Hi,

Im currently bulding a Scale Spitfire Model, nearly done but i have a question on the wings, from some pictures i see a yellow rim on the outside of the edge of the wing with red marks......... is that commen in all spitfires ? and whats it for ?

Also i wanted to try to make 2 spitfire guns to attach to the wing !!!!!, does anyone have any suggestions as to what i could use or how i could go about making these

Also would be nice to get some decals for it but i cant find any anywhere........

Any suggestions on how to dirty the model up, it looks too shiny and new at the moment, i was thinking of rubbbing some black greese or something on but what would u suggest ?

Thx in advance for any help.

DragonHeart, the yellow leading edge was a quick recognition marking. It made it easier to identify a Spit in a head on pass. The red patches are small squares of fabric doped over the machine gun ports which kept dirt and debrise out of the gun barrells. Of course, if the guns were fired the fabric would have to be replaced during servicing. I don't know for sure why they used red dope but it could be so that it was easy to see if the guns had been serviced or not.

The longer barrells protruding from the wing were cannons. If you have a drill press it is quite easy to chuck up a slightly oversize piece of balsa and use the drill like a lathe to turn some cannon barrells. Various grits of sandpaper and a sanding block are all that is necessary.

As for decals, hard to say without knowing how big your Spitty is but Major Decals is always a good place to start.

Dirtying up, or weathering, is a huge subject and could fill several books. If you tell us how your airplane is finished then I'm sure you will get many suggestions. Good luck with it!

Thx alot for the info Chad its exremely helpful

The Spitfire ive got it http://www.ripmax.com/ProductFrames/A-K11806.html

Im not too sure what its covering it, its more like a sticky film....... althou the wings are covered, well seem to be covered in a diff material......

Thx once again.......

i know someone that built one of these and its covered in solartex, you will tell this as the covering is "rough" and has a TEXTURE to it

anyway that spit is a mk1 spit and hostoricly never had cannons just MG's, but if this doesnt bother you just use some dowl and then shape it , i find balsa way to soft for this kind of thing...

as for weathering i have used boot polish at grate results in the past, you dont need much at all rub it into the covering and make it stratch as far as you can, you can use it round exhaust staks and air intake's basicly anywere you think, once that done i just give it a very quick blast over with the spray gun with clear lacquer, this seals it all and gives a nice finish....

as for the decals i have no idea m8 didnt it come with any?? i thought it was all there ?

let us know how you get on

Thx guys 4 all ur help

Ive just read somewhere that the covering isnot fuel proof and smudges ?

Is this true ? and if so do i have to get a spray of somesort to fuel proof the whole plane ? if so what kind ???????

Thx once again

you can dull finishes up nicely with #00000 steel wool it wont leave visible scratch marks but will dull it up nicely in most instances then when you all done dirtying it up can give it a light coat of matt or satin finish

Joe

Thx

Can i just ask one more question does anyone know the right temp to iron SolarTex ? as ive got a few creases in it allready and its not even been in the air ;-0

Also should i spray the whole plane with fuel proof spray ? and whats the diff between a mat and stain finish ? (ie: which would you use for a Spitfire ?)

Thx

matt and satin are the same thing just flat finish it depends where ya buy the paint or wher ya live as to what they call it. basically it goes satin/matt. then semi gloss, then gloss

as far as solartex temps i never checked mine before i just turned the dial once long ago when i econocoated something and havent touched it since and whatever its set at it works. the laeberl on solartex should give you the recommended temps.

as for fuelproofing. if you using glow i definately would

Joe

Balsa usa's site says low temp so i would assume somewhere in the 225 to 250 range. they say its fuelproof but i never trust them

Joe

''''solartex is fuel proof but you would be ahead if you clear coat it. Cause if you get it fuel soaked it is hard to clean. If you have wrinkles in your solartex just iron them out but turn the temp up a little higher won't hurt a thing except for the paint if it is painted. I've got a TF P-40 with a Mag 91 fourstroker in it and cann't wait for the next flying season to fly it. Isn't quite done yet plan on painting it jet black with redish orange on the canopy and control serfaces. Fixed gear and no flaps was one of those swap meet things so went with what I have.

Just for fun.... a picture for emcouragement...

It's tough, do a nice paint job, then beat the heck out of it. I weathered with Testors flat paint thinned with metalizer thinner. Makes it slightly shiney like oil. Seems the Spit's leaked a lot of oil.

I attached my cannons by using magnets....(3)

The guns slide into a tube with a 1/8 balsa "spar". The magnets hold them on fine during flight. If you hit them, and you will, the balsa just breaks off. No damage to the wing or gun.

I have aslo drilled and tapped the guns on another Spit. Used nylon bolts and screwed the guns on for flight. Took them off for transport.

Plane is a Fiberclassics Spit btw.

IFLY,
How do you cool your engine? inlet and outlet? looks nice all closed up in the front!

Sean..

The Q 100 is cooled by ducting air from the radiators under the wings into one side of the cowl. The cowl is itself ducted to only let the incoming air go over the cylinder head.

So, air goes through the fins and out the bottom. 1/2 of the chin scoop also feeds air into the "cool" side of the cowl. Worked OK, but engine would load up after 5 minutes in the air. Seems the air in the cowl got too hot and made the carb go rich.

I added a small hinged "blow in" door on the very front of the cowl to let air directly in by the carb. That fixed the problem! Runs great now.

To help keep the engine a bit cooler I run a 24 x 10 3 blade prop. Keeps the RPM down a bit and flies the plane great. An added bonus is the 3 blade looks cool too... and pilots are always surprised whhen I leave it on and start the engine.

The Spitfire 1b had cannons, but it was only in combat for 2 weeks before it was withdrawn due to cannon stoppages.

Hi

Now some pics of a FiberClassics Spitfire......summer evening after a successfull missions










if you want more pics?


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Bluenoser

If it wasn't for the antenna wire, I woulda swore that was real. You did a really, really nice job on that one. Hope it flies as well as it looks!!!

That's some good looking spit!.. I have see One Fiberclassic fly.. looked great in the air and on the ground..!!!.. You did a great job of finishing your plane!!! BobH

Now thats the way to shoot your model great job Bluenoser

Joe

Hi thanks for the compliments.....now here my Mustang P-51D - only my pilote smoke to much cigarettes..



















[8D]
Bluenoser

My Homepage: www.igmustang.ch