Author Topic: Second Paper Card model: Short 184  (Read 8818 times)

Offline rhallinger

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Re: Second Paper Card model: Short 184
« Reply #15 on: July 24, 2020, 10:57:36 PM »
What a fascinating tutorial sp!  Thanks for the detailed descriptions of your process, and sharing what you picked up from others.  I learned a couple of good tips from your post, as I am new to paper modeling also.  You are so right about the critical importance of proper alignment of the parts and not rushing.  Every time I have a problem with a paper build it is invariably because I have failed to completely and properly align parts when I glue them, and that is often caused by moving to quickly--I just get excited to see what it's going to look like! ::)  Thank you for the reminders to slow down, be precise and enjoy the process.  I have also learned to stop working and never begin a large or critical step when I am tired or have limited time.  Far better to wait until I am fresh and have no other commitments that would make me rush things. 

Your work on the Short cockpit, in 1/72 no less, is remarkably nice.  It was hard for me to see how it was developing until you closed it up and-voila-there was a lovely Short cockpit.  It looks great!  Keep going! ;D

Best regards,

Bob

Offline RAGIII

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Re: Second Paper Card model: Short 184
« Reply #16 on: July 24, 2020, 11:02:16 PM »
Wow SP, Your pit and fuselage section turned out great! You seem to be adjusting to the paper Model with little difficulty! I have to imagine that all of your experience with plastic, and RC modeling are proving helpful. Looking forward to the next update!
RAGIII
"A man has to know his limitations": Harry Callahan

"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler

Offline smperry

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Re: Second Paper Card model: Short 184
« Reply #17 on: July 25, 2020, 01:48:21 AM »
Rick
60 years of cutting balsa parts has definitely helped. The cockpit tub came out with a little warp and I'll be dipped if I let it go. I have been slowly dismantling it in an attempt to find the source of the warp. That brought out another good point about photo paper. The coating prevents the glue from penetrating the paper fibers. When at least one side of a glued joint is coated, a sharp blade can be slipped in between and the whole joint popped loose.

I find the mental gymnastics required for visualizing 2 dimensions becoming 3 hard, but they greatly facilitate tuning out all the real world nonsense for a spell. Of course the fix of last resort is to print another parts sheet.

sp
Currently pulling a 9 gee learning curve.
There is something fundamentally amiss with a society which forces it's modelers to work for a living.

Offline smperry

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Re: Second Paper Card model: Short 184
« Reply #18 on: July 26, 2020, 03:26:34 PM »
I pretty much took the cockpit assembly apart trying to remove the twist I managed to create. I never did determine what caused it. I decided to punt and printed another sheet of the cockpit parts. After printing and spraying with Krylon, I spent a relaxing hour cutting out the new parts. Altoids tins make excellent places to safely stash tiny paper parts.

I am thinking about how to ensure the second assembly dries true and square. Some kind of jig/clamp kinda thing. I am not inclined to settle for less than my best efforts. They arein't what they once were, which is why I have to insist I do it as best I can.

I smoothed the edges of all the newly cut parts and used the watercolor pencils to deal with the white edges. I also did a better job of scoring tabs that caused me issues on the first one. everything is tucked away in Altoids tins and I will wait until I figure out how I am going to get the next assembly square and true. In the mean time I am going to work with the original assembly and practice joining it to the rear fuselage just to get the fingers used to the job.



sp
There is something fundamentally amiss with a society which forces it's modelers to work for a living.

Offline RAGIII

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Re: Second Paper Card model: Short 184
« Reply #19 on: July 27, 2020, 12:00:13 AM »
The second chance offered by these paper kits is a decided advantage! I am looking forward to your second pit and fuselage section!
RAGIII
"A man has to know his limitations": Harry Callahan

"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler

Offline NinetythirdLiberator

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Re: Second Paper Card model: Short 184
« Reply #20 on: July 27, 2020, 01:32:44 AM »
Keep cutting away, SP.  I think your better scoring will help the squareness.  It's amazing how much "memory" and strength the paper has.  I find that when I need to make 90-degree folds, it's best to over-fold them and then they settle easier to the angle you want.  Some amazing Polish guys and gals lightly wet the paper just at the fold and that gives it a crisp finish too.

Looking great regardless of issues...Dan

Offline smperry

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Re: Second Paper Card model: Short 184
« Reply #21 on: July 27, 2020, 02:52:34 AM »
Thanks Rick and Dan, your encouragement helps greatly.

Dan, I have a question. I have read of two methods for scoring a fold. First, very gently cut about 1/3 of the way through and fold with the cut on the outside if the bend. The other is to take a blunted blade such as a table knife or #11 blade that has been ground blunt and emboss a score line on what would be the inside of the fold. The first cuts the paper fibers that have to stretch longer around the outside of the curve, the other way actually stretches them without breaking the paper surface. Which do you prefer for glue tabs as opposed to straight folds across a part?

I think I found some of why my first assembly twisted. Has to do with using photo paper. White glue on a 90 degree joint will form a fillet sloping between the two pieces. The glue doesn't soak into the paper due to the coating, however it does shrink some while drying as is the way of white glue. This causes the fillet to pull the two pieces joined at a right angle to an angle less than 90 deg. On un-coated paper, the glue tends to soak in somewhat and not form much of a fillet, so there isn't much of a pull as the glue dries.

On my current build there are three bulkheads rising at right angles from the floor board. The middle has a slot in the floor matching a very thin bit of bulkhead fitting into the slot. That was easy enough to deal with by making sure there was a tiny fillet of glue on each side of the bulkhead. The pull from each fillet cancelled out and the bulkhead dried at right angles.



The bulkheads at each end of the floor board attach so that there can only be one fillet which will pull the front bulkhead back over the floor board and pull the rear bulkhead forward over the floor board. It is only a couple of degrees, but serves to mess up the fit of the skins as they are applied over the dried bulkheads and floor board. On the first attempt I kept adjusting the set of the front and rear bulkheads as they dried, but the glue still pulled them in. I'm not talking a large visible fillet of glue, rather what is left behind after wiping off the excess hardly visible, but since it is on coated paper, it doesn't soak in and so it exerts a pull. In the case of the front and rear bulkheads, I found a sparing application of CA was able to affix the bulkhead to the floor board at 90 deg and keep it there.



This may sound like a lot of fuss and bother to glue a couple bits of paper together, but it is just learning curve on the different properties of the media, both glues and papers. We have all learned not to use styrene glue on resin and we all keep CA well away from clear parts which haven't been coated in Future.

sp
There is something fundamentally amiss with a society which forces it's modelers to work for a living.

Offline smperry

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Re: Second Paper Card model: Short 184
« Reply #22 on: July 27, 2020, 06:13:41 AM »
It took some fiddling, but I got the second cockpit attempt assembled true and square. I tried to rob the wheel from the original assembly but ended up destroying it, so I had to make another. I was successful in popping the seats loose and using them in the current cockpit. I missed the kitty hair picked up when I dropped the assembly on the rug. Experience with the first assembly tells me the white edges showing will not be seen through the cockpit openings.



 That saved me an hour for which I had other uses, (like vacuuming the cat hair off the rug). The assembly needs to cure fully before any attempt is made to apply the inner and outer skins.

There is something fundamentally amiss with a society which forces it's modelers to work for a living.

Offline RAGIII

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Re: Second Paper Card model: Short 184
« Reply #23 on: July 27, 2020, 07:23:43 AM »
Even better than the first which I thought was Terrific SP!
RAGIII
"A man has to know his limitations": Harry Callahan

"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler

Offline smperry

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Re: Second Paper Card model: Short 184
« Reply #24 on: July 27, 2020, 07:41:59 AM »
Thank you Rick. I'm starting to think 1:72 scale may h ave been a bit ambitious for a second card model. I'll look at it like a baseball player swinging a weighted bat so when he steps up to the plate his regular bat swings harder. Maybe this won't be so fiddly in 1/33 scale :-)
sp
There is something fundamentally amiss with a society which forces it's modelers to work for a living.

Offline smperry

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Re: Second Paper Card model: Short 184
« Reply #25 on: July 27, 2020, 12:04:10 PM »
Now that the basic structure is all square, it is time to skin it with inner and outer skins.



The cockpit floor is simply too flimsy and is part of why the first one twisted. I added 1/32 balsa stiffeners and cured the problem.



In this image the inner skin is partially attached in order to show the very fine slit that I ignored on the first assembly and was the other factor contributing to the twist.



Here the outer skin is fully attached and the assembly is square.



The properly scored tabs on the outer skin folded under perfectly and made attaching the bottom piece a breeze. All is square.



I'm very pleased to have produced an assembly which is square, since the rest of the model just sort of grows from this assembly. I am also glad I finally discovered why the first assembly became twisted. I may even remember for the next model :-)

sp
There is something fundamentally amiss with a society which forces it's modelers to work for a living.

Offline RAGIII

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Re: Second Paper Card model: Short 184
« Reply #26 on: July 28, 2020, 12:14:38 AM »
Your learning curve goes much more quickly than Mine SP! The cockpit assembly looks great. Congratulations on your success!
RAGIII
"A man has to know his limitations": Harry Callahan

"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler

Offline NinetythirdLiberator

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Re: Second Paper Card model: Short 184
« Reply #27 on: July 28, 2020, 03:22:19 AM »
Agree with Rick!  Your stiffeners are a good plan too.

Way to go...Dan ;)

Offline smperry

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Re: Second Paper Card model: Short 184
« Reply #28 on: July 28, 2020, 07:51:02 AM »
Thanks Rick and Dan. I had another minor medical procedure today and I'm not touching any models until the drugs wear completely off. I need no outside help messing things up.
sp
There is something fundamentally amiss with a society which forces it's modelers to work for a living.

Offline smperry

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Re: Second Paper Card model: Short 184
« Reply #29 on: July 29, 2020, 11:04:14 AM »
Back at it and rather pleased. All the effort it took to make the cockpit assembly square has paid off well. The rear sections of the fuselage went right on and the resulting structure is still square.



Everything aligned so well that at the very end of the fuselage, a tiny tail on the bottom piece which folds up and covers what would be the rudder post fit near perfectly. That was at the far end of two fuselage sections back from the cockpit assembly.



A better view of the fuselage to date. I suppose I should have opened up the cabane strut holes while the piece was still flat. Lessons learned. Ready to move on to the nose.



We have all felt the urge to start another plastic kit before we are finished with the one we are working on. Just so you know, it's worse with paper card models.  Still resisting. Can't wait to try something 1:33
sp
There is something fundamentally amiss with a society which forces it's modelers to work for a living.