inside scored area with thin CyA glue. Re- verse nacelle formers C and D for the nacelle on the other side of the airplane. Assemble the sides and formers. Fit ¹⁄₁₆-
inch square balsa stringers to notches in the bottom of the formers, starting with the cen- ter stringer. Sand the back ends of the stringers thin to allow the three to join neat- ly at the pointed rear of the nacelle. Scoring the stringers can be a help here, too. Trim the excess balsa at one side of each nacelle care- fully so that the nacelles sit vertically while the wing is at its correct dihedral angle. Inset a short length of ¹⁄₄-inch dowel in the
³⁄₁₆-inch sheet balsa nacelle former A. Drill the center of the dowel to accept a thin shanked, flat headed nail. The nails you use should allow the small plastic propellers on the nacelles to spin easily. Glue former A in place and sand its top edge to match the slope at the top front of the nacelle, then glue ³⁄₃₂-inch sheet balsa to the top. Sand it to a smooth arc from the wing to the front of the nacelle, then sand the entire structure. Make the cylindrical part on the side of
each nacelle from an ordinary drinking straw. Sand a balsa stick round to fit tight- ly into the straw. Cut one end squarely and the other end at a steep angle, then glue the angled end to the nacelle. Make the small side vent covers from ¹⁄₃₂-
inch sheet balsa. Sand the forward edge thin to give the cover a wedge shape, then glue it to the nacelle. Cut notches in ³⁄₁₆-inch square strips to represent the exhaust. After the model is painted, make the ex-
posed end of the cylindrical part flat black. Make the back edge of the vent cover black by simply drawing a straight line down the back with a permanent marker. Paint the exhaust stacks flat black and glue them to the nacelles.
Making it look good Cover the model with Japanese tissue,
water shrink the tissue and apply two light coats of clear dope. After the wings and the bottom of the nacelles are covered and doped, glue the nacelles to the wings. Cover the rudder with white tissue. After
the rudder is doped one time, cut ¹⁄₂-inch strips of blue and red tissue to apply to the rudder. Lay the blue tissue at the rudder’s hinge line and the red at the back edge. Us- ing a wide brush, flood the colored stripes with thinner to stick them in place, then dope the entire rudder again. Mask the blue- white-red stripes when you paint the model. Make the radiator from ¹⁄₈-inch sheet bal-
sa, framed with ¹⁄₃₂ × ¹⁄₄-inch balsa strips and the notched radiator brackets by lami- nating ¹⁄₆₄-inch plywood and ¹⁄₃₂-inch sheet balsa. Glue the completed radiator unit to the bottom of the nose. The wide vertical landing gear struts that
rise from the landing gear to each wing are made with three laminations. Cut the center from ¹⁄₁₆-inch sheet balsa. Glue ¹⁄₁₆-inch dow- els in the two notches at the top and ¹⁄₁₆-inch diameter aluminum tubing in the slot on the bottom. Add ¹⁄₃₂-inch sheet balsa to each side, then sand the front and rear edges round. There are two choices for wing struts. I
made wing struts from ¹⁄₁₆ × ¹⁄₄-inch spruce. Wires at the ends of each strut fit through the spruce connectors and are secured with Carl Goldberg Products’ Snap’r Keepers.
FLYING MODELS 45
The front of the rudder slips into its slot in the top of the fuselage (above). Rubberbands at the front of the stabilizer will pull the stab upward when the dethermalizer is activated. In the dethermalized position (below), the front of the rudder fills the slot in the fuselage and holds the raised stabilizer at the correct angle.
When photos and a short history of the In- flexible were available, I learned the “struts” were actually one long length of six-inch di- ameter wire cable used to solve the problem of wing flexing. A more accurate represen- tation on the model could be achieved by making the struts from ¹⁄₈-inch dowels. Paint all of the constructed parts olive
drab before further assembly. Paint the re- cessed area of the radiator flat black, then glue a rectangle of plastic screening materi- al inside the frame. Assemble the long exhaust pipes for the
engine in the nose of the airplane from large diameter drinking straws. Use scrap balsa to make the transition from the fuselage to the exhaust pipe. Also, it’s a good idea to carve an angled piece of balsa to support the joint in the pipe on each side. Paint the pipes gray and the openings black, then glue them to the model.
Use clear plastic film to make windshields
for the open cockpits. Put a pilot and a nav- igator in the side-by-side cockpits. I made mine from figures I bought at the local drug store. A bag full of plastic soldiers or cow- boys, usually all green or all brown, gives a variety of poses that may be adapted. Their scale looks right in the Inflexible. Cut the round windows at each side of the fuselage from peel and stick trim material. Make the big 9 from white trim film. Use de- cal numbers for the white serial number J7557 on each side of the fuselage. Hand print the serial number on the rudder with a black permanent marker, then outline the numbers on the blue and red stripes with white. Place standard RAF roundels on the wings and fuselage. [Consider decals from Major Decal:
www.majordecals.com —Ed.] The stabilizer’s hold-down point for the dethermalizer system is placed forward of
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