FHHuber

A building board that you don't mind stiking pins in. Needs to be FLAT. The straighter the building surface, the straighter the aircraft turns out.

A razor knife similar to the Exacto brand iknife which is made for the #11 blade. (appx 3/8 in dia aluminum handle)

A hand drill or small power drill with bits rom 1/16 to 1/4 in in 1/16 increments

Sandpaper (100 to 280 grit assortment package for general use... 400 grit for fine sanding some places just prior to covering)

Hack saw blade with 4 inches tape wrapped for a handle.

Pins

Waxed paper or transparent plastic sheeting to protect the plans while building (and keep the plans from being glued to the model...)

Assorted glues. Mostly yellw carpenter's glue, with epoxy for high load joints and CA for some places needing a quick secure bond, and the CA type hinges. (but the yellow glue EASILLY replaces the CA for 90% of where kits now call for the expensive CA stuff.)

Helps to have several clothes pins (spring type) and rubber bands.

That's the BASIC construction tools. And you can get to the point of putting on the covering on most beginner level kits with that.

If Monokote covering... an inexpensive travel iron is all I ever used untill last year. (20 years of doing MonoKote.) I use either a razor knife or scissors for cutting the covering. (mostly the knife...)

Notes:

Epoxy is heavy. Learn to apply it sparingly except on the firewall joints.

CA hinges need THIN CA. Medium or thick leads to problems and early hinge failure. The cheaper and thinner, the better my results have been.

digger.10

In addition to the fine assortment recommended by fh, I might add a set of small files in various shapes. A sanding block for the sandpaper, helps in keeping things straight. A small square, and an assortment of hand tools (pliers, screwdrivers, etc. Also, make sure you have a clean, uncluttered, well lit and ventilated space to work in, makes a great deal of difference.

I have never used anything other than a clothes iron for plastic covering, works just fine, a little heavy, though. A warmed up but not too hot soldering iron gets the tight spots real good.

00hex

Single edge razor blades (the rectangular ones) are great for cutting balsa, although they don't stay sharp for very long.

A ceiling tile makes a good (but cheap) building board. You can stick pins in it to hold things in place. You will need something nice and flat under it though. Keep in mind that the tile may be thin enough for the pins to go through to what's underneath.

Needle-nose pliers and small screwdrivers are the best kind. Regular ones are just fine, but small ones work better. There often isn't very much room inside the plane.

Masking tape is also useful.

FHHuber

Yellow glue isn't that slow.... I can build a 4*40 in one week easilly using the yellow glue. If I really push... I could complete a 4*40 in 3 days without using CA anywhere except on the hinges.

Yes, the Yellow stuff takes a couple of hours to set, and 10 to 20 hours before its full strength. But I find very few places when building that I would want a faster setting glue.

digger.10

Is that the Titebond II, fh? Very good stuff, although my patience in building dosen't "run" that far...

FHHuber

Pins, clothespins, tape and rubber bands. I dont sit around and hold anything. (and a neat set of mini spring clamps I found at Wal-Mart ... and can't find a second set of... )