DJI Phantom FC40 Paint-Job and AerialFreaks Cyclops FC40 Gimbal Upgrade

I decided to repair the hull integrity of my DJI Phantom FC40 after a crash and sorta had the day off so... There are so many pictures because I wanted to be sure I could put it back together again, I'd recommend anyone who doesn't have a photographic memory to do the same.

My beloved DJI Phantom and the Hubsan X4 H107C

This model is the DJI Phantom FC40 so the first Phantom (v1.2?) with DJI's own FC40 camera

It had had a bad crash previously and loosening some of the screws snapped the edges back into place. I thought why stop there?

The anatomy of a DJI Phantom FC40

Checking this is the NAZA-M V2

Support for 8 motors

Ability for expansion

Realised that the shell is also the frame of the copter

Padded feet... ugly but protect better than stock

Stock legs, the tall ones mean my phantom won't fit in my backpack

Need a small philips screwdriver here

Noting damage from previous landings

Marking direction

So not recommended but leftover from an old car (1998 A3), why not?

Tested on the legs as they're cheaper than a new shell... has a shine and sparkle of my old car

And the top half of the Phantom shell

Was really worried but it's coming out really nicely

Sparkly!

and Shiny

Hmm... wrong way round, the compass cable seems to go across the unit unless I have the top sticker wrong

Legs on

Checking vents (note I had masked these before painting as per youtube videos)

Possibly my new facebook profile photo

My old FC40 looking new(ish)

Ok, still going with painting on a budget, yes those are permanent marker color-ins the chipped smaller propeller is stock

Less on a budget, let's replace the FC40 gimbal

...with an AerialFreaks Cyclops 2-Axis Brushless Gimbal System designed for the DJI FC40 camera

Gimbal frame first, 3 screws to fasten it to the carbon fiber plate

Electronics mount attached to Phantom and power cable pulled further out (perhaps a bit too much)

3 plugs in. It came with heat shrinks to join the power cables but I may change this to a plug later.

Hmm... maybe I should have painted my Phantom in chrome.

My DJI Phantom FC40 repainted and gimballed. Very close to the ground so will have to watch those landings and thats with thicker than stock pads

Done.

Here's a video and I will try to post some more: {youtube}tG6Yg0H11U8{/youtube}
Noticed a problem with jello. This problem was due to the new propellers I was trying (9" nylons) which I replaced with the stock propellers (8" plastic) and the jello effect went away. I have now equipped it with 9" carbon fibre but notice some jello instances so will spend time balancing the props:

I posted this for a friend on facebook to explain what a gimbal was for: {youtube}B_24vcZ7nTA{/youtube}

Oh and a really helpful video if you don't have GPS and IOC (and just for getting the hang of reverse controls): {youtube}qdYTCfjUVVo{/youtube}

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