I heard monokote covering had changed some and isnt as easy to work with now for some reason. Is there another brand in military flat colors that is not to difficult to work with? And are the military flats harder to work with than the gloss coverings? I considered solartex but is it as light as other coverings and easy to work with? Its for a Nieuport BUSA.
Thanks

Wow what timing! Ya just gotta love it baby!
Check out http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_9717398/tm.htm
I gotta put in my vote "again" for Hanger 9 Ultracoat.

I used and continue to use both Monokote and Ultracoat. While they are different I don't see 1 being any easier to use than the other, just follow the directions. As for flat colors my opinion is that Monokote has flats that match military colors better. Flats are no harder than regular Monokote to use. I'd suggest you select the covering by what colors appeal to you the most, follow the included instructions and you should be happy with the result.

I will agree with that. Although it is believed that monokote has changed formulas, it is still not any more difficult than any other covering to work with or put on. Go with whatever covering has the best range of selection in colors and or possible paints to match as well.

were ww1 planes covered in plastic? Solartex would be more scale and easy to work with. try it you will like it

is the Solartex just as light as the monokote?

Thanks mike. Thats great info. I can narrow my choices to UC or Solartex. I thought I remember reading somewhere that MK had changed formula. That would be bad to invest in 2 rolls of crappy film. Thanks fellers!

Check out posts # 204 and 205
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_97..._9/key_/tm.htm

Looks like I will be avoiding the new MK. Is Solartex as light as UC or MK?

The TEX is a cloth covering and there is a very slight weight gain, not enough to worry about. It is so good that after using it once you will wish all coverings were this easy, makes you look like a pro. It's matt finish, comes in war bird colors. Depending on the plane it is a great choice.

I just bought several rools of Blue transparent Monokote and had no problem with it. Could it be a problem with certain colors?
Anybody contact the manufacturer and ask them?

If anybody would bother doing a search they would find a lot of threads on this topic, enough to keep them reading all day. Mono changed about 12 years ago and it is a hit or miss problem and problems can happen from batch number to batch number. I haven't found any problems with putting it down, it's hit or miss if the mono is going to shrink or not. It also tends to bubble, wrinkle and sag in the sun or heat and won't shrink back up. It isn't any one color, it is mostly on the solids though. You can be laying down some white and it's just fine, go to the next roll from a different batch and it is crap. I went over to Ultra about the time mono started having problems and haven't bothered with mono sense for covering the main part of the plane. I do like Mono as a trim but if I can help it I never buy any, I have been using up what I had from years gone by. Some people like it, I don't, it's one of those choice things and until you try the two different coverings yourself you will never really know.

Well I have used Monokote for the last two planes I have covered with absolutly no problems, very different colors. I allways enjoy the debate about which is better, IMO if you learn how to set up your iron properly and change settings for the roll you are using you will discover you can put on either. I like the colors better from Monokote better than the others.

My advice is try a piece to see where you have to set your iron and then go from their for that roll.

Does the solartex shrink with heat or is it strictly iron on?

Solartex does both. It sticks and shrinks with heat. Just don't use a heat gun with it. The heat gun is too hard to control, heatwise. If you heat it too hot, you can't reshrink it later if you get any sags or wrinkles. Use the iron on the temps it says an you'll find it is really easy to work with and looks great - if you are going for a cloth look. If you want a painted hard paint or aluminum look, then go with Monokote or Ultracote.

Check out page 39 and 40 of the Postal Plane Project in the 1/2 A and 1/8 A forum. That plane is covered in red and white solartex.

Tim