Balsa P47 conversion

[sihinch]

That's a work of art Michael. Awesome work.

What colour scheme will you be finishing it in?

[Michael]

I haven't decided on a finish yet, but I'll have to choose soon; I have to cover the model before I can progress with the radio installation.

Photo shows radio installed in fuselage; still have to make a battery tray.

[Michael]

What colour scheme will you be finishing it in?

Thinking of this.

[Papa]

Hi Michael here are some unusual colour schemes.

[sihinch]

Love that Cuban version, Jack! Very nice.

[Michael]

I think I like Charlotte the Harlot.

[piker]

That plane looks great, Michael!  You finished it off quickly... paint and all!   

[Ededge2002]

If you put Charlotte on there no one will look at the rest of the plane!  Damn fine

[Michael]

Wow! The little stuff takes a lot of time.

I just spent about an hour-and-a-half installing tiny magnets onto the fuselage (top and bottom) halves.

They fit very well, and the top holds down firmly, but I'm done for the night.

Now I'm off to record some music. 

[Michael]

A hour-and-a-half for custom plug-in/removable landing gear.

"Gear up" for outdoor flying; "gear down" for indoor flying.

[sihinch]

Just too cool. 

[Michael]

A little more progress.

[piker]

Hey Michael, 

How are you attaching the tissue?  And what water based products are you talking about?  Water based Poly Urethane?  Does it work for planes this tiny?  If so, do you thin it?

[Michael]

At one of our last funflys, small bottles of white/canopy glue were given out as gifts.

I'm using that thinned 50-50 with water.

I carefully brush it on the balsa, and then carefully place the tissue on the structure.

It takes about an hour for each part to dry, and then I trim the excess.

I will shrink the covering with water when the components are all covered. Some parts will be pinned down during the tissue shrinking process to prevent excessive warping.

I will not be painting anything other than plastic parts, so the plane will be covered in the appropriate coloured tissue where needed.

[piker]

So no dope or anything on the open surfaces of the tissue?

If not, and the material is strong enough, I like that option.  The tissue can look so nice and silky as is, and it's always a shame (in my opinion) to have to brush on dope.