Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 1, Parts
Here's the one kit I packed for Mexico. It's small with strong tubes. I could put this into my carry-on bag for a more gentle transit on the plane. With the available skins there is no filling or painting! Perfect for an "away build". This is a MMX downscale of one of the more popular Flis ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 2, Engine Mount and Marking
The internal BT-2.5 (motor mount) tube is cut to 3 5/8" long. A piece of paper was wrapped and taped for a marking guide. This tubing is small and strong. It cut very easily.
The instructions say to install the engine block using a MicroMaxx engine casing. I didn't pack one with ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 3, Centering Rings
You are advised to mark the rings - A good idea.
I didn't pack a ruler broken down into hundredths. The instruction drawing is full size and a better reference over pencil markings anyway. Set the tube and rings over the drawing for gluing.
The rings were a little loose on the ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 4, Body Wraps Before Cutting - Wrong!
The glue stick I bought for this trip was crap! The Staples stick didn't lay down an even glue coat. You could never smooth this mess out. Travel TIP : If you are stuck in Mexico and need a glue stick look for the brand shown in the inset. The DieTrix brand stick made a thin even clear ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 5, Tube Segment Cutting - Wrong!
Again, this is not the correct way to do it! In the next post I follow the directions and do it right - I used the A Section cutting guide to mark the low end of the BT-5. This lowest section is underneath the tail cone shroud. The other sections will be cut near the printed color edges. ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 6, Tube Marking and Cutting
On the first try, I didn't mark the long internal engine mount tube with red and black lines. (Parts 4 & 5) Heck, I'm stuck in Mexico and don't know where to find the fine tip pens. I used the instruction drawing and place the centering rings by eye. Trust me - Mark the tubes with the red ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 7, Tube Cutting
After cutting, lightly sand the cut ends flat. The fit of these segments is important. Make clean cuts and don't sand off any more than you have to.
Here's the edge sanding before and after.
When I got to the last "D" segment, there wasn't much holding the cutting guide on the tube. ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 8, Skins and Fitting
Before removing the cutting guide wraps, mark the inside of each segment. The "AB" inside the tube stands for A Section - B ottom. It's easy to get these mixed up and it would be a jigsaw puzzle if not marked.
Now I can cut out the segment skins. The seam edges were cut right on the line, ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 9, Base Shroud Forming
The shroud was pre-curled in the heel of my hand, by rolling a dowel over the paper. The gluing tab on the base shroud tail cone is narrow! I wouldn't recommend using white glue on this, use a glue stick. TIP : Instead of laying glue on the small tab, try gluing the inside of the opposite edge. ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 10, Base Shroud and Fit
The base ring is glued onto the "A" tube segment. Be sure the launch lug hole in the ring lines up with the penciled launch lug line. In the picture at the right it was incorrect! I had the base plate hole lined up with the black line. The penciled line was to the right. The ring had to be ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 11, First Try Test Nose Cone
To make a practice cone some 24 lb. paper was taped beneath the kit supplied thicker stock. By cutting through the single kit cone pattern I'll also cut a second practice cone on the paper underneath. I'll form the copy cone first to test the fit. The glue tab seemed very narrow, I cut mine ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 12, Shorten the Inside Tube
After over sanding the segment angles for the best fit, I ended up with the internal tube a little long. The top ring could be moved down about 1/16" and be closer to what was intended in the design. With the tip of the blade, small punches were made around the glue fillet. Look close at ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 13, The Real Nose Cone NOTE: You won't be using all the provided clay in the nose cone! The instructions don't mention this. There is just not enough room to fit it all in. You still need space to recess and glue in the nose base assembly. The nose base should butt up against the bottom of the clay. Flatten the last ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 14, Launch Lug Hole TIP and Fix Cutting an elliptical launch lug hole in a base shroud is always dicey - especially at this small size. On a larger model I'd use my adjustable punch at the top and bottom of the lug cutout. This model is too small for the punch and the shroud is already glued on.
Here's what you'll be ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 15, Launch Lug Hole TIP and Fix I did my best to open up the long oval hole but I was cutting through two layers of paper. More of the oval was removed until the inserted lug wouldn't distort the shroud. The oval edges weren't clean and the white shroud underneath was showing through. Well, why not cover up the whole thing? I ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 16, Gluing The Segments
Finally - gluing the body segments! Even though the instructions specify lining up the seams with the red and black lines on the interior tube, my edges didn't match up exactly. I ended up turning the segments slightly for a better fit on the segment below it. The seams weren't always in line ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 17, Lug & Kevlar Tie
The illustration in Step 18 shows the lug hanging out the back end. Step 17 tells you to have the lug end flush with the bottom of the ring. Step 19 shows the lug even with the bottom ring. The top end of the lug is even with the top joint of the B section. I cut off about 1/8" from the lug ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 18, Fin Skins
Before you think about rounding the leading edge (for a smoother cover of the skins) - Double check the fins on the printed skin page. I rounded what I thought was a leading edge - it was the root edge. I had to cut a new fin from the open extra area on the laser cut sheet. These fins are not ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 19, Fin Skins
A "soft" embossed fold was scored on the inside of the skin with the rounded tip of a butter knife. The wraps and fin skins were printed on 24 lb. paper so use a light touch. The new glue stick gave an even coat of glue and allowed the skin to be re-positioned to get the right fit.
This ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 20, Fin Gluing
The fin shapes are a little confusing, all four are different. I had to set them into the original laser cut cardstock piece to be sure.
The fins were tacked on using very little glue. (See the last paragraph for the reason why.) The inset picture shows the offset of Fin #1. I is glued ...
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Fliskits MACME Shrew Finished
For a MicroMaxx model, this one won't get any great altitudes. But it doesn't have to. It is stout and heavier than most MMX kit designs. Getting all the segments to line up takes time, even on the larger BT-70 based Flis ACME Spitfire. The kit is labeled as a Level 3 build. Working smaller is ...
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