Colin Brown 3 Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I believe they do, all kitted out in Parcel Force / UPS / TNTuniforms. boxes sufficiently crushed to make you wince like something a little more personal had been crushed RCARTF stuff is £10 for 2m but shipping is only £2 Yes i'll admit my part and the shameless plug but if i don't do it ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon burch Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share Posted April 19, 2011 I looked at the Rcartf stuff and if i was only looking for a couple of colours I might have gone down that route, but as I was going to order 7 or 8 rolls, it was worth buying from HK as you are effectively paying less for 5m. Made a start this evening, and it goes on really well, even when overlapping colours. I broke the back of my faithfull YT Profile due to a badly timed dead stick a few weeks back. I was going to scrap it, but decided to repair and recover. It's only because of the cheaper film that I considered doing this, otherwise it wouldn't have been worth rebuiding a 2 year old airframe. I've had my monies worth out of this plane, and then some. Will post some more pics as I'm going along, but I'm too tired tonight to do anymore. Fuselage will be red, upper wing surfaces will be the same except the chequer will be white, I might repeat a similar pattern on the tail. Can't decide if it needs a constrasting stripe between ??. Can't remember the last time I rebuilt an ARTF, but I still really enjoy the covering stage. Used to do other peoples models as a kid to earn a bit of money to fund the hobby, and I still enjoy it. Cheers, Simon Edited By simon burch on 19/04/2011 22:24:29Edited By simon burch on 19/04/2011 22:31:01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon burch Posted June 24, 2011 Author Share Posted June 24, 2011 Well, not had much time to play with the toys, but finally she is ready to fly again. Just need to tweak the undercart legs as they are still a bit out of shape from the crash. Can't fault the covering, used most of the other options (had great results with all of them), but obviously this stuff from HK works out very cheap. Will definitely order more when I run out, but with the amount of time I'm getting to build, that will not be any time soon. If you have a few members in a club, it would definitely be worth doing a group order. Cheers, Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Cantwell Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 cheapest way of getting cheap covering is place an add on the bmfa, and plead poverty, mate of mine got 5x5 metres of high shrink white tex for 4 quid a pack, i would think we all have film knocking around like we have scrap balsa, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun K Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I'd just like to offer a little word of caution with respect to the cheaper covering options. From first hand experience I can see that some of the savings are made in the glues used to stick down the film. No matter how tough/light/easy to work the film is, if the glue lets go it's useless. A couple of years ago I had a large sheet of cheap covering film part company with the top surface of an open frame wing, which really doesn't do wonders for its lift coefficient! In my case I was seriously lucky that the plane "landed" in 5 foot high grass off the end of the strip and the damage was minimal, but had it landed elsewhere the few dollars saved (I'm an Aussie) wouldn't have looked like such a bargain if I had to replace the whole airframe. When I started out on the repairs I was quite taken aback at how easily the remaining film lifted off. By contrast, last time I had to repair an airframe covered in Solarfilm it was a painful job to remove the old film. So for me from now on it's tried and tested Solarfilm or something more permanent like glass cloth and epoxy. I'm quite sure it will save me money in the long run, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 The real question is why is covering film so expensive? Ready covered models are so cheap that there must a source of much , much cheaper material. It's worth trying alternative materials. Possibly the cheapest for fully sheeted models is tissue stuck on with wallpaper paste. Anyone got other proven methods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I have to agree that we do seem have to pay over the odds for covering film and everything else in the UK. On large models it is crippling . I know its a bit off topic but the last large model I built I covered it in Brown pacel paper and PVA. It works a treet and an 86 inch Hurricane wing cost under a tenner to cover . Its also very strong , far stronger than solartex . Only siutable on sheeted models it gives excellent results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Cantwell Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 ready covered models are so cheap becuse its bought by volume, jig cut, and covered by skilled personell, the off cuts are used on other models, the YT factory buys miles of oracover a year, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon burch Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 Well, I've tried all the coverings over the years, but this stuff is okay in my opinion. Seen all types of films seperate, sometimes due to poor fitting as well as poor materials. I think the cost of some of the coverings in the UK is a joke. Will still use the well known brands but always good to know there is an alternative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben B Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 We're charged that much because we pay that much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Cantwell Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 you pay that much because it is that much, it starts at the factory, it goes to the shop, 2 lots of proffit, 2 lots of tax, then theres shipping, plus, its made from plastic, its going to go up in price, why? because all plastic is derived from oil, at work, our plastics have gone up 30%, have you ever questioned the important stuff in life, food, even the humble mars bar? the proffit margins on the stuff ypu do not question are far greater pro rata, then a couple of yards of film,!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon burch Posted June 26, 2011 Author Share Posted June 26, 2011 I'm sorry but I don't agree. We pay that much because of the mark up someone along the line is making. I used to build models as a kid, and the only part of the build I used to struggle to justify the cost of was the electronics. Now, the covering on some of my models is worth more than the kit in it !! I never started this thread to argue the cost of food, or mars bars. I'm guessing if paying for the basics is a struggle, then covering for your models is the last thing on your mind. All I wanted was a cheap alternative, which I think I've found. Might be useful to somebody else, possibly not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Cantwell Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 hope it works for you, remember what i said about advertising for the stuff, might work, might not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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