Tip for gluing closed models

[Mattokun]

This is my first tip, hope I can help someone with this. Probably someone else had thought about this before, but I came up with it by myself... (*proud, proud* )

I built the FG Ho-IV. The problem was: When I wanted to attach the wings to the middle "fuselage" section (The Hortens were flying wings, so technically they didn't have fuselages... but you know what I mean ), I didn't know how I could press the wings against the glue tabs to get at least some counteracting force onto the glue for better contact and drying. Particularly the second wing, the one that effectively closes the whole model, prevents me from using fingers or any tools to apply counter-pressure from inside.

But then I came up with the following solution:
I spread the center "fuselage" section open so that the "airfoil"/wing thickness was a bit more than I wanted it to be in the end. Then, I loosely wrapped up a few paper pellets and glued them inside the joint, see the first picture.
Then, I applied glue to the glue tabs, slid the wing over the tabs, and was then able to "squeeze" the glue joint against the counter-pressure that the paper pellets provided from the inside. And since I had "over-spread" the center section before, applying the pressure compressed the paper pellets down to the wing thickness I eventually wanted to achieve (more or less, that is...)

The 2nd picture shows the result. It's by no means pretty (only my 2nd model, after the relatively easy FG Lilienthal Glider), but it accomplished what I had hoped for (and didn't have any other solution for).

This is just my take on it... if someone else has any other ideas of how to apply pressure on glue joints from inside a closed model, I'd appreciate any inputs.

Thanks!

 

[Zathros]

Yes, a better method is to make a "former" in that area, with wide gluing surfaces.. This will allow for a stronger model and a definitive way of gluing the parts together. Not sure who's model this is but it is a poor design, not having a former there. It is also lazy. It would be so easy to make a former for this model. This negates having to come up with so radical techniques which throw off the lines of the airfoil. Another method wold be to glue, after shaping with your fingers, 1 mm thick by a centimeter wide strips on the edge and the gluing them on the center section. The wing tips could then be glued to them. Cut off those triangles. No serious modeler uses them. They tend to distort to the model, unless this is taken into consideration, which I do not see here.

 

[paper hollywood]

Not sure who's model this is...

It looks like Fiddler Green gets the blame this time, thus the designation "FG" in the name given. It's a really cool looking glider, though.

NO LINKS TO COMMERCIAL SITES!!

 

[Zathros]

That is not a Hoton IV. Regardless of who is calling it what. The planform is all wrong. This is the planform for a Horton IV:

It looks like a Horton/Gotha H0 229:

The names were all screwed up back then, but the Horton IV was a sailplane and would have never been suited for military purposes. The 229 would have quite a plane, but the problems inherit with these aircraft, stall in a high angle of attack being a major one, and the inability to fly a good straight line, made them questionable as a bomber and useless as a fighter. This drift problem showed up much later in Northrop's flying wing. In any event, F.G. would do themselves a big favor by upgrading their models and starting to get serious about their product. Just having the option for someone to make a sub frame does not cost much, and would make a much better model.

I think the model community wants more than the simplistic offerings offered by many companies, and "we' deserve it. Some of the companies got a lot of their designs be redrawing European counterparts, then, dumbing them down. I know this from the designers, for lack of a better word, that participated in this. It is time to sell better models. After all, what you can get for free is starting to trump a lot of models that are purchased.