nfi
New Member
Posts: 7
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Post by nfi on Sept 10, 2009 7:58:13 GMT -5
Hello,
I'm about to start covering my fully completed Andy Conway Tornado (many thanks to him for his help while building it) but I'm rubbish at covering and I was hoping for some advice...
I'm going to cover it with good, trusty old Solarfilm, which is great for flat areas, but goes all pear-shaped when I try to make it go around curves. In particular, how should I approach covering the nose cone?
As an aside, I've taken pictures of practically every stage of the build and I noticed somebody asking for build pictures in another thread, so if you'd like them uploaded or emailed, let me know and I'll do my best.
Thanks for any help,
Paul
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Post by Phil Cooke on Sept 10, 2009 18:14:01 GMT -5
Hi Paul. Covering nose cones on pointy PSS models is always a little challenging, but with the right method it is poss to get a perfect finish with materials like solarfilm or 'tex. There are a few points to get right. First, you need to cover in manageable panels. Usually on pointy models like your F3, this means left side, right side, top and bottom, each running from the tip of the nose to say, the rear of the canopy. Cut your panels well oversize. allow at least 6" on the width of your quarter panel. This is important, as to get a good finish around the nose you need sufficient material to pull around the contours whilst you are applying heat with the iron. Start with the bottom. Overlay the panel in the correct spot and iron the material down firm in a flatter region, around the front wheel bay on your F3. It will be flat there. This is your anchor point. Now iron a path forwards along the centreline, moving out each way to the radius on the bottom of your fuselage. As you approach the nose, and things get rounder, pull the material around the side and forward into the shape you need locally whilst ironing it bit by bit. It helps if the iron is hot, so that the material conforms, but be careful not to burn it! Its a case of pull, iron, pull, iron, each time ensuring you dont get creases. Nibble at it like this until the bottom of the nose is covered and smooth. Once you have covered the bottom quarter of the nose cut off the excess in a smooth line and iron it down flat. Repeat this for the top quarter. Then repeat again for the 2 sides. Remember to keep your panels cut big to get the purchase when handling. You will need to iron around until you have got say 1/4 inch overlap, then again cut off smoothly and iron down. This sounds laborious, but if the iron is at the correct temp and you give yourself enough material to work with, so you can pull it into conformity, you will get a good finish!!! Sometimes the hardest part is holding the model secure when you are ironing and pulling the material... it can be a 3 handed job!! Good luck, I look forward to seeing the results!!  What colourscheme have you chosen for your F3 then??? |
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Post by Phil Cooke on Sept 10, 2009 18:25:33 GMT -5
Hawk is another example of a tough nose to cover, here finished in solarfilm using the 4 quarter panel method as described. Attachments:
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nfi
New Member
Posts: 7
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Post by nfi on Sept 11, 2009 2:26:06 GMT -5
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nfi
New Member
Posts: 7
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Post by nfi on Sept 11, 2009 2:49:17 GMT -5
I see model weight is a real issue people tend to talk about on this forum (which is probably an obvious concern, I suppose).
I reckon my Tornado is going be between 39oz-42oz once it's covered (that's about 1.1kg-1.2kg in European) - is that heavy?
Paul
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Post by Phil Cooke on Sept 14, 2009 14:51:32 GMT -5
Hi Paul,
1.2 kg or 2.5 lbs is the flying weight shown on the plan, so no, I would not suggest this is heavy. I have seen them built slightly lighter and heavier, the flying qualities to be honest get better as the weight goes up, as the model has more energy, but these models wont fly in the low wind speeds that the lightest ones will do.
Its not designed to be a floater, so dont worry about your weight estimate, just keep the model for the right day (15 mph winds and more)
looking forward to seeing the finished product - do send me a picture or 2 for the gallery!!!
all the best Phil
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nfi
New Member
Posts: 7
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Post by nfi on Sept 15, 2009 4:04:46 GMT -5
Hi Phil,
well, your guide for covering the nose in panels worked brilliantly and I've covered the whole airframe but for the horizontal tailplane, which is proving problematic to secure to the piano-wire properly. I'll take a picture or two tonight and email them to you...
Thanks very much,
Paul
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Post by seaking101 on Mar 2, 2010 8:33:49 GMT -5
Come on then Paul.... How is the finished article looking?? We need pics.. I will shortly be starting to cover my Hawk so I want to see how your fisrt attempts faired on the nose especially!!!
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Post by drrodericcraig on Mar 16, 2010 5:27:50 GMT -5
Hello Phil,wished I'd had your helpful advice a month ago when I was trying to cover the nose cone of my Chris Foss Middle Phase ,if one is permitted to talk about non scale models on this site! I aspire to make an Andy Conway Bae Hawk in the coming months. I was using Profilm;is that any easier to use than solarfilm?
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