70 M ODEL AVIATION
LaSt Month I detailed Bill Schmidt’s
method of creating model-airplane
decorations using clear tape and a
photocopier.
After submitting that column, I was
trimming some areas on my current project
with UltraCote plus™ when I started
wondering if that material might take and
hold images from a copier.
I’ve tried it, and it does!
UltraCote plus™ is sticky-backed, and is
intended for use as a trim material—not for
covering. The advantages of using it for copier
graphics are that the release paper is already on
its back and the material is available in many
colors, including clear (#817).
The technique is essentially the same as
Bill’s tape-transfer system.
Place the original artwork on the plenum
to center it on a positioning copy. Cut a
D.B. Mathews
F l y i n g f o r F u n
909 N. Maize Rd., Townhouse 734, Wichita KS 67212
A color logo from a magazine ad was photocopied onto white UltraCote plus™ with a
protective overcoat of clear tape. The model is the Sig R/C Rascal.
Interior of the Rascal’s cabin, darkened with black ink to add depth and realism.
section of UltraCote plus™ from the roll to
cover the copy, then tape it to the perimeter
with Scotch™ tape.
Run the sandwich of copy and UltraCote
plus™ (on its backing) through the side port
of the copier, then cover the image with
tape, to prevent smearing.
Trim the artwork to the desired size, peel
the backing off, and adhere it to the model
via the built-in adhesive.
Use UltraCote plus™—not regular
UltraCote®; the copier does warm the
material to which it is transferring copy.
The heat would likely curl the edges as the
copy was being transferred, and heat
would have to be used to apply regular
UltraCote® to the model.
The ability to create larger images with
UltraCote plus™ than is possible with tape
and the wide variety of background colors
available is most exciting. The same
technique works well with a color copier, so
a very wide range can be created.
Although I haven’t tried the technique
using trim MonoKote®, the same methods
will most likely work with it.
Consider some of the possibilities.
Say your kit came with black stick-on
decorations and you want to cover the
model in deep blue. You have a
problem, but why not transfer these
black images onto a white background or
print them in yellow on transparent
UltraCote® using a color copier?
You could do this by placing tracing
paper over the black letters, and outlining
with a black Sharpie® along the outside
edges using a straightedge.
Running this outline drawing through
the copier onto yellow UltraCote plus™
would produce yellow letters with black
outlines.
Utilizing a copier’s ability to enlarge
or reduce originals, numerals and
graphics from any number of sources
can be duplicated in a wide variety of
sizes and colors.
I tested the sample shown in the photo at
Kinko’s on a Canon color copier. A couple
things proved helpful when I was creating
color copies on UltraCote plus™.
A clearer and deeper print was created
when I used the “Heavy Card Stock”
setting, and it is possible to print a page full
of small originals, but I’d ask for help
before trying this step.
The possibilities are limitless; just let
your imagination go, and please send photos.
Cockpit Interiors: Ever notice how “blah”
cabin-type models’ cockpits look after
May 2001 71
covering? The clear windows look in on
balsa and plywood, which is colorless and
adds no visual depth.
I’m currently building two Sig R/C
Rascals for a product review for another
magazine. The Sig people suggest cutting
pieces of black paper to size and gluing
them to the exposed wood areas inside the
cockpit, to create a sense of depth.
Although that is a very good idea, I
stumbled onto a simpler and lighter
solution. Using a permanent marking pen,
such as a Sanford® Sharpie® fine-point, the
surfaces of all the parts that show through
the windows can be “painted” black (or
gray, for that matter).
Since the ink will adhere to plastic-film
covering, the windowsills and edges of
exposed covering can also be “painted.”
The results are well worth the small
effort involved, as you can see in the photo.
The black Sharpie® creates a flat-black
interior, and can be touched up after
assembly if necessary.
This technique could also be used to
color the area that a bubble canopy will
enclose on a sport model. However, the
ink is not fuelproof, so don’t use it in
areas exposed to fuel.
Try this on your next cabin model;
you’ll be pleased with its simplicity and
with the results.
Windscreen Patterns: As do most kits, the
Rascal includes thin paper patterns to use to
cut the windows from clear plastic sheet.
Sig suggests adhering the pattern to the
plastic with a thin spray of 3M™
Sprayment™, then cutting it out. The
adhesive residue can be removed from the
plastic with denatured alcohol.
It’s a workable technique, but it’s rather
messy and the thin paper pattern is too flexible
to adequately trial-fit it against the opening.
Instead, adhere the pattern to a section of
poster board, cut the pattern out, then trialfit
it. If it is off a bit, sand it to fit. When
satisfied, Sprayment™ a section of the clear
plastic to the other side of the poster board,
and use this as a cutting pattern.
The pattern made from Lite Ply, used to cut out the center of the white UltraCote®. The
Rascal’s precovered open framework is in the background.
The completed Rascal. This trim method can be used for many other covering projects.
Canopy glue is also excellent for
adhering exterior details to small rubber
and Electric models. Its flexibility is
very useful when attaching wing struts,
dummy engines, steps, etc.; they will
stay in place during encounters that
would knock them off if they were
attached with other adhesives.
how’d they Cover That? The first thing
one might notice in the ads for the R/C
Rascal is the beauty of the transparent
colored covering surrounded by stark
opaque white.
This is not done with spray paint and
masking tape, as I used on the Coronet 150
(10/88 MA) and the Clipper Junior (7⁄86
MA). It is accomplished by covering the
open frame areas with UltraCote Lite™,
then cutting out the center of the opaque
covering using a pattern.
Sig recommends cutting patterns for
the wing and fuselage from Lite Ply,
then adhering it to the opaque covering
section with Sprayment™.
Being lazy, I cut the patterns from the
plans, adhered them to Lite Ply with
Sprayment™, then cut them out. I placed
the pattern on the opaque covering material
that had been cut well oversize, and nailed it
down on a hardwood surface.
I made the cutouts with a hobby blade
held at a slightly divergent angle from the
pattern. This would not work on the Celotex
ceiling tile I use for a building surface; the
Celotex gave too much and allowed the
knife blade to wander.
Once the center cutout has been made,
the opaque covering is positioned to align
with the uncovered areas and adhered,
with an iron set on low, along the edges of
the transparent material.
Then the panel is sealed along its outside
edges, the temperature of the iron is
This pattern provides the advantage of
fitting perfectly and providing enough
thickness and body to guide the knife
blade along its outlines.
I prefer to adhere windows and canopies
to the model with one of the canopy glues
(R/C 56, etc.); they are water soluble before
setting, which makes slops easier to clean,
and they remain flexible when set.
The R/C Rascal has rather clever
windowsills that are created by designing
the 1⁄64 plywood interior doubler slightly
larger than the window cutouts in the balsa.
Although the clear plastic is much thinner
than 1⁄16, the treatment looks really nice.
A thin bead of canopy glue is run along
the sill with a toothpick, and the clear plastic
is held in place with small sections of
masking tape while the adhesive cures.
This technique could very easily be
adapted to most any cabin-type model. Try
it; you’re going to like it.
May 2001 73
increased, and it is followed along the
sealing edges with a soft cloth.
If any bubbles emerge when you are
adhering the second layer to the first, pick
small holes in the bubble with a pin to
allow the trapped air to escape, then run
the hot covering iron over the area.
This all sounds a bit intimidating, but is
actually not that difficult. Start on the
bottom of the wing to get used to the
technique. Do the fuselage in the same
manner. Remember that the patterns are
flipped over to create a left and a right.
I experienced some difficulty with the
UltraCote Lite™ trying to pull loose when
the opaque was shrunk. To solve that
problem, extend the material roughly 1/2
inch outside the structural cut out and
press it down tightly with a soft rag.
The horizontal and vertical fins were
outlined with UltraCote plus™ since
they are quite thin and delicate, and
would be difficult to iron onto the
underlying material.
UltraCote plus™ can be slid around
on a soap/water film to position it, then
squeegeed with a scrap of wood or a
credit card. Once the water is removed,
UltraCote plus™ can be sealed along its
edges with an iron. It will not shrink
much, so don’t count on it.
The patterns for the tail assembly were
created with an adjustable french curve
and a pencil on poster board, which was
then “nailed” to the material and cut out.
If you don’t have an adjustable french
curve, a length of solder curved to the
desired outline will work.
help! Lou Buffardi, 698 Tufts Ave. F.,
Port Orchard WA 98366, is searching
for historical information about the CZ
ceramic solid models, mentioned
recently in this column, and many other
obscure model companies from the
1930s and 1940s.
Lou edits the journal of Kits and Plans
Antiquitous (KAPA). Contact him with a
self-addressed stamped envelope for
details or subscriptions.
All US civil aircraft were required by
the Cargo Airline Association/Federal
Aviation Administration to display “N”
numbers on their wings and tails until
1964. What was the standard font?
Some versions of Helvetica and Gothic
type look close, but they aren’t exactly it.
Does anyone out there know the answer?
hopefully this month’s column will
provide you with something useful in your
pursuit of flying for fun. MA
