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Oh! So sorry, doing that right now. ~Luke

There's a good scan of the SV-51 instructions in the Model Kits section of the Macrossworld main page. I could provide one, as well, if necessary. (Boosters too.) ~Luke

I find this discussion surprising, since I've got a -19 that I've transformed quite a few times (15-20 times, I'd guess) with no stress marks whatsoever... Tiny bit of paint wear on that tab, of course, but no stress. It's a first-run unit, I got it a few days after the official release. I have sanded down the pegs a bit, but only because I was scaring myself, with the amount of force I had to use. (After building featherweight balsa RC aircraft for years, using pounds of force on a model/toy was a terrifying experience.) ~Luke

Wow.... Neat. Overall. I will note that the LEX/nose strakes don't sit down into the intake boxes enough, giving the fighter mode the broken back look... And the intakes seem a bit large. (Or the fuselage/nose seems a bit small?) Perhaps a measure to minimize the scare-crow look? Still, a very impressive design. ~Luke

I don't know, it could be quite a bit of work... But, I might take a swing at it anyhow. (I'd also want to bring the ducting on mine up to spec., the intakes on your ship transition into the fan much more smoothly than on mine.) ~Luke

Nothing that I know of... Maybe I wasn't true enough to the line-art? Sean, here are the latest pictures... One of the now-finished control system, and one showing the deflections with the stick all the way to the left. Somehow, I think it will roll. ~Luke

Well, the flight control system is mechanically interlinked so all the control surfaces respond cooperatively to my control inputs. (All off two servos, too!) So, at least the pilot workload is pretty low. Unfortunately, production of the SV is pretty much off the table, due to copyright issues. A couple one-offs (sort of an oxymoron, isn't it?) is one thing, but I imagine there'd be trouble if I did a production run of the things. ~Luke

Ok, give me a couple days, and I'll get these uploaded to UTube. ~Luke

Yep, I was pretty much sitting there, driving the nose with the thrust vector. Not bad, considering the tiny 7 oz. of thrust, or whatever it is... The problem with vacuum-forming is... What do I form? Styrene sheet (0.02") would produce an airframe that weighs 11 oz. which is 5 oz. overweight. (The entire aircraft, loaded, is supposed to weigh 12 oz..) I've tried vacuum-forming foam sheet before... Don't talk to me about that! (It was rather traumatic, in the magnitude of failure. ) I even tried matched-mold compression molding of the foam. Very touchy business. Now, I am working on a 'secret project' which (if it works) could change my model-producing landscape forever, but that's for another day. Sean: GAH! $600, for shipping!? *Passes out* ~Luke

Heheh, airlifting a tank... That can't be cheap. ~Luke

So, have you driven the tank down Main St. yet? Sounds good, I'm almost ready to order the 'insides' here. ~Luke

Not as exciting as airframe construction, but necessary nevertheless: Here's the completed servo box + elevator demixer, ready to be mounted in the airframe. ~Luke

Thanks! Does Google Video work for you? http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...st&p=441791 ~Luke

Thanks! Sean, here's the latest version of the gunpod magazine. I think this is the one that looks the best, overall. (Please excuse the unsanded filler on the nacelles.) ~Luke

Another update, added the tipfins, and what-not. Working on a gunpod, as well... Not sure if it's flightworthy, I'll probably attach it with magnets. First I need to make it fit the magazine, apparently my version has some a non-lineart-accurate set of cross-sections between the nacelles. Lastly, Sean: Take a look, I threw together a mockup of the gunpod magazine with detailing. If you like it, I'll go and make a cleaner version, if you don't, I've got a blank ready to be installed. ~Luke

For the gunpod mag., I was thinking something like this: (Actually, with a good deal less relief, but you get the idea.) Alternatively, I could just scribe the lines, or simply leave it undetailed. ~Luke

Sean, I'm working on the gunpod mag. right now (saving 0.1 oz., in the process) and I'm wondering: Would you like me to engrave those little quadrilateral-shaped panels into the upper surface? I tested it on a spare piece I had, and it looks really good, but perhaps it's too much surface detail, given the rest of the aircraft is un-paneled? (I'm short a camera at the moment, but I'll post a pic. or two in a couple hours.) Also, should I install the raised hexagonal panels on the nose, or do just supply you with the CAD patterns? ~Luke

Thanks! Well, didn't quite finish tonight... Had to reglue an intake, which took a bit of time. But very close. ~Luke

Well, charging right along here... Look at the deflections the updated thrust-vector paddle design can achieve! I've more than doubled the throws compared to my ship. The new linkages are also more reliable, making it almost impossible for them to disengage in flight, something that occured on mine a couple times. (They were a bit tricky to make, though... Nothing like tying knots in 1/64" thick wire. ) Anyway, I'm planning on finishing the airframe by tonight. We'll see. By the way, Jwinges: I take it back, a 12" 3D airframe carved out of foam wouldn't be too bad, weight-wise, according to some volume calcs. I did in CAD. Still a bit of a pain to do, of course. ~Luke

Thanks guys! I ordered an SV-51 model kit, and went for SAL shipping. (Just couldn't justify doubling the order cost, just for quicker shipping.) I saw the estimated times, but "7-45 days" is sort of broad. I'm not in any hurry, but I do like to know about how long I have to wait. ~Luke

Quick question, roughly how long does it take for an HLJ SAL shipment to get to the US? Thanks! ~Luke

I'll see if I can dig up the plans for the profile ships. Pretty much, they're just traces of top/side views of the designs, though. I'm using Dow's pink insulation foam; I initially block-cut the components using a hot-wire bow, and then just start shaping with sandpaper, keeping a careful eye on sectional symmetry. Because of the volume of the airframe, I wouldn't count on a 12" span version to be light enough to really fly well. (It would also be quite a pain to carve, at that size.) I can't think of any off-the-shelf airframes that are close enough to the SV to really convert convincingly. With a lot of work, an Su-27 might pass, but you may as well just build the whole thing from scratch. (You'd need new LEXs, wings, stabilizers, nacelles, canopy, plus the canards. That's almost the entire plane.) Same goes for the YF-21. ~Luke

I tell you, if they did, and made the figher mode look good, that's one toy I'd be very interested in. ~Luke

Yep, I've worked with a pair of custom wound CD-ROM motors... They work well, if you're OK with chewing your fingers up, as you wind the stator... ~Luke

Good show! How did the exhaust area work out? According to my CAD work, at 24" span, the perfect-scale exhaust is only 1.4"^2, which is less than 95% of the FSA? ~Luke