Papa695s Gillow’s Spitfire MK1

[PaulTRose]

Funny looking rapier missile ?

Im really enjoying watching this go together......seems easy and difficult at the same time

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Love that wing shape. Looking good Ian.

[flyjoe180]

Coming along nicely Ian

[papa 695]

Cheers Joe I’m really enjoying this build.

[papa 695]

Finally got the wings built and the correct dihedral set. This is now ready for sanding, then it’s time to put the tissue on.

[john hutton]

Ian,
Looking great, been looking forward to seeing you put on some tissue. This is fascinating stuff, all totally new to me.

[flyjoe180]

Excellent progress Ian

[Jim R]

Earlier the iconic wing shape was apparent but now it's all together it is a real Spitfire.. Like John I look forward to seeing the tissue go on.

[Ian M]

Looking very much the part.

[papa 695]

Thanks guys.

[papa 695]

Sorry I’ve not been working on this for a while, but I’m back now. Time for covering with tissue.

[papa 695]

[Jim R]

The tissue looks to have gone on fine. Do you now have to tighten it up with dope??

[papa 695]

I’m letting the glue dry for 24 hours, then I’m going to spray it with water only. That will make the tissue shrink. After that is dry, I’ll coat it all with some clear varnish to make it water proof so I can paint it.

[Steven000]

Interesting technique with that paper... I used to make RC balsa models in the past, and we used a covering film you had to put on with a flatiron, the heat made it sticky and shrink... Looking forward to see the next steps, cheers

[colin m]

Great progress Ian. As a kid, I built a glider which was tissue covered. I still remember being quite amazed at how the tissue shrank after applying a bit of water. I'm wondering now, as it shrinks so much, could warping be an issue - unfortunately, I can't remember.

[papa 695]

Thanks Colin, and yes warping is an issue, I’ll post some pictures of how I go about that shortly.

[papa 695]

How I stop parts warping after wetting the tissue, I make a little jig using leftover balsa wood used for the struts. Covered in cello tape to stop the wet tissue sticking to them I then wet the tissue with a fin misting water bottle, then place them onto the jig, then using pins at the sides not through the parts hold them down until they dry.

[Ian M]

This is building up very nice Ian.
Good one with the water shrink. I used to use cellulose dope. That shrank the tissue and made it hard and paintable.
Water smells less though. lol