Galaxy Models Musketeer Build

[dan h]

Hi Tony. 

Also following along

 

Dan

[Caveman]

I'm following your progress Tony. 

I reckon 52 hours should do it.

GDB

Edited April 7, 2021 by Caveman

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

37 hours.

[Tony H]

Hi Guys,

 

So far just over 3hrs. I had to modify the tank bulkhead to accept the bigger 11oz slec tank. The drying time is taking a while because of the temperature in the building area.

 

 

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Following with interest Tony, particularly as I've just bought one. I'll be leccy though. 

[Tony H]

Hi David,

 

I have noticed the kit price has gone up £15 in the last month since I bought mine. You don't get a lot for your money at £114. I would have expected them to at least upgrade the kit to include a GF cowl not ABS, Steerable nose wheel and Hardwood Push rods for that money and a colour printed decent instructions. I am about half way through the build at the moment.

 

There is two CofG depending on if you are Advanced or Beginner. I was going to go between the two to account for the extra fuel in the larger fuel tank.

 

If you compare this to the price of the Seagull PT-19 ARTF 46 size for £152 (complete accept Radio and Engine), I can't see how the 30 size Musketteer can justify its new price. I think the kit as I received it is worth no more than about £75 tops.

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Yes, noticed that, the price rose yesterday, just after I bought mine for sub-100. 

 

The cowl doesn’t bother me, it won’t get the abuse an I.c. engine would inflict, and I’ve a few spare rolls of film that ought to fly before they delaminate. ?

[Andy48]

Think I paid about £65 4-5 years ago.

[Tony H]

That would seem a lot more reasonable to me. I know that balsa has doubleb in price but you aren't getting much in this kit. I believe when you buy a kit it should included everything accept the covering, Radio gear, Engine and glues/paint.

[Redex]

I paid £89 for mine Oct 2019 - A steerable nose wheel would have been nice to include in the kit, or a pre cut battery tray for leccy fliers

[kc]

Judging by the small sections of the plan shown in Tony's photos it is a nice clear plan with proper marking of the balsa crosssections.   Plans like that entice you to build.   I wonder if the draughtsman put his name on the plan? If only all the other plans one sees were up to that standard of draughtsmanship!

 

[Eric Robson]

8 hours ago, Tony H said:

Hi David,

 

I have noticed the kit price has gone up £15 in the last month since I bought mine. You don't get a lot for your money at £114. I would have expected them to at least upgrade the kit to include a GF cowl not ABS, Steerable nose wheel and Hardwood Push rods for that money and a colour printed decent instructions. I am about half way through the build at the moment.

 

There is two CofG depending on if you are Advanced or Beginner. I was going to go between the two to account for the extra fuel in the larger fuel tank.

 

If you compare this to the price of the Seagull PT-19 ARTF 46 size for £152 (complete accept Radio and Engine), I can't see how the 30 size Musketteer can justify its new price. I think the kit as I received it is worth no more than about £75 tops.

Seagull kits are mass produced with labour costs and materials a lot cheaper than can be had in this country, a fact that has killed off a lot of our small kit producers. If you look at the price of Seagull kits to build , the Zero and Thunderbolt the cost is not much less then the ready built one that just has to be assembled, and by the time you buy glues and covering material it would probably cost more not counting the hours building it. 

I bought the Musketeer when it first came out at Sywell show  in the late 1970's it was £23 but that was almost half a weeks wages then. It was a nice flyer with an OS max 35. it met its end when a big aerobatic model coming out of a loop cut it two. 

[Andy48]

I think they could have kept the costs down by not including the fuel tank for starters, seeing how common electric is getting these days. However, it is a pretty tough model and will stand a few hard knocks without damage, and as has been said the plan is really good, so possible to make a good job of any repair later on if needed. The wings especially are really tough, although you can get replacements for these.

 

[Piers Bowlan]

It's true that many builders are likely to go for the electric option, so not requiring the engine mount or fuel tank. Omiting them might make the kit marginally cheeper but the kit is good value at £114 considering it includes a veneered foam wing, canopy, cowl , pre-formed wire U/C and well drawn plan. There might not appear to be a lot in the kit but it is a simple model that should go together quickly, be robust and repairable (unlike some RTFs).

[Jonathan M]

I agree:  it isn't the parts-count that is important to me, it's the fact that it'll build to be a proper robust model, whether electric or IC.

 

Case in point 1:  my balsa ARTF Wot4 tipped onto its nose just after landing the other day (it was gusty), the SC40 was already at or close to idle yet the tip-strike still managed to remove the entire motor-mount from the firewall.

 

Case in point 2:   my ARTF Boomerang came down a bit awkwardly in a sudden crosswind and rotated (yawed) heavily in the rough grass beyond the runway, the nylon wing bolts didn't sheer, instead the lite-ply plate ripped out and half the mid/rear fuselage was shattered.  Mending it all took two days and untold frustration at the near impossibility at piecing the components together, cleaning up the sharp residues of roughly-applied manufacturing glue, and finding a glueing system that would stick to the lite-ply.

 

I don't imagine the Musketeer would suffer from the same flimsiness or torture of repairing.

[Nigel R]

Pegasus kit contents look worth the money to me. A 40 size model would take me around £50 sheet balsa to put together, possibly more given the recent rise in raw material cost. Easily another £50 done on U/C, canopy, motor hardware and all the rest of the accessory stuff. Then you have your plan.

 

ARTF is another kettle of shrimp, but let's not pretend they are built to last, contain the finest of materials or have care and attention lavished on their construction.

[kc]

A kit built balsa model can be rebuilt many times if necessary - therefore old and cunning modellers draw around every component before starting the build so they know the shape of cut parts!   Saving the offcut surrounding the lasercut parts makes a template too.

 

For reference the Musketeer cost 29.95 in 1988 when a Wot4 kit cost 41.95, so it's still a good buy today.

[David Ashby - Moderator]

It's going to be a bit of nostalgia for me. I learnt to fly with a Galaxy Mini Escort, then moved up to a Galaxy Gazelle trainer. Finally a Galaxy Starduster low-winger. All flew really well, as all the sport models from the brand seemed to do. And, as has been said, robust they were. 

 

Sorry Tony, we're going off topic a tad. ?

[Tony H]

On 26/04/2021 at 19:20, kc said:

A kit built balsa model can be rebuilt many times if necessary - therefore old and cunning modellers draw around every component before starting the build so they know the shape of cut parts!   Saving the offcut surrounding the lasercut parts makes a template too.

 

For reference the Musketeer cost 29.95 in 1988 when a Wot4 kit cost 41.95, so it's still a good buy today.

Good idea, should have done this at the start.

[Tony H]

I have built a lot of these types of kits and I agree they fly well, build quick and are robust. Fixing them isn't too difficult either. The planes I have built of this type are as follows:

 

Galaxy Magician

Galaxy Wizard

Pegasus Musketeer (Now)

Pegasus Jester

Pegasus Wasp

Pegasus Twin Hornet

PB Models Bean

Cambrian Fun Fighters (hard to launch)

Cambrian Akrostar (Tip stalls easily)

Cambrian P51 Mustang Sport size.

 

All good fliers accept for the Akrostar tip stalls easily. Some also have a fairly high wing loading needing relatively hot landings.

 

The Musketteer build has stalled a bit due to some errors I made, modifications and drying times as it is still cold in the workshop.

 

Should have an update soon. I would have liked to put retracts on it but I don't know of a steerable nose retract which would fit.

 

Also has anyone used PVA glue instead of Epoxy for the wing joining GF bandage? Or would you stick to epoxy?

[Tony H]

In my opinion a some of the planes reccomend too small of an engine and the best fliers were as follows (from best to worst):

 

1. Galaxy Magician

 

2. PB Models Bean

 

3. Twin Hornet

 

4. Pegasus Wasp

 

5. Cambrian Fun Fighter (if you can launch it)

 

6. Pegasus Jester (top wing bends at the rubber bands in turns)

 

7. Galaxy Wizard (high wing load)

 

8. Cambrian Akrostar (fairly high wing load)

 

9. P51 Mustang didn't make the Maiden.

 

 

None of them a really bad.

 

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Tony H

[Redex]

Hi Tony, I am interested in building a leccy Twin Hornet - but was it one you considered as a 'hot landing'

[Tony H]

11 minutes ago, Redex said:

Hi Tony, I am interested in building a leccy Twin Hornet - but was it one you considered as a 'hot landing'

No the Twin Hornet lands well and flies like on rails. It would make for a very wise choice for Electric Conversion!

 

The P51 Mustang was my fault not the plane.

Edited April 29, 2021 by Tony H

[Tony H]

18 minutes ago, Redex said:

Hi Tony, I am interested in building a leccy Twin Hornet - but was it one you considered as a 'hot landing'

I would aim for about 800-880w combined to fly the Twin Hornet well. Fairly high KV because the plane can't go bigger than about an 8-9" prop.

 

See video 

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Tony H

[Nigel R]

1 hour ago, Tony H said:

Also has anyone used PVA glue instead of Epoxy for the wing joining GF bandage? Or would you stick to epoxy?

 

PVA plus very thin glass is my choice for wing joining. 

 

I use multiple layers of the lightest weight glass around. 3 for a 40 size model. A narrow, medium and wide strip. This spreads the load around quite well. As a bonus, the wide strip provides an amount of "handling" reinforcement. I'd aim for a 2" narrow strip, a 6" medium, and a 10" wide strip, on something the size of musketeer. Squeegee the PVA in using a credit card. When all the layers are stuck on, you can fill the weave with another couple of layers of PVA.

 

Needs to be put somewhere warm, so the PVA can dry quick-ish. If it remains cold and damp you risk losing the wing sheeting to damp induced warps.

 

As a bonus, film sticks to PVA pretty good, too.

 

PS you cannot beat that twin sound can you?

Edited April 29, 2021 by Nigel R