Guidoco
07-09-2006, 09:38 PM
I bought the T-Rex aluminum case and re-outfitted it for a Blade CP, time to show it off.
I took out all the foam that came with it and replaced it with black C200 non-corrosive and non-flamable foam.
In the lid I replaced the eggcrate foam with 2" eggcrate foam cut a little large, it's not glued in so I can put a one gallon ziplock behind it with bigger flat stuff like exra flybar, landing skids, paperwork, etc...
The bottom is 2" foam with cutouts for the TX, parts box, volt meter, screwdriver set, pitch gauge, caliper, extra batteries for the TX, Tracking markers, Main shaft, Li-Po batteries, and misc storage compartment under the tail rotor consisting of a rectangular piece of foam cut out then put back into the hole to hold items in place under it.
To the left I glued a piece of 1" and 1/2" foam together using spray adhesive then cut through them for the extra blade storage (3 blades) and Nimh battery storage as well as the stock motor and extra tall motor storage. Then I glued that 1 1/2" cut out foam onto another piece of 1" foam and cut the outside shape to fit the end of the case on the left and the shape of the Blade CP on the right. Mine is velcro'd down but double back carpet tape would do just as well. I added a strip of velcro to the side of the case to hold two 1.5 mm hex wrenches.
Lessons learned:
Use spray adhesive for foam, I used 3M General Trim Adhesive-clear N.08088. If you use a can of contact cement the foam will soak it up like a spunge.
To cut the foam I used a scroll saw. If you don't have access to a scroll saw you can use an electric carving knife (like you'd use on a Turkey). The carving knife works very well but is not great for small openings. Of course you can use an exacto knife or box cutter but it will probably look like a hack job. I also found that one of my hunting arrow heads worked great for cutting an X through the foam to push in small objects like the tracking markers.
I had to recut the opening for the TX because when mounted upsidedown when carrying the bar handle pushes under the soft foam. The test with the original foam that came with the case held it in place fine but the softer foam let it move. So I recut the opening and put a spacer at the front of the cutout so now when carrying, the TX is right side up and the flat side of the bottom rests on the foam. Just to make sure it doesn't move around I also put a small piece of rubber non-slip mat under the foam covering the opening for the TX.
I can shake the case like crazy and nothing moves with minimal pressure on the landing skids to hold the heli in place.
I hope this info comes in handy for anyone wanting to convert the T-Rex case to a Blade CP case.
Thanks,
Guidoco
I took out all the foam that came with it and replaced it with black C200 non-corrosive and non-flamable foam.
In the lid I replaced the eggcrate foam with 2" eggcrate foam cut a little large, it's not glued in so I can put a one gallon ziplock behind it with bigger flat stuff like exra flybar, landing skids, paperwork, etc...
The bottom is 2" foam with cutouts for the TX, parts box, volt meter, screwdriver set, pitch gauge, caliper, extra batteries for the TX, Tracking markers, Main shaft, Li-Po batteries, and misc storage compartment under the tail rotor consisting of a rectangular piece of foam cut out then put back into the hole to hold items in place under it.
To the left I glued a piece of 1" and 1/2" foam together using spray adhesive then cut through them for the extra blade storage (3 blades) and Nimh battery storage as well as the stock motor and extra tall motor storage. Then I glued that 1 1/2" cut out foam onto another piece of 1" foam and cut the outside shape to fit the end of the case on the left and the shape of the Blade CP on the right. Mine is velcro'd down but double back carpet tape would do just as well. I added a strip of velcro to the side of the case to hold two 1.5 mm hex wrenches.
Lessons learned:
Use spray adhesive for foam, I used 3M General Trim Adhesive-clear N.08088. If you use a can of contact cement the foam will soak it up like a spunge.
To cut the foam I used a scroll saw. If you don't have access to a scroll saw you can use an electric carving knife (like you'd use on a Turkey). The carving knife works very well but is not great for small openings. Of course you can use an exacto knife or box cutter but it will probably look like a hack job. I also found that one of my hunting arrow heads worked great for cutting an X through the foam to push in small objects like the tracking markers.
I had to recut the opening for the TX because when mounted upsidedown when carrying the bar handle pushes under the soft foam. The test with the original foam that came with the case held it in place fine but the softer foam let it move. So I recut the opening and put a spacer at the front of the cutout so now when carrying, the TX is right side up and the flat side of the bottom rests on the foam. Just to make sure it doesn't move around I also put a small piece of rubber non-slip mat under the foam covering the opening for the TX.
I can shake the case like crazy and nothing moves with minimal pressure on the landing skids to hold the heli in place.
I hope this info comes in handy for anyone wanting to convert the T-Rex case to a Blade CP case.
Thanks,
Guidoco