New to the Tissue thing

[Nick Fury]

Hello out there in model land!

So here is my question for the experts out there. I've never built a balsa/tissue model before.

I've been building plastic space ships and I've done a lot as far as building metal and aluminium based robots (check out usfirst.org and go Mentor a team if you can).

However I'm new to this balsa and tissue thing. So I need some help. I think I have the balsa part down but the tissue I just don't understand.

How should I go about applying the tissue? What is the proper process for someone who is new to this? Any tutorials that you can reccomend?

[flightboi122]

welcome to the world of balsa planes. what kind of plane are you building anyway. wll to the issue. the best thing to do is follow the key on the instructions or on the plan. a good adhesive is clear dope. use aeregloss by pactra. thats wat i use. you can pick that up at any hobby store. have fun with you build,

Flightboi122

[Nick Fury]

I decided to build the P38 Lightning. I've been told it's a fairly complex model but as I said before, I've done a lot of tinkering with both plastic models and metal work and thus far it hasn't been complex, just somewhat tedious... but I like tedious so it is fun.

I'm debating about going back and redoing part of it so that I can make it into the "action version" which has retractable landing gear. Though I'm not sure if I should do that or not.

So clear dope eh? How do I go about applying it to the finished model and then applying the tissue paper. The Guillow instructions seem a bit vague on the whole ordeal.

[supercruiser]

Like flightboi said , look on the instructions or plan. there is info there or some kits include a little instruction booklet. Just read it a couple of times, so you get the idea in your mind. It's really not that hard. Generally speaking,
you cut out a section of tissue slightly larger than the piece you are covering. let;s say the vertical stabilizer. I then paint the outside edges with elmer's diluted with water. or sometimes just smear a thin layer of elmer's onto the balsa with my fingertip. It is not necessary to coat all the little balsa pieces, just the outside frame. Lay the tissue onto the balsa frame, gentle stretching it out so that it lays flat with no wrinkles. Let the glue dry. then trim the excess off with a sharp razor blade. After it's completely covered; you can mist spray with water and then dry, this makes the tissue taut. This isn't the only method and probably not the best method but, it works for me. You can use dope like flightboi mentioned but, it does have a strong odor. Again, I say just read and reread the instructions and then just give it a try.

[Nick Fury]

Thanks. That helps a lot actually. I think I have an idea in my head of how to do this. I'm sure I'll have a million more questions in the coming weeks of building this thing so you guys haven't heard the last of me yet!

Thanks again!

[flightboi122]

no prob nick, if you have any furher questions just feel free to ask
p.s-hacking isnt a crime,i like to hack some times too. dont worry im a white hacker!!

flightboi122

www.hellboundhackers.com

[John G. Jedinak]

Nick: Tissuing is tedious. Go to Mikes Flying Scale Model Pages.
www.ffscale.co.uk/index.htm. Scroll down to Building Your First Model. Chapters 7&8 cover tissuing very well. Suggest you start with the rudder and the stabilizer (Chapter to get the feel. The more complex the curves as with the fuselage, to more seperate panels you should use. My personal preference is a 50-50 mixture of Elmers White Glue and water for attaching the tissue and sealing the tissue. Frankly, because of fumes and clean-up, I never use clear dope anymore. GOOD LUCK!!! John G.

[John G. Jedinak]

Nick.apparently the Guillow page is not linking.......try putting it in direct or "Goggle it" under Mikes Flying Scale Model Pages. There is a wealth of information re building.............John

[mark]

To cover with tissue provided in kit . . . . .


I use a 50/50 % mixture of White Glue and water to adhere the tissue onto the framework !!!!

Sand framework VERY WELL !!!

Mix your "glue mixture" - 50% water and 50% White glue

Cut a piece of tissue a bit oversized for the piece you are covering (lets say the rudder in this case)

Paint some glue mixture down around the perimiter of the rudder structure

Lay your tissue down and smooth it out as much as you can by pulling a bit and smoothing with your fingers

Paint ANOTHER coat of glue mixture THRU the tissue (around the perimiter) to assure a good bond

Let glue dry and then trim off excess tissue with sharp razor blade.

repeat for other side of rudder . . . overlapping tissue slightly !

When the part is all done, dry and trimmed, you can mount it on your plane.

When mounted, a fine mist spray of water will help shrink the tissue a bit and take out any wrinkles . . .making it nice and taunt for flying.



Hope this has helped, good luck and ENJOY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Hank]

There is a web site called Hannan's Runway ( www.hrunway.com)

they have several good video tapes on covering techniques.

one is called ( I think just tissue covering techiniques)

the other is Rubber power scale construction techniques.

Good Stuff and very enjoyable to watch.

[Tee Bee]

On a recent build of a Cessna180, I used the thinned Elmer's tecnique to tissue the model and liked the lack of the dope smell. I could do it in the house and not have to go outside to dope it in cold weather. The downside is that the Elmer's/water mix causes the tissue to sag when you recoat it and on my control surfaces, the tissue sagged and the two sides stuck together in a few places and dried that way. I was very dissapointed with the finish. On my next model, a DR-1 Triplane, I used dope again and had much better results. I had to go outside and put up with the smell again, but the finish is so much nicer than my last attempt. Maybe I wasn't doing it right, but those were my experiences recently. Until I learn a better technique to keep the surfaces from adhering to one another, I'll just use good, old-fashioned dope. I also learned about the "wet tissue" technique recently on this forum and used it exclusively on the triplane and loved the results. Nice, tight tissue without wrinkles once I practiced a bit. Good luck with your build. It's lots of fun. Now that my Fokker is done, I'm building a Sig Kadet Senior RC plane. It's built like a Guillow's plane from balsa sticks but has a 78" wingspan.

[Xanadu]

Clear dope, mixed 50-50 with thinner is the base coat for the entire skeleton of the model.

You need to seal the wood before attaching the tissue, similar to using a primer before paint, and paintng the entire structure with dope is one way, but like others have mentioned a white glue mixture also works.

I apply a good coat of dope to the entire structure and let it dry overnight.
A good sanding follows the next day to get any little edges and mini bals spikes down and flat so the tissue grbs properly and does not rip.

When I am ready to lay the tissue, I cut a piece to the size for the area and put it off to the side.
Then take the thinned dope and apply a coat coat around the edges of the area you want to apply the tissue to.
I then spray with a water mist the piece of tissue, it soaks up the water fast so move quick.
Lay it down on the area you want to do, and gently pul it taut, pressing down slightly along the edges you just doped. When it looks nice and taut, lay a coat of dope on top of the tissue along the edges, and gently rub it in with your finger tip. It acts like a glue for the tissue to the balsa.
When the water drys, the tissue will be pulled drum tight, and hopefuly conform well to the area.
When you have the entire structure done like this, then you give it a coat of thinned dope again to seal the tissue.

Hopefully this gives you a good idea on how its done.

I found the wet tissue method works best for me, and am able to do an entire wing, one side of course, in one piece.
Also do a good portion of a fuselage too with one piece.

[freefall]

I have been using xanadu,s method for years and have had good luck and great finishes.Ron

[jtpm48]

I have been building models on and off for a number of years and I have the best results with a combination of the wet and dry tissue methods. I paint the dope or thinned elmers around the frame them place the dry tissue on the frame pull it as smooth and tight as possible, then spray it lightly. as the tissue dries it smooths, and some times pulls wrinkles out because the glue/ dope is still wet and allows the tissue some movement.

Also recently I have used coverlite (a heat shrink material) while i didn't have as good results as with tissue this is because like most things it takes some pratice.

[lennyz]

TRY GOING TO www.easybuiltmodels.com---UNDER MODELING TIPS THERE IS A GREAT EXPLANATION OF HOW TO COVER USING GLUE STICK I HAVEN'T TRIED IT YET --- BUT I PLAN TO COVER MY 900 SERIES P51D THIS WAY. I LIKE THE IDEA OF GETTING DO OVERS WHEN LAYING THE TISSUE. APPARENTLY GLUE STICK REACTIVATES OR DISOLVES WITH A LITTLE RUBBING ALCOHOL AND YOU CAN MOVE THE TISSUE AROUND AFTER IT HAS SET.