F/FSport
It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”—CONFUCIUS
T
his past month or so I’ve received photos of just-completed planes from readers who took a little while to get their projects started or fin-
ished, but are very satisfied with the final results. Our hobby graciously permits those kinds of delays in starting, or even a lengthy hiatus after a project is begun until it’s com- plete, including the final touches that make it come alive. There is something about modeling that of-
ten requires some “soak time” before the mind is ready to make the kind of commitment of time and effort that must necessarily follow a decision to choose to build a project. And, even after starting a model, it is not uncommon to reach a point where the whole project is shelved for a while until something ignites the spark to pick it up again and finish it. To be sure, that doesn’t always happen.
The web auction sites and estate sales bear testimony to projects that were only begun and were never finished. At the same time, delaying the start of a project, or picking it up again after having it on the shelf adds a dimension of satisfaction that arises simply by moving forward. Modeling, unlike life, al- ways permits you to determine if you are making progress or not.
Models from old plans Commensurate with the above comments,
reader Bob Hauk relayed photos and his ex- perience with building the Baby Bipe which appeared in the October 1971 issue of the old American Aircraft Modeler magazine. Although it took over four decades, Bob says, “I always wanted to build one and fi- nally got around to it.” Since he wanted a more rugged outdoor model, he modified the wings a bit and covered them on the top and the bottom, unlike the original which was covered on the top only. The covering itself became more than an
PHOTO: OLIVER BENTON
FAC’er Ollie Benton likes unusual aircraft, particularly bipes, so he just realigned the wings in a horizontal plane and built the author’s tandem winged Mauboussin Hemiptere from a construction article and plans published in FMin 1988.
integral part of the plane. Bob said that he wanted to test some covering techniques he had been thinking about, so he experi- mented with Esaki tissue to improve the color intensity and contrast. “I wanted to get a good dense white for markings, [so] I tried stretching white Esaki tissue on a frame and painting the back with white pigmented dope.” After the doped tissue had dried for a few
days, he attached it to the base color by hold- ing a corner of the cut out tissue markings and brushed a light coat of dope under the mark- ings. “When you lay the marking down it sticks instantly...I am really happy with how this worked—the white stars, numbers, and fuselage stripe were done with this material.
When it came to flying his new ship, he
tried a loop of 1⁄8-inch Tan rubber, but may end up using 3⁄32-inch, since it doesn’t seem to require much power to fly successfully. As he notes, “It’s really fun to experiment with scale techniques on sport models like this. A little color makes them look really nice, and it isn’t a lot of extra work.” Veteran scale modeler, Ollie Benton, took
his time also in rendering his nicely done tan- dem-winged Mauboussin Hemiptere from a design and plans I published in the May, 1988 issue of this magazine. I dug out my old doc- umentation for Ollie to allow him to finish his plane with the correct registration numbers. He says of his effort, “The Mauboussin is a fine subject for FAC rubber scale: 15 bonus
by larry kruse You can reach Larry Kruseat 18 NW Heatherstone Drive, Lawton, Oklahoma 73505, or via e-mail at
aircats@att.net
PHOTOS: BOB HAUK
Bob Hauk’s little Baby Bipe (above left) from old American Aircraft Modeler plans waited over 40 years to take flight, but the results speak for themselves as it circles happily overhead. Bob beefed up his little 12-inch wingspan Baby Bipe
30
(above right) for outdoor flight while at the same time experimenting with different tissue decorating effects. The resulting Curtiss P-6 Hawkcolor scheme shows itself to good advantage.
SEPTEMBER 2012
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