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Let us watch your model in the making, from when you open the kit to air-borne! Don't feel you have to chronicle every step, unless you want to. Just send an occasional picture or two and an explanatory note and we can catch up with your progress from time to time on this page. It will only appear when there's something to report and we can keep as many projects going as you wish. I must reserve the right to select and crop pictures, though, otherwise the page will take too long to download. 

Well, after a couple of weeks lay off due to a bad back I eventually got around to joining the wings. Again following the instructions proved to be easy. Leaving the jig tabs on made the joining so easy and everything was lined up; using 30-minute epoxy allowed plenty of time to make minor adjustments.

I then made the wing skins as a complete item. These were glued to the wing structure with aliphatic wood glue. The instructions stated that CA should be used but at this stage I departed from the manual in favour of tried and tested construction techniques. Although I have used CA extensively in the structure construction, I am still a traditional modeller and I feel that traditional techniques are easier to manage. I did not feel confident using CA when positioning the skins on the structure. I sheeted the bottom surface first from the rear spar to main spar. As I haven’t bought the retracts yet I have not sheeted up to the leading edge. I have at the time of writing now completely sheeted the top surface and everything is looking good. Whilst the wing sheeting was drying I turned my attention to the fuselage.

The fuselage sides are made up of 5 separate pieces of wood. You can see in the picture (I hope), a completed fuselage side and all its components ready for assembly. The parts were stuck together using medium CA. Once this has been done I sanded both sides and then fitted the doublers, remembering to make a port and starboard side. That is were I am up to now. Hopefully in the next 2 weeks I aim to have the majority of the fuselage structure finished and have the photos to prove it.

I bet some of you wondered what might have happened to this project, but Chris is now very close to completion of this most unusual model. 

The two pictures immediately below show the model just prior to Chris applying the final paint. Chris was amazed to find that the 'plane balanced virtually spot-on as built - note the balance point off-centre from the fuselage centre line. The wing is covered in Solartex whilst all the rest of the model is nylon covered for a final paint finish.

Chris is hand-painting the model, using JP matt enamels - dark olive on the top side and aircraft blue on the underside. The glazing of the crew pod is simulated in silver paint, with drab olive window bars.

Here's a shot with the main paint covering done; next step is to add the camouflage patterning in grey-green. The paintwork is fuel-proofed with satin fuel proofer.

For those who might not have seen this project before, Chris's plane is of the WWII Luftwaffe Blohm und Voss MB141B. The MB141B was a short-range single-engined reconnaissance and observation aircraft, carrying a 3-man crew in the wing-mounted crew pod. Chris was intrigued by its unusual asymmetric design and decided to have a go at building one. His model is a 54" balsa and ply construction, built from a set of plans he modified of a foam version.

The model is powered by an SC ·46 with a 10 x 6 Fingali 3-bladed propeller. 

I have made very little progress on my Xtreme in the last two weeks, but thought I would just show you this little tip that Chris Haines showed me to cleanly separate moulded canopies, cowls, etc., from the surrounding waste. Chris 'discovered' this for himself, although he may well not be the first to do so!

Instead of cutting the item out of the moulding and risking spoiling the edge of the piece you want and then having to tidy it up, simply press it face down on a piece of medium to fairly course abrasive paper and  move it steadily back and forth or with a circular motion. It doesn't take long before the plastic will break through at the bend point, where it is slightly thinner, and you finish up with a neatly removed item. A further rub on a finer paper will smooth off any slight bur or roughness to the canopy or cowl.

Here are just a couple of shots to indicate Chris's progress. The fuselage is almost all lite-ply and is beautifully rugged!

As you can see, main construction is now virtually complete and Chris will be moving on to installation of hardware. I gather he is thinking of putting the new OS 91FX in for power - with the same weight and mounting positions as the 61FX for which the plane is designed, he can cater for the extra power he wants without the need to modify the construction.