Stan Alexander

BUILDING SCALE models is somewhat of a scavenger hunt at
times. You stumble across some of the best stuff in the oddest places,
some of which have nothing to do with a traditional hobby shop.
Finding books and documentation can in itself become a hobby—
especially for that
one particular World
War II or World War
I fighter that may not
have lasted for more
than a few months in
operation.
Another item I’ve been trying to find for the PA-11 is where
the inspection plates under the wing and tail surfaces need to go.
There are so many covers that it would take some time to cut all
of them to the proper size.
On a trip to a discount store, I was looking around in the
stationery section and found neat little round stickers that came in
different sizes. There are enough stickers on one sheet to take
care of at least a couple airplanes this size. And a package is less
than $2.
I have often looked at the wire clothes hangers on the
clothesline in the basement. They will make great handholds and
other small, formed parts.
The little sample spoons that Baskin-Robbins uses make great
covers for ailerons on many civil aircraft and other parts. Also
consider cigar tubes; you can make all kinds of components from
those.
You can use thinned white glue dispensed with a hypodermic
needle to make rivets, if there aren’t many. Otherwise, make a
template from a sheet of thin plastic. It needs to be bendable so
that it will go around a curved fuselage or wing. Use a drill to
punch evenly spaced holes, and apply the “rivet heads” to the
surfaces, one sheet at a time.
Let your imagination run free. You might be surprised to find
what you can do with bits and pieces from sources that are not
related to aeromodeling. Let me know what you have found to
make the little parts for your Scale model.
To further the work on my PA-11’s interior, I installed the
window on the left side. Then I cut a piece of thin balsa—1/8
worked—that measured 1/2 inch wide and approximately 81/2
inches long.
I cut the throttle arms from aluminum siding; it didn’t take
much. Then I added them to the correct places with Zap-A-Dap-
A-Goo. A flexible adhesive will let small parts wiggle slightly if
they experience vibration that could bother a solid glue joint.
After setting the throttle arms in place and the glue dried, I
found two of the sweet pea seeds that were nearly the same size. I
sanded one side of each just flat enough for a glue surface.
Then I mounted the “handle” on the throttle arm with Zap-ADap-
A-Goo glue. It makes a good, solid joint and dries quickly.
The different parts were painted and then left to dry before they
were installed.
I have given up on finding a cowl that will work; all that I see
are the wrong shape or the wrong size. However, while at
Michael’s art shop, I saw solid foam blocks that measure
approximately 81/2 inches square. They look to be the right
density for the blank material to make the cowling. I’ll take a
look at that next month.
I’m getting to the fun part of building the model: adding all the
scale details.
Around Scale: Walt Moucha has been building models for, well, a
long time. This year he has a new design: the Piper PA-25 Pawnee.
“A crop duster?” you might ask. One did win at Top Gun last year,
and many modelers have a soft spot in their hearts and minds for these
eclectic aircraft.
Walt’s newest design is powered by a Fuji 50cc gas engine and, at
1/4 scale, has a wingspan of 9 feet. So the Pawnee is a large airplane
even in the full-scale world.
If you are interested, Walt has a Web site with plans and wood kits
for sale. He has other designs available, including the Miss Los
Angeles, Piper J-3 Cub, Fokker E.III, and Bowers Fly Baby.
Upcoming Events: As I write this, I have just learned that the FAI
Team Selection will be held at the AMA Scale National Championships
this summer in Muncie IN. As I understand it, the F4B (CL Scale) and
F4C (RC Scale) classes will be contested, and the top three entries will
be selected from each category if they are US AMA members.
AMA’s support has been cut from the F4C team, and F4B will no
longer exist after the 2010 Scale World Championships. The governing
body of FAI met this past March and decided to cut F4B and other
classes from the World Championships.
Many factors seem to be attacking Scale modeling and all
competition, including cheap ARF imports and the worldwide
economy. Even airlines, which used to haul model boxes for little or
nothing, now want $2,000-$7,000 to transport a large box.
Each year, the Antique Airplane Association holds its full-scale fly-in
at a beautiful grass airfield close to Blakesburg, Iowa. This year’s
gathering is “Corporate Wings,” featuring aircraft mostly from the
1930s. The dates are September 2-7, which includes Labor Day
weekend.
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Honest thoughts about radio safety and usage logic