davId dulaITIs, a frequent contributor
to the Control Line (CL) Scale column, has
moved from Chipley FL to Sun City Center
FL, and is back to building Scale models.
He has also joined the Tampa Bay Line
Flyers CL club. Members fly every Sunday
at the club field in St. Petersburg FL.
The group is short on Scale modelers,
but David hopes that his membership and
many CL Scale models will help promote
Scale building within the club. David sent
photos and information about the canopy
construction of his latest project—a Focke-
Wulf Fw 189 Uhu.
Jane’s Encyclopedia of Aviation tells
that the Uhu was produced and in service
between 1940 and 1944, and was used for
short-range reconnaissance. Armament was
four 7.9mm machine guns and two to four
50 kg bombs.
More than 800 Uhus were built; a
number of them were made for special
purposes, including radio training,
communications, and evacuation of
wounded. The extensive use of glazing on
the pilot’s cockpit and on the nacelle
between the twin tailbooms provided
excellent vision for the airplane’s crew.
David’s model is one-inch = one-foot
scale, with a wingspan of 60 inches, is
powered with two Fox .15 RC engines, and
weighs 4.2 pounds. David is one of those
rare Scale modelers who likes to build his
models on the light side. The only
operating feature is the throttle, which is
controlled via a standard three-line
bellcrank system.
David tells me the canopies were made
in four pieces. His first step was to make
the male molds and vacuum-form the major
sections of the canopies.
According to David, the glazing framing
was easy to make. For the thin framing, he
laid several pieces of suitable-length
striping tape on a sheet of light cardboard
and spray-painted them with the appropriate
color. Once it was dry, the tape was cut to
proper length and put in place.
For the heavier framework, David spraypainted
a sheet of cardstock. When it was
dry, he cut out the framing pieces and glued
them in place with canopy glue. After
David completed the canopies, he sprayed
on clear Krylon® to seal them.
David has other projects in the works,
and he will tell about them when he’s
finished.
Kits from the past that were suitable for
building CL Sport and Precision Scale
models are available again. Once imported
March 2001 131
CONTROL LINE SCALE
Bill Boss, 77-06 269th St., New Hyde Park NY 11040
Eric Olson’s 1⁄2A Grumman F6F Hellcat placed first in Stand-Off
Scale at 2000 Wisconsin Stunt and Scale Championships.
David Dulaitis’s scratch-built Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu has two Fox .15 RC engines, is
one-inch = one-foot scale, has a 60-inch wingspan, weighs 41⁄2 pounds.
Charlie Bauer and his scratch-built P-82 Twin Mustang. It has
two .25 engines, weighs 71⁄2 pounds, and spans 80 inches.
by Royal, they are now “Marutaka” kits
from The Hobby Barn (Box 17856, Tucson
AZ 85731).
The kits are sold for RC use, but it
wouldn’t take much to convert them to CL.
The only installation required is a standard
three-line bellcrank system, or servos for
use with one of the electronic systems.
Models of civilian airplanes and many
great fighters and bombers of World War II
are also available. Most of these kits have
wingspans of 60 to approximately 72
inches—the right size for CL Scale models—
and are designed for .45 to .60 engines.
There is a listing of more than three
dozen kits on The Hobby Barn Web site
(http://hobbybarn.com/airplanes_marutaka_
kits.htm).
The kits are all-balsa (no fiberglass), and
are listed by name, scale size, wingspan, and
engine size. Some kits come with aluminum
spun cowls. The price of each is shown by its
listing. Retractable landing gear is available
for the airplanes that require them.
The Hobby Barn doesn’t handle parts for
Marutaka kits or sell the kit plans separately.
The Web site also has listings of
retracts, wheels, control linkages, engine
mounts, and general accessories.
The availability of these kits provides
the Scale newcomer (and some old-timers)
with a wider selection of projects.
Workshop Hints: The following was in the
Indy Sportliners newsletter, but originated
in Plane Talk (Charles Brooks, editor).
If you’re using fiberglass cloth and
epoxy for strengthening the center-section
of a wing and you want the task to be
easier, consider this procedure.
Apply fiberglass cloth to the center of a
wing, tacking it down with CyA
(cyanoacrylate) glue, then put the epoxy
mixture on the cloth and work it in. Apply a
strip of clear kitchen wrap over the freshlyapplied
epoxy. Smooth out the epoxy with
your fingers, removing all wrinkles.
The wrap not only helps smooth the
epoxy, but also helps keep your fingers
away from the epoxy.
Wipe off excess epoxy at the cloth edges
with a paper towel. Leave the wrap in place
until the epoxy has cured, then remove it.
The resultant center joint should have less
bumps, wrinkles, etc., and require less
sanding during the finishing process.
simple Weathering: In a recent NASA
(National Association of Scale
Aeromodelers) newsletter, Roy
Vaillancourt wrote about some simple
weathering techniques.
He noted that after you’ve finished your
latest warbird, stepped back to admire it,
and looked at it with a real objective eye,
you probably noticed that it looked too
clean and new.
It needed to look more like the old
combat machine you intended it to be; it
needed a little dirt and some oil stains,
weathering, engine and gun exhaust, and
dirt smears on all the panel lines.
To get some of these effects, obtain gray
chalk from your local art-supply store. This
chalk is known to artists as a “pastel.” It
looks and feels a bit like a crayon—kind of
waxy and chalky at the same time.
Put the pastel on with your finger at
each vertical and spanwise panel line.
Then take a soft rag and start at the panel
line, drawing the pastel toward the rear
of the model. Only work from the front
to the back.
As you draw the pastel toward the rear,
it will smear and thin out at the same time.
Keep working it this way until it looks like
you have an old oil smear on the surface—
very faint at the rear and pronounced
slightly at the panel line—but only on the
rear side. The front side of the panel should
look relatively clean.
If you don’t like the results, you can
remove the pastel with soap and water. The
weathering is done by most builders before
the clear coat is applied. Roy does not use
clear coat, but touches his model up from
time to time as it ages naturally.
Give the pastel a try. It won’t hurt the
paint and, and you can wash it off easily if
you don’t like the results.
Contest activity: Art Weber (Brookfield
WI) reports that the Circlemasters Flying
Club had a successful 2000 Wisconsin State
Stunt and Scale Championships contest
June 18. The weather was fine, with
minimal wind—a sunny day that made for
great Scale-model flying.
First place in Stand-Off Scale went to
Charlie Bauer, who flew an 80-inch P-82
Twin Mustang using electronic throttle
control. Second place went to Art Weber,
flying his 72-inch Citabria with three-line
control. Third place went to Dan Tetzlaff
with a 76-inch PBY-6A.
(Dan flew his 22-year-old Boeing B-
50D to a sixth place finish in the 2000
National Championships.)
Dan also won Profile Scale, flying a 40-
inch S.E.5 with a three-line throttle control.
In second place, Charlie Bauer flew his
original 74-inch Boomerang using
electronic throttle control. Third place went
to Art Weber, who flew his original-design
B-24 Liberator.
The Junior Stand-Off Scale award went
to Eric Olson, who flew a 36-inch
Grumman F6F Hellcat equipped with a 1⁄2A
engine. It weighed two pounds, and had
two-line control.
Charlie Bauer also provided the Scale
modelers and spectators with a
demonstration flight of his extraordinary
CL turbine-powered jet. Art Weber noted in
his report that the model flew Charlie great!
Thanks to Don Adriano and Jim Neilsen
for their efforts as judges of the contest.
Watch this column for the date of the
Circlemasters 2001 contest.
please send ideas, notice of upcoming CL
Scale events, contest reports, and photos of
CL Scale activity to me at the address at the
top of this column. MA
132 M ODEL AVIATION
