I was in a bit of a quandary as to how I should go about skinning the cockpit section just completed. Since I had parts printed on 3 different thicknesses of paper, I wasn't sure if the inner skin with the ink on the inside would cause issues if I used the part printed on photo paper, so after some friendly advice from a chap over on the PaperModes forum I went with the typing paper part for the inner skin and the photo paper part for the outer skin.
This little assembly is very critical since the model grows from each end of it and any errors will grow along with it. When covering bulkheads, (formers), dang I'm starting to talk like a paper card modeler, locating the dead center of the skin and bulkhead is a must. A tiny drop of glue at the center of each bulkhead is all that is needed. Tiny because if it dries a hair off center you can apply a tiny bit of moisture with a toothpick and loosen the glue, (I am using Elmer's white glue for just this reason). You apply the skin taking extreme care to line up the center of the bulkhead with the center of the skin.
If you have done the requisite rolling, folding and dry fitting you pretty much have it down pat and have trained the fingers where to hold. Untrained fingers and glue do not mix. Oh, and like they say with flying models, "Be sure to make a left and a right stabilizer". In this case it is, "Make sure you have the ink on the inside".
Now the important part. Walk away. Go bother the dog, (safer than bothering Momma). Work on another kit, do anything you can imagine other than touching the just glued and aligned assembly until it is good and dry. You will need to pull and tug on the skin a bit as you glue and hold the skin until the glue sets a bit.
Now the easy part. With the ink on the inside of the inner skin, that centered and tack glued, Just smear a little Elmers along the edge of the front and rear bulkheads and floor board skin and pull the skin down and hold it a few minutes. Don't get in a hurry, let that side dry up a bit and then do the other.
The outer skin goes on much easier, however care is needed to ensure it is centered in all aspects.
I demonstrated watercolors as a means of dealing with the white lines that are the bane of paper models. Here is another way. Watercolor pencils. Much faster and more precise if you have a pencil the right color. You can scrape a little of the watercolor off some pencils and mix it in a small puddle of water to get a match if you don't have a set of the watercolor tubes. I like the pencils because it is easier to control the moisture you transfer to the white paper you are coloring and the hard pencil allows you to smooth and mold a bit.
I have no clue what comes next, Oh yeah, go back and color the pilot's cockpit combing not that the photo has been taken.
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