Starting scale

[Ghillie47]

Only been flying for 6 months with a 130x and a Trex 450. I am looking for advice on what to buy longterm with a view to make a start with scale. Any advice appreciated.

[Liam B.]

Convert your 450 into a scale flyer?

Then go bigger

Liam

[JoeBailey]

Starting scale

If your not to worried over condition when you get the model there are some super bargains if you hunt around.

I paid £100 for my long ranger, that's mechanics, fuse, radio gear (including wind up gyro) it's a bit beat up but with some tlc it should be good. I got the new bearings for the engine this week and the replacement windows came in two weeks ago, hopefully I can get the clutch rebuilt and dialed in next week.

[Zeeflyboy]

Starting scale

To me scale really gets interesting at the 600 size...

If you buy either an old T-Rex 600 (not the new pro) or something like a Chaos 600 etc then the majority of fuselages will fit or can be made to easily.

At this size you can really go to town on the details and natty features as you'll generally have plenty of room and they handle the weight well, they also have some real presence which is important when all you do is fly around a bit and admire it.

[electricsceadu]

it all depends on what size of model you want and what type of scale body you wish to have
power wise you can have nitro,petrol,electric,turbine
so the choice is yours

if you want a project them look on ebay but stick to well known mechanics or replace whats inside with a set of mechanics you can get spares for
for a 30 size i'd go shuttle mechanics
50/600 size raptor/sceadu(+sdx50)/trex
60/90/700 size vario/graupner/raptor/hirobo freya (or the hirobo s60 scale mechanics)/trex 700
when you go bigger then the only realistic option is vario

edit
i forgot 450 size
trex or tt mini titan
and 250 will be the trex 250

i have seen a mcpx in a hughes 500 body if you want smaller

[Pabs]

I'm looking to build a scale helicopter like you are, and just can't decide which route to take. For me, it'll definitely be a nitro and most likely a 50-size because as per my other thread on here a fuselage for a 30-size is rather hard to find. (unless you import and potentially incur high postage and/or import tax) - 50-size bodies are far more available, but I haven't decided between a raptor 50 or a trex 600n yet. I'm building up a spare raptor airframe I have, but it's currently only a 30 size with a 32 engine which may cost a bit to upgrade to a 50.

Maybe I keep my 30-size models pod-and-boom and learn on those, and use either the finished raptor or 600n for the fuselage. As said on here though, make sure you get mechanics that spares are available for! (hence why I've opted for raptor or trex)

Will be interesting to see what route you take!

[electricsceadu]

with the raptor 30 you can fit the 50 boom and belt
use a 50 body but keep the 30 engine and 550 blades
with scale you don't need the extra power of a 50

[Pabs]

Starting scale

Yes, that's true I suppose. Just not sure a 32 is the best idea for scale, think I may need to source an os37 or similar to power it. I'd probably want to put a scale head on eventually too, 3 or 4-bladed.
May also want to stick on the auto-rotation pulley for rudder control.. Hmm too many decisions to make! Haha

[Ghillie47]

Thanks everyone for the advice. As I am new I will probablyget a 450 fuselage to fit my Trex, and then depending on how I get on go bigger.I’m pretty impressed with the fuselage custom builds on the Scale RC heli website.I have done a bit of fibreglass mould fabrication in another life. Finding theplans for a plug might be difficult though.

[JoeBailey]

Starting scale

You can get detailed 3 view drawings for pretty much any aircraft you want. It's just scaling it all down to the size you want.

Hope you enjoy it either way.

[electricsceadu]

Yes, that's true I suppose. Just not sure a 32 is the best idea for scale, think I may need to source an os37 or similar to power it. I'd probably want to put a scale head on eventually too, 3 or 4-bladed.
May also want to stick on the auto-rotation pulley for rudder control.. Hmm too many decisions to make! Haha

the os32 will power a scale heli
just think of all the shuttles that were fitted inside scale bodies
and the hirobo lama that uses the 30 class motor (well before the 37 came out)

its quite correct that the os32 won't be a power house inside a scale model
and the os37 will give you more power

[Pabs]

the os32 will power a scale heli
just think of all the shuttles that were fitted inside scale bodies
and the hirobo lama that uses the 30 class motor (well before the 37 came out)

Ok - I always understood that the shuttle was a fair bit lighter than a raptor - certainly when I pick both models up it feels lighter to me.
I've got a potential irvine 36 lying around that might be able to use - so I think that'll be the first engine I'll pop in the mechanics and test fly. I'll be sticking to 550 blades for now, but reading up it seems a few people recommend using semi-symmetrical blades to get better lift?

I'll be going for a TT fuselage.

Anyway - must stop hijacking this thread - didn't realise I had! sorry to the OP!

[Andy_Ran]

I started going scale on my 500's

Since then i have scaled both of my 450's as well. They can be tricky to install due to the sizes. The Hughes MD500 is however a very simple install and are really nice to fly. I personally like the Army version over the normal one. Align and heliartists fuses are the ones to get.

[Ghillie47]

Thanks Andy, looks good I will put it on my short list.