Hey! I have a reactor 3D that came already covered. However, for future wear, tear, and other mishaps I would like to be able to recover it without spending money on an already pre-covered wing, etc. Could anyone explain the process??? Also, I have NONE of the materials besides glues. To my understanding...you need glues a small iron, and monokote or something of the sort. Any replies are appreciated! Thanks.

There are some good videos on the RCU forums here, I think the kit Building forum may have some. There are tutorials, I have seen them but cant remember where they are exactly. Do a search for Monokote tutorials and you should find all the info you could ever need. Yes you need a Monokote Iron, it has a Teflon shoe and is adjustable in temperature. I would also highly recomend a Heat gun for shrinking open areas. It is a good thing to have a nice piece of glass 18X30 or so for doing nice smooth cuts and a good supply of razor blades, scissors and Xacto blades. It is really cool once you understand how the process works to cover your own airplane. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4385133/tm.htm from the Tips and techniques forum.

Perfect! I checked out the videos and they were alot less difficult than most make it seem. Thanks! now i know how to start.

FWIW - This is my own opinion - I repeat, MY OWN OPINION.

If you are going to use a film covering, I would recommend Ultracote rather than Monokote.

1. Ultracote goes on at a lower temperature than Monokote (when the wrinkles occur [and they will], you need to use a higher heat than the film was originally shrunk with to reshrink the wrinkles. Both films have a maximum heat of about 300 degrees. After that they will no longer shrink.).

2. Ultracote covers wingtips and other curved areas much easier than Monokote.

3. When covering fully sheeted areas, Monokote has a LARGE tendency to bubble - Ultracote will bubble, but not anywhere near as much as Monocote.

4. My experience has shown that Monokote tends to become "brittle" in cold weather and/or after a couple of years - I have not seen this with Ultracote.

The downside to Ultracote:

Getting paint to match the covering. This means you typically have to have paint color matched (latex is the cheapest) and then apply a clearcoat to protect it from the glow fuel.

Ultracote trim pieces have to be ironed on - because the glue is different, the Windex trick for Monocote will not work.

There is not as large a color selection.

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For fabric covering I recommend SolarTex. It is much lighter in weight than Coverite fabric. The only thing you should do to Solartex is clearcoat it afterwards. Solartex if fuel proof, but the weave of the fabric is a "dirt magnet" and almost impossible to get off/out without a clearcoat.

As I stated initially, this is my opinion.

Thanks! Great advice. I'll definitley look into purchasing both ultracote and monocote to see how they do.

One more opinion.  I used to use the plastic films like monkote but these days I use koverall Fabric and paint.  I get a very hard finish and I can make it color scheme I can dream up.  Done correctly the model weighs no more that a film covered model.  Check with Nelson Hobbies and they can give you a wealth of data about using fabric.  Good luck
If you go into the kit building forum you can find a thread about building a Tiger 60.  There are several of us in that thread.  I think I am the only fabric/paint builder.  Lotsa pics to see.  have fun

Thanks everyone for your responses!

Campy -

I tried Ultracote in a plane with an open wing structure and it turned out great. It's a work of art imho. Now I'm covering a King Kobra in Ultracote bright yellow and I'm noticing a problem. The covering goes on very well but I can see the wood grain through the yellow covering. It's slightly transparent! Am I doing something wrong? I saw another plane covered in bright yellow that was the same way. Am I missing something? Or is that just the way it is. I'm getting ready to spray it with yellow Krylon (it's an electric plane).

-oliveDrab