I used these techniques on a 1/7 scale Spitfire with good results.

Panel lines and rivets done in the primer coat, once the surface is ready for priming.

Lay out the panel lines using a flexible plastic rule and a pencil, working from your reference drawings/photos.
Work on one major surface at a time (lower wing, upper wing, left fuse, right fuse, ect.).

For butt joint panel lines, use 1/64" chart tape and lay the panel lines out. Use a high build primer. Spray several coats over the tape lines, feathering the primer towards the center of the panels. Once dry, remove the tape. This will leave a groove in the primer. The adhesive will tend to stay in the groove. I use a small scraper (grind a small hook in the back of a #11 blade with the tip broken off) to remove the debris. Lightly sand with 320 grit to get rid of any roughness.

For lap joint panel lines. Use painters masking tape layed out on the low panel along the panel line. Spray several coats over the joint, feathering the primer towards the center of the high panel. Once dry, remove the tape. This will leave a ridge in the primer to simulate the joint. Lightlysand with 320 grit to get rid of any roughtness. For thicker overlaps, such as around the nose fuel tank on a Spitfire, I use several layers of tape, and instead of primer, I use auto body spot filler in a tube spread on with a small plastic spreader (a phony credit card works well). Once dry, remove the tape and lightly sand with 320 grit.

For flush rivets, you need to make a special tool made from brass tubing. You need to find a way to attach a 1/16" brass tube to a soldering iron (in my case I used a trim covering iron and nestled tubing up to the size that fit inside the mounting tip).
After you have primed the plane you can start the process. Lay out all the rivet lines and rivet spacings using a rule. Now press the tip of the tool into the primer to melt a ring into the surface for each rivet. Lightly sand with 320 grit.

The plane is now ready for color coats.

Scott

Scott,

Thank you very much for your very valuble information i print it out and i will work on it.

Please check Composite-ARF P-51 Mustang it is all composite as you can see , well do you see this panel lines in that model or not , i mean if i get this do i have to make them or they are already there??? + i am thinking of BVM Metal Coat ever tried this??

Thanks again very much
Ahmed

Ahmed,

I have not personally seen the Composite-ARF Mustang. Their website states that all surface details are molded. This would imply that all you have to do is paint the model. As for the BVM product, I have not used it, however, BVM had one of thier jets at our field and the finish was spectacular. I cannot say for sure if the particular model I saw used their Metal-Kote, but I would suspect that it did. The Spitfire above is my first detailed plane. There are a number of products and techniques I want to try. I may use FliteMetal on my next build. In the photos above, you can see some inspection covers. These were done using aluminum tape. I simply used a 3/4" punch to cut them out, removed the backing, applied them, added the rivet details and they got a coat of primer before painting. One of the problems with aluminum tape that you need to be aware of, it that the adhesive is not a nice uniform film, and once applied, you get a slight orange peel texture. A coat of primer and a sanding takes care of the problem. My understanding is that FliteMetal has a more uniform adhesive and has a smoother finish. This is important if you are doing a bare metal finish.


Scott

Scott,

Thank you very much but you keep mentioning above photos you mean the photos that you send yesterday??

Ahmed

Great thread guys... Please, keep it going
What I would like to know/see is how the instrument panels are made..
I have seen pictures on here of several WW1 planes with beautiful instrument
panels...

Instrument panels. As with anything scale, you start out with pictures, drawings, etc. Then with a clear picture in your mind, figure out how to duplicate each peice. You can buy instrument faces and bezels for some scales and eras.
For my SE5a, I decided to make them from scratch. I made the faces using Model Cad. I used pictures of each instrument and drew the face over it. With Model Cad you can print the finished drawing any scale you want. For the bezels, I used various peices of tubing ( copper, brass, plastic, ink pens, whatever I could find that was the right diameter) Most of the bezels had a small inner ring and a wider outer ring. I glued a peice of clear acetate to the back ot the smaller ring and glued the face to the back of the larger ring. This gives them depth,and looks real.
The compas is made from a peice a dowel rod. I shaped it by turning it in a drill press and using sand paper to round off the end. Then I hollowed it out with a dremel tool. I drew the dial ring with model cad, cut it out, wrapped it around, and glued it with CA. Next I made the center supports,and suspended it with a fine music wire through the center. The cover is clear acetate with a brass ring I made with the trusty ol dremel tool The diameter of the compas is 1/2".
The rest is just bits & peices of this and that. Be creative and above all, have fun
Steve

Steve looks very nice. Rich

Amazing... Looks so real... Takes a really creative mind I guess

This is a great thread, but unless it gets posted to daily, it falls back and gets lost in the " OLD Threads Home"
Anyway, How To Make Rivets.
There are a lot of methods for doing rivets, From glue drops to Punching them out of pop cans and glueing them on. I haven't seen anyone use this method, so here goes.
To simulate a riveted wing tank, I made a die and pressed "rivets" into .005 soft Aluminum, and then used contact cement to laminate it to the plywood sheeting. The material is very light (3.2 grams for a 28sq.inch piece) and easy to work with.
I made the die from 5/32" brass rod and 3/64 music wire. Take a peice of rod 1" long and drill a 3/64 hole about 1/2" into the center. Take a piece of 3/64 Music wire and round over one end( I used a dremel cutoff wheel). Mark and cut the wire so that ii fits into the brass rod with only the rounded part sticking out.
The second half of the die is made by cutting a peice of the rod about 1/4" long. Inset this peice into a wood base so that it sticks out about 1/32". Use a 1/16" dril to make a shallow indent in the center of the rod.
The rest is easy . Chuck the 1" peice in your drill press, and clamp the base peice to line up with it. Use the drill press like an arbor press(Don"t Turn It On!!) Just place your material between the two peices and press.
Using a two pard die makes crisp, clean" rivets " without bending the metal around them.Make different size dies for different size rivets.
I draw out the rivet pattern, and tape it to the aluminum. Just press through the paper

Wow, very cool. Thanks for sharing. [8D]

I love the look of those rivets, but at 3.2 grams for 28 sq. in., that comes out to nearly a pound for a plane like the 1/7 scale TF Spitfire. For smaller details, or on a larger scale plane, it might be ok.

Scott

Hi, Scott. You're right. I wasn't thinking in terms of covering a whole plane with aluminum. For WWI stuff, most of the plane is covered with fabric. There are just a few areas where I need a riveted metal look.
Steve

That sound like the perfect use, and you got great results! This would also be a great way to add detail to a plug.

Scott

I agree with Scott, what a great way to add button head rivets to a plug. They look great smcouch77, very clean and neat.

Question :

Can anyone give me the name of a good FABRIC covering that can be painted ?? I have a 1/4 scale PIPER TRI-PACER to cover
and I would like not to use the plastic covering.

Coverite makes covering that is not painted from the factory. It lays down good and tight and easy to paint. Rich

Also you can use 3/4 oz fiber glass and finish risen then paint it , if you intersted in this way let me know if you need any help

Ahmed,

You're interested in the Comp Arf Mustang and ZDZ super 80? I have both (although not built or flying yet) They are both beautiful pieces of work. The Engine will have tons of pull and the kit is to die for. They call it an arf, but you do have to Build it and the scale detail. I'm sure this would be acceptable for FAI. Maybe if I come to Rehab or Imbaba soon, I will bring pictures.

Oh if you are confused that I know these places, my father is Mohsen Mabrouk, I'm Neil.

Anyway, I plan on coming back soon. Also if you need help in finding, buying and shipping any of these, let me know.

Neil

Edited by Iron Cross

Hi!
All fabric coverings like Solartex and Oratex can be painted!
Oratex is the best on the market followed by Solartex!
Forget about the old Coverite stuff ...the above mentioned films are far superior!

Thanks for the input on the covering. I think I may give Sig Koverall a try. The next challange will be to make the wheel pants.

Does anybody have a good technique for painting & weathering Dubro scale WWI wheels? They come out of the package white but they have spokes & other details that would look great with the right sort of painting & weathering.

There are several threads on just that subject, AbuFletcher has one that will work for you. Do a search for Abufletcher and see the thread.

Hey Greg, why dont you post pictures of the wheels after you do them.

Look at that, I found it.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_17...tm.htm#1775839

Thanks for the links. What I decided to do was highlight the molded in spokes with a black marker & then I covered the wheels in antique solartex. I think it came out nicely, although the spokes are probably too pronounced showing through the fabric. It does look a lot better than just the plain white plastic. I'll post photos once I'm done.

Would someone please recommend a good printed, or online source on the subjet of warbird weathering?

Thanks, and regards to all!