RADIO CONTROL GIANTS
By
John A. de Vries 4610 Moffat Ln., Colorado Springs, CO 80915
Videos
This has to be the month of the videotape. Dick Hansen and modelSPORT Video Magazine sent their latest efforts—and they’re great!
Dick’s tape is devoted to the August 2000 Scale World Championships, held at Interlaken, Switzerland. The venue was beautiful; it was an old Swiss Army airfield, nestled in the mountains on the land between two lakes.
Dick started out by showing practically every Scale model from every country that participated in the contest. The aircraft were shot in the hangar area, where the static part of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) contest was held. Except for the misidentification of a couple models, the host was most complete.
Many of the aircraft could have been called Giant Scale, although they were limited to a 12-kilogram weight limit. There were many Tiger Moths (the most popular prototype) and only a couple Mustangs. The contest had a special classification and competition for FAI F4CX models, which were also on the Giant side.
Compared to Dick’s previous video efforts, the new tape (#59) is marked by superb coverage of the flying part of the program. Dick fills the screen with each airborne model—with very little camera shake. It’s an interesting and well-made tape.
John Beech’s latest modelSPORT video spends much more time on big radio control (RC) models than his previous efforts have. There’s extended coverage of a magnificent Giant Scale Cub on floats, and the engine feature is about a Saito alternate-firing twin.
The first section of the tape is devoted to Giant Scale towplanes that “yank” equally large sailplanes into the blue. Three towplanes are featured:
- a specifically designed twin-boomed model
- a Pilatus Porter Scale monoplane
- a Polish Wilga good enough to score in any Scale contest
The tape is two hours of very interesting video that includes advertisements for new RC accessories.
Addresses
- Hansen Scale Aviation Videos: 10807 SE Stacy Ct., Portland, OR 97266
- modelSPORT Video Magazine: Box 12557, Jacksonville, NC 28546
Harold Harrison’s models
Harold Harrison of Norristown, PA is a man after my own heart. He designs, builds, and flies big models, and he does a terrific job. I’ve included two of his latest efforts, and they’re outstanding.
The first is a clipped-wing Monocoupe 90A in 1/4 scale. The yellow-and-black beauty was based on Westburg drawings and is powered by a Saito 150 four-stroke engine.
Harold’s second model leaves me in a quandary. It’s of the Cessna 3W racer, which in prototype form had a retractable landing gear à la the Grumman Navy biplanes of the 1930s. Hal figured that designing and building the retracts would be too difficult to master, so he added a fixed gear with wheel pants—appropriate for the era.
It’s a stunning model, but for Stand-Way-Off Scale.
Carlos Rangel and other builders
There are two great Giant Scale model builders with the unusual name of Carlos Rangel. I featured two World War I Scale models by Carlos #1 in the November 2000 column, then I heard from Carlos #2, who lives in Waxhaw, NC.
Carlos #2 builds all-metal models. His 105-inch Pilatus was photographed at an airport in Colombia, South America.
Gary Sparks furnished me with two photos for the column.
Photos and featured models
- Nick Peacock’s 96-inch de Havilland L-20 Beaver weighs 17 pounds and has a SuperTigre 2500 for power. It features operational flaps that provide realistic landings. Nick is a member of the Tucson Radio Control Club.
- The second photo is of a 46% CAP 232, built by Peter Goldsmith of Australia. Pete spent a couple days practicing at the Tucson club’s field before participating in last year’s Tournament of Champions. The 232 weighs 36 pounds, has a wingspan of 134 inches, and is powered by a Desert Aircraft DA-150.
Decals
I’ll finish things off this month with a discussion of decals—of the waterslide variety. Chances are, your Giant Scale kit included them to decorate the completed model. And the kit’s instructions probably included info on how to use them.
The manufacturer is right when it comes to the application of its decals, but oftimes the directions are obtuse. The instructions usually direct you to put the decals in water. After a stated period of time, you remove the decorations and place them on a blotting surface. They’re supposed to stay there until they slide, then you are instructed to position them on the model.
That technique will work okay if the decals are to be placed on a shiny, smooth surface. Lots of luck if you’ve coated your model with a matte paint; you have to be exact when you position your decorations the first time, or things will be messed up.
I know a way to do decals that works on almost every surface:
- Trim each decal close to the design, but leave a small tab of untrimmed paper to allow you to grip the decoration with a pair of tweezers.
- Put warm water in a container that is bigger than the largest decal on the sheet. Put the decal in the water and keep it there until it’s ready to slide.
- Gripping the decal by its tab, wipe the decal paper (decal and all) over the desired position on the model. That will leave a swath of water at the desired decal position.
- Slip the decal onto the film of water and position it where you want it.
- Using an absorbent paper (I use a wad of toilet paper for small decals and a wad of paper towels for the big ones), carefully sop up the excess moisture around the decal.
- When things are almost dry, press the decal into its final position. (Be careful—it might slip!)
- Approximately five minutes after the decal has settled into position, use one of the commercially available decal-setting solutions. Apply with a soft brush and be delicate. Don’t touch the decal until it’s dry.
This system works even on the roughest of surfaces, because the decal “floats” into position.
Many Giant Scale models are gas-powered, and the decals won’t be affected by their exhaust. However, it’s necessary to provide a sprayed overcoat for each decal if you use a glow-powered engine. Shiny, semigloss, and matte coatings are available, so the decals can match the rest of the model’s finish.
That does it for the windy month of March.
I sure hope your winter building project is on schedule. Of course, you’re probably still flying “last season’s” model if you live in sunny California or Florida—you lucky folks!
MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
