OK I have a question then. I have done all the above methods but one thing still plagues me. When I take a color strip(say the red or blue wing sweeps in this picture) I tape it in place but when I apply heat from my iron on long strips it
wants to move. In some cases the ¼” overlap barely covers at the end. Is there any technique that I am missing?
Another question to one of the above statements of placing darker colors over lighter colors, I agree but in the case of this picture with the yellow and red wing tips checkerboard. Is the yellow box’s put over the red or red over the yellow?
Yellow over red in this design would be easier.
To answer your first question.. I usually don't use tape. Lay the covering on top of each other and rub down with a soft cloth. This will smooth the layers out and help get rid of air. Take your iron on a low setting(hot enough to activate the adhesive but not hot enough to shrink the material) and run it along the seam. In the case of the red color you can then attach the piece to the LE of the wing. Covering over sheeted foam takes practice because you can't use maximum heat to apply the film. If you get the surface too hot you risk melting the foam underneath. You will then have soft spots in your sheeting where the foam seperated from the sheeting. If you do this in enough spots you risk a wing failure. I prefer to use oracover/ultracote over balsa/foam because it is a lower heat film than monokote. For balsa or ply structures the monokote works well. The guys that have these intricate covering schemes are not beginners when it comes to covering. Some guys pay a professional builder to cover their planes.
For the checker board it is possible that the tip is first covered in yellow and then the red piece is layed on top of it. You would simply prepare the red skin on a piece of glass(lay film on moistened glass) and lay out your checkerboard.
Remove the squares where the yellow would be. You then put down a piece of frisket film(made by Badger and sold at an art supply store) over the red skin to hold the piece in place and then lift off the glass. You sort of make a decal out of the red skin. Then apply to the yellow covering and affix using low heat. Peel away the frisket and your done.
Your best bet is to get some covering and practice, you'll be a pro in no time.