More fun with the Desert Fox, I managed to mount my GoPro to it using a clamp like the one you see on the right.  Then we took it into the local woods for a little drive around, the video shows a little of how quick it is. The lad having great fun bashing it around.

We’ve been having a lot of fun with the Desert Fox, it is so much more powerful than the brushed/NiMH powered Tamiya buggies we were used to, capably handling pretty much any terrain we throw at it.

There is a great RCGroups thread about it here, in there several people have warned that the supplied 40A ESC isn’t really up to it. Well on our fourth trip out the poor thing had smoke pouring from the ESC, I quickly removed the battery and thankfully avoided any fire.

Seeing as we were soon to go on holiday to visit grand dad I considered my options:

1. Go through the famous Hobby King RMA process, only to get another 40A ESC which is just as likely to blow up.
2. Take it on the chin and accept the cheap car was cheap and upgrade the motor/ESC.

Figuring option 2 would mean the buggy was usable for the vacation and also probably better off in the long run I took the plunge and bought a 3250KV motor and 80A ESC combo. It was pretty quick to fit, just requiring a battery connector to e added.

Happily this plugged right in and the car spent a happy week tearing up the beach in Teignmouth.

So a good while back I renovated the Sea Rover for my daughter I fancied adding lights, at the time I bought a RC switch and a couple of LEDs but never bought the little fittings for them. At Wings and Wheels last year (2015) I found some little white metal fittings which looks to be about the right size. Well this week I have finally got round to filing them into shape, glueing them up and painting them. They are now installed and working nicely from the spare third channel on the transmitter.

Below is a little video of them turning on and off, exciting!

After what feels like years, I’ve finished the Fournier! She is unflown, but all done and setup waiting for me to be well enough to take her up the field. I’ve no idea why I took so long over her, she isn’t a complex build - I’m kicking myself really!

Always having a soft spot for the Sea Fury, I really took a shine to this Reno Racer scheme variant. Hobby King had an amazing discount in their Black Friday sale last year (2015) with this entire plug and fly aircraft reduced to only £60. Christmas was coming up so a word with SWMBO secured an early present.

I’m slightly embarrassed to say she is still sat in her box in the loft. I’d need to buy at least a couple of 6s 5000mAh lipos for her which I keep putting off. And then I read some of the commentary in RcGroups threads like this one, and begin to wonder if she is worth the effort. I’ll ponder some more over the summer, but she might find herself in the annual club bring and buy come the autumn.

If I had more space in the office I’d be tempted to hang her up, she really does look awesome!

Her page is here.

After picking up the indoor flying bug again and the demise of the LiddleRod I found myself with some indoor RC gear spare. Having had such a fond memory of the build of the previous two Stevens Aero kits I couldn’t help myself but to buy another one, this time the Vintage inspired Rockette.  Bought, as always from the ever helpful chaps at Micron Radio Control.

The build was, as expected, uneventful although covering with SoLite is always a bit of a chore. She flies very nicely around the gym after a little bit of fiddling with the radio. Initially only intent on turning left! But that, I think was my fault with a shonky rudder pushrod/hinge.

I’ve created a page for her here.

So this model came about thanks to my desire to have something to put on the pond while the kids are playing with their boats, (The Sea Nymph and the Sea Rover. I’ve long fancied trying a sailing boat but didn’t fancy committing the time to build one, neither did I fancy buying a new all moulded one.

Over Christmas of 2014, I spotted this old Vic Smeed design on ebay, it looked nicely built, had a little motor onboard in case of emergencies and was listed as collection only in Southampton. As it happened we were spending New Year in Wiltshire that year, so I figured if I won the auction I could drive home via Southampton (it wouldn’t be much of a de-tour would it now!?) and pick it up. The bid went in, I won the auction and the sailboat was mine for £45. Happy Days.

I’ve created a page for it in the boats section here.

After finishing the Sparrowhawk we took a trip up to Shuttleworth in September to fly it in the free flight field. We also took along the RedWing and Tomtit.

And another model which highlights how rarely I’ve been updating the blog. I bought the Blade 500 3D to replace the 450 3D, fancying something a little larger.

Having flown it for nigh on three years I was pondering a flybarless heli to replace it, when Mat at my club offered me his almost new Trex 500L Dominator with a nice case and a bunch of packs for what was a bargain price. That settled it then, the 500 3D went on ebay and the Trex came home with me.

For historic reasons I’ve created a page for the Blade here.