clear coat. With this color, they probably never made a so-called matching Monokote paint, but if they did, it may be questionable. I've found their paint matches to be spotty at best, partly due to the fact that different rolls of the same color are not consistent. The best way to use a Monokote matching color is to just bomb the whole thing with it, if you don't mind the added weight.

[Bill G]

Change in window plan:
I started experimenting with using covering to hold down the windows and although it didn't look bad, the the raised sheet plastic window edge underneath the covering just did not do justice to the model. The decision was then made to take on the task of trimming each window for a custom fit. I now have the front and first two side windows installed, after a very slow trimming process. When the fit is close, sandpaper can be used to remove very small amounts of material from the edge, as the slight interference fit has to be almost perfect for the windows to fit tight but not have any warps. Pacer canopy glue was then used to permanently fix the windows in place, using a knife tip to apply the glue along the window edge.

The wing registration characters are now also in place. First the sizing was determined by trial and error, to match photos of the plane. Next a close matching Microsoft font was enlarged and printed, and then tweaked a bit by hand to more closely match the characters. They were then cut out and used as tracing templates on decal material.

[Bill G]

It's as finished as it will get. As they say, we simply stop working on a model, rather than finish it. I scrapped the idea of using dummy linkage on the aileron upper surface, as the available photos did not clearly show exactly what comes out of the farings on the wing top surface. I'm thinking there may be no physical connection between that area of the mechanism and the aileron, as the end of a rod/piston is the only thing I can decipher in the rear of those farings. Like many vintage planes, we're fortunate that there are enough available photos to model the plane.

Specs:
Span:36:
AUW: 16-1/4oz (2s-800 lipo)
Wing load: 11-1/2oz/sq-ft

[pmullen503]

It looks great. I think the windows came out very good. I'll bet they were a pain.

A cool subject well executed. Another success!

When's the maiden?

[Bill G]

Originally Posted by pmullen503

It looks great. I think the windows came out very good. I'll bet they were a pain.

A cool subject well executed. Another success!

When's the maiden?

Thanks. Trimming the windows to fit sure was a pain. I had to apply the glue with a knife tip, just like playing the old Operation game, as any push would knock them out of place. In retrospect, I could have framed the window openings for the glass to fit behind the 1/32" sheeting, if done earlier during the build, but the near flush look that the patient trimming achieved was worth the effort.

I need to get motivated and fly a few of these models, although better weather would help. I think a bit of spring weather would help all of us get out there. I've been following you UHU build and it is coming along beautifully also. I will have to try some of your inspiring molding techniques some day.

[baz49exe]

Originally Posted by pmullen503

It looks great. I think the windows came out very good. I'll bet they were a pain.

A cool subject well executed. Another success!

When's the maiden?

Plus one on this!!!

Looking forward to the maiden feed back Bill.
Great AUW and wing loading result as well !!

[mclarkson]

A beautiful plane and a wonderful subject. The very best of luck with your maiden!

[albyone]

Hello Bill.
I see that you're done! Nice!
For those who wanted to put the link to the original discussion of Italian

Ciao

Albyone

[albyone]

Link

http://www.aerodimentoso.it/forum/vi...php?f=15&t=111

[Bill G]

Originally Posted by albyone

Hello Bill.
I see that you're done! Nice!
For those who wanted to put the link to the original discussion of Italian

Ciao

Albyone

Thank You. I saw your build thread also and it is a beautiful model. I had debated building this model for some time after seeing your build thread, knowing how much work would be required. Using similar construction methods, you're one of the few who knows how much work the AG Crusader is to build! I really need to fly this model soon.
I also saw your recent Miles Speed Six build which looks great and flew well in the video. I'm currently building a Miles M38 now, and hope for it to be a good flyer. I'd love to build a Speed Six some day also.

[pd1]

I was at a flea market at a near by small airport.
Look what I found.

[Bill G]

Originally Posted by pd1

I was at a flea market at a near by small airport.
Look what I found.

Looks like a great find. You know when I started this build, I searched for that magazine copy and sure enough one had sold on Ebay only 10 days prior. Of course I've never seen another one since. They wanted $30 for it however, and they got it. Apparently the issue has some value.

Speaking of magazines, just a few days ago I got my copy of Flying Models. I was surprised to see that they featured my AG Crusader in their "Barnstormers" section of public submissions.

[pd1]

I have the issue, I'll scan the index and if there's anything you want scanned I'll be happy to do it.

Here's the article and the plans as they appeared in the magazine.

Paul