Rob's Zulu Build Log

Hi All,
As I said I got a Zulu cos I flew Paul's a few times and I love it !!!
So I bought one from T9 Hobbysport for £37.99 plus post.
When it arrived in a massive box I was underwhelmed to say the least !
The quality of the parts is 'cheap' at best and to say that they're thin is an understatement - look at these pictures -

This is the so-called fin !

This is what the ailerons look like - so thin you can see light through them - and curled up at the edges -

Then here's the 'front end' -

As thin as toilet paper and no means of keeping the canopy in place at all -

Plus there are no instructions or any way of knowing how to put it all together in the kit.

I did a search and found the build sheet for this model, but I am not happy so far with the service I've got.
Don't try to make one unless you have a lot a parts at home, cos this is lacking almost everything you need !

It will fly - I've already bought 2 servos, a new battery and some pushrods for it (they were supposed to be in the kit, but guess what !)

23rd Sept 2015

Anyway I have now cut out the holes for the recommended servos (Hitec HS85 MG), however the recommended siting for them is completely wrong ! I have put them in a place that doesn't snag the carbon wing joiner and the drooperons !
They only just fit into the wing in terms of placement and thickness - see this picture to see what I mean -

And this picture shows how close I came to coming through the top of the wing  -

You can see the servo through the top surface of the wing -  That's a  tight fit !

Then I put the wing halves together using a  lot of masking tape to keep them together and a lot of weight to keep them down on the work bench

Anyway - the Zulu is coming together when I get the time .

24th Sept 2015

I have now cut all the drooperons and elevons - however, the place where they suggest to cut the drooperons would  snag the canopy when it's fitted, so I had to make a trace around the canopy to enable me to get the drooperons cut in the right place - it's very tight again ..

After putting the wings together I added the carbon wing joiners to strengthen the joint - top and bottom -
You can see the bottom ones in the above picture.

I ordered some dubro mini EZ connectors as suggested for the pushrod connections and here's a picture of one in place on the servo -

I'm going to put them on all 3 places - drooperon horn, servo and elevon horn so I've got maximum adjustment.
As you can see I've attached the drooperon horns which are totally different to those on the plans, so I had to guess where to put them (as ever).

I have also tried to stiffen that flimsy fin, but I think I might try again as it looks horrible -

30th Sept 2015

Well I got my Dubro mini EZ connectors and put them into the control horns which I had to let into the elevons and drooperons - they fit almost to the top side of the EPP, so cutting has to be very careful. Also, they're different to those in the plans so positioning for height was guesswork.

I ordered 2 cans of Styro paint on Thursday and waited - then on Monday they came (or not), the driver said he had come to collect something from me - I said 'No, I want 2 cans of paint'. He came back the next day with 2 cans of paint - yippee !, but he said I had to pay for them (which I already did on Paypal). I said 'No, go and sort this out'. He came again today (weds) with 2 cans of paint which he actually let me have ! Blimey how difficult is it !

I would not recommend buying from Stockton Modeller as they are rude, useless and don't reply to their emails !

I have painted a test piece of EPP and am waiting for the results before I commit to painting the Zulu


1st Oct 2015

Well I got time this afternoon to mask up and spray the Zulu - BUT those cans of paint are TINY !
Here's the masking in anticipation of a proper paint job -

 

But the blue only just covered the top surface and then ran out while I was doing the edges -

So, I will go to SMC in the morning and get more paint - should have gone there in the 1st place anyway to avoid the courier hassle !


In the end I finished the colouring and had to cover it with the laminate clear heat-activated plastic which was not as easy as Solarfilm, etc... as it doesn't shrink with heat, it just sticks. It is essential to make sure it's tight before you heat it, otherwise it just folds up and sticks to itself - here's the finished (not very good) model -

It has flown successfully a number of times - it's not my favourite model, but good in a light wind and very aerobatic ...





Rob