Re: Nie. 28 Info Request

Don Rinker (drinker@fast.net)
Mon, 28 Aug 95 22:42 EDT

>The issue of pinked tape has puzzled me for a while. How big where the
>serrations?. The only tapes and shears I have seen had serrations in the
order
>of 4 to 6mm. ( I have seen them used on a Tigermoth but cannot recall if they
>where much different in size than this).
>
>If the WW1 pinked tape had similar sized serrations, then they would be very
>small on a model, say 1mm or less on a 1/6th scale model. Cutting 1mm
serrations

Few if any rib tapes on WW1 vintage a/c were pinked. If you see pinked edges
on a repro or something its just that the builder used commercially available
stuff.
As I said, many manufacturers used the frayed edge method. This was to "blend"
the tape fabric in with the rest when the dope was appplied.

On a small model , say a VK Nieuport ( which as I racall is 1/8 scale)
a rib tape cut straight with no fraying, then applied and doped over would
yield a realistic look. The thickness of the paint at the smaller scale
provides all the "blending" you need.

For later period craft, the best method I've found is finding out the size of
the pinking if available, then using vellum paper or similar. Find a metal
cutter from various rolls of wax paper or saran rap boxes. They work really
well and yield a nice crisp "pink". Takes some experimentation to find the
right cutter and paper. Clear dope softens the paper nicely and makes a great
glue.

Silver Hill Historic Aviation Ltd. | Research - Documentation
4051 Ivy Lane | Photography - Paints
Easton, Pa. 18045 | Antique Instrumentation