Mr. Hill:
The pictures tell all. Before zed-benders (as they're called in Canada) were invented this was my method of making a zed bend on a control rod. The tools are two Vise Grip 10WR's. Set the jaws to just touch while empty. My technique is to rotate each plier to start the bend and then do a "Charles Atlas" and force the two pliers together. As you can see, I overcooked it a bit, but it's easily corrected. Time required - 90 minutes, 89 to round up both Vise Grips and one to do the bend. I've also included a photo of my own TriPacer in the just precovering stage. That's a Saito .80 at the business end. Here's just a hint from my building experience. I used a brown glue. Lee Valley's 2002GF, for most of the building and it's done a beautiful job. When I did the tail feathers of my T-Rex'es I used it to join the sheeting and was faced with the difficulty that is presented by all water based adhesives - it generates a lot of warping that you must fight during the drying process. When I did the TriPacer tail feathers, I used 15 minute epoxy, then placed the part between two sheets of melamine MDF and placed a weight on top. The result was a flat-as-a-board product 15 minutes later.
BTW, I've read the entire thread and enjoyed it immensely - MegaMang is my son Mike - a chip off the old block.
Roger - I'm glad to see you back, keep up the good work. I intend to cover this with fabric and dope it. I always enjoy the reaction when I go into a fabric store and ask for some cotton and polyester that'll shrink a bit.
Stan Madore