Painting what I think may be 500 pound bombs (4) for the under carriage of my Stuka Ju-87R. I need to know if you have any suggestions for holding the bombs (which have been cut from the sprue and sanded) while painting. I tried using CA and attaching a toothpick to hold it. I’ve tried using liquid cement on the toothpick, to no avail. I am going to try using a spring-loaded paper clip. If that doesn’t work I’m thinking about using Silly Putty and jabbing the fin side into the Putty and paint them like that. By the way I’m using sable brushes and enamel paint, if that’s of importance.
Thanks for all your input in advance. You’ve never let me down before.
How about drilling about an 0.020 hole in the tail between the fins. CA a straight pin in the hole, and then hold the pin with a clothespin, vice, vice grips, something like that. When the paint is dry, either pull the pin out and fill the hole (a hole that small will fill easily) or nip it off flush and dab a little paint on it.
I drill a #61 hole in them in an area that they will be mounted under the wing from and then insert a toothpick into them and hold the toothpick in an aligator clamp setup or just stick it in a piece of high-density foam or balsa to hold it.
if the bomb (or drop tank, or missile…) has mounting holes, I use them, if not I’ll drill a small hole like Mike said and use a toothpick. I have a large (over a foot square) flat piece of styrofoam from some box that I use for just that purpose. I also use it often for landing gear doors (put a glob of silly putty on the side opposite from where I’m painting, stick a toothpick in the silly putty, and stick it in the styrofoam.
If the munition has fins, just make a handle by wrapping one off the fins in masking tape. You can stiffen the tape, by taping a toothpick to it. Spray or brush paint away, and then you can either stick the toothpick into a piece of stryofoam or tape the tape to the edge of your work bench while it dries. Once dry, remove the tape from the fin, and shoot or brush the “masked” fin.