I’m debating wether or not to use the carboard bulkheads, or simply use them as a template for new balsa ones. Before you all jump over me and say “balsa is the only way to go!”, let me say that the ribs/bulkheads in most vacuforms are used for strength. The way this model is molded, though, the sides are thick enough (2mm, at least- same as my 1/72 B-36) to not really need it. They are there in my case to mainly to guide the two fuselage halves to a nice lined up final position.
As for the duct tape, I plan to use it in the final construction in addition to glue. (Yes, I am a bit redneck) Actually, when it comes to the flight deck, the way I made it, duct tape would actually hold it in better than glue alone! And it won’t be visible in the finished product, anyway:
I know I’ve been out of the “duct” tape loop, but the other day our niece’s little girl was sporting a duct tape band aid. I knew they had all kinds but I’d never seen a “commerical” duct tape band aid before!
Holy Moly…
Find your medication? I think you need to adjust the dosage…LOL.
What a monster…it’s really coming together, isn’t it?
I think your use of duct tape is a bloody good idea, actually - cheap and effective.
Doesn’t get any better than that.
Thanks for the update, mate.
I have my doubts about the strenght of duct tape and cardboard in the long run. Cardboard wil turn in to dust. And I think duct wil eventually lose it’s strength.
This migth not sound important now, but wouldn’t it be a shame if all this work collapes after 20 years?
Duct Tape will eventually disintergrate, especially if wet, & cardboard will be ok, provided it is dry, & is not crushed.
I have been building storage boxes with foamcore board offcuts, erm…, ‘borrowed’ from the art dept, it seems stable, easy to cut, can be glued with non-solvent glues & is very light!
Ah ha… foamcore… how could I forget? Thank you! [:D][tup] I will definitely need to look into this now…
As I said before, these bulkheads are not designed for structural strength, per se. All of the gluing between the fuselage halves will be at the edges of each piece. Also, the duct tape (if it is eventually used) will NOT be the only thing holding the bulkheads in- it will simply serve as a redundant system in case the glue fails. It will also serve to take a bit of stress off of the glue joints- I’d hate for something to pop off deep inside after I can’t get to it.
My biggest issue right now is cost. Sheet plastic, while nice, would be very very expensive given the quantities I would need it in. As a reference, the front bulkhead is about 5" square, both ways. Bulkheads that big can eat up sheet plastic reeeeealy quick. [;)]
Anyway, regardless- thanks, everyone for your comments. They are, as always, appreciated. Keep ‘em comin’!
For sheet plastic, you might look into local plastic supply stores if you can find any (we have one called TAP Plastics out here, although their styrene selection is limited), or you can purchase 40"x72" sheets of styrene from usplastics.com. I bought some a couple of months ago - I got 4 sheets (I think I got 0.020", 0.030", 0.040", and 0.060" thickness) for about $55 including shipping. It worked out to about 1/10th of the cost of buying the same amount of Evergreen sheet plastic. It’s not cheap absolute-price-wise, but in the long run I think I’ll save a lot of money.
Oh, and usplastics also sells styrene rod and tubing - I think the 3/4" tube is pretty close to scale size for the Spruce Goose’s nacelles (I think they scale out to about 0.77" in 1/72 scale) - I got some to use when I finally get back to working on mine.
Food is often contained in plastic boxes, this can be a cheap source of splastic.You could use ice cream tubs and other packedging (what’s the spelling for that?) material.
Do you know someone that works in a factory? Some companies ship parts with sheets of plastic stock in between if they are very fragile or sensitive. For a small fee some companies will let employees take scrap and odds and ends off the lot. Offer to pay the fee and you’d be surprised. My mom builds hospital beds and brings me stacks home from time to time for a $1 fee. I’ve gotten very thin to thick depending on the parts. It is usually color coded with each thickness being a differant color and are about 1’x2’.
Excellent scratch building! Your interior is coming together very nicely! You might want to look into Evergreen Plastics’ assortment bags - I buy them all the time - you never know what you will get, but it’s a real deal - my LHS sells a bag for about $5, and I would guess there is close to 1/2 pound of assorted peices in it, including sheet, rod, tube, squarer channel, etc. You can use lateral bracing to take the stress off the glue joints as well.