Butch Wellmaker

I do not remember when the last time that bolt was replaced. This bolt, P/N 053, is the bolt that is supplied with rotor head P/N 705/30 and is also used on the tail grips to hold the tail blades. The description has G-12 so would guess its a pretty strong bolt. The shank is not threaded so is the...

Yea Right!!!

That's the one on the way. B

Thanks, Its going to get some upgrades and a fresh look. B

Absolutely AMAZING!!! B

DANG!!!! That is "OFF THE HOOK" B

UIH, Great vid Mang. Fantastic Model too. B

Nicely Done Danny, Great work as always. B

Thanks Mang, All set for a couple tuning flights this weekend then off the customer. B

Thanks Thomas. Glad you enjoy the updates. I hope they are informative and with a little humor. Thanks again, B

VH-92A BuNo 169182 "will be in flight status but not in livery. Today's news About Heli Storm was great news. Thank's for your work to keep it alive I had not planned on IRCHA or the NAT's this year however, I am trading in a 5 day work week and 2 day weekend, for a 2 day work week and 5 day...

You and me both. Lol.

Danny, They are my design based on T-Rex 700 internals. The smaller tail motor is mounted just behind the main mechanics on a bulkhead and drives the Vario TGB and Fenestron assembly via a 6 mm torque tube and housing. The torque tube and housing are roughly 20 inches long and uses 4 carrier...

Always some impressive work. B

But of course. Ha.

Last but not least.

Another drawer

Michael, That’s pretty cool. Many years ago I got tired of totting around some un-organized field box. One day at Band Camp, oh wrong tale, at Lowes I ran across this little box. I have only one work station and move the heli in maintenance to that station where the tool kit sits on a shelf below...

Your work has yet to begin man. just saying. B

Evan, Nice work my friend. I am sure it will be a beauty when finished. Butch

Remy, Thanks for the comment. You are correct. The seat and pilot are from Comanche and too tall for this model. I have roughly the same size pilot for the VH however the seat will be much different. The drivers will not be wearing helmets but Bose Headsets which should give a "smaller" overall...

😊 A nice white pie with ricotta, mozzarella, pecorino romano, dried soppressata some jalapenos and sauteed escroll all on a caulipower crust, topped off with a splash of "Franks Red Hot, I put that S**T on everything". And thanks, the heli is coming along nicely. UIH, HA

Thomas, Thanks for the reply. The yellow strip is a double sided tape about .125" thick to seal up the bag. I have purchased it from Fiber Glast and also from Amazon. The lay up was 5 total layers. A 2 oz then a 4 oz then a 6 oz another 4 oz and another 2 oz. Each layer was biased 45 degrees. A...

You are correct Uwe. The kind of stuff that "makes" the model takes most of the time. I actually enjoy this part of a build. Seeing the "thought" or "idea" come together in a component then installed on the fuse is rewarding. UIH, B

Michael, I have got to hand it to you. You are the "King" of Amazing 500 size scale models. Personally I can get my sausage fingers to work with that small stuff. "Much Respect" B

Uwe, An Amazing piece of work. Very Well Done my friend. Butch

I wont guess either. I believe I work for about $.01 per hour but maybe a little less. UIH,

Thomas, Looks great. Nice and smooth with a solid head speed. Video frame rate is a good tool. B

That's Clifford. He just turned a year and is pushing 120lbs. He keeps an eye on things. Ha

Have any pictures?

Richard, Have a look at my S-92 build thread chapter 6 Avionics General Arrangment. This may give you some ideas since the 53 and 92 are similar. I am unsure how the structure, mechanics and how the upper cowlings are installed and attached for access but that may help. All my upper cowlings are...

Thanks Mang, I believe I like the 10 mm spacing better. Hummm B

Thanks Folks, One photo shows the most forward bulkhead which was only glued on the aft side. The outboard sides of the stringers in the nose section were not glued either. There was no access until I cut out the cockpit windows. This has been addressed which makes me happy. I have yet to decide on...

Thomas, Thanks for your input. I have something similar from a thin piece of metal that works great on the relatively straight areas. In the past I have used or made a tool for the straight areas but "free handed" the more complex curved sections. They have always come out great so far. This...

Love the machine work. That is one of the fun parts of modeling. Nicely done

Thanks, More progress over the weekend. Not sure why the video is not in the added photos. B

WOW!!! That is amazing. B

That pretty cool. I like it. B

Evan, Should have windows tomorrow. Will post pics. Thanks, B

UIH!!! The pieces are coming together. We have all the glazing molds ready for a test pull. There is a local shop dealing in scale war bird plans and supply's that has vacuum form abilities. We will see where things go after the first pull. B.

Massimo, Looks nice and solid in the air. Nice pedal turns during slow flight. Great job, B

Thanks guys. If it finishes up as I hope, it should look pretty cool. UIH, B

Thanks Massimo. There is a very long way to go here however moving in the right direction. B

Massimo, Love the cockpit view during flight. I may have to give that a try on some of my models. Great Job, B

Got ya. I know them things like this can be a pain. Glad you got it worked out .

Maybe something like this would help?

Massimo, That is looking great. B

MKS. Good choice B

Hey Thomas, My 92 has always felt good however there were a few things I just never took the time to really address. The end of last year and up until maybe 3 or 4 weeks ago, it was always windy when I had the chance to fly. Making adjustments in 12-15+ winds with gust just didn't make much sense...

Dammit Mann!!! You may be the sling load "King" Nicely done, B

Ha, He has stepped up his grilling/ Smoking game at the event with a Traeger wood pellet grill. Good Stuff. B

Thanks Charlie. It was a small event this year due to the weather forecast but was not as bad as predicted.

I will be happy to put a fuse together for you. B

Thanks Danny, Its been a long journey but well worth it. B

Nicely done. I do not know how some modelers can work on small helicopters. My sausage fingers do not allow such work. Great Job, B

Nice touches for the drivers. Some good dissection can go a long way to add some great detail. I have dissected very pricy action figures to get the right look. Nice job, B

Yea. I use a similar setup from Kasama on all my mechanic sets however using a 90° 4 servo set up the stay does not provide control input. B

Amazing work Danny. Love the swash stay assembly. B

Well now. If "Cool" had a "Cool" that would be it. UIH, B

Nice recovery. That little bump is worth it to accommodate your new TGB TGB. B

Great choice on that TGB. B

Looks great Uwe. I see how the outboard end of the damper is attached to the blade. How is the inboard damper support attached to the grip? I do see the block inboard inside the grip. Does it have a through hole to attach the the grip axel? Have you flown it with the mod yet? Butch

A short video I forgot to post.

Thanks Guys, Maybe I will make a chaptered story on this maintenance event. B😎

Yes. I was the crew chief B.

Thanks Joe, I did a little searching and found a photo of #315/16982 during flight test at Coatesville in 2018. All the windows are installed so this helped. Look at all those rivets and doublers. They are going to be fun I am sure. B

Thanks Joe, When the plug was printed I should have addresses the big window. I chose not to fill the plug before molding and made a plug to fill the recess. Maybe you can answer this question. Are the deleted windows on the VH simply covers over the window cutout or does the aircraft skin cover...

Looking great Randy, Look forward to seeing this at HS. B

Great TGB, I use the same TGB on my S-92 projects. Nicely dome Danny, B

Massimo, Looks very solid for a test hop.. Nicely done Mang. UIH, B

Massimo, Looking good man. Hopefully I can check this out at Helistorm. B

Dammit Mang. Amazing. The mechanical stack, Wonderful. Some carbon fiber would be a nice touch. UIH, B

Have you looked at the features of the Central Box and REX3's using EXT expanders for data? I believe it may offer a lot of what you require but in a simpler installation. To change at this point may not be in the cards but for future applications. Just a thought. B

Moving right along I see. At this rate will we have a Christmas Maiden? Merry Christmas, B

Good call.

Danny, Nice simply lay out. Love it. Your drawing shows a third main shaft bearing however your stack only has two. Will you add the third or do you believe two will be sufficient?

Hey Joe, I wonder how many rivets are on the S-92? Any chance you could get a quick count for me? That pretty funny. B

Yea, It was too much work to put one on the other side plus I was losing interest. Ha, B

Nicely done as always Danny.

Thanks Thomas, Old school. No DRO or CNC. Just a frugal bench top mill. Set up watch the dials and go. B

Amazing detail on the powerplants. B

Great Project Danny, I will be following your build and processes as I am sure there will be something for me to learn. Years ago I had the Hirobo AH-1W Cobra. That was my first scale heli model I cut my teeth on. I flew it for several years making detail and finish upgrades to finally win the 2006...

Remy, I recall you mentioned this on a post awhile back. For V1, there is a access panel on the bottom side of the stab. That will not be there on subsequent stabs. The support pins are mounted to the fuse side. The pins slide into brass tubes on the stab side. When the stab is removed it will be...

You are way too kind. I am a ways away from the detail stuff however it is never too soon to begin thinking about the process. Living in Zoo York I spend a lot of time on the on the highway. Traffic here can be daunting so gives me time to think oppose to running some ass clown over .

What a great looking machine. Amazing detail. B

Remy, Thanks for the reminder. We are a long way from being finished here. In the end, any visible wiring will be covered with TechNet or some sort covering to disguise as much as possible. Detail Master has a lot of goodies for this kind of stuff. B

Thanks Gents, B

Loren, Great to here it all worked out. B

Nicely done Uwe. You come up with all kinds of stuff. :) Butch

Michael, Too frigging cool mang, You are the master of water rescue for sure. Great work, B

UIH, A side note here. I had an older 200 which did the same thing when trying to access the sub menus. . You may have to power the CB200 through power port #2 when doing the update. I believe the 210/220 instructions suggest power to port #1 for updating. Just something to keep in mind if port one...

Great Job. B

Hey Joe, I am using the Axon however it is very similar to the 3X. Currently my head gain is set to 80. Keep in mind "80" is just a number. There are many factors that will or can affect this number. My 92 Nr is 800, it weights 35 lbs and flying flat bottom metal blades. Your MQ-8 will and can be...

Dammit Mann. Was looking great until... A moment... B

Joe, This is a pretty cool project. Great you has a platform to use. I noticed the RADS camera up on the nose for inflight blade tracking. You must add that as well. Great project, Butch

Yea, Now that the weather is on the verge of change here in Zoo York , yearly O&R is on the horizon as well. B

Looks like you're moving right along. You're in the worst part of the mold making process in my opinion. Prime, fill, sand, fill, sand, fill, repeat, repeat, repeat etc. B

Thanks Joe, Evan printed them. They are just taped on and need some slight adjustments but look great. I am glad I went with the String Ty. It is a nice cleaner look. I still have to do the wiring on the mechanics but there plenty of time for that. Thanks again, Butch

Thanks Gents, I downloaded the ESC data. Looks pretty darn good. Now its time to start pushing this thing. B

Michael, What great looking machines. The Crane is simply Bad Azz!!! Thanks for sharing, B

Yea. I am thinking the String Ty once everything is finalized. Just looks friggen cool. UIH, B

Hummmm. Hand tie or zip tie??? I thing that just looks cool. UIH. B

Randy, That's pretty sweet you can go inside. Any photos from the inside? Butch

Michael, Cool model. Looking forward to your build. Thanks for posting, Butch

Remy, Thanks for the tip. I do have something very similar I have thought about using. I did work on this last evening shortening connections but still have a way to go. Thanks again, B

Hey Joe, Thanks for the tip on the clamps. I hope to get this cleaned up this weekend. The Velcro straps will go away once things are finalized. As much as I like the look of the black Ty-string I will most likely use the little tiny black ty-wraps. Once it's all done, then the real test comes, Can...

Flippin SWEET👍

Gents, Thanks for the very kind words about this build. It has been fun and will be working towards a finished project. Remy, A great question. Most Sikorsky helicopters have about a 5 degree longitudinal tilt and little to no tilt laterally built in to the MGB. I have built all my Sikorsky models...

Very nice work. Love it. Butch

Sean, Me too. Looking forward to a week of heli schnizzle. Hope everything fits in my van. B

Thanks Danny, Wiring is not finished up yet. All leads are still full length and there is a rats nest of sorts under the mechanics. I will clean that up over the next few days before the maiden. At some point once placement of all the devices are determined wire length may be adjusted. The retract...

Thanks Massimo That works really well without a big plastic clip of sorts. Its heavy duty sewing thread tied as you would tie aircraft wiring harness.

Thanks gents I am leaning towards that scheme but nothing firm just yet. B

You can not go wrong with M-Blades. Been flying them for many years on several models. Excellent choice for sure B

Between the heat and the rain, not a lot of flying going on for me. Comanche need a little work and 67 is good to go. Building a couple S-92s and adding new AC to the shop. Working to have things ready for the Southern Scale Challenge in Hindsville GA the first week of September. The tropical storm...

Great info. I am sure there will be questions about the process. Currently I am in the the midst of another project but the thought process begins long before, I need something to ponder during my... B

I have always wanted to build my own tube frame. Being a Sikorsky guy, the VS-300 has always sparker my interest. Amazing workmanship. This has gotten me thinking. Thanks for sharing, B

Julien, Thanks for the question, In the first photo you can see two leads coming from the Axon to the CB200. I use EXT pin 15 on the CB 200 to pin "B" on the Axon for the EX Bus. EXT pin 14 is used for an additional power to pin "A" on the Axon. The CB 200 will be replaced with a CB 210. This 200...

That looks fantastic. Great craftsmanship.

I will be watching this. B

I can do that. B

You guys are too kind or easily amused. This is the culmination of, days, Weeks ,MONTHS!!! of mock up with little visual progress. And a note book of notes so it can be done again. "That guy, He funny". UIH, B

Danny, Your build(s) are amazing. I use a similar style coupling for NBK for my drive train needs. They are more robust than others out there which is always a plus. B

Klem, You are correct on the wiring. I will be installing brakes as well that will also go the the CB. Any other sub system such as lights, ramp door, winch if installed would all run to the CB. The 92 does not have gear doors but if it did, they would run to the CB as well. A nice feature of the...

Swash stay.

Ya think? Lol Swash Stay installed

Flippin SWEET!!! The PSG stuff is amazing. 👍

Everybody funny now you funny too. Bring it down. We will have a great time.

Michael, I do plan to attend Hindsville this year. I hope to maiden my 92 there but we will see. B

DANG!!!

Thanks Michael, I built the No-Taaahhh 9 years ago for a friend. It's an e-conversion and fly's great. B

Remy, Good question. I leave all windows installed until the structure is bonded in to help the fuse hold its shape. As you know, fiberglass moves around until some sort of skeleton support it. I will leave the cockpit windows installed for flight test or until the glazing is molded and can be...

Thanks Rob, It is moving along nicely. B

Thanks Joe, I have yet to load the 92 in my hauler with other helicopters. I will have to give it a try my next outing. If all fits it will be there. B

Dang, All the photos did not load. Let me see what happened.

Danny, That is some fantastic machine work and detail on this build. This kind of stuff makes me think about my builds and how to step up to the next level. Thanks for sharing, Butch

Ha. I only drive about 20 minutes each way to work now. When I was traveling for work, I would get through the city on Monday morning by 0600 so it was smooth sailing. 1 hour 6 minutes form home to TEB. 62 miles. Drive home on Friday at 1200 was almost 3 hours.

Take about an hour+ and roughly a 45 minute or so drive from Port Jeff to our field once off the boat. Ferry runs about $75 for car and driver each way. The drive around, as long as there in no Zoo York traffic takes roughly the same amount of time however the big variable is traffic. If heading...

Joe, Glad to here it flying well. I think it needs a "cross country" trip from CT to LI in a couple weeks. If not hope to see you and your machines at the Joe Howard Memorial in MA. B 😊

Danny, Looks good mang. Very clean and simple set up there. B 😊

Nice looking machine. Thanks for sharing, B

Clips to hold cradles.

Aft mounting.

Thanks Mang, The rack is secured to the seat brackets on the forward side with snap clips or carabiners and the luggage tie down in the rear with small chain and turn buckles to hold it in place. The sliding shelf has 4 heavy duty drawer slides and is secured with a 1/4-20 through bolt to the rack...

Front side.

Nicely done. I believe I have the same van, Chrysler Pacifica. Its a great hauler. I built a shelf as well but raised to allow storage under the sliding rack that holds my helis. I can stuff in 3 75+ inch helis, 4 each 10X10 tents, 3 each folding tables and all the support equipment. I believe with...

Dang, That is so cool. Love the approach to hover over the water. Great job on the build and the flying. Thanks for sharing, B

😐 There is a rabbit hole.? I am in!!! Most on this forum share the 3 disciplines you mentioned via videos or post, sharing the amazing work, builds and flying they do. The process of model building or a scratch build is always an interest to me. I personally learn form what is posted. In my...

Nice looking machine Randy. Look forward to seeing it soon. Any chance you can make it to LI for our scale event 31 MAY-2 Jun? Its the week before NEHC event up in MA. I will be there. B

Holly Cow!!! Those are some amazing machines. I am speechless about the flying site. Thanks for sharing, Butch

Fantastic!!!

Charlie, Thanks for the painting plug. Blades add a nice touch to the model. Glad you guys like them. B

Joe that looks great. Fine job my friend. Hopefully I will see it at one of the upcoming events up here in the northeast. What kind of collective pitch range are you running? B

That looks great Scott. Cant wait to see the video. Nicely done, Nicely done. B

Nice flight. Machine looks rock solid. Nicely done. B

Fantastic work on the IGB. B

Uwe, I absolutely love the detail on your project . Amazing work. B🥨🍻

Dammit Mann, That looks AMAZING. Love the photo with the working sling load equipment. Very Impressive. Thanks for sharing, B

Hey Joe, The IGB will remain the same but the TGB rotation will change. The IGB with the 4 gears that allow it to be adjustable, changes rotation from input to out put. From pilots view, CCW input to CW output. Actually pretty simple. I will just need to move the tail rotor output shaft gear from...

A quick video

Once everything is adjusted to me liking everything comes off the switch. Heck, sometimes my sausage fingers get mixed up between the landing gear and stabilizer functions. Last thing I need is to turn off the head or tail gyro. Ha B

That a good question. If you ask 10 modelers you will get 12 opinions. Every heli is different. Each have many variables that will affect the stab system and how it reacts. Get it in the ball park and adjust from there. I usually set a reference number of 70. Lets call that the "home" setting. I...

Dammit Mang, That looks great Joe. You will like the 3X. Been flying the BD for many years. It will really come together once the blades are painted. Nice Job Mang, B

Very Nice Danny Butch

Looks great. Nice clean installs on everything. B

Looks Great.

WOW!!! I have a really long way to go to catch up. HA, B

I have always liked the 500 series helicopters. Maybe some day I will build another but bigger. Back in the day had a Raptor 50 with the Thunder Tiger 500 fuse. I used a Helitronic mixer with a couple of 401's, installed along with Century 5 blade head and it flew great. Looking Great Scott, B

S/N 92004 under construction. :)

Thanks Joe, Just looking for the color to paint the inside of the fuse when the time comes. B

Thanks gents, It is very satisfying to see what I thought up several years ago finally coming together. Joe have a question. The color inside the 92 fuse. Years ago when I worked for SA, the inside of most all aircraft were the standard zinc chromate color. Is SA still using that or have they gone...

Do tell....

Thanks Mang, B

Great looking machine. I too suffer from OCD but with medication I keep it in check. ;) Nice job, B

Congrats on the maiden. off to a good start for sure. I would not even leave the house at 21*. That's a shop day day for me. Nice Job Mang, B

Massimo, Looks great Mang, You mention it was cold but were you able to get in a test flight and if so how did it go? UIH, B

Yes they do.

Nice build and looking great thus far. B

UIH, Here a shot of the PSG Dynamics IGB.

TGB

Craig, The TGB are from Baumann. The main rotor heads are Peka. The mechanics are custom the same as in my S-67 Blackhawk. They use turbine gears and pinion but with custom sprague and lay shaft. These will be fitted with clutches. The main shaft is 12mm and control is 4 servo biased at 45° The...

Thanks Craig, The TRDS will be aft of the tail pylon spar. There will be full access to the TRDS with the trailing edge fairing removed. I will post up some pics this evening. S/N 002 will have the Vario 50 degree IGB and S/N 003 will have a PSG Dynamics adjustable IGB. I have the TGB's for both...

Looks great. Nicely done. 😊

Thanks gents. To engrave the station numbers takes about 2 minutes with the Stepcraft. The fuse will come with a drawing that calls out the stations so the user will know where each bulkhead is to be placed or at least get them in the ball park. Next fuses will have stations labeled on the inside...

Looks great. B

Looks great. B

Scott, Always a good feeling to see a project going to the paint shop. I looked through your chapters looking for the paint scheme and did not notice it. Any pics? B

Hey Charlie, I use Klass Kote paint on all my blades. Its like to old school K&B epoxy paint. I have 4 sets of Sharkskin blades all done in Klass Kote. I have used it on several sets of metal blades. I personally like the stuff but there are a ton of options out there. B

Well lookie here.

I remember that vid from way back . You have come a loooooooong way my friend. B

Shouldn’t be.

WOW!!! That looks great Joe.

Gary, Good question as to who I purchase supplies from. I like Fibre Glast for cloth and bagging materials. It is a one stop shop which makes things pretty simple. They always ship promptly and the supplies are usually here in a couple days. I believe they are in OH. I have used or tried different...

Dang, That's pretty flippin sweet.

Thanks Michael but it gets real small real fast. Like I mentioned some time ago, I could easily use twice the size.

Looks great Joe. Nicely done as always. B

Good, Yes I reuse the vacuum bags and can get several uses out of each. The clear or white bag is twice as thick as the green film and does not conform to intricate part shapes. Originally I was taping the film to the mold flange. That worked well but I have been making the bags and place the...

Uwe, your cockpit is Absolutely flipping "SICK". Nicely done my friend.

Dang. Love it. Flying amazing. 👍

One of the OG’s I looked up to when I started in scale helis in the late 90’s. Darrell has been a mentor to me for many years. Thanks my Brother. B.

Brilliant, Just Brilliant.

Joe, The wire drive should be ok. Just make sure there are flats when the set screws seat. I see my question was about as clear as mud. Is that the stock TGB out-put shaft. Its Monday. Lol.

Nice job on the servo mount. Is that the stock Hirobo tail drive shaft?

Brilliant, Just Brilliant.

Thanks Gents, Joe, For the inlets, I am leaning toward having them resin printed. I have not really played around with making molds for them however they are not that big and have a lot of angles therefore printing may give the best results. Sean, I love the challenge. Lets just hope it works....

Nicely done. Where there is a will there is a way. Modeling at its finest. B

Nice looking rigs Gents. 👍

Jason, Yes these will be available if interested. Thanks, B

That is some fantastic flying. 👍👍👍👍

if you happen across some drawings I know someone who can make one of those. :)

I like the “weatherizarion”. Nicely done. B.

Joe, That looks great mang. Personally I like the black mechanics. Its had to see in the photos but would it be possible or is there enough room to make some "faux" covers to give the appearance of the fuel cell? Plastic can be a PITA no matter how well you clean and prep the surface. I have used...

Scott, That is a very impressive set up you have there. An actual functioning RC spreader. How friggen cool is that. B

Scott, This is simply Bad Azz. Nice job on the mounting. B

Randy, That's really cool. B

Time to get the buck prepped to get moving on the molds. That is going to make a serious statement for sure. B

Looks good Mang, B

A little paint and they will be pretty again. +1 Remy. B

Hey Jason, Were the blades a set of 3 or did you use 2 sets of 2? Do all the grips have the same movement? B

Mark, Thanks for your support. Its nice to powertrain parts available when needed. Nice work, B

Looking good mang. B

Very cool. Thanks for sharing. B

Hey Malcolm, That’s a really good question. It’s a little late for that now since the molds are complete and production has begun. I have done both. Added them to molds or the plug and added after. Personally I prefer after. Mainly because I can sand the fuse then place the rivets after sanding....

Uwe, Very cool my friend. B

Great pic my Brother. Love the reflection in the water. How she flying? B

I think you are off to a great start on the engine detail. Let me see if I can take some photos of the Arriel 2D power plant in the A-Star here for some basic reference. B

Mirko, This is amazing. The aluminum cladding is something I have yet to attempt. What is the process? Is it thin sheets of aluminum or an aluminum tape of sorts? Please explain. Great job, B

Nice flight. Love the cockpit view and over the water. Thanks for sharing, B

Don't underestimate yourself.

Loos good mang. You guys are killing it with the details. B

Hey Gary, I use a total of 4 layers one 2 oz, one 4 oz and two 6 oz. In some areas I will add an additional layer.

WOW!!!! That looks great mang.

Thank's Gents, This has been a lot of work. I will say, it is very gratifying to see this all coming together piece by piece. Its like, "I made dat schit".

600MG is a great looking machine.

Sweeet!!!

Looks like you're making some good progress and its looking good as well. Maybe I missed it but have you chosen a paint scheme yet? B

Amazing.

Nice Access to DMC Safety Cable. That great stuff. Bell Wire, strip the casing off, from HD is good for detail too.

Dang, That looks great. Good Idea for the canopy frame work. There are a ton of possibilities for detail on the engine. Have a look at Detail Master.com They have a bunch of detail items that could be used to dress up the powerplant. B

If not an Axon that a good alternative.