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Warbirds Replicas P51 Mustang


RICHARD WILLS

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Posted by Ron Gray on 27/12/2020 10:13:57:

@ David - lam film does tend to come in large rolls! You can get it in widths greater than 300mm, I tend to get mine from this company Binding Box - there are lots of suppliers on the 'net, and share it with fellow fliers.

Hey Ron, thanks. I see they do a matt offering - is that likely to be preferable given it's got to get sprayed? And what's your preferred width? I'm only comparing to what we tend to get in film type finishes which I have in  around 650mm width. I guess if I need to cover a model wing with a chunky chord I'd easily need wider than the 315mm...

Edited By David Hazell 1 on 27/12/2020 11:06:08

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So far I’ve only used gloss in anger but I would still key the surface of the matt finish, just to be sure. The roll that I’m currently working my way through (or ½ roll as I shared the purchase with a friend) is 315mm wide and therefore needs a join on wider chord ‘planes (eg Lavochkin LA7 and BF110) but the join is hardly noticeable as I feathered the edges with sandpaper. If you’re clever you could make the join follow panel lines! The next roll I buy will be matt and 650mm wide. As has been mentioned above, if you haven’t used it before, play around with your covering iron’s heat settings, at first it doesn’t seem like the film stretches but at the right temperature ( circa 150 degrees) it suddenly does and can be formed around quite tight curves. Be careful if you are using it to cover foam surfaces as foam will soon ‘croc skin’ if using these high temps, far better to wind the temp down and accept the fact that it won’t cover curves as well - its all a matter of practice. Covering both open frame and solid (veneered foam, balsa sheeting etc) becomes quite easy and lam film is far more heat tolerant than conventional covering film. Again, practice first on scraps of material, after all, the lam film is so cheap it makes sense to do so.

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I am selling 457mm x 42mic and 125mic (I use this for covering direct onto foam like combat wings) in 10m lengths at £5.99 and £6.99 respectively including postage, I do have some lols of 600mm + but have not got to those yet. If you search Modellers pack - lightweight Matt laminating film to seethe 42mic, wrongly described as 42gsm which I will have to change or pm me here.

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Wing Dowels make sure you us a couple of pieces of the thin (from the wing fairing) ply to pack the wing when gluing on the locating dowels. Mine is different as this kit had a ply plate yours will not. it's not really needed as the dowels will fit into the front spar so this plate wasn't necessary but I had it so I used it.

locating dowels.jpg

Leading edge finished.

leading edge finished.jpg

Okay been fitting the wing fairings. be liberal with the amount of cuts to ease the fitting to the curve and as per the manual fit them with the wing in place. don't forget the plastic/cling film to prevent gluing them to the wing.

wing fairing cuts.jpg

All sanded to profile.

wing fairing sanded.jpg

Still a long way to go but...... hey I'm in front of you guys...cheekycheekycheeky

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Paul, I don't know if it's the angle of the photo of the wing tip in plan view above, but it seems the wrong shape to me. The wing tip on a P51 looks more like a tear drop shape rather than the double curve it looks like in the photo. At least, that's what all the photos I have of Mustangs plus the kit I'm building are showing.

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Posted by Paul Johnson 4 on 29/12/2020 14:19:09:
Posted by Martin Harris - Moderator on 28/12/2020 23:34:24:

Slightly more worrying - although it may well be camera related - is what looks like a marked twist in the wing in your first photo, Paul...might be worth checking?

Same both sides.... wash-out.

Martin,

The camera does exaggerate the amount it's about 2° but Richard's design also incorporates a clever feature in the wing which helps to reduce tip stall....sshhh top secret.

smiley

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Well progress....

The wing is complete all but the control horn links.

I used film as per Grahams film covering master class but found that if you did get any lines/wrinkles turn your iron up to 150 to remove any remaining defects, Don't start with a hot iron as it makes it a little more prone to putting in wrinkles. As I had already covered the flaps/ailerons I found the narrower film allowed me to cover the wing. top then bottom in one piece.

film covering layout.jpg

Wing all done...

completed wing.jpg

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The first time I saw the lam film used on skinned structure, was in Ron Gray's workshop .

He had reached the stage above with his Bf110 kit . I could help touching the finish as it looked like he had tissued it then applied several coats of lacquer . As Ron is a perfectionist , this wouldnt have surprised me .

But I was pleasantly surprised that this method was literally , iron and forget .

It does have some limitations , but generally I have to say , great for most jobs . Thanks to Ron and Graham for doing the ground work , and I believe Nigel Dell has also been using it for years .

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Great progress Paul. The laminating film seems to be an attractive alternative covering. Does it reinforce the Thin balsa wing skins? I have been thinking of using some white Solartex that I have in stock but it will be a heavier solution. Going to start my kit in the next few days.

I see that you have a cradle to support the fuselage in the workshop which will hopefully avoid hanger rash. Would you mind telling me where you bought it please?

Thanks.

Gordon

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There was a well known forum member who liked to experiment with designs and materials who was held in high regard by many here, he was using laminating film and promoting it's qualities for years even whilst Solarfilm was still in production. Unfortunately he appears to have disappeared.

Edited By Martin Harris - Moderator on 19/01/2021 13:53:46

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