allenpad

Hi guys, this is my very first post here at rcu, but I've been doing some reading and I've learned a lot already. I'm sure glad I found you all, I can see that there's enough old hands here to make this a treasure of knowledge.

Now that I've got you buttered up, I'll get into the reson for this post. I'm building my first kit, a Tiger 60, and I already have a rookie question. At least some of the parts in this kit are just a little too small to make a good fit when I pin them onto the drawing, especially if there's 3 or 4 parts together, like the braces up the center of the horizintal stab.Should I use a shim tobring things into line when they're pinned to the drawing? Does it matter?

Thanks in advance,and I know I'll have other basic questions as I go. I'm looking to learn a lot by doing this project, rather than just buying and ARF.

Richard

pmw

My Feedback: (1)

Richard,

Often the parts don't exactly fit the lines on the plans. The printing often "re-sizes" the lines a little. Just glue the parts together and make them fit even if they don't line up on the drawing. I usually just use the plans to get everything straight, i.e. spars, ribs, fuselage bulkheads, etc. I don't really use the plans for parts outlines, and actually could build the plane with the plans on the wall and only used for reference. I've done that on occasion by drawing alignment lines on a large piece of paper under the construction. This keeps the plans in pristine shape in case I want to use them for another build.

Good luck
Paul

allenpad

Thanks a bunch, now I can feel good about spreading glue on there.

stumpffy

The key is to read ahead in the manual and not go to fast.  I think you should consider using titebond or some other lightweight aliphatic resin glue if this is your 1st build.  Itl give you a lot more time to get everything aligned.  And If you make a mistake, you can correct it without a problem within 10-15 minutes of the pieces going together.  Just make sure you dont use too much, its easy to do that when using titebond.  You can get away with using a little less glue than with CA on acount of titebond doesn't weaken the wood the way CA's do. 

-Matt

airbusdrvr

You can buy different sized pins. I have several different diameters/lengths of pins. When shopping for pins(Walmart, JoAnn's Fabrics, etc.) get the kind with larger plastic tipped heads. They are easier to push in and pull out. Then on the smaller/thinner pieces use smaller pins. Bigger pieces can take the larger pins. Get a sufficiently large flat surface(Lowe's and Home Depot sell inexpensive hollow core doors) and place ceiling tiles over that. Go to Office Depot, Staples or Kinkos and get a full sized copy of your plans. Place wax paper between your copied plan and the parts you are building. By doing this you always have the original plans to easily reference during the build and can save them after the build. If the parts you are talking about not fitting exactly are the square balsa sticks that criss-cross from the leading to trailing edge, as long as they fit flat against the leading or trailing edge, the location is not critical. If it is the pre-cut shaped parts, do as pmw stated, just fit them together. Shims should not be needed. If you are new at kit building, I would definitely use the plans to build on. I've built many kits but not with the plans on the wall. Maybe I'll get there, though

Wolflord

Hi and welcome to the forum Allenpad. We have a build thread on the Tiger 60 that you can come over and ask questions if you like. I am also building this plane and noticed the same thing , I just built the piece on the leading edge of the plan and double checked with the instructions that the pieces were the right size. Try not to get discouraged when things go wrong and post when you get stuck, their is a lot of good people on the site that will help you through the problem areas.

Are build thread is at
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_93...mpage_4/tm.htm

allenpad

Thanks a lot, everyone. I have been reading that thread, and it's already been very helpful.

I can tell by just the little I've done that I'm going to enjoybuilding this plane. I'm planning to make it a tail-dragger, I want to use nylon bolts to attach the wing, and I really like the looks of the plane with that cowling made for the engine. I'll decide later if I think I should start that one, it looks a little more difficult than I'm ready for. My biggest fear is covering it, but that's for later.

planebuilder66

My Feedback: (8)

Covering is nothing to "fear", it's uauslly about having the right tools, preping the plane for it and applying the covering per the manufactures recomendations. There are some RCU videos by MINNFLYER about the basics of covering, it also helps to see what covering goes on easiest, read some theads on monokote and ultracote and other various coverings being manufactured. I'm assuming that for your first build, your going to go with a simple covering scheme and finish. If you have any questions about anything on the build, don't hesitate to ask questions, were mostly here to help you be sucessful at it.

airbusdrvr

Discussing covering brands often gets a Ford vs. Chevrolet type dialog. I and many others have given up on Monokote. Ultracote just seems to work a lot better especially when trying to get rid of the wrinkles. Here is a link to one of many discussions on RCU, http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_93...tm.htm#9385464 .

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

RCU member MinnFlyer has done some great how-to articles and videos on covering. check them out as they will go a long way to getting you started.

[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=67] Minnflyer Covering how-to [/link]

[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=726] Minnflyer, Another Look at Covering[/link]

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Thanks for the nice words guys.

I also just completed this article on [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=1196]Kit Building[/link]

And you'll find a lot more good info on getting started by clicking the link in my signature