Techniques for model builders

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builders</I></div> <div> <IMG SRC="216c6620.gif" border=0 width="198" height="98" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Many modellers adopt techniques which suit their very own style,almost like an artist develops his own technique, so do model builders tend to use ideas that are time proven and can be relied upon,if a material is suitable then it can be used provided it meets the strength criteria required and will not prove too heavy in use,here is a selection of ideas gleaned over many years of model building that others could fine useful-</div> <bR> <div>      ______________________________________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> BUILDING VAC FORM MODELS.</div> <div> What is a vac-form ? well to fully understand the purpose of these limited production run type of kit it is important to understand why they are made in the first place ? The larger manufacturers rely heavily on recouping the high costs of producing the master pattern or mould as it is termed,to this end they must ensure that the subject that they choose will reach high levels of sale ie the well known Spitfire's,Hurricane's,Me.109 etc are guaranteed money spinners,but what about the types of aircraft models that builders want for their collections ? well this is where the cottage industry come into force with simple vac-forming equipment capable of building adequate model kits,I use the word 'adequate' because this is what is offered,a basic set of mouldings in thin plastic sheet and sometimes you as the builder aer required to scratch build undercarriages,propellers and other detail parts.But true modellers look upon these kits as a stepping stone to building those rare elusive types of aircraft and jump at the opportunity to build something very different from the usual run of kits.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="b8648310.jpg" border=0 width="584" height="305" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> This is what you get for your money,a basic sheet of plastic parts that have been hot blown over a master mould,this kit is an Airmodel Bristol Brigand which has not yet to my knowledge been made as a conventional moulded kit.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b884bb80.jpg" border=0 width="587" height="440" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Start by drawing around the shapes with a marker pen,the reason for this is that it gives us a guide as to where we are going to sand down to,it is much easier to see the pen mark than to judge where the blade has cut into raw plastic.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b8a87840.jpg" border=0 width="391" height="388" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The first requirement is to tape a sheet of wet & dry paper onto a piece of plate glass,this will provide a perfectly flat surface from which you can prepare the various parts to build the model,you can either tape the paper or better still tack glue the sheet to the glass with a 'cow gum' adhesive,or even use double sided tape to do the job.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b8d08860.jpg" border=0 width="520" height="390" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> To make life easier firstly seperate the pieces leaving a reasonable gap between the parts as above,this makes the parts more manageable at the initial cutting stage.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b8f06850.jpg" border=0 width="518" height="389" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Use an Olfa cutter to scribe ( not cut through) the various parts,simply butt the blade against the plastic and pull gently towards you,a slither of plastic will be pulled from the plastic leaving a slight 'v' cut this is exactly what we want.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b9113460.jpg" border=0 width="531" height="326" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Next carefully snap away the parts,the pieces should break away easily.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b93138e0.jpg" border=0 width="531" height="398" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> You will then be left with a kit of parts that look like this...</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b95148f0.jpg" border=0 width="532" height="399" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Dont throw the scrap material away,you will need some of this valuable material later.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b971a420.jpg" border=0 width="538" height="322" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> You now need some pieces of alloy 'T' Section,you can get a set of these very reasonably from Aeroclub.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b991dbe0.jpg" border=0 width="541" height="190" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Using some new Bluetak,stick the pieces one by one to the pieces of 'T' Angle,do not press too hard,just enough pressure to grip the pieces.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b9b22100.jpg" border=0 width="546" height="528" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> With plenty of water to hand carefully draw the parts back & forth over the abrasive paper,do this until you see a slither of plastic start to appear,also and this is important observe where the black marker line just starts to vanish,then is the time to stop sanding and reach for the next part.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="b9d208f0.jpg" border=0 width="544" height="399" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> For places such as the wings,make up simple balsawood spars,use superglue ( cyno ) to stick these to the inners of the parts.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b9f26410.jpg" border=0 width="550" height="321" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Likewise use inner stiffners made up from the scrap plastic,to get the inner shape press in modelling clay,slice through with a blade and draw around onto the scrap plastc,score and snap as before when we cut out the main components.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="ba12cc70.jpg" border=0 width="556" height="455" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Once the main assemblies have been put together,carefully use the drawing to assemble the parts,small joins can be easily filled with Squadron model filler,allowed to dry and blended in with wet & dry paper.</div> <div> Note the old donor plastic model underneath which has been used to provide the engine nacelles and any other useful parts not easily reproduced in vac formed plastic.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="ba331e40.jpg" border=0 width="561" height="484" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Here the undercarriage legs were soldered up from wire,doors and small fittings have been made from scrap material from the kit,see I told you that they would come in handy ! keep fairing in and sanding until you are happy with the results.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="ba539730.jpg" border=0 width="569" height="371" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Another view of the model now progressing nicely.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="ba739e20.jpg" border=0 width="569" height="482" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> To pull everything together spray with a coat of Holts primer,this will give a first class finish for the final finish,she looks a long way from that single sheet of mundane plastic,just see what can be achieved,it is not difficult just requires lots of patience to get a result.</div> <div> So this is what Vac-form modelling is all about,and you will probably have a model in your collection that is quite unique.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="ba93cb90.jpg" border=0 width="572" height="441" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The completed Bristol Brigand,the colourschene was used in Aden by the R.A.F.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="bab3af80.jpg" border=0 width="570" height="504" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> And a dramatic lower view of the aircraft in flying attitude.</div> <bR> <div> AVRO LINCOLN 1=48th SCALE VAC FORM</div> <div> Showing what can be achieved with a lot of work and patience,I have mislaid the builders name but congratulations on a splendid model.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="17d258c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="17d358c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="17d458c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="17d558c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>   ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ </div> <bR> <div> FINISHING SHEETED AND PLANKED MODELS.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="7dc44b30.jpg" border=0 width="580" height="435" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Here we see a Dakota model that has been planked on the fuselage with sheeted wings,this construction lends itself to tricky curves and shapes,patience is required to finally finish off the surfaces and here is stage one,after a really good sanding with progressively finer grades of abasive paper used dry on the bare wood, model filler is added to the tiny gaps where the wood meets,no matter how good a builder that you are there will always be small blemishes that need attention so take care with this important stage of construction and it will repay you with a super finish that you can be proud of.Allow the filler at least 48 hours to cure before you use yet more abrasive paper to blend everything in.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="7e04fc50.jpg" border=0 width="591" height="453" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> After a coat of sanding sealer to seal the wood,flash down again with fine crocus paper,next cover the whole model with lightweight wet strengthened tissue,to do this cut panels of tissue and spray water onto the surface with a scent spray or similar,lay the tissue in place and dope through the lot,it will turn milky white and look icky sticky,but dont worry another coat of dope and the blooming will vanish leaving you with a well sealed surface that will be ready take your primer. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="7de4dfd0.jpg" border=0 width="589" height="509" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Here the model has been given three successive coats of blue primer,why blue ? well alternating colours of paint will further show up minor dings and blemishes that can receive further attention,yo can use alternating white,then black it does not matter as long as you rub down the coats every time.</div> <div> The ideal primer is acrylic car finish sprayed on outside on a warm day.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="7e251550.jpg" border=0 width="593" height="341" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A good modeller will carefully plan his paint jobs,here we have white primer added to the areas which will eventually become red,just flash in the main areas,have plenty of paint available,also note reference material to hand.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="7e451750.jpg" border=0 width="593" height="373" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> On goes the red gloss after masking carefully,seal the edges of the tape with a thin skim of clear dope applied with a small brush,this stops the colour creeping underneath,allow all colours to dry out before masking over them,dont forget this is all about careful planning,loosely bag mask anything that needs protecting.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="7e6537e0.jpg" border=0 width="595" height="382" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Here is the final result,judge for yourself whether it was all worth it ? side Canadian markings were added with masked Frisk film ( obtainable from Art shops ),the aileron lines were added with an overhead projector pen and the de-icer boots were painted with artists black acrylic,the name on the decking 'Arctic 7' ( this aircraft was owned by a pop group who used it for tours ) was hand painted but your computer is the best bet for this type of work.</div> <div> Follow everything up with a coat of two part fuel proofer to seal and protect everything.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="22148520.jpg" border=0 width="584" height="338" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Blue foam construction is now firmly established in the modelling world,here are two Grumman Cougar jets which I built for a friend who needed assistance with this new material,he purchased one of these expensive gas turbine engines and just loved the Cougar to bits,Firstly I raided his blue foam stock which was quickly pressed into service to build two fuselages,the plans were scaled up from a 1=72 nd scale plastic kit which is all that you need if you do not have a plan.</div> <div> Firstly the shape was marked out onto the foam blocks and run through  bandsaw,note the chinagraph pencil datum lines and ply guide pieces stuck on with a glue gun,also the fin and tailplane have been fabricated from sheet balsa,and these merely slot into place,in the next photograph you will see the progress with the shaping -</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="2222e700.jpg" border=0 width="558" height="368" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Just look at the foam dust on the work bench ! a surform was used to get to this stage,and further slots added to take stubs from which the wings can be anchored,note that one canopy has been used to make a plaster mould for the other model,we just built both alongside each other,just as easy to build two as one.</div> <div> The tailplane has been added together with the joiners which link them together,the next stage was to remove all of the bits and cover the blue foam with cling film stretched and pinned around the blue foam former,then layers of gardeners fleece were laid up using PVA glue as the resin,it sets like rock and is easy to clean up with no smell like fibreglass gives out,horrible stuff,my model was going to have a glo motor with faired in spinner and was going to act as the test machine for flight tests prior to fitting the jet engine in the other.</div> <div> I say was,because the projects have not been finished as yet,several layers of fleece were laid up.</div> <div> This method of construction is not for anybody who does not like a mess,it really gets everywhere as the static makes it cling to everything,literally ! but for intricate shapes and interesting projects it excells,the idea is to fit wooden formers slotted into the fuselage at intervals and to bond them in situ.</div> <div> Any further developments will be posted here.</div> <bR> <div>    ___________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Tranfers that can be made at home-</div> <bR> <div> Long before computers and personal printers came on the scene I was making my own decal sheets,this is how I do it-</div> <div> Obtain some ordinary sticky parcel tape ( not the self adhesive stuff,but good old tasty sticky licky type ) or if you can get it still sheets of adhesive backed paper ( Butterfly brand used to make this ? ) now coat the surface all over with any good varnish,marine varnish is fine,allow to dry out properly and then take the paper and tape the edges to your drawing board,now paint any design or markings that you want onto the varnished surface with enamel paint,allow to dry out and then cut around the edges of the design with a pair of nail scissors,immerse into warm water and the design will then float off or better still slide off onto your model.</div> <div> If too thin then give two coats of varnish to build up the layer.</div> <div> This is the same way that commercial decals are made except that these days self adhesive logos seem to have taken over from ordinary waterslide transfers.</div> <div> Hope that you enjoy this tip,it is much easier to paint onto a flat piece of paper rather than onto the curves of your model. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> There is another excellent way to produce small decals that only requires a steady hand to produce them,on the market is an extra clear version of the well known scotch tape,the beauty is that it has a matt surface which can easily be painted onto,start by sticking a small piece of the tape to a piece of glass or even plastic sheet will do,once this is flat on your workbench it is easy to paint in the lettering or markings required,you can even use a permanent marker if you wish or make the outlines with the marker and fill in with a 000 sized brush and enamel or acrylic paint,the idea is that it is much easier to paint onto a flat surface rather than struggle to hold the model and work on a tricky curved surface-</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="5f1b4470.jpg" border=0 width="436" height="327" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Using thinned down paint and a fine brush paint the design that you want onto extra clear Scotch tape,the tape is shown here placed onto a piece of plastic sheet,a piece of glass will do or anything shiny that the tape can be lifted from.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="5f3904d0.jpg" border=0 width="400" height="333" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> With a scalpel blade simply lift the decal away from the shiny surface,you can now carry it to be placed onto the models surface.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="5f51c060.jpg" border=0 width="284" height="262" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> With the blade just lay it into position on the model.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="5f743d00.jpg" border=0 width="323" height="208" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The decal can be carefully pressed into place and smoothed out with the use of an artists rubber shaper tool,this will not damage the surface of the model.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="5f949f80.jpg" border=0 width="329" height="248" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> As a final protection use a thin coat of Johnsons Klear ( floor polish ),this will admirably seal the decal,that is it ! job done,you can make any decal that you like with this method including invasion stripes,panel lines,registrations & roundals.</div> <bR> <div> The ideal material to make metal panels-</div> <bR> <div> If you have never used Litho plate in your models then nip along to your friendly printers and scrounge some now,the material is basically very thin alloy sheet with a dull surface which picks up the ink and transfers it to the paper.</div> <div> Its uses for scale modelling are many from a simple bucket seat to a complete covering job to represent metal structures,turn it over and with a small metal punch just press in your simulated rivets,turn the sheet over and glue into position as small panels on your model,I once saw a Focke Wulf 190 covered in this material and it looked splendid,no need for panel lines as they appear automatically.</div> <div> For adhesive I have found Thixofix ideal,you have a good workable time to slide the panel around a bit,then bind with masking tape to hold the edges down.</div> <div> It will take any type of paint on the market and is probably the most realistic material for models that represents alloy sheet as on the full size machines.</div> <div> If only I could find some soft tiny rivets to use with it ? possibly something that would crimp up nicely would do the job,any ideas out there ? </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Clunk tanks and how to install them properly-</div> <bR> <div> One of the biggest sources of problems with engine reliability lies in the fuel tank,clunk tanks whilst a great idea are also prone to mis-use,in particular the tanks used in ARTF models have been personally found to be troublesome,however all is not lost as with a few mods they can be made into reliable items with a little care,let us start with the bung that goes into the fuel tank,this must be airtight,if there is any signs of a leak then you will get problems so make sure that the bung is sealed,with the type that rely on a bolt that goes through the end that spreads the bung,do not be tempted to over-tighten the bolt otherwise its job will be counter productive.</div> <div> The use of silicone sealers with glo-fuel is not advised,the smallest amount could get into the fuel and cause a serious obstruction,best not to use it.</div> <div> Next we have the fuel feed called the clunk,onto the end you have a weighted feed,the best types are scintered brass which stop any of the tiny strands of castor pressing getting into the carb of your engine,these strands are like tiny hairs and depending on the quality of the pressing of the castor bean vary in size,but rest assured they are there ! and will sooner or later rar their ugly heads in the form of blockages.</div> <div> Where the pipe goes onto the brass feed make sure there are no sharp edges which will damage the silicone pipe,over the outside near this joint place another piece of silicone to support the weighted clunk.</div> <div> With regards the silicone pipe sold in model shops this is not the best quality,better go for proper surgical quality pipe that is expensive but lasts ages without degrading,search the web for suppliers in your area,buy a roll with a buddy and cut the cost.</div> <div> The same goes for the filler pipes and main feed to the carb on your engine,the rule is no sharp edges and to support the joint,place a small piece of pipe onto the end of a pair of pointed pliers stretch it outwards and push it onto the pipe with your fingers,next replacve the pipe and push it over the joint,good tip eh ! once you use this idea you will have little bother.</div> <div> Most people place a fuel filter into the main feed,make sure it has a good seal to avoid any leaks,also do not neglect the pressure feed pipe that should also have a filter in the line,have you ever seen the crudge that comes back into the engine from that silencer ? dont take it to chance complete the system.</div> <div> Spend a lot of time over your fuel tank installations as it will pay dividends in reliability again and again. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Making scale rivets for your model-</div> <bR> <div> A really easy way to make rivets can be achieved with the use of fax paper tear off strips,say for example we are placing dummy rivets onto a wing,just tack the paper strip with Scotch 3M Spraymount,all this does is to be a guide for the rivet placement.</div> <div> Next load a syringe with slightly thinned PVA glue ( versatile stuff this ) and carefully place little dabs of glue in a line,when dry remove the paper and you will be rewarded with a nice neat line of rivets,just keep going until done.</div> <div> Paint over the rivets and they look real. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Cheap modelling material-</div> <bR> <div> Did you know that the plastic meat trays are made from Depron ? the larger trays are a useful source for this material,for anyone who makes indoor flyers etc it is ideal,dont forget to peel off the protective hygienic layer on the tray otherwise it will not stick.</div> <div> Good adhesives are odourless cyno ( dont use the ordinary type it will just melt the plastc ) Aliphaetic resin or thinned PVA glue.</div> <div> Dont throw anything away without looking at its modelling potential. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Easy to find useful sized washers-</div> <bR> <div> If you need washers with a larger flange than normal then try Rivetting burrs,these are intended for placing over elongated holes in metal but make great washers for model making.</div> <div> Source them at ironmonger supplies or possibly DIY shops,they come in various sizes down to fairly small.</div> <div> A good use is for spreading the load when bolting engines into place,also as servo mounting washers for use with the stand off mounts. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Useful alternatives to cellulose dope-</div> <bR> <div> I noticed that Guillows are recommending the use of thinned PVA glue as a useful substitute for clear dope,well today was wet and miserable here in the UK and totally unsuitable for doping outside where I usually perform this smelly operation and I needed to crack on with my model,too humid and damp,so I thought that I would give this idea a try,nice and snug in my den I mixed up a solution and applied it,the results are very good,you would not be able to tell the difference from ordinary clear dope,the advantages are no smell and a much tougher tissue as the tiny poly vinyl acetate particles bond to the tissue,now here is another dodge worth remembering,when you finish a model with enamel paints and need to place a patch clear dope is out of the question as it just pickles the enamel,however if you use thinned PVA again no problems. </div> <div> Hope this idea appeals to someone especially as it has advantages in bad weather doping,give it a try it really works,you will need to experiment with the water to PVA ratio,just a bit thinner than milk is my guide.</div> <div> We will soon have to find alternatives to dope as in a few years time it will no longer be available,the effects on the ozone layer give rise to concern over its use in industry. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> No smell Cyano-</div> <bR> <div> If you are allergic to cyno like most of us then why not use active aliphaetic ? it is easy to make your own,just place a quantity of full strength aliphatic into a small bottle,add water so that the adhesive just flows like milk,allow to settle for 15 minutes to get rid of bubbles,take a large syringe,put the home brew into the syringe,replace the rubber bung/plunger,hey presto ! enough adhesive to keep you going for a month. </div> <div> Build a wing,set up the ribs etc,flood the joints with your applicator,allow 24 hours to dry,lift wing,then sand up.</div> <bR> <div> ___________________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Easy to make templates for your models.</div> <bR> <div> If you are like myself then you like to make templates for virtually everything,save those cereal boxes they are a rich source of free card for making just that,templates. </div> <div> You can keep the templates in a envelope for reference,repairs or another model of the same type ? make a note on the envelope plus the date you built the model. </div> <div> Ideal also for making up propeller blank shapes,aerofoils etc </div> <bR> <div>    ____________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Make & keep notes-</div> <bR> <div> If you want to be a pro then work like a pro,keep a record of your models by entering details into a notebook or use your computer with Microsoft Word,enter details like centre of gravity position,propeller sizes,type of dope used,weight when new,any special build features or trim settings,think of it as a model diary. </div> <div> In years to come it is fascinating to look back at your work and above all you can make interesting comparisons on different models and work out your wing loadings. </div> <div> Add a few pictures as well alongside the notes,make it a discipline and you will reap the value later. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Keep your models warp free-</div> <bR> <div> Scale modellers,most warps start during the build on the board,the temptation to lift off before the glue really has cured out is usually the cause,what also happens is that stresses are inbuilt which when you cover the model can excaberate the problem,damp balsa will also cause warps. </div> <div> Back to your problem I would suggest that you always pin down any structure in future whilst covering or water shrinking,however all is not lost,you could try steaming out the warps by holding over the spout of a kettle and allow the steam to do its job,simply twist the opposite way to the warp,take away from the steam and hold for a few minutes,keep doing this until the shape is right. </div> <div> Another common cause of warps after doping apart from not pinning down to the board, is the application of too powerful a shrinking dope,always thin down your dope with thinners,add a small amount of castor oil to the dope,this has the effect of flexing the dope which becomes brittle with age,a tiny drop of castor oil with a smidgin of oil of wintergreen will stop the dope from blooming,I learned this trick when doping up full size airplanes as a airplane engineer,it really works. </div> <div> But I stress only a tiny amount of each otherwise your dope will not dry out at all ! </div> <div> Always take care with these light structures,also cosider the use of thinned PVA glue as your dope,only slightly heavier it does not warp your structures as badly as ordinary clear dope can,I now use this on all of my models because in about five years time cellulose clear dope will be taken off the market anyway as it has bennfound to destroy the ozone layer. </div> <div> We are just going to have to live with alternatives just as the automobile industry are adapting to alternative and superior finishes on vehicles. </div> <div> Remember now the golden rule,always pin down any structure and leave well alone until the adhesive sets properly,re-pin if you can whilst covering on these frail structures,and flex your dope if that is what you are using. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> How to make marks around a curve-</div> <bR> <div> Faced with the task of drawing lines around a round fuselage can present real problems,next time that you need to do this spend a few minutes making a really simple tool.</div> <div> Take a sheet of thickish but bendy Plastikard and from one edge cut off a selection of strips say quarter,half and three quarters of an inch,to cut this material simply score a line with a scribing tool or if you have one an Olfa scribe tool,bend the card at right angles and gently snap off the strip,next run the edge along a permagrit tool and slightly feather the edges with some wet and dry paper used wet.</div> <div> The smoother the better as it will mean a nice clean run with your ink pen.</div> <div> For the actual marking use an Edding 1800 0.1 artists pen (obtainable from artists & graphics suppliers ) wrap the tool around the curved surface if necessary tacking with gentle adhesived backed masking tape and mark with the Edding or similar pen.</div> <div> You can pre mark ailerons,details etc with pencil marks onto the tissue and just line up with the homemade rule.</div> <div> While you are making the Plastikard rules make one with right angles to execute ailerons and flaps,you will find these small bendy rules very useful when decorating your models. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Making wheels from balsa-</div> <bR> <div> Balsa wheels are easy to make and when painted with black acrylic look just like rubber and very realistic.</div> <div> For the sake of this exercise we will make I inch low pressure wheels such as fitted on early light airplanes,but you can apply this method to almost any type of wheel that you need.</div> <div> First cut two discs from 1=16 th ply,these will become the bearing holder which is a piece of thin bore brass tube or even plastic tubing to suit your undercarriage shaft,drill the centres now at this stage,next cut a disc from 3 sixteenths of an inch thick hard balsa and glue this in the centre of the ply discs,now re-drill the hole again but this time to properly fit the brass or plastic bearing,next cut two more discs from soft balsa one quarter of an inch thick,in the centre cut another hole with a fretsaw and finish off neatly with a half round file.</div> <div> Next shape the inside of the two outer discs by rounding off the inside corners and then glue them to the outsides of the piece prepared earlier,when this assembly is dry place an ordinary long nail into the chuck of your electric drill and trap it tightly against the chuck,spin it up and hold a piece of glasspaper against the outside of the balsa wheel,watch as the shape appears to your liking and finish off with fine grit glasspaper,remove from the chuck and place the bearing back into the centre of the wheel,lock in place with a drop of cyno cappilary action will do the rest.</div> <div> Now with some artists acrylic and a stiff brush paint them black with grey centres ,add two tiny creep marks against the tyre and hub centre and stand back and admire your handiwork !</div> <div> For early WW1 wheels use two ply discs glued together,cyno pieces of thin rubber tube or something similar on the outside of the rims,make up paper cones larger than the diameter of the disc,cut a slit bringing the edges together,mount your wheels onto the axles and lock in place with a dab of cyno against a tiny paper washer,next glue the paper cones into place,paint the wheel and put a tiny circle where the valve appears in the cone,WW 1 wheels were sometimes dark muddy grey in colour and if you feel like adding ‘Palmer Aero Cord’ to the outside best of luck.</div> <div> Modern wheels have complex hub centres,study photographs and use your Edding 0.1 pen to represent the various wheel centre details.</div> <div> Give this a try you will enjoy making them up. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Safety with Epoxy resins-</div> <bR> <div> Faced with the problems and dangers of Epoxy resin I have evolved other ways of getting around not using this volatile material,when your hands flare up into tiny blisters with large areas of skin that just cracks you start to question the use of this material,so take care ! make no mistake Epoxy resin is dangerous so dont get blase with it.</div> <div> So I decided to expand on the use of Cynoacrylate especially when repairs are required,you know the score areas of broken timber, with far from perfect joints due to crash damage where you splice in wood to make good,so my solution is quite simple and requires a bottle of cyno and a supply of ordinary household baking powder and an old small paintbrush,just piece together the structure until you have no bits left or of any use,if you need to re-inforce any area take some ordinary domestic bandage and press into the corners as you go along.</div> <div> So you are left with a surface that looks like a crater on the moon,dont worry with a little care the integrity of the structure can be improved,just take a generous supply of cyno ( medium I find versatile ) and then drop some baking powder onto the liquid,work this into the corners quickly and within seconds and a puff of smoke the joint will be like rock,what happens is the baking powder arsorbs into the cyno and a chemical change takes place,it probably acts as a catalyst quickly,instantly in fact ! I stole the idea from the rocket cyno where you get a miniscule amount of the powder for a lot of money,baking powder costs a few pence and a packet will last you for ages.</div> <div> A simple idea that will assist those awkward repairs to get you flying again. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Bending piano wire-</div> <bR> <div> Sounds a simple enough job to bend piano wire,but to do the job properly takes a little care,how many times have you made up that undercarriage that you just could not get into the shape that you wanted ? well here are a few tips to make life easier for you-</div> <div> One of the biggest problems especially with the thicker gauge wire is to bend it accurately,to do this you will need a few one inch nails and a china graph pencil,say for example you are making a simple four point bend undercarriage from 8 swg wire,do a simple drawing on your workbench,where the bends go drive in some nails,so you should have four nails where the bends are intended.</div> <div> Next take the piece of wire and mark the first bends which should co-incide with the upper ( middle ) portion of the undercarriage,use your chinagraph pencil to mark this and subsequent bends,now take the wire to your large vice and carefully place the wire into the jaws at the point of the first bend,take a piece of metal block and place it at the point of the bend,now strike this with a large hammer to ease the bend into place,keep striking until the required angle appears,do the same for the other side,now take the partially bent undercarriage over to your simple work top jig and mark the two lower bends where the wheels will fit,see how much easier it is to have a guide instead of doing the job blind ? next return to the vice,place between the jaws and strike again with the metal block and hammer.</div> <div> All that you need to do now is finish off the ends with a dremel wheel by cutting a groove all the way around the thick wire,dont be tempted to snap the wire otherwise the extrusion will part company and be difficult to get back to the original state.</div> <div> Never be tempted to heat up the wire as it is easy to destroy the tensile strength of the wire and it will break in service,just work the metal cold.</div> <div> Piano wire is by definition an extruded material,true music wire is difficult if impossible to obtain these days,sadly a lot of wire now sold in model shops is not true piano wire. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Retaining cowlings-</div> <bR> <div> Ever wondered how to keep those big cowlings firmly in place ? well I have just about tried everything in my endeavours to solve this problem,finally I have come up with a tried and tested fix which is so easy-</div> <div> The inner Sullivan snake rod that have the fluted infrastructure is the base material,cut off a few pieces about half an inch long,next hold the first piece in a pair of pliers and heat up a piece of round metal ( thick piano wire will do ) which has had the end tapered,plunge this into one end of the plastic which will bell off the end ( this stops it being pushed right inside your model ),next pierce one hole into the fuselage where the fixer is required and fix in place with medium cyno,push the fluted part into the balsa quickly and you will not be able to move it.</div> <div> Fix cowls with servo screws,they will really bite and lock into the plastic and virtually vibration proof-problem solved.</div> <div> If you remove the screws at a later date,dont forget the old dodge,before you screw them in again,go anti-clockwise first to locate the original thread,otherwise you just keep re-cutting different threads. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Paper cowlings-</div> <bR> <div> Did you ever do paper mache at school ? well did you know that with a few simple materials you can easily make your own cowlings from paper ?,they are as tough as old boots as well and above all stand up to vibration well.</div> <div> This is how you go about it-</div> <div> First of all carve a block of blue foam into the shape that you want of the cowl,then wrap the whole shooting match with cling film stretched tightly over the former,cutting the block is easy with a bread knife but do it outside that is unless you want bits of foam everywhere !</div> <div> Next cut some strips of brown paper about three quarter of an inch wide and let them soak in some water,now take a few strips and paint PVA glue onto them laying the strips lengthwise across the former itself,just keep going until the whole lot is covered,then add another few the opposite way,let these two layers dry out overnight and next day repeat the exercise,keep going until it has sufficent build up,place in the oven for about one minute and it will set like rock,now go outside again ( most of my modelling is done outside ) and pour cellulose thinners into the blue foam this will dissolve out any residue or you just might possibly be lucky and be able to just pull out the plug,allow to dry and then treat the new cowl with Toughcote fuel proofer,paint and then Toughcote again,make any necessary holes etc for neddle valve,fuel pipe etc and fit to your model,these cowls will outlast any ABS equivalent which tend to fracture with vibration,give this method a try it really works </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Making your own stock of Balsa-Ply-</div> <bR> <div> Many years ago Solarbo had in their range of products a material called 'Balsaply' like many things on the market over the yrears it just vanished into thin air,this material was the best thing ever offered to modellers as its strength to weight ratio for aircraft was brilliant,after my stocks dwindled to nothing I decided to find out the best way to make my own as I just could not live without this material.</div> <div> Basically all it consists of is one sheet of balsa ay 1=16 th which had another layer of balsa cross grained of even traversed against it,the problem was finding the best adhesive to do the job as whilst anyone can just glue two pieces of wood together,getting the whole lot to stay flat was another thing,after a bit of experimenting I found that Scotch spraymount adhesive was the best thing to use,the important thing was to cut the cross sections of wood all ready to glue up first,then treat both surfaces with the adhesive and put the whole lot under pressure overnight,I used lots of heavy books to do this job and it worked fine,the only other thing to do is to seal the joins where the wood butts together,for this I used thin cyno just capillery reaction down the joints does the job,result a piece of balsaply to use on your next model.</div> <div> For building up formers this material is second to non,you can pin it without splitting whilst glueing up,balsaply wing spars make excellent substitutes for heavier woods such as spruce etc a balsaply box spar will take tremendous loads under load,just build up your wing ribs around it.</div> <div> Anti warp tailplanes are another area for the appropiate thickness of wood and dont forget you can easily mix different thicknesses.</div> <div> Give it a try and you will be forever more finding new uses for this excellent material that you can make yourself. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Cockpit canopies from throw away bottles-</div> <bR> <div> Have you ever been faced with making a large canopy ? well if you dont know how to go about it stick around a minute for a method that costs you no more than your favourite soft drink,the material that large bottles of soft drinks come in is ideal for or task but first we need to make a mould,dont worry it is a simple task,just grab a block of balsa the size of your canopy and mark out first the side view,cut this out with a band saw or if you dont have such a luxury a keyhole saw will suffice,next mark the plan ( top ) view and cut away the surplus wood,finally use a surform or similar to shape the block,smooth the edges with glasspaper.</div> <div> Next take the large drinks bottle and cut off the top portion at the neck,place the carved block of wood into the bottle and ram in some rag of similar to blank off the open end,now take your heat gun ( you can use an hair drier with care ) and play the heat evenly onto the plastic,what will happen now is the plastic bottle will shrink itself up tightly against the wood former,just be patient and do not get too close otherwise you will burn the plastic,leave to cool off and with your Stanley knife run a line at the base of the canopy and trim up with a pair of scissors,result one new canopy for your pride and joy. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="67ec58c0.jpg" border=0 width="453" height="396" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="680c3690.jpg" border=0 width="451" height="617" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> This is the time established way of making small cockpit canopies,simply carve a plug from balsa wood,make a female mould from a piece of ply slightly oversized to allow for the deep draw of the plastic sheet,pin or staple the sheet to the female and heat over a gas or electric ring until the material becomes floppy,then plunge the plug into the mould,wait for a few seconds to cool and withdraw the plug,you will probably need a bit of practise and a bit of wasted material in the process but practise makes perfect and that is the secret.</div> <bR> <div>   ________________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> New ideas for covering materials-</div> <bR> <div> Go to any garden centre and take a look at a material called 'Fleece' it comes off the roll and is dirt cheap,it is a lightweight fibre of some sort that is ideal for covering your model aircraft,stick it on with thinned down PVA adhesive and apply dope to taughten,sets like rock and takes paint as well,also ideal for covering over sheeted areas,give it a try. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> First aid for your models-</div> <bR> <div> Ever heard of Micropore ? well if you have not tried this material then you are in for a treat,how did I find out about it well read on ? -</div> <div> Whilst cutting some wing ribs one day I accidently sliced the side of my finger,I reached for some Micropore and placed a piece around the cut,the next thing that happened was my finger became solid and was instantly mummyfied ! I had accidently touched some cyno on my workbench which had immediately soaked into the Micropore and encapsulated my finger in the process within seconds,this agonising experience really made me think as to the uses that this material could be usefully put to.</div> <div> I literally had to chisel away the block of material on my finger which showed that Micropore + Cyno = one very strong joint !</div> <bR> <div> I have successfully bonded piano wire undercarriages to fuselage structures,bonded struts to tricky structures and generally used it to strengthen up those areas that are very awkward to get to,the main value apart from the strength is the light weight of this material which usually comes in a roll,it weighs nothing but imparts strength that no other material that I have dealt with can give.</div> <div> The possibilities are endless as I am finding uses for it all the time.</div> <div> To use just bind the part that you want,then flood it with either medium or thin cyno,a quick puff of smoke and a rock like joint will result. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Setting up undercarriages.</div> <bR> <div> When mounting undercarriage blocks into foam wings try this idea which has proved worthwhile in service-</div> <div> Normally the undercarriage fits into a slotted birch rail which is simply epoxied into the wing underside,make a mod by glueing another plywood rail on the upper surface extending the same distance as the lower,now take you drill and make four quarter inch holes from top to bottom,then cut four pieces of hardwood dowel and glue into place with PVA glue,the effect is to spread the load and torsion between the two wooden rails,ideal for foam or built up wings.</div> <div> There is less chance of the undercarriage being ripped away with this useful tip</div> <bR> <div> The use of clamps-</div> <bR> <div> If you need plenty of cheap clamps for your model building then pay a visit to your local pound shop,here you will find a bewildering array of such clamps idea for holding parts together on your models,there are simple pressure clamps,screw thread in large and small,you can never have enough of this useful form of tool. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Home made sanding sealer-</div> <bR> <div> Sanding Sealer is getting a bit difficult to get hold of these days but is easy enough to make yourself,all you need is ordinary clear dope,some cheap talcum powder,oil of Wintergreen and a little glycerin,add enough talc to the dope to just make it fall off the brush,add a touch of th oil of Wintergreen to stop any blooming and then a dash of glycerin to make the material slightly elastic and avoid any brittle dry out,you will find this mix to sand down really well,once done use a tack cloth ( lint free cloth with dab of clear varnish ) to get rid of the dust and apply a second coat for a superb finish all ready to take paint. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Wooden rollers-</div> <bR> <div> Strange how some tools get used time & again and others get relegated to the back of the bench,but one tool that seems to get used all the time is my print roller,laminating wood,rolling on thin layers of adhesive,sealing masking tape etc endless uses in the workshop.</div> <div> You can get these for a few pence from good artists supplies,they have a wood roller which is covered in rubber,the handle is metal,the real use is to apply printing ink to lino blocks in art work.</div> <div> They clean up well after a wash under the tap with a bit of washing up liquid.</div> <div> Had mine for years and the roller bearing is now oval shaped after all the work it has done.</div> <bR> <div>     ______________________________________________________________________________ </div> <bR> <div> Dont let that throttle servo stall-</div> <bR> <div> Not everyone owns a computer radio to adjust for throttle stall out,so here is how to incorporate a very simple saver for the servo to avoid stripped gears or at the worst a burnt out servo,if your throttle servo is ticking then you need a servo saver installing.</div> <div> Attach to the servo arm/horn a brass ferrule that is free to rotate,through the ferrule drill a hole the thickness of the servo wire rod,you can buy these fittings made in either brass or nylon but the name escapes me at the moment,now you will need three very small collets or if you are good at soldering two cup washers would do the job but they are difficult to adjust properly,fit one onto the rod about one inch forward of the servo arm,now onto the wire slip a compression spring then another collet which is free to move and butts against the servo arm,next fit the last collet on the end of the servo rod aft of the other side of the arm,this simply stops everything falling off.</div> <div> To test the device fully open the throttle and note when the spring compresses fully,if the servo stalls out simply adjust the first collet so the spring has closed but at the same time opened the throttle fully without any effort,now close the throttle and once again note how the spring closes,once again adjust accordingly.</div> <div> If more movement is required such as on older radio sets just fit a longer compression spring.</div> <div> All that is happening is that the spring is acting as a safety buffer, by not restricting the servo arms movement and thus avoiding the fatal stall out which will at the worst drain your battery and cause you to crash.</div> <div> There was a commercial device which had a leaf spring attached directly to the servo arm thus causing the arm to give slightly when in the over-ride position. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> How to paint those narrow lines-</div> <bR> <div> Have you seen those colourschemes where the paintwork is divided with this peck or cheatlines ? well there is a really easy way to achieve such a colourscheme,go along to any good graphic supplies and take a look at the range of chart tapes,these are used for wall planning charts and are made as very narrow tapes in a variety of colours,the other good thing about them is that they will easily take a curve on your model.</div> <div> Dont forget to dfinish off with a thin coat of clearcote or similar to seal the edges.</div> <div> Nautical types will appreciate the uses of this tape on their models,in fact anywhere that a very thin line is required. </div> <bR> <div>      ____________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Making your own balsa strip-</div> <bR> <div> Take a look at the prices of strip balsa and see how much that you save by doing the job yourself.</div> <div> There are commercial balsa strippers available some of which work better than others but you can adapt a simple tool that you probably have already in your kit,what you need is the ordinary wood marking gauge,the sort that has a large stock at the end with a pin driven into the arm,take a warding file and get to work on the pin bringing it to a sharp edge,thin the pin out a bit while you are at it.</div> <div> To strip your wood take the gauge in one hand and the balsa sheet in the other,slowly draw the wood downwards,this will effectively cut half way through the wood,turn the sheet over and do the same the other side,keep going until you have enough stock stripwood to do the job.</div> <div> The marking gauge now doubles up for both marking and stripping wood with that small modification</div> <bR> <div>      _____________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Solutions for vibrating bolts-</div> <bR> <div> In the days when Diesel engines were in vogue one of the biggest headaches was keeping the engine in the airframe due to the vibration of a diesel,bolts would literally unwind from their bearers ! some method had to be found to firmly hold the bolts in place and at the same time allow the engine to be removed if needed.</div> <div> To make a locking plate drill the bearers as normal and place two pieces of tin strip behind the bearer,drill through these as well exactly the spacing of the bolts,now remove the tin plates and drill more holes into a piece of scrap wood the same spacing as the ones drilled into the tin plates,tighten up the plain nuts onto the bolts,tin the nuts and with a very hot soldering iron fix them into place,remove the bolts from the slave bearer and tack the soldered tin plate below the engine bearers,next clamp down the engine with the bolt slots all in line,take two small pieces of wire ( a paperclip will do ) and place these into the bolt head slots,drop a bit of cyno in place and you will have a totally vibration proof mounting.</div> <div> Should you need to remove the engine pop the safety wire upwards with a screw driver and unscrew the bolts. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Solution for holding painted parts while they dry-</div> <bR> <div> Dont worry you are on the right forum and not one for preserving porcupines !! the porcupines rest is a very useful little device to help you when painting small objects on your models,the biggest problem when spraying parts with aerosols etc is finding somewhere to place them while they dry,well here is your answer and once more it can be made from simple scrap-</div> <div> Take a stout piece of cardboard about a foot square ( you can make a larger one if required but this one fits the bill for average medium sized parts ) mark out equi distant with a pencil the positions where you will be placing your nails,say half inch intervals which works fine,now push some two inch nails through the card until you have covered the whole area,now to lock the nails in place take a piece of soft foam and press this into place seating it well down bedding into the nails and against the card base.</div> <div> Place the part for spraying onto the tips of the nails,spray side one then turn over again resting onto the nail tips,the idea is that your sprayjob will not stick to your bench and leave the minimm of marks,give it a try it really works well and you will use the tool again and again.</div> <div> P.S Also good for spraying small models as well as parts,spray,turn over and spray again then leave to dry. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Sort out those projects-</div> <bR> <div> Hands up all of those that have big piles of magazines in their den ? now ask yourself this question honestly -Can I really find those plans and photographs for my next project ? the chances are that you know that you have the necessary information but just cannot lay your hands on it,I realised many years ago that unless I organised my plans,files and pictures then the quest to build that new project would be flustrated so I decided to do something about it,get yourself some of those fold over card folders from a stationers,you can buy them in packs of twelve for a few shillings so do a deal with the owner and start of with say one hundred folders,go home and arm yourself with a stanley knife,steel rule and a staple gun,take a handful of magazines after the staples have been removed otherwise you will wreck your knife blades,lay the steel rule along the edge of the mags and cut right through the whole lot leaving seperate pages,now give yourself a bit of room and carefully sift through the pages discarding any advertisements or unwanted material,lay the pages you want into piles such as 'Spitfire,Hurricane etc etc or you could do things another way by manfacturers name,the latter I find best,the first thing that will notice is the amount of discarded material,just ads and bulk which pile up taking up valuable room,now label your folders boldly and add the contents to each folder,sort these into alphabetical order and place the whole lot into one of those card office boxes that go for a few bob each.</div> <div> You will now find that it is a real pleasure to search for material as it is nice and compact and once more to hand,why waste time looking through hundreds of magazines ? lets you do more modelling as well.</div> <div> Why not go one stage further by adding postcards,cuttings,your own photographs or notes making everything neat and tidy ? </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Painting thin lines on a models curved surface-</div> <bR> <div> Having covered the application of cheat and peck lines with chart tape here is yet another way to execute narrow lines on your models,this one is of particular interest as it will allow paintwork to follow a curved surface easily,all you need to do is make a simple tool which can be used again and again for this purpose,so here goes-</div> <div> We need to make a simple bow by drilling the ends of a piece of wood to take two piano wire rods,next take some smooth wool and fix it to both ends of the wire rods,whilst doing this apply a little tension so the wool is tight in the frame,now apply with a brush some enamel paint to the wool working it well into the weave,almost any slow drying paint can be used as we need a little time to work,now get your boat hull,aircraft fuselage etc ready on its side and with already carefully marked positions ( you could even use two small pins if you wish ) simply lay the paint impregnated wool against the model,pause for a few seconds and take away the bow,you will be rewarded with a beautiful thin line something which would require great skill to produce with even a signwriters rigger brush.</div> <div> Obviously a little practise is needed to get the feel of this system but how else could you paint a long thin line on your new model ? give it a try,yet another first here for scale-models ! </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> First class sealer for iron-on film-</div> <bR> <div> Always looking for products that do the job but not always of model shop origin then try this swish tip-</div> <div> When you use iron on film where the overlaps go can be a real headache,sometimes the film will lift and oil will get into the structure,the problem is that most commercial products set far too hard and eventually split and crack,well nip down to your local supermarket and go to the floor cleaning section,here you will find a product called 'Johnsons clear' this is intended for application onto floors and seals the tiles and everything else,the beauty of this product is that it is very thin and manageable and a bottle will last for years,you will continue to find other applications for this unique product such as sealing decals and transfers etc.</div> <div> Use a small brush to run the liquid around the edges,and by the way it does not give off those dangerous smells that things like Tufcote do,so there is another bonus. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Making small parts the easy way-</div> <bR> <div> Next time you buy a tin of that two part car filler for your car try making a few scale parts for your model as well,intricate shapes that you need a multiplicity of are really easy to make with this material.</div> <div> Firstly get a block of modelling clay ( trade name plasticine or similar ) knead the block into shape and with a cheese cutter wire ( piece of wood with two bolts drilled to take some locking wire ) square off two blocks,for the former/shape you require, you will either need to carve one up from gelutong pattern makers wood,or perhaps you have a commercial item that you need to replicate ? either way press one half into the material so that it stands proud,next press a piece of tissue paper over the pattern and carefully cut around the shape of the imbedded pattern,you are now ready to press the other side block into place but before you do take two pieces of dowel and add one to a couple of corners,these are used for the registry of the two blocks and ensure that the mould lines up every time.</div> <div> Now seperate the two modelling clay blocks which should be easy as the tissue membrane helps here.</div> <div> Make up enough mix of two part car filler ( use latex gloves as it contains peroxide ) and spoon into the two halves where the pattern has made its impression,now working quickly push the two mould halves together and wait for about fifteen minutes for the material to harden due to he catalyst action.</div> <div> Now for the exciting bit ! carefully prise apart the blocks and you will be rewarded with the required part,clean up with a file and spray with car primer to seal the resin before painting.</div> <div> I have made instrument panel bezels,scale exhaust stacks,pitot tubes,rockets,bombs etc etc let your imagination run wild as the scope is endless.</div> <div> If making multiple copies simply slip the pattern back into the modelling clay once again to tidy the mould up before the second impression is made.</div> <div> If you need intricate shapes then this is the method to do them. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Rigging for biplane models-</div> <bR> <div> If you need scale rigging for flying model biplanes then take a visit to your local fishing tackle shop,here you will find excellent rigging material in the form of fishing trace wire which comes in different thicknesses,for connecting you will need to purchase a few small crimps which double back on themselves and squash up with a good pair of pliers.</div> <div> To make excellent attachments go next door to the electrical shop and buy some solder tags ! these can be placed underneath the interplane struts which are made from spruce with wire ends which are pushed into special thickness wing ribs and tacked with a little cyno run into the joint ( what did we do without cyno ? ) if the wires are stretched tightly it will lock everything into place and the model will be very strong indeed.</div> <div> The only thing that you cannot use the wire for is streamlined rigging,something that I have not solved yet to the scale of our models. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Getting the best from a fret machine-</div> <bR> <div> When I first wrote this article some 35 years ago there were hardly any mechanical powered machines around ! just recently my two trusty treddle Hobbies machines were consigned to the scrap heap as they took up far too much room and have been superceded by far more efficent bench fretsaws which are superb by comparison.</div> <div> The basic principles of fretwork whether applied to decorative or model building are all the same and it is the ability to cut internally where these machines excel,intricate shapes which are dead square are possible time and again,the biggest set back when using hand held fretsaws is keeping the job square ! accuracy is important as always when cutting wood.</div> <div> Internal work will require a pilot hole for which the old Archimedean drill still has its uses,where the cut requires acute or sharp transitions always drill a small pilot at that point,this will assist the fretsaw blade and avoid undue strain at the same time.</div> <div> If you can prepare some patterns beforehand by taking photocopies then these can be easily applied to the wood with Scotch 3M spray adhesive,the advantage of this system is that afterwards the paper pattern can be easily removed,you only need a quick mist of the adhesive to secure it to the wood.</div> <div> Not generally appreciated is the use of the fretsaw in cutting metal,make sure that you have the required metal cutting blades to hand and always use the guard to hold down the material being cut,when cutting metal work much more slowly to avoid blade snatch,as always let the blade do the job without too much pressure on it.</div> <div> Another advantage of fretwork is that more than one item can be cut at once,if you require multiple sets of parts then simply tack glue them together with cyno dabs and cut through just as one block,seperate the parts afterwards and clean up before use.</div> <div> Before purchasing a new fret machine consider what you are going to do,the cheaper machines sometimes have a cam action which can be unsuitable for heavier work,get something that will do the job,my own preference is for the solid Dremels which work reliably day in and day out,a good one of these will cost you about £250 these days but will last for years,think ahead and purchase sensibly.</div> <div> If you just do the occasional bit of model building then a simple hand frame suitably tensioned will suffice for your needs,just make sure that the tensioner is man enough to withstand numerous adjustments and not one where the thread will strip after a few weeks work. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Home brew Sanding sealer.</div> <bR> <div> Sanding Sealer is getting a bit difficult to get hold of these days but is easy enough to make yourself,all you need is ordinary clear dope,some cheap talcum powder,oil of Wintergreen and a little glycerin,add enough talc to the dope to just make it fall off the brush,add a touch of th oil of Wintergreen to stop any blooming and then a dash of glycerin to make the material slightly elastic and avoid any brittle dry out,you will find this mix to sand down really well,once done use a tack cloth ( lint free cloth with dab of clear varnish ) to get rid of the dust and apply a second coat for a superb finish all ready to take paint.</div> <bR> <div> Cheap clamps for model makers.</div> <bR> <div> If you need plenty of cheap clamps for your model building then pay a visit to your local pound shop,here you will find a bewildering array of such clamps idea for holding parts together on your models,there are simple pressure clamps,screw thread in large and small,you can never have enough of this useful form of tool.</div> <bR> <div> Problems mounting undercarriage blockes in foam wings ?</div> <bR> <div> When mounting undercarriage blocks into foam wings try this idea which has proved worthwhile in service-</div> <div> Normally the undercarriage fits into a slotted birch rail which is simply epoxied into the wing underside,make a mod by glueing another plywood rail on the upper surface extending the same distance as the lower,now take you drill and make four quarter inch holes from top to bottom,then cut four pieces of hardwood dowel and glue into place with PVA glue,the effect is to spread the load and torsion between the two wooden rails,ideal for foam or built up wings.</div> <div> There is less chance of the undercarriage being ripped away with this useful tip. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Align those wing dowels-</div> <bR> <div> One of the more difficult jobs is to locate and fix the front wing dowel that locks the leading edge of the wing,there is no really easy way of doing this but the following works well despite being a bit unorthodox-</div> <div> Firstly drill oversize the hole for the wing leading edge dowel,place the dowel into the hole it will be sloppy,sand up some balsa dust and push this into the hole around the dowel so the dowel floats a bit,now place the wing into position and wiggle it around a bit so the wing seats properly with the correct incidence,now carefully remove the wing and place on to the trailing edge on your bench,now quickly flood the joint with the wing peg in place with thin cyno,there will be a quick puff of smoke as the dowel locks solid,and I do mean solid.</div> <div> What has happened is the dust has become impregnated with the cyno,you can also use baking powder for this task but it is not as easy to hold the dowel in place,just be patient and make sure that dowel is accurate before you use the cyno.</div> <div> If you can get to the rear of the dowel you could use this in reverse,but make sure you place cling film around the leading edge otherwise the wing will be glued solid ! </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Improved wing attachment bolts-</div> <bR> <div> How many times have you wrestled with those plastic wing bolts that twist and distort in hot weather ? well here is a proven method that does away with the silly nut that nearly always gives problems,instead of using the nut make a quarter of an inch wing attachment platform,either key this into the fuselage or give support with balsa V-section,place the wing into position and mark with a sharp point where the bolt goes,remove the wing and drill and tap to take the plastic bolt,place a piece of alloy tube between the wing and fuselage to act as a stop,just cyno this to the ply plate,this also serves as a guide for the wing bolt which has its thread smeared with domestic soap ( old door fitters trick ) to glide into position.</div> <div> This idea will also give much better shearability in the event of a crash,to remove the broken bolt just heat up a screwdriver in a flame,plunge into the plastic bolt and remove,easy does it ! </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Sourcing Reed Cane-</div> <bR> <div> Quite a few designs call for Reed cane in its structure,the only real problem is getting hold of this material as it is no longer sold in model shops,just go to one of those pound stores and buy yourself a Chinese blind,take it home and cut through the pieces to give you enough stock for years.</div> <div> You can build tail sections from two laminations of this material held around a thick card template,same for rudders,use balsa stock for the sternpost and balsa for the ribs,looks really good on first world war aeroplanes.</div> <div> The strength to weight ratio is second to none. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Mask up the way the experts do it-</div> <bR> <div> Ever wanted to mask up intricate detail on your models ? I bet there have been times where ordinary masking tape has failed to do the job properly,paint creeping underneath leaving unsightly marks etc lets face it masking tape was never intended for model making and was bacically a car re-finishers product not intended for intricate designs,go to your local art suppliers and purchase a pack or roll of Frisket,you will have enough for many models,all you need to do is cut out the design with a razorblade,peel off the backing paper and press into position,it will give you pin-point sharpness of edges and above all allow you to do many of those exciting colourschemes that you have always wanted and give you a chance of success. </div> <div> Always buy the right tools for the job and make your life easier. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Scale rib tapes for your models-</div> <bR> <div> Ever wondered how the experts make those realistic looking rib tapes for simulating the fabric work on biplanes etc ? well here is how it is done,firstly cut some strips of narrow Solartex or similar iron on fabric material,place pins eqi distant and to the scale required,next place another row of pins where the stitching goes to a 'T' so you finish up with a zig zag pattern,now tie some cotton to the end pin and carefully lead around each pin in turn,in full size practise the stitching goes through the fabric to the side of each rib,then up again and knotted and onto the next rib and so forth.. once you have completed the cotton work give it a quick spray with polyurethane varnish to lock the cotton into place and iron the strip on top of each rib from the leading edge to the trailing edge.</div> <div> The job is actually quicker to do than describe here and looks most realistic and worth the effort on a scale job. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Which pins ?</div> <bR> <div> Looking over my workbench I see that over the years I have gathered together a collection of different types of pins for my modelling,each type has its application as you will see here-</div> <div> Firstly I used standard dress making pins for my model building,these were really the only type that were available in those days,but even these have variations,first we have the hardened steel type that have very sharp points,these will snap if provoked,then there is the softer bendable type which will not take to being knocked with the head of even the smallest toffee hammer,these are very useful for locking hinges in models and go down to very small sizes.</div> <div> Next on the list is the glass headed pin,be careful here as they can break and leave you with a nasty injury to your thumb,buy the better quality lapidery pins which have proper bonded heads,some of the specialist suppliers such as the Balsa Cabin stock these,well worth the purchase price if you can get hold of them,most are made in Czechoslovakia.</div> <div> A more recent invention has been the T-Pin,his is exactly as described being a pin with a bar across which is integral with the stem,they come in different sizes and have a particular use with foam or foam to wood joints where they grip very well indeed.</div> <div> Always keep your eyes open for different sizes and varieties of pins and store them carefully in small tins or one of those storage boxes,they could be a life saver when building your next model. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Tissue covered structures-</div> <bR> <div> Most people know about tissue covering for lightweight models but did you also appreciate that tissue has other uses ? although iron on covering materials have all but overtaken tissue as a covering for wooden parts you just cannot beat a properly covered balsa structure with a finish second to none,to go about the job you will need some lightweight tissue akin to a product called Modelspan,this is a wet strengthened tissue of porous manufacture,Jap tissue is not really suitable for this process.</div> <div> Prepare the surface with a sealing coat of sanding sealer ( instructions to make this if you cannot obtain it are in the turtorials ) allow to dry for 24 hours and then sand down with silicone sanding paper,now prepare your tissue by cutting it slightly oversize to the part to be covered and place it onto some newspaper,spray it with water and close the newspaper to get rid of excess moisture,now offer it to the surface and carefully smooth out any wrinkles and once again spray with water,next take a fully loaded mop hair brush and with thinned clear dope paint straight through the tissue,with a scrap piece of screwed up tissuie smooth it out working from the centre outwards,overlap the edges and seal these with dope as well,everything will go milky white but dont worry as a succesive coat of dope will remove the whiteness,with another coat the surface will look like glass and certainly not give any indication that there is wood underneath especially when given a coat of enamel or other favourite finish.</div> <div> I know that modern films have overtaken these old methods but they still have there uses,with the tissue covered tail surfaces they are both strong and rigid as the tissue holds the grain firmly together.</div> <div> PS- If you dont want to use clear dope or other cellulose finishes then turn over to thinned Polyvinal Acetate ( PVA ) which can be suitably thined and above all used indoors as there is no smell attached to this product ! </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Decals from Solartrim-</div> <bR> <div> Have you tried making your own decals from Solartrim yet ? this material lends itself ideally to making typical R.A.F roundals etc,here is a guide on how to make a basic red/white/blue roundal which will give you an idea on how it all works,firstly lay the three colours onto your self healing cutting mat and allow them to 'relax' use an Olfa circle cutter and cut the outermost blue circle from the solartrim,next re-set the cutter and cut the white mid circle and finally the red centre,prepare the area where the roundal will go by applying water with a touch of washing up liquid added then peel one corner back and fold it over of the blue circle,now place into position and adjust by sliding over the water/washing up liquid solution,next pull back all of the film and dab down with kitchen tissue paper to absorb the moisture,allowto dry for a few hours and then continue with the other two colours in the same way.</div> <div> The result will be first class roundals,you can also make American stars,German crosses etc in this way as well very economically.</div> <div> A coat of Humbrol clearcote will ensure that they are sealed around the edges. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Transferring designs to wood-</div> <bR> <div> The use of a watch sprocket whell for transferring designs to wood was inspired and copied from one of those dressmaking kits ( no I do not wear dresses !! ) whilst browsing through a Hobbies annual I noticed that you can actually purchase clock wheels in a packet for encapsulating into resin blocks which become paperweights,well I have a far more functional use for these clock wheels and that is transferring designs,simply set one of the wheels into a pen holder or similar thing,then take a piece of carbon paper,place this carbon side down onto the wood and then the plan on top,carefully move the wheel around the design,use french curves,rule etc if you so wish and then remove the carbon to reveal a lightly etched pattern,it is now an easy job to just cut the design with craft knife or fretsaw.</div> <div> For larger pieces this idea excels,give it a try. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Transferring designs the heat sensitive way-</div> <bR> <div> One of the easiest ways to transfer small designs onto wood is by the use of heat transfer,to do this simply go to your copy shop and take a copy of the plan/image that you need to transfer,now reverse the pattern and with a domestic iron set on 'hot' stroke the back of the paper whilst placed onto the wood,the toner ink will be melted slightly and you will now have a copy transferred onto the wood from which to cut out the respective design.</div> <div> Please note that fresh copies transfer better than old ones as the toner will have sunk deeper into the paper rather than onto the surface. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Joining sheet balsa successfully-</div> <bR> <div> How to join balsa sheets to avoid unsightly seams and bulges ? give this a try when you next need to make two 4 inch sheets into one that is 8 inches wide- Firstly lay the two pieces side by side and check which is the two best edges,if non are suitable overlay the two sheets slightly and pin at three points,take your metal straight edge ( did you follow the other tip and get hold of some industrial hacksaws ? ) and gently cut the two pieces together,next run a strip of masking tape straight down the joint from top to bottom,now fold the two sheets back to back,mix up some thinned PVA adhesive and apply down the joint with a small paintbrush,now close the joint and carefully run a damp cloth along to remove surplus adhesive,out with the masking tape again and this time run another strip down the other side,place the wood between plastic sheet ( save your Solarfilm/Solartex backing for this ) and place books along the join,leave overnight and in the morning remove plastic sheet, and masking tape,result some nice wide timber to work with and this will save you having to make a special and expensive order for wide balsa stock.</div> <bR> <div>      _____________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Storage for those many items you use-</div> <bR> <div> Whilst you are improving your work room spare some thought for that old adage 'storage',I have noticed that currently on the market are some really excellent multi drawer high density plastic cabinets,they come in 10 drawer,7 drawer etc but the good thing is that you can in fact make any combination of storage to suit your needs,all you have to do is remove the top and press the extra drawers into place,I purchased a ten drawer unit for 30 pounds and that is a lot of storage for your money ! mine are crammed with modelling bits and pieces and once filled they are steady,just dont get into filing cabinet syndrome by opening too many heavy top drawers otherwise there is a danger of tipping over,once whilst working in an office I witnessed this happening and it was frightening as the contents overloaded with a crash.</div> <div> The cabinets lend themselves ideally to medium sized items and tools,at the end of the day stash your tools safely away to protect them and above all be able to find them again.</div> <div> A few hours organisation will save you loads of flustration as you build your models. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> How to make a dead flat workbench-</div> <bR> <div> Decided to re-design my indoor workbench ready for next winter ( well you have to think ahead a bit ! ) what I needed was one that was dead flat,it is vital with wing construction to have a surface that will stay that way with no warps or buckles,so I visited my local B & Q hellbent on achieving that perfect surface,firstly I purchased a de-luxe wallpaper pasting table onto which my structure would stand,do not confuse those slip-shod cheap tables with the de-luxe version,these have warren girder lower braces which hold solid and have a thick surface,you can easily stand on them and they dont move anywhere,price around 22 pounds but well worth it,next you will need to buy a piece of MDF board to fit the top,get this cut at the shop free it is well worth it,now select some two and a half inch square timber paying particular attention to selection,buy enough to support the edges and with at least four cross pieces,take your lumber home and lay out and cut the edge and cross pieces,mark with a pencil and drill pilot holes to take countersunk screws in the MDF,now glue the pieces to the base with PVA glue and screw up tight,recess the screws and fill the holes with plastic wood filler,now lay the finished board on top of your sturdy pasting table,look along one edge to make sure it is exactly flat,good old Mk.1 eyeball will tell you if it has a sink or out of line,to rectify this cut a strip of wood to the offending area and glue into place,do another check with a metal straight edge,once everything is to your satisfaction and you are sure that you will be able to build many perfectly flat structures on it then go ahead and glue it to the top of your table,then screw into each corner and mid outer at the edges,use those really good bite self tapper screws to complete the job.</div> <div> As modifications to your superb new bench treat yourself to a self healing cutting board from your local graphics supplier,this can be placed to the side of your bench and will save many blunted knife blades and proper cuts into your wood,it will last years together with your great new bench to provide many happy modelling hours which above all will produce accurate work.</div> <div> If you are intending to use pins to build your models buy some panels of foamboard ( graphic suppliers again ) and lay them onto the workbench,you could add a few pieces of tape at the edges if required,after many,many models you can just replace the foamboard easily when the pin holes become intolerable.</div> <bR> <div>               ____________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Bead packs are useful-</div> <bR> <div> Childrens bead packs of different sizes make great miniature bearings for our rubber jobs,cheap as chips they come sometimes in assortments,you will find all sorts of uses for these such as when you need to stop a sloppy wheel where it meets the axle bend,just place a bead onto the axle and capillery a dab of cyno,zap,job done. </div> <div> Miniature prop shafts are another ideal application. </div> <div> They run really smooth as well,they are a gift to modellers,go get them ! </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Cowlings from saucepans-</div> <bR> <div> F.W.Woolworth's used to sell a set of small alloy saucepans,these make ideal cowlings for your models,should you not be able to obtain the alloy ones now ( as I understand that health and safety have stepped in ) then search your local car boot sales for them,you will find dozens of these redundant items for a few pence each.</div> <div> Mark the centre and scribe in the circle where the intake goes,and take a pair of metal dividers and score in the rim,next run a line of chain drills around the line push out and clean up with a file.</div> <div> I know that you can buy some cowls to fit the Flair range but this way you can do different sizes and above all they cost next to nothing.</div> <div> ( See a previous tip on fixing cowls to balsa fuselages ) </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Antennae tips-</div> <bR> <div> Basic rule is keep the antennae straight leading out along the fuselage,inside it or to the tip of the fin,do not under any circumstances cut the end off,believe me I have seen it done because the newcomer considered it too long.</div> <div> If the antennae gets damaged then send back to the manufacturers for replacement and tuning.</div> <div> Take particular care with model helicopters and dont chop off your own aerial ! easily done,fit the antennae into a plastic tube attached to the skid of the helicopter.</div> <div> Should you get problems such as with the high aspect ratio glider wing with carbon fibre fittings or spars then consider fitting ferrite rings to the first couple of inches of the aerial,this normally cures any problems and will blanket any unwelcome signal.</div> <div> Above all do not leave the aerial coiled up with the receiver as one scale modeller did with his brand new twin which crashed on take off.</div> <div> Best to do a range check on new unproven models which would have showed up the above silly and expensive mistake. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Proper scale props and how to make them-</div> <bR> <div> Making scale props that really work can be easier than you think,follow the full size manufacturers system and it will be easy for you to carve a realistic prop with just the pitch that you require.</div> <div> For the sake of this exercise we will settle for a 12 inch prop,first of all cut yourself 12 pieces of wood ( obeche,ramin,pine,gelutong,basswood etc ) to a length of 12 inches by 3 eighths wide,drill the centres as a stacked pile with the centre to take a piece of screwed rod,now carefully apply adhesive to all of the laths ( PVA glue is fine ) and bolt up the centre,now carefully swing the pieces like a fan to get the desired pitch ( copy a commercial one if you like ) now clamp these together and allow to dry out properly.</div> <div> Next step is to cut the prop side profile which can be determined by looking at the plan of the real ship,plane the edges down with a razorplane and then carve the blades to an aerofoil shape,dont take too much off one side only but keep swopping sides to make the cuts equal.</div> <div> Finish off with medium grade glasspaper then drill the hub to your engine size,now is time to balance your masterpiece,if you are lucky to have a prop balancer then use it now,if not place a metal rod into the prop centre and place on two upright razor blades that have been pressed into a block of balsa,watch your fingers here ! and balance out,take material off the heavy blade until the blade balances horizontally.</div> <div> Next give two coats of marine varnish and dont forget to re-balance before you use the prop,adding more varnish to the light side.</div> <div> You will just love the way that the varnish brings out the grain in the wood of the prop together with the laminations.</div> <div> Therapy rating= 9 </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> How to apply waterslide transfers.</div> <bR> <div> It seems that a tutorial on this subject would be an overkill,but not so as modern waterslide transfers are so thin and fiddly that if you dont stick to a system you can get into a bit of a mess with them.What better than seeing how the experts do the job at the professional model building workshops,faced with a task of producing hundreds of airliner models for travel agents windows they have to get things right first time round.The problem is whilst modern decals have got better and more realistic with thinner carrier film they have their drawbacks,they tend to curl under as static takes effect,the solution is plenty of water applied with a brush onto the models surface,literally flood the area so that suspension of the water carries the decal before it is smoothed down,also dont be attempted to take the decal out of the water too soon otherwise proper wetting out will have not taken place,take the piece from the water and hold the backing paper against the model,wet your finger and start to gently pull the backing paper away at the same time hold the decal in place at the edge with a cotton wool bud,if the transfer is quite long then pull swiftly to keep the decal straight such as on a airliner stripe etc,too slow and undercurl will take place and difficult to get straight again,if this does happen dont panic but flood more water onto the transfer and with a small brush gently tease out the decal flat again,once this has been done take an absorbent tissue and hold it against the transfer,this will remove the excess moisture,once this has taken place put the model aside for a few hours,it is so easy to move a decal and ruin it should you stick your thumb inadvertantly onto it ! work slowly and carefully.</div> <div> Once the transfers are dry always protect them under a coat of suitable clear finish,acrylic varnishes do not dry yellow as some of the older enamel based ones did,but my good old standby is Johnsons Klear,you just cannot beat it for this type of work,it sets beautifully clear,is thin to apply and seals everything,a bottle will last you years and you will find all kinds of jobs for it. </div> <div>    ________________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Planking for model builders.</div> <bR> <div> The term 'planking' as applied to a scale model has been used for many years by scale modellers,the technique is particularly useful where a compound curve is involved in the structure of the model,take for example a typical fuselage of a fighter aircraft like the Spitfire or Hurricane,the shape changes dramatically where the nose underneath meets the wing root,and then aft of the trailing edge blends in nicely with the fuselage.Such a compound curve can really only be successfully tackled by planking,it is not difficult but does require a bit of planning and know how to do the job properly.Firstly select a few planks of balsa sheet with a medium density and aim for a straight grain if you can,we can tackle the planks in two basic ways 1/ Planks cut parallel or 2/ Planks cut with a taper,experience will tell you what to use at which position,but as a useful guide if the curve tapers towards the tail or nose then you need to cut the planks respectively,lay out a selection on the bench and make sure that you have enough to complete the job in hand ! for the sake of instruction we will be planking a Hawker Hurricane fuselage,you will have pre-sanded the formers with a Permagrit block to account for the taper of the cladding,start by laying the first one mid way on the fuselage side,this plank will be a parallel one because it is a starting datum piece,everything relies on this single point,as we add further pieces note that as the wood takes the curve it needs to be slightly chamfered at the edges,to do this use a trusty and invaluble razor plane,just run the plane from one end to the other but dont get paranoid ! any discrepencies can easily be accounted for in the glueing process,this is not a precision process so dont get the micrometer out,it is a case of adjusting,sanding and curving,only do a few planks at a time and use those super 'T Pins' obtainable from either model or craft shops,forget the glass headed pins that break and can be dangerous.You will slowly get to the point where things start to require a dramatic curve,dont worry just stop at that point in the planking and make a new datum with another strip of wood,the gaps in between can easily be plugged with pieces of balsa,this is sculpting balsa wood at its best,so relax and enjoy it,another tip is to curve the planks as well especially with a large compound curve to deal with,take a strip of wood and draw it under a round object such as a pencil,this will break the fibres of the wood and make it more manageable,continue until you meet the top and bottom of the fuselage,by this stage it will look like a crazy porcupine but that is how it should look at this stage,now comes the interesting bit ! remove all the pins and once again take the razor plane and slowly and carefully run it along the planks from nose to tail,then reach for some coarse glasspaper wrapped around a piece of cork or balsa block and just keep sculpting and sanding the shape until you are happy with the profile,this is a very satisfying process as the model starts to come alive and a thing of great beauty,carry on by using finer grades of paper finally finishing off with a fine garnet or my old favourite grey crocus paper,this will leave a fine shine to the balsa,hold the fuselage up to the light and place a straight edge against the wood,as you run it along the surface you will note any bumps in the surface,just rework these areas with your abrasive papers until you are happy with the result.</div> <div> For adhesives use Aliphaetic resin glue,this yellowy mixture sands well and does not have the rubbery quality of ordinary PVA for this particular job,a medium sized bottle will last a long time.</div> <div> We are going to finish the planking properly in another tutorial,forget the heat shrink films for this one,I am going to show you how to do the job properly as the modelling crafstmen of yesteryear used to,and get a great finish at the same time,meanwhile grab a cuppa and admire your handiwork ! </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Final finishing of planked structures.</div> <bR> <div> So we have before us a well sanded fuselage all ready for the final touches,now before you go and grab that roll of heatshrink think about the beautiful finishes that you have seen on models that look like metal ! there is no short cut to a well finished model it is labour intensive but the rewards are great.Take the fuselage and hold it up to the light,see if you can spot any blemishes,I bet that you can no matter how careful you were with the planks,we have a couple of options of which the modern version is lighter,firstly you could make your own wood filler by adding talcum powder to a quantity of clear dope,add just a smidgin of castor oil in order to flex the finish and stop it becoming brittle and with a wide mop brush work from one end to the other,allow this to dry out overnight and with some flour paper sand it right down,the alternative is to buy some ready mixed micro balloons and with a plastic scraper coat the whole lot with a thin with a thin layer,dont worry after it dries you just go outside and sand down the whole lot using a mask as the dust is lethal to your lungs.In either cases you should now have a really smooth surface that is all ready for the next stage.</div> <div> For this operation we will need a scent spray filled with water,some lightweight wet strengthened tissue ( your model shop will probaby not bother stocking this these days but there are outlets on the internet such as SAM'S who sell it cheaply ) and either thinned clear dope or a bottle of clear acrylic obtainable from art shops,you could even use thinned down PVA adhesive,it does not matter as long as it sinks through the surface of the tissue,take some strips of the tissue the full length of the fuselage and place a single piece against the surface,take a loaded mop brush and just push this through the membrane of the tissue from the centre and work outwards,give this a quick spray with water and with a lint free cloth press gently and smooth out the tissue at the same time,it will look all icky and gooey but dont worry it will dry out fine,keep going until you get to the stage where it becomes impossible to work because you cannot hold the part,for this I sometimes make up a simple type of spit whereby a piece of wire is driven in each end,this then rests into two blocks of wood and all that you do is to turn the fuselage around in order to work on it.When this lot is dry carefully inspect it for blemishes or areas that you have missed,if necessary carry on with the process until you are entirely satisfied that everything is covered to your satisfaction and sand lightly between coats.</div> <div> Another coat can now be applied which should give a really first class sealed surface to stop any ingress of fuel or oil when finally fuel proofed,if you are using an IC engine,the tissue combined with the application of either dope or acrylic assures a sealed surface that knits the grain of the wood together.</div> <div> By the way this is virtually the same process as planking a boat or ship hull so if your interests are maritime then I am sure that you could adapt it to suit and George on the boats will assist you.</div> <div> Finally paint can be applied and for this I personally nip down to Halfords with a paint chip,get them to mix it up and put it into a couple of spray cans,the results are just great,pick a warm day and give a couple of finely diffused coats keeping the final one wet at the edges,the paint will flow nicely and dry to a good finish,they will even mix up those awkward camouflage shades impossible to get in standard spray cans.</div> <div> You can bet that the finishing will take as long as the model took to build but who cares ? the final result is what matters to your own personal standards of finish.</div> <div> I have no doubt that the latest polyvinyl acetate based substitutes for fibreglass and the new tissue cloths would well with this system as well,as yet I have not tried them personally but intend to in the future when they become more widely available.</div> <div> This sytem above is for those that want to get the best from a sealed wood finish,looked after and barring crashes your models will last for years. </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Trailing edges on World War 1 aeroplanes.</div> <bR> <div> Look at most world war one aircraft and you will see a scalloped trailing edge,this was due to the effects of the dope pulling in the piano wire trailing edge on the wing,as the aircraft got older the effect became more marked as the added shrinkage took effect.We can simulate the very same effect on our scale models by attaching a similar self scalloping material,in the past I have tried reed cane carefully stripped that is glued along the trailing edge of each rib into a small slot,no doubt modern carbon fibre would do the same and probably be very strong as well,if you can get it and need a bit of aft weight then 22 swg or thinner piano wire would do,but watch the weight penalty with wire.For small rubber/electric/Co.2 models ordinary button thread is ideal just stretched taught along the edge with a dab of thin cyno to hold it into place,when the tissue is carefully applied at the trailing edge, just overlap slightly and let the dope do its work to produce the desired effect.On larger models the heat gun will pull in the material and produce some convincing scallops just like the real thing.</div> <div> By doing this you will be reproducing the very effect of tautening that was experienced way back in 1914-18 and even before that ! </div> <div> ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Fixing Canopies.</div> <bR> <div> Mounting a canopy onto your model can be a daunting task for many,the problem is keeping the cockpit free of marks whilst you are working on it and above all mounting it securely with a suitable adhesive.After a lot of experimenting this is the system that I prefer to use on flying model cockpits,it not only looks neat but the canopy is secure as well,first you need to trim the cockpit carefully to shape,for this use a chinagraph pencil to mark out the cutting lines and a curved pair of nail scissors for the awkward shaped areas,some cockpits can be brittle when cut so start by soaking the canopy in warm water for a few minutes,this will relieve any stress in the moulding and make cutting much easier.Once cut and trimmed to your satisfaction lay into position and secure with some dress making pins,no need to press them too far home just enough to secure the article,now obtain some of the De Luxe materials 'R/C Modellers' adhesive' this is a sticky white based adhesive that will dry clear when dry,above all it will not marr the clear plastic canopy like superglue which should be avoided like the plague on canopies,now run a bead of the adhesive around the joint between canopy and the fuselage,first remove the pins and run your finger around the seam and smooth it out with the adhesive,then allow to dry thoroughly overnight.Next we need to mask off a line at the base of the canopy where the cockpit framing starts,on the real machine this is usually made from alloy and the canopy is either screwed or sometimes rivetted to the framework,so what we are going to do is simulate this frame but use it usefully to further secure the cockpit in place,take some two part car filler and mix up sufficent to do the job,you will need to work quickly as it dries in minutes and do the job outside as this stuff stinks and will go straight through the house ! with a latex glove on your hand dip a finger into the filler and run a line right up to the masked area trying to blend it as smooth as possible to avoid too much sanding later,by doing this a slight ledge will develope which simulates the alloy frame nicely,allow the filler to just tack off and carefully remove the tape,result one very neatly mounted canopy.</div> <div> If you feel confident then you can simulate the rest of the framework by masking off leaving a narrow line for the frame,as before mix up the filler and skim in-between the tape,allow to part dry and remove as before.</div> <div> For those that cannot work with fibreglass resin try using pre-mixed cellulose filler,although it dries slower it will do the same job in the end.</div> <div> Also as a substitute for the De Luxe materials adhesive you could use PVA glue as well.</div> <div> Best to practise with the scrap material that surrounds the canopy,then you will get the feel of this technique,above all work cleanly and neatly for best results. </div> <bR> <div>          _________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Making Scale model instrument panels.</div> <bR> <div> Here is one way of making scale model instrument panels for aircraft that is quick and simple,it revolves around a material called 'Scraperboard' which is available from art shops,basically it is a china clay based card that has a thin layer of scrape-able ink on the surface,artists use it to produce intricate designs and beautiful pictures especially the texture and fur of animals.</div> <div> Start off by studying a photograph or drawing of the respective panel and note the way the basic flying instruments such as altimeter,artificial horizon,airspeed indicator etc are laid out,from this start by scratching into the surface of the scraperboard the basic circles for the instruments,depending on the scale you can use plastic designers circles,this is a pre-cut selection of circles costing a few pounds,to scratch use a needle embedded into a piece of dowel or an old paintbrush ferrule,next mark the centre and add the pointers and then the numerals,representations will look fine at the small scales,then mark any divisions.Once this has been completed cut the panel to shape carefully with a sharp craft knife and carefully sand the edge,now we need to make a face for the instruments so choose a piece of this card and trace the positions of the dials and carefully punch them out with a suitable tool,for this you could use some tube sharpened at the edge and tap onto an hardwood block,this can now be glued over the scraperboard so that the instruments are in effect set slightly back,next obtain some clear acrylic varnish from your art stores and flood the dials then leave to dry overnight,the next day the panel will really come alive and all you need to do is add tiny placards from scrap,blobs of paint for knobs etc and any other suitable embellishments.You could also add the instrument rims with circles of paint around the cut outs.</div> <div> This is only one way to make up instrument panels,I have used this system for years on many different models,why not give it a try on your next model ? </div> <div>          ________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Preventing bloom on paint finishes.</div> <bR> <div> The winter weather plays havoc with any paint spraying operations,but for those of us lucky enough to have a spraygun not all is not lost,the problem is that most paint products tend to bloom if there is any dampness present in the air or in the workshop,if using aerosols the problem is ever present and really fine weather is the only answer for these.</div> <div> However there is a simple product that can be added to the thinners of the paint to stop the build up of bloom,it is called oil of wintergreen,it should be available from most chemists in small bottles,all that you need are a few drops added to the thinned paint that should arrest the moisture build up.Also if you have a water trap fitted on the air line then use this on a regular basis whilst spraying.</div> <div> Can a bloomed finish be rectified ? well watching the sprayers at work they use a lint free cloth with a small amount of thinners they quickly wipe the surface over,but it needs care to avoid disturbing the finish underneath,so perhaps best to keep to the wintergreen additive.</div> <div> As always check on a test panel before commiting to your treasured model</div> <div>                      _____________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Swinging Arm undercarriages.</div> <bR> <div> One of the biggest problems on aircraft such as the undercarriage on types like the Boeing Stearman PT-17 etc is a successful way of making a workable cantilever undercarriage,get it wrong and you will wipe off the gear on the first heavy landing,however there is a way that just requires a bit of thought before incorporating into your model however it does work well,it entails making the main legs to swing,on a full size aircraft the landing load is near vertical,however on our models the forces are rearward,hence any load needs to be dampened in that direction.</div> <div> To start we need to firmly anchor the main legs in say brass tubed hardwood block,you could easily achieve this by splitting the undercarriage and joining by silver soldering with brass tube ( Greyhead has already showed us how to go about successfuly silver soldering in a past tutorial ) next we need somewhere at the upper part of the undercarriage legs to anchor the spring/heavy duty rubber band,once again small piano wire hooks can be created here,the springing can be taken forward and hidden into the fuselage,it just needs to take the shock nothing else,in effect the legs pivot and they are located into a slot in the lower of the fuselage,at the rear of that slot cut pieces of rubber from ordinary pencil erasers and cyno into the rear of the cut out,this acts as a rebound if the undercarriage should over-travel,a bit of pre planning should sort the layout for your particular model,this idea has been tried and tested on two Stearmans and a Fiat CR.32 and in both cases gave good service. </div> <div> There are variations on this idea but it will give you food for thought. </div> <div>             ____________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div>  A simple Tool for picking up small parts.</div> <bR> <div> Have you ever fiddled trying to get a tiny part in position on your new model ? a situation where even fine tweezers will not do the job,well the solution is simple and like all good tips was discovered by accident.</div> <div> Next time that you have this problem just take a small piece of domestic Bluetak,place it onto the end of an old paintbrush ferrule and see how easy it is to pick up small beads,tiny parts that drop all over the floor and fingers that get glue all over them trying to position the part ! you just pick up the part sing the excellent adhesive qualities of this product,add adhesive & place into position,tiny clear landing lights and radio aerials are easily fitted in this way.</div> <div> There are dozens of uses in modelling for Bluetak and this is just one of them. </div> <div>              _____________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div>  Cyno gap filling tips.</div> <bR> <div> Thick cyno makes an ideal small gap filler,just put a seam of the cyno into the joint and sprinkle bicarbonate of soda onto the adhesive,it will immediately set like rock,this is not to be used as an excuse for bad joints but just a cosmetic clean up mostly for small models.</div> <div> You should always aim to get the best possible structural joint in any structure. </div> <div>              _____________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Setting up and rigging model biplanes.</div> <bR> <div> Biplanes just need that extra bit of care when building,once you have two sets of wings made up and the centre section strut arrangement is made then is the time to start thinking about how you are going to rig up the wings to ensure that a/ they are both set up at the correct angle and b/ that they are square and true to the rest of the airframe.</div> <div> Whether it be a simple plastic kit or a flying model the same principles apply and a similar set up can be used for both applications,for the task all you will need is some foamboard or similar material,this is how it is done-</div> <div> Firstly look at the side view on the plan and trace the upper wing position,then the lower wing position,al you need to do is to trace the aerofoil sectins in relation to each other and mark a known datum point of the fuselage,we are assuming that the centre section struts have been made up but if they have not well it does not matter really at this stage,they can easily be added later,the main object is to set up both wings with accuracy in relation to the fuselage.</div> <div> Next trace the wing positions onto two pieces of the foamboard and then cut out slots where the aerofoil positions go,assemble the lower wing to the fuselage and make sure this is the correct position and that it will not move in future,now slip the foamboard onto both tip of the lower wing followed by the upper wing,so we have before us a jig with both wings inserted but minus the wing struts.</div> <div> Next take some strip wood and carefull tack glue four pieces to both wings so that on the inboard section we have one strip which runs from the lower trailing edge to the top trailing edge,now do the same but at the wing tips so we have both wings locked firmly in place.</div> <div> The only thing that remains is for the wing interplane struts to be made up and attached with brackets or whatever your favourite system is,I use alloy brackets bonded to the ribs and bolted for security and then miniature split pins to hold the struts in place,there are dozens of different ways to go about this job bit the main thing is that you wings are firm and secure.</div> <div> All that now remains is to remove the foamboard jigs to leave a perfectly rigged set of wings,dismantle the lot and carry on with the construction of your model. </div> <div>                                                     ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Biscuit strengtheners for model structures.</div> <bR> <div> No I am not offering you a biscuit ! but suggesting the best way to add extra strength with very little extra weight,for example when building up fuselages made with balsa strip the joints can be vastly improved with very little effort,when you have completed the framework,cut some circles of miralyte ply or even balsa,next cut the circles into two,all you have to do is glue the half circles across every joint,where three strips of wood terminate the biscuit goes over all three etc.</div> <div> You can either place the biscuits on the outside but if you want the covering to be dead smooth place them on the inside.</div> <div> This procedure is full size practise so it is to scale,it actually adds more than 50 per cent extra strength and makes the structure much more rigid.</div> <div> Give it a try on your next balsa stick type model.</div> <bR> <div>                            _____________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> T ools & plastics for model building.</div> <bR> <div> There are many different plastics in use for model building all with their own uses,this listing is far from exhaustive but gives a cross section as a guide-</div> <bR> <div> High impact polystyrene-This is the material that most plastic kits are made from,versatile,easy to work,easy to bond with ethyl keytone based polystyrene adhesives.</div> <bR> <div> Plastikard sheet-Trade name for a material developed by Slaters,available in many different sizes,sheets,strip and rod,very useful for scratch builders or for modifications to basic kits.</div> <bR> <div> Clear acrylic sheet-Available from DIY shops,modern substitute for perspex which has many uses in model building,comes with protective membrane which is best left intact until the material has been cut to shape,can be moulded.</div> <bR> <div> Sources of clear sheet (various types)-gift boxes,perfumery boxes,florists boxes.</div> <bR> <div> Paxolin-Brown composition material ideal for use with engine mounting plates,can be sawn and sanded but wear a mask as the dust is dangerous and should not be inhaled.</div> <bR> <div> Blue foam-Builders supply insulation foam,makes ideal patterns for use with mouldings,can also be used to make major parts that need to be lightweight.</div> <div> Main drawback is that you need to buy big sheets,well you do around here !</div> <div> Can be sanded with Surform,Tungston carbide blocks,Permagrit tools.</div> <div> Easily sealed with PVA adhesives thinned down 50 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> White foam-Popular for use in making foam wings and fuselage sections that are then covered in thin Obeche veneer or even balsa sheet.</div> <bR> <div> Depren-Toughened surface foam,ideal for use on lightweight models,good sources of supply are meat plates,pizza trays etc use aliphaetic resin adhesives to stick together. </div> <div>                                          ____________________________________</div> <bR> <div> BOHLER MINITOOL 12 VOLT BELT SANDER.</div> <bR> <div> This miniature belt sander is just ideal for model building,it runs off a 12 volt transformer and has an adjustable sanding belt that is so easy to replace,this indespensible piece of kit will find a good home in every modellers tool box.</div> <div> The sander is easily held in your hand and will sand beautifully woods,plastic and other materials,here is one in use-</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="756c57c0.jpg" border=0 width="709" height="636" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Miniature sander in action.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="75810a10.jpg" border=0 width="528" height="673" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> This versatile tool is ideal for model building,here a fuselage has been shaped using the sander to finish it off nicely.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="75ac5280.jpg" border=0 width="453" height="552" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> The modellers dream,at last a small sander that does a great job.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="75cd84c0.jpg" border=0 width="472" height="332" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> The simple but effective belt expander works with one allen screw,it runs like silk.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="75ebe8b0.jpg" border=0 width="446" height="395" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> The single action allen screw which adjusts the belt.</div> <bR> <div>    _______________________________________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div>   BOHLER 12 Volt SWORD SAW.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="b69ff7a0.jpg" border=0 width="511" height="378" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> This is the revolutionery Bohler Sword saw,a hand held miniature sabre saw that really does the job it was intended for,the compact unit runs from a 12Volt DC power supply,also included at extra cost in the range of model makers power tools.</div> <div> My first impression was why had a similar tool to this not been tackled before ? probably because the retail cost would have been too high,at around £49.99 this represents exceptional value for money.The first thing that I wanted to look at was the actual blade,or should I say blades because two blades one with the teeth in opposite direction are fed side by side into the chuck,these are locked with two small screws,the blades are prevented from splaying with a brass collet,the idea is simple but it works very well,here is a view of the blades in situ-</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b6bab470.jpg" border=0 width="427" height="583" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Make no mistake the potential of this tool is beyond even my expectations,and I could not wait to get ripping through some material ! firstly I attacked frehand a piece of quarter inch thick balsa,firstly starting with a pilot hole I then inserted the blade set it into motion,and before long was cutting circles and shapes of all sizes,just brilliant for internal holes of any shape,the potential of awkward access would really test this tool.</div> <div> Next job was to try it on a piece of thin plywood,this is what I achieved within minutes-</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b6db7a30.jpg" border=0 width="439" height="419" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> It ripped through the ply like butter.</div> <div> Now for a test on plastic,for this application it recommends the use of some agent,I just used a dab of liquid soap on the blade and it happily took on the aperture on a plastic model cockpit opening.</div> <div> To protect the blade when not in use there is a simple push fit cap,here it s-</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b6f664c0.jpg" border=0 width="358" height="588" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Well every serious modeller should have one of these in his or her kit,you will continue to find jobs for it to tackle,it saves a lot of time especially drilling pilot holes for conventional tools,never before has the modeller been given such a wonderful choice of small power tools,look after them and they will serve you well,put one of these on your wish list for your birthday,you will not regret the investment.</div> <bR> <div> Notice to distributors,manufacturers etc,if you have a model orientated tool that you would like reviewed here then contact the webmaster.   _________________________________________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> BUILDING JIGS.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="cfa1da10.jpg" border=0 width="541" height="417" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Building jig designed by John Adams of Aeroclub,this clever jig especially useful for biplane models was announced at the ipms Telford show 2005.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="e6630a10.jpg" border=0 width="560" height="673" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="e6832af0.jpg" border=0 width="562" height="431" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Parts being built up for an Avro Lancaster bomber.Everything is made from balsa wood and ply.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="f3496d30.jpg" border=0 width="662" height="467" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Effects of wing with and without any washout built in.</div> <div>  </div> <div> <I><B>BUILDING SOLID MODELS.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Here are a selection of basic wooden blanks created from 3-view drawings for solid models.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="16f4890d0.jpg" border=0 width="649" height="525" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Abrams Explorer</B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="16f689b20.jpg" border=0 width="649" height="434" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Blanks laid out for the Abrams Explorer</B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="16f88abb0.jpg" border=0 width="650" height="443" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Caudron Typhoon parts laid out with plan</B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="16fa89970.jpg" border=0 width="649" height="407" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Basswood parts for the Caudron Typhoon laid out all ready for carving</B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="16fc8b430.jpg" border=0 width="651" height="835" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Heston Phoenix shown with card templates,blanks and a shaped up wing</B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="16fe895e0.jpg" border=0 width="649" height="350" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Graingers plans for the Heston Phoenix laid out alongside the solid model blanks</B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="170088f00.jpg" border=0 width="648" height="496" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Reid & Sigrist Snargasher,showing old Aeromodeller drawings and blanks,the fuselage in this case is hard balsa,note the pre cracked unusual outer dihedral wing</B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="170288bc0.jpg" border=0 width="648" height="444" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>It is all about Esoteric model making,where else could you find such unusual subject matter ?</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>