RADIO CONTROL GIANTS
John A. de Vries, 4610 Moffat Lane, Colorado Springs, CO 80915
You must admit that building and flying Giant Scale models can run into money. There are, however, tricks of the trade that can keep the cost of a gorgeous model within limits. While the price of big-ticket items such as the radio, the engine, and maybe a set of retracts can't be avoided, there are some downright inexpensive items that can save you a buck or two.
I'll start with the covering applied to wing foam cores. Sheet balsa or 1/4-inch plywood are the preferred materials. Coated poster board, however, is much cheaper, and it's even available in discount drug stores. Used shiny side out, it accepts paint well and adds considerable strength to wing cores. It does take a gentle hand and very fine sandpaper to thin it at trailing edges, but the usual glues used for balsa and plywood work just fine with poster board. It is a tad heavy, but not onerously so.
The second material is also rather inexpensive, but it's much harder to locate: ribbed butcher's paper. It's ribbed only on one side; the other side is usually coated, but not with wax. Applied to the ribs spanwise on an open wing structure, it won't dish between ribs, so you get a good airfoil. Ribbed butcher's paper held up wonderfully on my first successful proportionally controlled RC model, a deBolt Jenny.
Other coated butcher paper, usually white, may also be used as a covering material. Assuming again that the coating isn't wax, it too will accept paint. Caution: make sure the butcher paper covering is tight as you apply it. There's no way to tighten it after it's glued (clear doped) in place.
Since I'm pretty well involved with wings, it might be a good idea to consider foam core for wing ribs. Of course, it can't be used for ribs that must sustain stresses, such as landing gear, aileron servo, or strut attachment points. But it's ideal for most of the interim ribs in a built-up wing.
Foam core comes in big sheets of varying thicknesses, ideal for the long-chord wing ribs to which Giant Scale modelers are addicted. Foam core can also be used for fuselage formers, again with the proviso that they are not placed where a former must absorb stress. You can get foam core at:
- lumber yards (it's used for insulation),
- artist supply stores,
- some model hobby shops.
Painting your Giant Scale model
Those acres of surface can drink up a bunch of paint. If your model is powered by a gas burner (chain saw, leaf blower, etc.), it doesn't need fuel-proofing.
Many modelers have found that Krylon or Rust-Oleum spray cans (available practically everywhere) provide great yet inexpensive paint jobs. The array of available colors is rather extensive. If you're matching a scale color, however, you may be out of luck with the enamel spray cans.
Providing a suitable base for a model paint job is where you may save a few pence—if you choose to use nitrate dope. It's much less expensive than more exotic dopes and paint. It does have a couple of advantages that are often overlooked. First: practically any paint (including fuel-proof butyrates) can be used over nitrate dope. Second: while many of the primers used for painting models have fillers, it's hard to beat the old nitrate-dope-and-talcum-powder filler/primer coat. One coat usually fills fiberglass and sands as smooth as a baby's posterior.
There is, of course, Dick Phillips' inexpensive method for filling the pores in cloth-covered giant models, such as silk or Dacron. A single coat of unflavored (and uncolored) Knox gelatin in water brushed on the tightened fabric will fill the spaces, providing a base for a super paint job. The gelatin coat prevents interior paint runs by air-proofing the covering material. Remember: only one coat.
Still on the painting kick, I recommend Perfect Paint to camouflage your warbird. Why? Because it usually covers in a single coat; a second coat may be overdoing it. Even unthinned, it goes a long way with great covering power. A few quarts of Perfect Paint will do a job that usually would require gallons.
If the model you're considering follows the traditional longerons-and-uprights method of construction, there's a way to save a balsa or spruce. Take a lead from Lou Proctor's models and consider using fishing monofilament as cross-bracing between former bays or uprights. An "X" of 20- or 30-pound-test line drawn taut and glued between uprights will substantially strengthen a stick-built structure at very low cost.
A thin channel filed in the top and bottom of each upright allows you to run a couple of continuous strands of monofilament from nose to tail for a super-strong fuselage. It can also be used between spars/ribs in a built-up wing, duplicating the internal wing bracing of full-scale aircraft.
If your model needs glazed windows, a cheap source of transparent material is readily available in the blister packs that hold a whole bunch of items. You may have to sort through many packs to find enough window "glass" for your model, but it's free. Speaking of packaging, it's a shame that L'eggs are no longer sold in their traditional egg-shaped plastic cartons. The tops were really nifty prop spinners after you turned a suitably sized metal backplate for them.
If you can find any of the old L'eggs cartons and have a friend with a metalworking lathe, there are a bunch of scale models that can use the inexpensive spinners. There are many plastic packaging materials that can be adapted to many scale model shapes. It only takes a bit of searching for the right shape for "free" scale details.
One final handy hint that isn't necessarily a money saver but is a labor-saver: consider using very fine steel wool when painting your fiberglass fuselage. Minimal sanding provides a nap that holds paint particularly well. Use it before and after your primer for fiberglass casting to provide a good painting surface. It can be used on the finish coats of paint, before adding decals or details, to give a semi-matte finish.
If you're a bit tired of seeing the "eternal Cubs" on your model flightline, take heart. Jolly Olde England's Dennis Bryant has come to the rescue with a scale model that should overcome the Cub Syndrome in spades.
Construction will be a bit more difficult than the usual high-wing monoplane, but Dennis' latest plan set is for a 96-inch-span Fieseler Storch. Drawn to 1/6 scale, the Storch has all the bumps and air scoops in the right (scale) places.
I received a set of the Storch plans by Bob Holman, and they're absolutely gorgeous. They even include a camouflage painting diagram. Bob will probably offer a fiberglass cowl for the model and maybe wing rib sets and/or a complete kit. If you have the hots for a true STOL model, contact Bob at P.O. Box 740, San Bernardino, CA 92402. The drawings are a reasonable $5, plus $5 postage and handling.
There's nothing like being overcome by events, which is what happened to me. I was all set to describe how to construct some nifty aluminum piano hinges based on Curvin Eisenhart's neat method when Jerry Nelson sent a copy of his latest newsletter. In it, Jerry notes that he has ready-made aluminum piano hinges for sale.
They are 3/4-inch wide, .032-inch thick, and come in 12-, 24-, and 36-inch lengths. Prices are:
- 12-inch hinges: $3.25 a pair
- Two 24-inch lengths: $6.00
- Pair of 36-inch (yard-long) hinges: $9.00
Add to the hinges the 1/16-inch aluminum rivets Jerry also sells, and you can go full-scale metal construction for functional scale panels with minimum labor.
The address: Nelson Aircraft Co., 21550 NW Nicholas Ct., Unit D, Hillsboro, OR 97124; Tel.: (503) 629-5277.
Another neat note: Jerry offers IMAA and GSAA members a 10% discount on all his products — including his outstanding System Three paints.
An interesting videotape arrived in the mail, and while it's not directly involved with Giant Scale (only the last segment is concerned with RC scale), it details several events of the 1992 Nationals — everything from Indoor to Control Line Speed. The tape is broadcast quality, well edited with original music added. Alan Abriss is the producer and the source of the two-hour tape. Write to Alan at Homegrown Television Production, 94-20 66th Ave., Forest Hills, NY 11374; the price is $25 plus $4 postage and handling.
Hope all of you are having a most pleasant and successful Giant Scale flying season!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
