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Stephen Bowdler

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  1. Stephen Bowdler
    Thanks Phil, Andy, I was thinking airbrush but from what you are saying a small spray gun would be better for the relatively large areas of single colour on the Sky Hawk. Makes sense. I have one eye on the future though. I have enjoyed the Sky Hawk build so much that I am planning to build further PSS models. May be a Jet Provost next? I fancy a go at a more detailed, intricate colour scheme so that is part of the airbrush question. May be spray gun and airbrush, I'll need a bigger workshop!
  2. Stephen Bowdler
    I joined the wing halves over the weekend. No real problems except that the laser cut dihedral brace was to small, in the vertical height, and so was too short to pass through the entire wing including upper and lower skins. Not a problem - I just made a new one from ply. Here she is:- So the build process is complete. Now on to covering and painting. I am thinking of buying some decent spray equipment instead of using aerosol paint. Can anybody advise on what equipment others use for painting PSS models please. I assume an airbrush and compressor? If so what type of airbrush, nozzle size etc? If not an airbrush then what other equipment do people use? Thanks, Steve.
  3. Stephen Bowdler

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  4. Stephen Bowdler
    Hi Harry, I bought the pilot online from Real Model Pilots. I assume that it is 3D printed and the detail is great. It is their 1/12 scale jet pilot bust. I cheated and bought mine ready painted. Regards, Steve.
  5. Stephen Bowdler
    Making good progress with my Sky Hawk. I finished covering the fin and tail plane with WBPU / glass cloth and I'm pleased with the result. It took 7 coats of PU in total to achieve a smooth finish but it went on very quickly and seems hard and tough. I did try colouring the PU with powder paint but the results where disappointing. The coating was rough to the touch and the opacity was poor = more coats = more weight. So I resorted to aerosol spray paint instead. Total weight came out at just over 100 g/m2 so heavier than profilm but lighter than epoxy/glass/paint. It is starting to look the part! The wing halves are finished - built exactly as the plans and with no issues. Tomorrow I'll try to find time to join the halves.
  6. Stephen Bowdler

    Stephen Bowdler posted a gallery image in Member Albums

  7. Stephen Bowdler

    Stephen Bowdler posted a gallery image in Member Albums

  8. Stephen Bowdler

    Stephen Bowdler posted a gallery image in Member Albums

  9. Stephen Bowdler
    Thanks Peter. I have read elsewhere about the warping problem. Apparently the secret is to seal the balsa with a thin coat of PU first, which is what I did. Presumably it stops any further water being absorbed? I didn't really mention it but before I covered the tail I covered a test panel - 4" x 10" of 3/32 balsa, one side only. Partly because I want a panel to experiment with when pigmenting the PU and partly to check out the warping issue. The panel wasn't held flat in any way and has remained perfectly flat. It is a lot stiffer now, especially across the grain. So I'm cautiously optimistic. I'm not sure that PU is better than epoxy overall. It is certainly easier to use - one pack so no mixing, easy to clean up and a 30 minute cure time but I will need about 8 coats in total and it is not as tough. I'm weighing the tail as I go so will end up with a weight per m2. It will be interesting to see how it compares on the weight front.
  10. Stephen Bowdler
    Started the covering process today. I'm using 24g glass fabric and PolyC water based polyurethane resin. I started with the tailplane as it is small and simple and I could practice with PolyC before moving on to bigger parts. I first primed the tailplane with a light coat of PolyC all over and allowed it to cure - 30 minutes. Then applied glass to the under side, wet it out and allowed it to cure. Then a third coat before cutting back the excess cloth. I repeated the process on the upper side then gave the whole tailplane a further coat of PolyC. The result is very good. Not as tough as epoxy but hard and smooth. I now have to fill the cloth weave with more coats of PolyC. I have seen references to colouring PolyC with powder paint to avoid a separate paint job so I will give this a try - on a test panel first!
  11. Stephen Bowdler

    Stephen Bowdler posted a gallery image in Member Albums

  12. Stephen Bowdler
    This my first attempt at building (and flying) a PSS model so here goes, warts and all. I am loosely modelling my Skyhawk on VA 153, above, partly because the colour scheme is fairly simple for me to cut my teeth on and partly because my wife likes the "pretty blue" tail. I wont be detailing the build as Phil and others are already doing a better job than I could achieve but I'll share progress at various stages and give some detail of techniques which are, for me at least, new. So this is where I have got to ..... The fuselage is largely complete, it just needs final sanding to shape around the air intakes and a fine rubbing down. The fin, tail plane and elevator are not yet glued in, I'm going to cover them first. Same with the canopy. This weekend I plan to start covering the parts with glass tissue and polyurethane resin. I have always used epoxy/glass in the past but I can see some advantages in using water based PU so we'll see how it goes. Another first for me!
  13. Stephen Bowdler

    Stephen Bowdler posted a gallery image in Member Albums

  14. Stephen Bowdler

    Stephen Bowdler posted a gallery image in Member Albums

  15. Stephen Bowdler
    Hi Phil, Earlier you suggested that I post some photos of my build progress. As I am not running a blog where should I post them? Here or is there a more appropriate place?
  16. Stephen Bowdler
    Thanks for the help Phil. The problem was two fold. Firstly my 1/2" sheet is slightly over thickness so the step was bigger than you had. Secondly I had interpreted the plan too literally. It shows the 1/2" sheet at full thickness where it meets the nose block so I assumed that no sanding was required but to get the correct profile I had to sand it back a fair bit. All is now hunky dory.
  17. Stephen Bowdler
    Am I being stupid or ...... The plans show the vertical height of the nose block adjacent to F1 as being 2 9/16" high. My nose profile former measures only 2 3/8" high. Now I have added the 1/2" top planking from F2 to F1 I have a 3/16" step in the profile which is not as per the plan. Is there a problem with the laser cut profile former or have a done some thing wrong? Apart from that I am really enjoying my first PSS build
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