HELP!!! Painting a Stick & Tissue Aircraft

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

Need help with my next project.

I am about to tackle my first balsa stick & tissue A/C in over 30 years, and I have a question about being able to paint the model after the tissue is applied.

Can you paint right on the tissue, or am I better off getting some of the newer monocote type covering? Or does the tissue have to be treated with anything special for it to be painted?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

2

It’s been a long long time since I built stick and tissue but if you finish the tissue with flat clear dope then you should be able to use acrylics to do the painting.

3

Are you going to fly it or display it? For flight, the tissue is still probably the best. First you glue it on around the edges, then sprinkle it lightly with a mist of water to shrink it down and get rid of wrinkles, then apply butyrate dope, which will seal it and keep it taught. Most people add the color to the dope, but if you try for opaque colors you will add a lot of weight. For display there are many new coverings, Monokote works good but there are many new ones that will work better on a small model. Look into supplies for small electrics and park flyers at a hobby shop or on the internet.

4

Thanks for the hints so far, should have stated that I am making them strictly for display. I’ll probably be back with a lot more questions, once I get started on this project.

Thanks

5

In that case, go for clear dope first, to taughten the tissue skin. Then airbrush with acrylics in the normal way. Since you’re not building a flying model, a grey primer over the doped tissue would be a good idea.

Cheers,

Chris.

6

For display just paint right over doped tissue. Take a look at page 1 of my Helldiver thread for some of my flying modles hung from the ceiling. I generally used Tamiya acrylics. Cheers!

chuk

7

I agree with everyone that paper and tissue would be an effective method, but I do think there are better alternatives for display, and flying, that have become available recently and will last much longer and be less prone to damage than tissue that is doped. Here is a summary page, the products from Nelson merit an especially close look. since no dope is required, I think they will compare in weight to a finished paper tissue covering very well.

I occaisionally do tissue covering, but it’s more for nostalgia for the process (or is it I am a closet dope fiend).

8

Hi jeaton01,

You said something about a summary page, don’t know if you forgot to put in a link or to include the page? Would really like to know more about the newer products available as this is a new field for me.

Thanks

9

Like…Duh!

Sorry, here is the link[:)]

http://www.pldaniels.com/flying/balsa/rc-model-aircraft-covering-materials.html

10

Really, there’s something since monocote and silkspan? Guess it’s been a while. [(-D]

11

jeaton01

Thank you for that excellent link, it has answered some of my other questions that were hanging around in the back of my mind. If you have any other ones like that, that have some how-to’s included in them they would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you again…