Rubber Powered Scale Models

Cessna Bird Dog


Frog issued three scale models in their "Senior Series", of which one was this Cessna Bird Dog. This complete kit has now been sold on, but I also have another one missing the prop and wheels which I intend to build using the kit wood to see how it performs. I intend to write this up on the web site, but just don't ask me when!



Here is the plan, which you can download full size below.



Comprehensive contents, with sandpaper, pre-cut glazing material, prop pre-installed in its nose bush, wheels (why were they always red?), rubber, tissue and upper and lower nose blocks.



The sheet wood is not bad at all - not too heavy, and the die-cutting is neat. At the top is the die cut wider stripwood, with the thinner stuff at the bottom. Between the two parts sheets you can see the wire, which looks excessively thick for a model this size.

Download Bird Dog pdf file here (193 KB)

Download Bird Dog bmp files here (276 KB)

The parts sheets are scanned and traced from the die cut wood in the kit, so if the bits don't fit, it is Frog's fault, not mine!



Andrew Darby sent me these photos of his neatly finished Bird Dog. The finish is Humbrol enamels thinned with dope thinners, and it weighs about 35 grams including rubber. Trim is not yet optimised, but flights of 40 seconds have been achieved with a loop of 1/4" rubber.




Auster


This model was issued by Frog as part of the "De-Luxe Scale Series" in 1961, together with a D.H.Chipmunk. Thanks very much to Sidney Higgs for sending me an excellent quality copy of the plan. Construction is rather robust, but this should make it strong enough to suffer punishment at the hands of a beginner, and the layout should mean a stable flyer.

The parts on the printed wood patterns have been drawn up by myself using the plan as a guide, so I hope they all fit - if not, please let me know!

I am not sure if the wingtips are 3/32 or 1/16" balsa, so I have put the patterns for these on a separate sheet.

Download Auster pdf file here (307) KB)

Download Auster bmp files here (284 KB)



Thanks to Doug Dobbyn for sending me this photo of his model built from these plans. This was his second Frog Auster, as the first one was built as a practise model for airbrushing and did not come out as well as he had hoped. Then after initially proving unwilling to fly well, it finally got itself stuck in a tree. This second one, to Doug's satisfaction, came out much better and has proved a very reliable performer, flying stable left hand circuits for close to a minute.


D.H.Moth Minor


Here we have another of the Senior Series scale models, released with the Cessna Bird Dog and Short Seamew. It looks like a potentially good flyer to me, and simple to build. I have included patterns for all the parts except for the strakes ahead of the tailplane, so you will have to take your best guess at those. I suspect the decking pieces will need a bit of trimming to fit, but that is half the fun! Note the fuselage side frames are only 1/16" thick, as the longerons and uprights are made from 3/32" x 1/16" strip. Not a readily available size, so it looks like you will have to strip your own.

I would suggest altering the nose to create a removable nose block, and provide some way of adjusting the thrust angle

Download Moth Minor pdf file for printing off on A4 sheets here (232 KB)

Download Moth Minor bmp files for printing off on A4 sheets here (339 KB)

Download Moth Minor plan as a single sheet in bmp format here (226 KB)



Andrew Darby built this lovely model from the plan and finished it in a very challenging colour scheme. Here are his comments on the model:

"The red letters were decals and I went round them carefully with a gold pen - free hand. The control sufaces are pen. I've used a 7" Peck Prop and a KP adjustable nose button. The model as seen weighs 30.5g and with noseweight (initially 3-4g of it I estimate) and 1.5 times prop hook to peg 3/16" motor, it's likely to hit the 38g mark, but there's plenty of wing area to hold it all up."

I've not heard how it flies yet as Andrew was waiting for some decent weather, but I'll let you know.

Fred Becker in the USA is building a version of this model for R/C, and you can follow the build here. Fred is a super builder, so don't let the fact that the model is not free flight put you off. Fred also drew up patterns for the missing windshields and anti-spin strakes, and you can download the pdf file here


D.H.C.Chipmunk


Thanks to to the efforts of Daniel Cheney, I am pleased to present the plan for the Frog De-Luxe scale Chipmunk. Daniel copied the wood patterns as well, without which the model would be impossible to build. Laying the scans of the parts over the plan they seem to fit pretty well, though I have made the odd correction - feedback from builders would be welcome.

As with the Moth Minor, I would suggest altering the nose to create a removable nose block to aid stretch winding and thrust adjustments.

Download Chipmunk plan pdf file for printing off on A3 sheets here (388 KB)

Download Chipmunk plan pdf file for printing off on A4 sheets here (372 KB)

Download Chipmunk plan bmp files for printing off on A4 sheets here (304 KB)

Download Chipmunk parts pdf file for printing off on A4 sheets here (72 KB)

Download Chipmunk parts bmp files for printing off on A4 sheets here (49 KB)

Download Chipmunk plan as a single sheet in bmp format here (220 KB)


Short Seamew


When the distinctly ungainly looking Short Seamew first appeared, Keil Kraft, Veron and Frog all produced free flight models of it. I guess they weren't to know that its service career would be extremely short due to the defence cuts of 1957. This must have hit model sales in later years. I've seen examples of the Keil Kraft and Veron models, and have built the Veron one myself, but I don't think I've ever seen an example of the Frog model. It was released as the third in the Senior Series scale range, and completes the set available to download from this site.



This pristine example was spotted on Ebay but sadly went for more money than I could afford.

The reason I haven't put this plan up earlier was the perceived stumbling block of the vac-form canopy - the bulged shape would be very tricky to plunge mould. However, Lindsey Smith has come to the rescue, and has produced a canopy specially for this model. The good news continues, as he is happy to post one to a UK address for the princely sum of just 5 first class stamps. If you live overseas, I suggest you contact Lindsey directly to find out what the cost would be. Lindsey can be contacted via email at lindsey.smith5@tiscali.co.uk or his address is:

Small Scale Custom Services
Spring Meadow,
Fyfield,
Andover,
Hampshire,
SP11 8EL

As with the other Senior Series models, I would suggest altering the nose to create a removable nose block to aid stretch winding and thrust adjustments.

I have also put in a separate sheet showing the position and shape of the radome, should you want to add one - I think the Seamew looks a bit naked without it.

Download Seamew plan pdf file for printing off on A3 sheets here (372 KB)

Download Seamew plan pdf file for printing off on A4 sheets here (336 KB)

Download Seamew radome drawing pdf file for printing off on an A4 sheet here (33 KB)

Download Seamew plan bmp files for printing off on A4 sheets here (285 KB)

Download Seamew parts pdf file for printing off on A4 sheets here (45 KB)

Download Seamew parts bmp files for printing off on A4 sheets here (23 KB)

Download Seamew plan as a single sheet in bmp format here (219 KB)


Cessna 180


It's great to be able to add the Cessna 180 to the set of De-Luxe scale series plans - just the Ryan PT.20 to go now. I bid for the Cessna on Ebay but bailed out when the price headed over £100! Happily the seller agreed to make photocopies of the plan and part sheets before posting the kit off to the lucky winner. Thanks to Andrew Darby for scanning the plan sheets for me and stitching the two halves so neatly together.



The shapes of the parts are taken from scans of the die-cut balsa sheets, but as it wasn't always 100% clear where the cut lines were, it is very possible there are some errors. If you find fit problems, please let me know.

The V-shaped former notches are very unusual - maybe this was to make the die-cutting easier? Not something I've seen before anyway. If built as shown on the plan, I think it would look fine if you could cover each fuselage side with one bit of (wet) tissue. If you tried to cover between stringers with individual pieces of tissue, it would look rather odd I think. I'd be tempted to cut new conventional notches about 1/32" deep and leave the 1/16" square stringers 1/32" proud. Or leave the slots as they are and sand flats on the outside of the diamond stringers.

Download Cessna 180 plan as a pdf file here (850 KB)

Use the "poster" function in Acrobat reader version X or higher to tile the plan onto whatever paper size is easiest for you.

Download Cessna 180 part sheets as a pdf file to print on two A4 sheets here (26 KB)


Ryan PT-20


Thanks to the kindness of Adrian Culf, who sent me an original kit all the way from Canada, I am delighted to present the missing model from the De-Luxe Scale series, the Ryan PT-20. Having an actual kit to copy, as opposed to photocopies of the wood, made tracing the die cut parts accurately much easier.



Here are the kit contents - everything was still in the box and in excellent condition.



I couldn't resist a look in the unopened waxed paper envelope, which was no longer sealed as the adhesive had long since degraded. Contents were two loops of rubber, plastic wheels, some rather thick acetate for the windshields and the dowel peg.



Various sizes of balsa block are in the box, including a shaped noseblock. You can also see here the standard prop unit, yellow tissue and sandpaper.



Four die cut sheets of parts are in the kit, two of which are duplicated. Three sheets in this example were nice light wood, with only the one containing the tailplane being a bit on the heavy side (not ideal!)

Download the Ryan PT-20 plan as a pdf file here (736 KB). Thanks once again to Andrew Darby for scanning the plan as a single sheet for me.

The parts sheets are scanned and traced from the die cut wood in the kit.

Sheets 1 and 2 will print onto one sheet of A3 paper or tile onto A4 paper; click here (49 KB)

Two of sheet 3 will print onto one sheet of A4 paper; click here (42 KB)


General notes on printing the plans

The small T shaped marks you will see on some of the sheets are spaced 50 mm apart, to help you get the pages the correct size.

The pdf files should print off at exactly full size so long as you haven't selected the "fit to page" option.

You will need Acrobat reader to view the pdf files, which is a free download from the Adobe web site. Plans scanned as one large sheet can be simply tiled as long as you have version X or newer.

Bitmap files are also provided for some of the parts and plans in case you prefer to work with those. Scanning was done at 150 dpi.




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