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Recyled materials for model building


Matthew Lloyd
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I can remember Radio Modeller running a feature (and, I think, a plan) on building from corrugated cardboard, and I also remember building (but alas, not getting round to flying) Hanno Pretner's Stratos delta from waste polystyrene sheet and brown paper. Is there anyone out there looking to reuse waste material to build from? Whatever reason you use - credit crunch or desire to be green - surely we have the imagination and skill out there to turn seemingly useless material into great-flying and cheap models?

I am aware of some cardboard designers on the net, and the fabulous Mugi correx delta, but why don't we gather links and knowledge here as a resource for those, like myself, who fancy challenges such as building a hotliner from Ikea packaging? Let's see if we can generate some plans and construction methods for cardboard, correx and expanded polystyrene in a real 'Blue Peter' fashion and create some beautiful and functional models.

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Wow! Now that's a great start - we've the beginnings of a green machine here. I wonder if RCM&E could start a competition - a la Great Egg Race - to build a complete model from waste material. Obviously we would exclude the power and radio (unless it's a glider), but why not? The challenge could be to fly a course, achieve a duration or attain a height...
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I bet that seagull would fly just great - albatross even better!

Back to my theme though - it's waste materials that i'm interested in - Scrapheap Challenge style really, but make the result look as finished as possible, rather than a string bag. It's kind of my rebellion against the RTF market, which has almost become disposable and devil-may-care in it's use of resources. I've sucumbed to this in the past, buying RTF models complete with radio just because the price was so good. Now I want to use that radio in something home-brewed, something made for free, perhaps?

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I used to call aeromodelling re-cycling  in the 50's (we had very little choice) Funny how things go around & come around ---So I;m not bothered --Nothing has changed much for me .I just love creating something that flies for nothing -By the way we never had "Skips "or re-cycling bins in  1950 ! nothing was wasted !   Rambling again

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Hi all
 
This is a graet thread as there is so meany diffrent plastics cardbords foams and metals all around us, crying out to be made in to somthing new. I have all ways said that I only by what it is impratical to make, and have made plains on and of over the years whitch have cost me zilch, and have been good and bad flying macheins but the fun is in the biulding as much as the flying, so keep all the parts out of that recked ready to fly job, a reuse it to make somthing new.
 
happy hunting for bits and bobs Owen.
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I have just read Toni Reynauds, Hercules posting.
This is an excellent example of using otherwise waste material. I presonaly have always found white foam a problem to sucessfully cut and cover. Toni has shown what can be done. i particularly approve of the brown paper covering.  
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quote from Malcolm Fisher's post  "I've used a lightweight board used for advertising signs as a replacement for sheet balsa for fuselage building." another material that is used by estate agents for their signs is "correx" as used by SPAD (Simple Plastic Aircraft Design) designers and builders have a gander at the link previously posted its quite amazing this product is also used on some building sites as a protector for new doors and some times floors I used to see it a lot in the skip at the end of a build project
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