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Building Tips and technical articles. => 1/2 A building. => Topic started by: john vlna on June 28, 2013, 08:00:32 PM
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As a kid I built a number of Enterprise CL kits, Recently I bought this one, see pic, the Razzle Dazzle from Penn Valley Hobbies. more to come when I get the kit.
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As a much younger lad back then I always thought of one of those kits. But, they were more expensive than the Scientific kits. Only so much money could be made picking apples and pears. Later taking care of horses at a riding stables.
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doc,
If you don't have to go to the orchard or stables, Penn valley still has a couple kits
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Enterprise-956-CL-RAZZLE-DAZZLE-Model-Airplane-Kit-NIB-/350779381317?pt=US_Radio_Control_Control_Line&hash=item51ac149645
john
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Hi John,
I too had a Razzle Dazzle in the 50s when I was a kid. The early ones came with the wood dyed a lemon yellow so only clear dope and the red decals were needed to make a pretty model. They stopped doing this in the later editions.
Now there is a potential problem with a lot of the RDs that are popping up on Ebay. Many have the wrong carved fuselage. There must of been a snafu at the factory and many were packaged with a fuselage from one of the other Enterprise kits.
How do I know this... I ebayed a NIB one several years ago and got the the wrong fuse. I thought the guy I bought it from had done the switch but I looked at all the rest that appeared on Ebay where the parts were visible and noticed that some of the others too had the wrong fuse.
Later I ebayed another one when I was able to view the parts in the listed kit to make sure that it contained the correct fuse.
Since I cannot see the parts in the Penn Valley listing, I hope that you do not get stung like I did.
Orv.
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Penn valley is pretty reliable, I have dealt with them for years before EBay. However the USPS may make it so I never know. Right now the package has been lost by them, if I ever see the kit I will let you know how it turns out.
PS seems to me I remember that some of the other Enterprise kits had pre colored wood, but that was a long time ago.
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Well, the Razzle Dazzle project is back on. The package has been found, and unlike Orv's experience it is all correct and complete. For an old kit it is in great shape, even the decals look good. I don't know when they quit making these but it had to be nearly 50 years ago.
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That is good news John.
I need some motivation, how about a Razzle Dazzle build-off?
Orv.
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Orv,
OK but I have to clear the bench of a couple projects first. Here is a pic of the kit and the planned motor, a Spitzy .045.
My first motor was a Spitzy .045, but not this kind, it was the one with the tank underneath. That one had a Scientific American Boy to pull around. I have a replica of that one on the self, however I usually fly it with a Cox, probably will end up doing that with the RD too.
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Hi John,
The kit looks great and like you, I too have "too many irons in the fire". We will go about this in a leisurely way.
I believe the engine in the photo is an Anderson Spitfire .045, same gutless power as the Spitzy. I have a Spitzy but will use it in a small free flight sport plane where not much power is good.
I like building these old kits and powering them with the motors shown on the plan. I think one of the motors shown on the RD plan is a Cox Space Bug Jr. I recently ebayed one specifically for this project.
Orv.
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...I believe the engine in the photo is an Anderson Spitfire .045, same gutless power as the Spitzy. I have a Spitzy but will use it in a small free flight sport plane where not much power is good.
You are correct. The "Spitzy" is the one with the tank under the crankcase.
I like building these old kits and powering them with the motors shown on the plan. I think one of the motors shown on the RD plan is a Cox Space Bug Jr. I recently ebayed one specifically for this project.
Orv.
A SBJ was my first new engine.
George
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The motor I showed is a Spitfire, sometimes called a Spitzy Jr. , both it and the Spitzy's were .045 with a fairly long stoke. I think the only difference between the two is the shape of the venturi and where the tank is. Both were available in the early 50's, certainly by 1951 or 52. I am not sure when the Razzle Dazzle appeared, or the Thimble Dome motors. Thru the 50's I mostly had OK Cubs and the Spitzy's. My First Cox was a .020 in 1960 on a small FF model.
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OK. Here is a Spitzy .045 in a Scientific Little Bipe. It's just for display right now so forgive the pusher prop. Re the Coxes, if I remember correctly the Space Bug and the Thermal Hopper were released in 1952, and the Space Bug Junior in 1953.
George
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Hi John and George,
According to John Krickel's Engine List, the first engine produced by Mel Anderson in 1949 was the Junior Spitfire (045) like in Johns photo. In 1950 Mel came out with the Spitzy .045 with the cast tank below the engine. In 1951 he brought out the Spitzy Senior with the larger tank.
The Cox Space Bug was released in 1952 and the Thermal Hopper and Space Bug Jr. (white tank) in 1953. In 1954 Cox released the Space Bug Jr. with a variety of tank colors.
I believe the RD assembly instructions show the SB Jr, so the RD kits were produced after 1953, but when exactly I don't know since there is no copyright date on the literature. I think I got my dyed balsa version around 1956 or 57, so I surmise that the kits were first introduced between 1953 and 1956.
The instructions in my kit, which has the plain balsa, still refers to the dyed version when they give finishing instructions.
I was able to buy some lemon yellow ink and plan on spraying this on the raw balsa just after I sand all the individual parts. I think you have to do this before any gluing is done since the ink probably won't color the glue the same as the balsa, if at all.
It is going to be an adventure for sure #^.
Orv.
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orv
thanks for the info, keep us posted on the ink trick. ever think about rit dye? it works on tissue.
my first glow was about 51 or 52, spitzy 045
john
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Pre-dying the wood works well, and for really intense color, put some dye in your clear dope as well. You canget wood stain dyes from Woodcraft and Rockler. The Higgins non fade inks work too.