So I've been dabbling with the "dark side" again. Yes, radio control, but at least it is a balsa and tissue model - 36" span and very "free flight like". I won't say any more, just show you some pictures instead.
It's a lovely, beautifully laser-cut kit available from Sig/Herr direct. Exceptional value for money, especially wood bag and plan.
2 comments:
Hi Chuck, hope you are well and healthy, greetings from Sacramento, California, which is currently inundated with ash from the several fires burning in the north state, but I digress. I built balsa models in my youth and have started again, and I have a newbie question for you. When covering the parts, there is a nuance I don't fully understand: how the edges get covered. I suppose there are a few techniques. How do you do it? - the covering on your Starlite is seamless. I found your blog because I'm in the process of building a Starlite. cheers, -Eric Janssen
Hi Eric, I've heard about the fires and hope they resolve soon. I use either watered down pva glue, or glue stick like this: cut a slice off the glue stick, put it in a bottle top, add a few drops of water, and use a brush to swill it about and make a gloopy paste out of the glue stick. Watered down pva is stronger and also applied with a brush. The glue stick is easier to remove if you want to later. For wings, I cover the underside first. In your mind, break down the whole job into convenient panels and think about which way you want the tissue grain to run. After cutting out a piece of tissue slightly larger than what you need for the covering job, I brush the glue on to one part of the airframe and stick the tissue to it immediately. Then I work down the airframe, brushing glue on, sticking tissue down, stretching it gently, and smoothing the edges and bonds with my fingers. Trim the tissue so that it has a 5mm overlap around the edges, which are then wet with glue and smoothed down with fingers. When you cover the other side, then another 5mm overlap is smoothed over the previous layer, creating a seamless looking edge. Set it aside to dry, then normally I mist it with water from a spray bottle, not saturating, it but just moistening. It puckers up then stretches out as it dries. So it's important to weight down the piece as it dries, to prevent warps. Thereafter, traditionally, it's 2 coats of "dope" brushed on. I used to use "non-shrinking" dope, which despite the name, does shrink a little and I always diluted it with cellulose thinners. However, I'm off the dope now! I've been experimenting with water based varnish diluted down with water, which seems to be pretty good so far and is better for my health! For as long as I remember, there has been a debate about how much of the airframe to glue. For an under cambered wing, I'd glue the tissue to the entire wing on its underside, (otherwise it can come off). Best advice I can give is try it out and see!
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