Author: L.F. Randolph
Edition: Model Aviation - 1980/02
Page Numbers: 26

Stars & Balls

Jazz up your sport model with this eye-catching insignia from the Golden Age of flying. Just follow the pictures.... — L. F. Randolph

Background

With the exception of a short period during WWI when the United States deferred to her allies with the cockade-type insignia, the Star and Ball was the way to identify U.S. military aircraft from 1917 to the beginning of WWII. During that Golden Age of aviation the white star on a blue field with a red center was often seen interspersed with the "stunt flyers" at airshows around the country as the military's way of attracting attention to their needs and their airplanes.

The Star and Ball is a good decoration for sport-type model airplanes and an easy one to construct from MonoKote. The finished product looks like a decal and is almost as easy to attach to the airplane.

Materials

  • Compass
  • Protractor
  • Straightedge (ruler)
  • Sharp razor blade or balsa knife
  • Blue MonoKote
  • White MonoKote
  • Red MonoKote (or red covering for the center disk)
  • Iron and ironing surface (for applying covering)
  • Piece of paper or cardstock for template

Making the template

  1. Use a compass to draw a circle on a piece of paper to the size of the finished insignia.
  2. Divide the circle into five equal segments with a protractor. Draw a series of radius lines 72 degrees apart around the circle.
  3. Use a straightedge to join each point (the intersection of a radius line and the circle) with two points on the opposite side of the circle. This will form the five-point star.
  4. Cut out the pie-shaped segment shown with a sharp razor blade or balsa knife. This segment becomes the template for the blue field around the star.
  5. Use the template to cut five identical segments from blue MonoKote.
  6. Cut a disk of white MonoKote to match the size of the drawn circle.

Assembly and application

  1. Place the five blue segments around the edge of the white disk to form the star and the surrounding blue field.
  2. Iron the white disk to the airplane covering (or to the covering sheet you will transfer), following the MonoKote manufacturer's instructions.
  3. Iron the five blue segments on around the white disk so that the star and blue field are fixed in place.
  4. Cut and apply the red center disk.

Size of the red center

  • The red ball in the center should have a radius equal to the distance from the center of the star to the side of the small pentagon formed by the intersecting lines when the star was drawn. This gives the correct visual proportion for the original Star and Ball motif.

Notes

  • The finished insignia resembles a decal and is simple to attach.
  • Take care when cutting and ironing MonoKote to avoid wrinkles and burned edges.

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.