Rodel have been making this kit for decades now in various forms and with good reason: it's a cracker. The 4.2m is available with an obeche-veneered foam wing or DIY built-up wing. I got the foam-winged version as it is slightly more robust than the balsa wing, with glasscloth under the veneer and a hardwood leading edge. In passing, it's the same wing Rodel use for their ASK21. There's also a 3.2m version for those with smaller cars/budgets/hands. And a recently-added 5.2m if you're rich, big car etc.
Also please note that mine is a 2005 kit; Rodel has made some improvements since.
The kit is a joy to put together - less work than a Teakle kit (e.g. the wings are finish-sanded including LE, ailerons faced with obeche) but there are a few jobs that need to be done right e.g. accurately gluing wing joiner sleeves in wing and fus, installing airbrakes, building the built-up tail surfaces etc.
All the main components and fittings are good quality and totally usable. Of course, being picky I replaced some to make it more scale or to trim off an imaginary amount of weight, but the thing is you could just open the box and build the thing.
I made the following changes:
- replaced the hefty aluminium tailplane bellcrank and joiner with carbon fibre parts. The joiner is 8mm square carbon tube and the bellcrank is 4mm carbon plate, both from Easy Composites. Note: I understand new kits have a glass-fibre bellcrank supplied.
horrible snakes for rudder and elev replaced with closed loop and carbon pushrod respectively.
wheel mounted on sprung trailing arms to give some suspension (wheel not supplied, oddly)
electric motor fitted in nose (Emax 4030, 5s 4500mAh LiPo, 80 ESC, 16x10 prop, about 800W)
replaced laughably-heavy steel 20mm wing joiner weighing 20oz with carbon filled aluminium joiner weighing 10oz. Aluminium from B&Q.
fitted auto-connecting MPX plug/socket in wing roots for wing servos.
replaced brass control horns with scale shaped horns cut from carbon plate.
edged all balsa tail surfaces with 2mm beech (coffee stirrers from Costa)
replaced the 1/8" liteply canopy frame by moulding one in situ with carbon tows. Really easy and satisfying to do, and when you pop it off and hold it in your hands it has all the qualities aeromodellers seek - light, strong and super-accurate.
My proudest thing is the fit of the airbrakes. Damn you can't see them until they open. After years or frustrated disappointment with my own brakes and coveting the hairline fit of others', this is a big moment for me. I made the blade caps by pouring thick epoxy/microballoons onto the aluminium brake in situ, with a cellotape wall around the aperture and plenty of vaseline to avoid one of those oh-dear-I've-glued-the-airbrakes-shut moments. The cellotape provides the working clearance.
Here's some photos because we're all visual types.
