Small Scale Military Headquarters

For those interested a company called X-Flight makes models of the above two planes (plus an Su-37) which are almost exactly 1/18 (the 50mm version of the Flanker is almost exactly 1/18, the Raptor is about 1/17.2 scale).

These are r/c planes, made out of styrofoam-like material but are very well cut and very to scale. Both have clear canopies. You'll need to paint them and do markings yourself.

You can check out pics, video and ordering info here:

http://www.x-flight.hk/eng/products/sho ... ?ic=XFP008

(To see the other kits, click on 'electric planes' on the left hand side)

I'm probably going to go for the Flanker, unsure about the Raptor (as it's possible BBI or somebody could make one someday, need to determine if i feel like waiting..)

Those are nice. Aferg, have you purchased any and built them? How do they look when finished?
Todd

a friend of mine told me that it would be easy to applied fiber glass to make it look nicer

any one has done these bird yet in fiber glass

thanks.

so what is the price of shipping and handlying for these ..thanks

i just discovred them yesterday. At this point you guys know as much about them as i do. I'm going to get the Flanker for sure....just debating on the Raptor..

That Flanker is mad sick! I'd totally drop $99 bones for that! I'm seeing all kinds of possibilities here! R

Thanks for the tip and the link.

I might give one of these kits a try...

The Su-47 is simply amazing!, there is a video of it in the video section, I am simply in awe that they made it fly with reverse wings, and so stable!
I thought the real one coundnt fly with out constant computer adjustments (like the B-2, F-117, and F-22) but this model does (I doubt it has advanced computers in it)

if you note, the wingspan is much larger in proportion to the length than on the real plane (the length is about 1/18 scale and the wingspan is about 1/16-ish).

So the larger wings in relation to the overall size is why it flies so well. However it is well done, you can't really tell to look at it that the wings are oversize. Would make a very unique addition to any 1/18 collection.

It is my understanding that when the production Su-47 comes out, it will have conventional rear swept wings instead of the forward swept ones, which i find curious since the performance of the forward swept version is so outstanding..

the same company is now working on an F-14, will be 1 meter long, or about 1/19 scale:


http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=502809

aferguson wrote:It is my understanding that when the production Su-47 comes out, it will have conventional rear swept wings instead of the forward swept ones, which i find curious since the performance of the forward swept version is so outstanding..

I know the reason for this...

Forward swept wings have some great performance characteristics, but it has one huge flaw, since they are swept forward, air wants to make the wing bend up or down. The wing has to be extremly rigid so that does not happen. That means a lot of weight, and a very limited airframe life, and most likely a high fatality rate, if the aircraft is overstressed.

I have seen the concept fly, and the pilot was very carefull not to do any sudden movements (rolls, highG turns, ect.), and he flew sub-sonic.

But anyway, it is a beautiful plane, and a testbed for new technology
I really hope 21st century will make a model of it, or the Mig-29, or the Su-27. (we can still wish, can't we?)

the Tomcat i mentioned above is going to have working swing wings...pretty good for an r/c model of this size and cost. Usually you see fixed forward swept wings on a model like this. Nice touch.

they had the maiden flight of their prototype Tomcat. Worked pretty well. The swing wings are fun. They're going to try to get the forward sweep further than it is now.


http://61.238.44.122/x-flight/tomcat.wmv


I wonder if i'd be able to fly this from my balcony. Hand launch would be no problem but recovery might be a bit tricky....maybe set up a big net for it to fly into.

Watch that you dont have a collision with it... as in... when landing... as in... the plane breaking your skull. They dont fly slow you know

http://www.x-flight.hk/e/products/viewvideo.asp?fn=26

updated video of the X-Flight Tomcat. This thing will be almost exactly 1/18 scale and comes with a clear canopy that you can install. Price will be probably $120-ish.

Black_Dragon_One wrote:a friend of mine told me that it would be easy to applied fiber glass to make it look nicer

any one has done these bird yet in fiber glass ?

I tried to fiberglass an ARF A-10 and it didn't work. Most paints that you apply or glues will melt the foam. What I've been doing that seems to work is to use water based (and make sure it is water based) Acrylic Paints. I've found Krylon has a brand called H20 that works well for a base coat. I believe they have a white primer. I also use a hole filler for walls for touching up seams. I applied a few coats of primer to protect the foam then putty the seams and then GENTLY sand the putty smooth with a 320 wet/dry sandpaper. It will sand very smoothly without a lot of pressure. Then you can put on a few more coats of primer. Then use water based acrylics in an airbrush to finish your fighter. I recomend many coats of primer to strengthen the foam. It becomes much stiffer and nothing I've tried (like fiberglass) adheres to it with out destroying it. I'm at the point where I'm going to add a few details to my new A-10 and then camo it and tryand make decals for it. I am still pondering the landing gear. I just may make it look like the gear is retracted on it.

That's very similar to a method that was recommended to me by someone on the rcgroups forum. Their method is:

"What I've used is Minwax - Polycrylic can and spray (from here on out known
as WBPU or Water Based PolyUrythane)
and Kyrlon Fusion spray paint.

Here are the steps I took:
Sand foam smooth with 220 grit sandpaper, get rid of form marks and nips.
Fill in divots and cracks with lightweight Spackle and sand again.
Mix the WBPU with baby power to get a thick syrup consistency, brush this on
the foam (it will soak in) and let dry then sand lightly
Repeat above step..


You should be left with and extremely smooth surface at this point.
Paint with the Krylon Fusion paint to your liking.
If you want a two tone paint job, let the first color dry completely, the
mask with blue painters tape that has been stuck to your pants first. This
will make it less tacky so it won't pull your paint up if your careful.
Once your done...use the WBPU in the spray can to finish off your new,
shiney and smooth foam plane. (2 coats)

Adds a little weight but also adds protection and not to mention good looks.



http://www.minwax.com/products/protecti ... crylic.cfm Minwax Polycrilic

http://www.dap.com/product_details.aspx?product_id=61 lightweight Spackle "


Good to know these foam planes can be made stronger and to look nicer, since i have a feeling over the years ahead we will see alot of good subjects come out in this medium which are very close to 1/18.

Just off the top of my head i know of about 10 foam planes that are 1/18-ish scale...many of which we will not likely see made in plastic. The big problem with them now will be to find ordnance for them. But that's a problem i like to have (as opposed to no plane at all ).

I like that, I'll use that method on the next one I try and do. Hopefully someone will come up with an F-4 soon. I saw at one time someone was doing a F-9 Panther but I've not seen anything about it lately.That F-14 looks tempting as well.

Did your method get rid of the foam surface texture? It seems a lot easier than the method i posted.

The Tomcat is very tempting but it's one of those 'borderline' planes that we may see made in plastic (eg BBI) some day, so it makes me hesitate to get it. The A-10 is another one.

For now i'm going to go after the clear cut ones that i'm pretty sure we won't see in plastic (like the Su-27) and if down the road plastic Tomcats, A-10's, Raptors etc don't appear then try to hunt down a foam kit of it.

The beauty with the foam kits is that the specs are stored on cd by the maker, so if he gets an order he just pulls out the specs and slices into a piece of foam, so there are no inventories to carry and products tend not to go permanently out of production (in theory anyway).

X-Flight is a fairly new company and they are expanding their line up rather quickly. I think there is tons of potential for future jets with them, including a Tornado, F-111, F-4 etc etc.

For the most point no, but I am still working on it. I think a heavier sandable primer would do that, but I've not found one that I would risk using. I'm going to go with another coat of primer a base coat of white and then the camo pattern. I'm tempted to do a JAWS theme on the A-10 because that would make any surface flaws less noticeable

F-14 is now avialable for anyone interested:

http://www.x-flight.hk/e/products/produ ... ?ic=XFP010