Sanding
The sanding step is where I see ,many builds go wrong. Many new builders like to rush through the sanding and get the plane flying, but that is a real mistake. We have many benefits from a well sanded model. Sure, they look a LOT better, but they will also be lighter and perform better. Areas like the wings leading and trailing edges are of the most importance, you want them well shaped and smooth for the best flying qualities. Sanding time for the Ridge Runt is about 2 hours.
If you can, do this outdoors, we will be making a lot of fine dust.
I like to use a brand new sheet of about 80 grit sandpaper. This will do 95% of the sanding on this model. We will start on the fuselage as this will warm us up and get us some practice before we jump into the wing.
For the Ridge Runt Evo I like to put a little masking tape at the bottom of the vertical fin to protect it from the sanding block.
The goal is to bring the beauty out of the "box" we have built. Lets start by simply sanding off any wood that is hanging over any edges. Go around and sand off anything hanging out. And we can sand off the sides of the nose block following the curved inner part as a guide. Wow that looks better already.
The next trick works really well for me. For years I just randomly sanded and always had a hard time with lumps and bumps until someone taught me to first sand all of the corners at about a 45 degree angle to a consistent depth. You can use the triangle stock as a guide to see if you are at the same depth as you sand. In the photo below you can see the front of the hatch is sanded a little deeper than the rear based on the amount of the triangle stock that is now exposed.
Go around the entire model doing this. A little less sanding in the tail area. The 80 grit should make quick work of this step. Here are a few photos for reference.