K'nex Gee Bee (Airplane)

A short, stubby little plane, the Gee Bee looked as though its wheels would never part from the ground. But the magnificent plane did all that and more, staking claim to more victories to any other plane of its time. Despite its accomplishments, it was a very dangerous airplane. No original Gee Bee remains today, they all crashed, killing any pilot that flew it. After the plans were found and a replica was made, the pilot shortly got lead poisoning from the exhaust leaking into the cabin.

Although it had its setbacks, this truly is an iconic little bug. And now it's available for you to build. Enjoy.

This plane uses mostly normal pieces, but also a small handful of micro pieces for the struts and rear wheel.

Rods:

• Green: 161
• White: 83
• Blue: 18
• Flexible Orange: 4
• Flexible Purple (blue-length): 2

Connectors:

• Purple (one-way) :10
• Gray (two-way): 14
• Orange: 19
• Red: 20
• Green: 15
• Yellow: 45
• White: 20
• Blue slider: 22
• Gray slider: 6

Misc.

• Black and blue Hinge (2-pieces): 2
• Ball-and-Socket joint: 1
• Small Wheel (w/ tire): 2
• Blue spacer: 26
• Gray spacer: 9
• Black Cap: 5
• Y-clip: 14
• Silver Clip: 2

Micro:

• Rods:
• Yellow: 10
• Red: 4
• Connectors:
• Green (one-way): 4
• Purple (two-way): 10
• Orange (two-way): 2
• Black: 1
• Adapters:
• Green Connector: 3
• Red rod: 2

I got a new camera, so the quality in most photos is much better. The orange connectors are for decoration, if you want to replace them with yellow connectors to make them consistent, go ahead. The white connectors go on the bottom of the plane, but it doesn't matter yet, so long as you connect them to the yellow connectors. Once that part is on, follow the images closely and attach the pieces specified all around the plane. If you get lost, refer to the final image for the full plane. I took too many close-ups.

This part might get a little tricky when building the cabin. Just remember that the blue rods and the green connectors face away from the rest of the section, and go on the blue connectors. For the rest of the section, simply follow along with the photos and attach the two sections together with the white rods.

The wings are relatively simple. Simply build the template as shown and add them to the plane. Make sure you DO NOT add white rods to the empty spaces, you will do that later when you add the wheels. Also, make sure that the red rod at the end is toward the front of the plane. That purple flexi rod at the wing tip doesn't need to be flexible, but I highly recommend using one if you can.

This won't bee too hard if you follow closely. Just know that the green connectors are toward the back of the wheel pant, and the hinge goes on the back. Once you build the two pants, you can put them aside and prepare the wing by adding the purple connector and white rod with spacers to the empty space behind the blue connector on the wing (both facing down). Then add the front wheel pants as shown. The green connectors should be toward the back of the plane. then add the gray spacer on the white rod to the space next to the blue connector on each wing (again, facing down.) Attach a blue rod between the gray connector and the rear-facing opening slot on the gray sliding connector next to it. Then slide a purple connector on the blue rod and attach it as shown.

Finally, create the rear wheel with micro pieces and connect it at the back of the plane, in the opening between the green connector and the blue connector.

This is where you'll be using the micro pieces the most. If you do not have them, you can get by without them. Attach the adapter piece on the wing as shown. Attach a Y-clip on the fuselage as shown. Then create the strut as shown. Attach the green connectors at the one end over the yellow rod on the wing. then connect the adapter to the y-clip on the fuselage. Do that on both sides.

Once the wings are finished, create the propeller. Add a silver spacer on the front rod of the plane, and slide it on. Cap it off with a black cap, and you are complete.

Congratulations. You now have a model of the iconic Gee Bee. Personally, I enjoyed making this. It was a fun build. I hope you enjoy it.