IanN Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 If mine ends up looking half as good as this I'll be well chuffed This particular Vamp is a Westfield (Mk II) kit from back in the day when T.N. was in the kit production business, and has been sitting in the workshop awaiting attention for a good long while. There was a very positive review of the kit in the January 2002 RCM&E with some useful building and flying notes. If anyone wants a copy of that then PM me and I’ll happily email a scan. The same model was also published as a free Plan in March 2007 RCM&E. That build article is available on P67 of that mag via the Digital Issues in the Online Archive, and can also be accessed via a link on the T.N. website So, loads of info on the basics of the build is freely available, which is handy as I wasn’t going to attempt a “stick A to B” sequence here. Indeed, that wouldn’t be possible as I’d already started on the main sub assemblies (fus pod, booms, wing) in late summer. When the mass build was announced with the Funfighter category as a contender I then decided to temporarily shelve the project until the mass build started. That allowed some thinking time re how to best proceed. My initial thoughts had already been to see how cheaply and easily I could electrify it, and it was a short and obvious step from there to thinking “if it’s going to be electric, how about a pusher”? The pusher decision made, that then opened other doors. The nose (that had originally been designed for the i.c. engine and tank etc) obviously wouldn’t need to be so long, and that got me thinking would any other changes go hand in hand with that? The main thing to say at this point is that this is absolutely NOT an attempt to “improve” on the original design in any way. Neither is this an attempt to produce a scale model: it’s still going to be very much a Funfighter. As the 2002 kit review said, it is “by no means a scale model but follows the guise of most fun fighters in being instantly recognisable as one of the classic early jets”. The brief I’ve set myself is to stick to that ethos, use all the major kit components and build the kit as per the original, but add any easy “tweaks” that might be facilitated by the conversion to pusher In truth the list was pretty simple. Go for a shorter and more scale nose and then maybe adjust any other dimensions/ratios to give a more scale outline in keeping with that, whilst keeping an eye on how any changes would affect the balance I took a 3 view from the internet, and using the wingspan as the main reference point, scaled the nose length to suit, It also looked at this stage as if I might be able to reduce the boom length slightly which would help with balance. All the above is pretty much where I got to in the Autumn. What follows is “real time” 2015 mass build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanN Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 Today's effort. For a first crack at the new non i.c. nose I cut a side view and a plan view from balsa sheet and slotted and glued them together “cruciform” style. I then filled in the four quadrants: the top two with blocks of blue foam, and the lower two – with landing “ding” resistance in mind - with balsa sheet offcuts. I then shaped the rear to butt up to the front of the fus pod, and roughly carved and sanded the rest of the resulting unit to a ballpark shape. It’s pretty rough - still work to do - but I’m not displeased with it for a first attempt: it has the right Vampire “character” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 I'm watching Ian, I have the plan + mag so you may tempt me if I get the others done in time John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Barlow Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Now that's very different and looking at that wing should be nice to fly too. I was initially concerned about the idea of a Mass Build fly off with the sky full of spitfires but it's beginning to look like there could be lots of different shapes flying around! Subscribed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Hi IanN, Ill be watching in interest to I'm building Ton VM's Mustang from the free RCM&E plan but your build has my interest because I have built a pusher Vamp that is one of my best flying models. It is a foamboard model - sorry, dirty word in the traditional builders mind! Maybe my Youtube clip will inspire your build? (The wide angle lens gives the wings a curve that looks worse than it really is - there actually is no dihederal) Edited By Ross Piantedosi on 04/01/2015 10:43:29 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanN Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Posted by Ross Piantedosi on 04/01/2015 10:41:53: Hi IanN, Ill be watching in interest to . It is a foamboard model - sorry, dirty word in the traditional builders mind! Ross, not at all! Foamboard isn't a material I've used (yet) but diversity is all part of the fascination of this hobby. Nice video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanN Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Ok, time to do a bit more to the Vamp. I'd planned to do quite a bit this week as I've had a few days off work, but despite the weather I've managed to get good flying sessions in on three days - an unexpected bonus, given the forecasts - so that took priority. It would have been four days, but I was under instruction from the household management to put up curtain poles on Wednesday However, it;s blowing a hoolie today so no prospect of getting to the patch Major components of the Vampire dry assembled to get a rough idea of the balance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert baker Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Hi, One of my old club members built the Vamp from the RCME plan. It looked nice and flew well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Jones Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Subscribed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monz Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Looks like it'll make a nice little combat PSS model Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanN Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Especially with that electric motor to push it a bit faster - or would that be cheating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanN Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Posted by Matt Jones on 09/01/2015 13:05:01: Subscribed That just makes me nervous - I've told you before that my finishing standards are best viewed from 5 yards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Barlow Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Hold the camera further away? Also watching! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanN Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 This afternoon’s efforts ....I didn’t take a pic of this, but I hung the airframe from a Vanessa rig with the motor and a LiPo banded on to get a preliminary idea of balance. Not surprisingly it was pretty tail heavy so I recessed the foam and balsa nose to get the 2200 LiPo as far forwards as possible. That helped, but more is needed. Two options are immediately available The first of those, and most effective way of redistributing the weight was to look at battery options. There’s nothing to be done about the size and shape of the single 2200 pack I’d used, so paralleling up two batteries is an obvious way to go. Factoring together the capacity / weight / dimension / cost options suggested that 2 x 1300 LiPos should be more viable That option gives a slight weight increase over the single 2200 pack, fits in the Vampire’s nose and – crucially – as the packs are far shorter than a 2200, gets all the weight significantly further forwards. Price is reasonable, and the additional capacity will be useful I'm a confirmed i.c. flier who also appreciates the unique options and versatility that electric power can offer - and never more so than in this situation Edited By IanN on 09/01/2015 20:11:00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanN Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Front former - the original i.c. firewall - fretted out sufficiently to allow clearance for the 2 x 1300 LiPOs And if I do end up needing still more weight up front, a possibility would be to put a balsa spacer inbetween here and the nose block to "nudge" the batteries a little further forwards. However, that's an option to keep in hand for later in the build, if needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanN Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 The other thing I did was shift the motor The rear of the fus pod on the i.c. version housed the nicad, to balance the engine weight and I had originally - rather stupidly - not really thought through the motor position when putting the fus pod together. So I had simply situated the firewall at the correct spacing for the pusher prop to clear the rear end. By repositioning the firewall I would be able to move the motor forwards. Small gains, but every little helps The picture shows the revised firewall position. You can just about make out the glue line that shows where I had originally fitted it and with the motor attached..... So, some more weight moved forwards and possibly a more scale like rear end - win/win. Not sure how I'll tackle the back end yet. I might just cut down the rear fus sides to get prop clearance and then fair that in to the top block. Or, I could chop off all the balsa behind the T.E. and use a blue foam block to approximate a back end / jet tail pipe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 On my Pushycat I cut it of flush Ian it don't spoil the look too much, this will look and fly well John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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