First Balsa Wood and Tissue Model.

[ChrisH]

Will shortly be starting a Christmas Pressie - a balsa wood and tissue Hawker Hurricane kit like we used to see in the 50's when I was a lad - that dates me!

Thinking ahead to painting the model, I was thinking of painting the tissue with artists watercolour paints (to keep the weight of paint down) before covering the tissue with dope. Or should that be after covering with dope?

However, I have no idea wether this was an OK idea, or a crackpot-to-be-avoided-at-all-costs idea, or what, being that this is a first model, and was hoping that someone could tell me wether my intention was the best way to go about it or not.

If artists watercolour paints are no good, what paint is recommended, when do I apply it, and where do I get it from, plus where is a good place to source things like the transfers for RAF roundels, tail fin coloured strips, letters, and the dope, and which is the best dope to use - I was thinking of the newer non-solvent dopes instead of the more traditional cellulose type dope.

Chris

[FlyinBrian]

Ideally contrasting coloured tissue applied with thinned dope is the lightest way of adding trim, I have no experience of using water colours on tissue - I suspect the colours would a/ spread on undoped tissue and b/ not adhere to doped tissue. You could use coloured dope or cellulose paint but be careful not to add too much as weight can build up quickly.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

I seem to remember that when a friend was making a KK Gypsy in the 1950's to produce coloured tissue Indian Ink was recommended. I also remember using coloured 'Modelspan' tissue following a number of 'bodge ups' with coloured dope.

We always applied tissue to airframes with KK or 'Oh My' tissue paste having wetted the tissue first. Applying the tissue with clear dope even if thinned did not always get rid of creasing, but of course it was the way we covered with nylon or silk where the last thing you wanted was any dampness.

[Myron Beaumont]

I built all of the Keill Kraft 3s/9d scale kits apart from one I got for Xmas which was a real challenge .Too many stringers and fragile formers if I remember using a s/h razor blade only .Young people don't know what they are missing.