[WWI] Solartex

[Bruce Boldner]

Rusty,

Sig Koverall is readily available here, so hopefully 'Stix-it' will 
be also. I like the fact that it is a heat activated glue, so will look it up.

Thanks for including a photo of your Fokker D7. It looks superb. I 
am  intrigued with the lozenge fabric you are applying. So it's 
actual linen with no adhesive backing and you have to sew it on? Now 
that's authentic! It can't be that light, but as your aircraft is 1/4 
scale, I presume that's not a problem.
I'm not going to kid myself that I would have the patience or skill 
to sew my own fabric on.  The one downside with dope is that it keeps 
on shrinking and gets brittle with age, is that true? But I realise 
that's how the full size aircraft were covered.

What type of motor will you be using in the D7?  I'd love to put a 4 
stroke in my Camel, but the 4 strokes all appear to be too long from 
backplate to prop for a radial engined 1/6th scale WW1 plane,and 
would stick out of the cowl too much. I used to favour HP 61's in my 
earlier flying days, but went to a K&B 61 for the VK triplane, as it 
was a much shorter motor and fitted into the cowl better.  I plan to 
use either the K&B or a Super Tigre bluehead (same length) in the Camel.

I also have an old D7 kit by Sterling Models and will aim to put a 4 
stroke in that, as there will be plenty of room.  How I wish I'd 
stocked up with Coverite lozenge pattern when they still made it, 
silk screened and all!

I note you too flew a VK Triplane.  Of all the planes I built and 
flew, the tripe was my favourite. Vernon Krehbiels designs are my all 
time favourites. I also built and still have his Cherokee Babe and 
Corbin Super Ace, but WW1 aircraft are my main interest now.

Regards,

Bruce.

At 10:05 PM 6/7/2009, you wrote:
>Bruce,
>
>Sig makes a product that's used with their Koverall heat shrink 
>fabric( great product if you are going to paint it). Its called 
>"Stix -it". It comes in a small can it is brushable. Its made to act 
>like the glue that is applied to the backside of shrink films like 
>Monokote , Oracover or Ultracote. Since Sig's fabric "Koverall" 
>doesn't have any glue on it, you brush this stuff on then iron the 
>fabric over it. Just so happens it works great as a primer or extra 
>glue for solartex or nelsons on an undercambered wing. I have used 
>it in the exact application you are talking about and had great 
>results. It was on a VK triplane I did years ago. Good luck. If I 
>can ever help let me know. We have a pretty good supply of WW1 R/C 
>stuff here in the US. I'm currently building a Balsa USA 25% D7 with 
>Glenn Torrance lozenge linen. Great looking stuff but a lot of work 
>to sew, apply and then dope up.
>
>Good luck
>Rusty Scott
>Dotte Scott Real Estate
>12 Middle Street
>Lancaster NH 03584
>603-788-4463
>603-788-4483 fax
>Rustys at dscottre.com
>
>Visit us at the most powerful Real Estate web site in the North 
>Country! www.dscottre.com  All of your Real Estate needs at the 
>click of a button.
>----- Original Message ----- From: "Bruce Boldner" <bruce.boldner at bigpond.com>
>To: "World War I Modeling Mailing List" <wwi at wwi-models.org>
>Sent: Sunday, June 07, 2009 7:48 AM
>Subject: Re: [WWI] Solartex
>
>
>>Rusty,
>>
>>
>>Balsa USA didn't have Solartex in Dark Green (as distinct from 
>>Olive Drab), so I followed up your second recommendation, Nelsons fabric.
>>
>>I couldn't work out how to order it online at RCBuyers, so have 
>>ordered a 16.5 metre roll (I also have a Topflite SE5 to build) 
>>online from the Nelsons site in Texas.
>>
>>May I throw another question at you?  How do you get heat 
>>shrinkable fabric to remain glued to the undersides of wing ribs on 
>>an undercambered airfoil?  When I built my Fokker tri-plane many 
>>years ago, I covered it with Coverite and although as a first step 
>>I pressed the fabric to the underside of the ribs with the hot 
>>iron, a lot of the fabric subsequently popped away from the 
>>underside of the ribs and formed a straight line between leading 
>>and trailing edges when I swept the iron over the underside to 
>>finally tighten the fabric.  So I ended up with a flat bottom 
>>airfoil, rather than an undercambered one on all wings.  It didn't 
>>seem to matter much, as the plane flew like a dream anyway, but 
>>with the Camel I'd like to retain the undercambered airfoil if possible.
>>Have you overcome this problem by first sticking the fabric to the 
>>rib undersides with some sort of heat-activated glue?
>>Any advice you can give me would be much appreciated.
>>
>>And of course many thanks on your advice about where to obtain the Solartex.
>>
>>
>>Best regards,
>>
>>Bruce Boldner.
>>
>>
>>At 01:28 AM 6/7/2009, you wrote:
>>>Solartex is great stuff. Here in the US it is easy to get through 
>>>Balsa USA, any color and two different roll lengths. Try their 
>>>website www.balsausa.com . Another good choice which is almost the 
>>>same is Nelsons fabric. You could order that from www.rcbuyers.com 
>>>in New Hampshire, USA. They always have it in stock in natural 
>>>linen and olive drab. I like it just as well as solartex. If I can 
>>>help a fellow WW1 Rcer feel free to e-mail me with questions. 
>>>Rustys at dscottre.com
>>>
>>>Rusty Scott
>>>12 Middle Street
>>>Lancaster NH 03584
>>>603-788-4463
>>>603-788-4483 fax
>>>Rustys at dscottre.com
>>>
>>>----- Original Message ----- From: "Bruce Boldner" 
>>><bruce.boldner at bigpond.com>
>>>To: <wwi at wwi-models.org>
>>>Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 11:08 AM
>>>Subject: [WWI] Solartex
>>>
>>>
>>>>I am currently building a VK Models 1/6th scale Sopwith Camel 
>>>>(after a 25 year break from flying radio control) and am having 
>>>>great difficulty in obtaining  a suitable heat shrinkable fabric 
>>>>covering here in Australia.
>>>>
>>>>I note that Solartex produce a WW1 dark green and would like to 
>>>>purchase 2 rolls of that for the Camel and 2 rolls of silver for 
>>>>the Nieuport 17 to follow.
>>>>One dealer here has Solartex green, but wants $50 per roll!  The 
>>>>only other dealer here in Australia that I have been able to find 
>>>>who stocks Solartex charges $35.00 per roll, but only stocks white and yellow.
>>>>
>>>>I am aware that I could just buy white Solartex and spray paint 
>>>>it green, but I had trouble sanding a Coverite covered model 
>>>>between coats years ago, with even the lightest sanding exposing 
>>>>loose strands of fabric where it was stretched over each wing 
>>>>rib. Also, the Solartex covering appears to come presprayed with 
>>>>a glo fuel resistant paint.
>>>>
>>>>Can anyone advise a reliable dealer who stocks a good range of 
>>>>Solartex and would post some to me?
>>>>If any Australian subscribers happen to read this, I would of 
>>>>course appreciate the contact details of an Australian retailer.
>>>>However, failing that I would appreciate the address of a dealer 
>>>>in the United Kingdom or USA.
>>>>
>>>>Thanks for any assistance you may be able to provide.
>>>>
>>>>Bruce Boldner.
>
>