The best laid plans . . . .

Here's my new Herr Fokker DVII.

Lovely kit, not too tough to build - ready in no time.

Then I stared to tweak on the camo, revelling in the new durabrite inks from Epson that make the printed tissue stay sharp through misting. Weeks later the dope dried and the bits came together. It looked so good I began to imagine my model disappearing on a Lakeville thermal with the sun shining through the multicolored lozenges.

So as you can see I fitted a DT, and hinged the stab. Smart move.

Then came the 18 struts on the wings and undercarriage, and the horrifying discovery that it would take around 25 grams of lead at the front end to get the right balance and offset the 80% of the rubber that sits behind the point of balance. "Oh no!"

"Surely you realized that the nose moment was tiny before you started the thing?"

My wife didn't actually use those words, but the effect was the same.

I retreated, mumbling.

With a blob of blu stuff the size of a ping pong ball stuck on the radiator and 80 turns, it flies on the rails. The rails were unfortunately headed straight for an oak sapling, but the undercarriage is now fixed.

So now all I have to do is drill the nose out and insert lead rods. This will probably obviate the need for a DT. That's OK, I now see the model as an FAC scale competitor. I mean, if I add the pilot, and machine gun mounts and control horns and more tail struts and a radiator filler cap I could get enough style points to offset the flying performance. Perfect post rationalization - all is well in the world.

Tom.