Oval section plasticard

[bullardino]

Does anyone know how and where to find some oval section plasticard?

I have a biplane on hold that needs total rebuilding of the upper wing struts, and they are oval section.

[TRM]

Hi there Luigi!!! I am sure one of the guys might be along soon to help out on this. I would think first off that if you are replacing the upper wing assembly, frame and all, that you would make new ribbing by cutting them out of flat stock

Like I mentioned, one of the "winged" guys should be buy at some point to help out!!

[bullardino]

Mar 4, 2012 8:38:01 GMT -5 TRM said:

Hi there Luigi!!! I am sure one of the guys might be along soon to help out on this. I would think first off that if you are replacing the upper wing assembly, frame and all, that you would make new ribbing by cutting them out of flat stock

Thanks for your reply, but unfortunately it has to be oval shaped, a square section would be completely wrong and too visible not to notice it.

The plane is this one:




Here you see the upper wing partly mounted, but the struts were bent and impossible to correct.

[TRM]

LOL....that helps!! I was thinking i was something with the interior framing....for some dumb reason!! I would shoot for round styrene rod and sand essentially to sides making the oval shape.

With any luck, jackwagon might chime in here. He is a kind of in-house guru of the white stuff!!

[legend]

a bit of good old scatchbuilding is called for here, Start with rectangular section cut from thick or laminated card and sand away until you're where you need to be!

Bill

[bullardino]

Mar 4, 2012 13:41:30 GMT -5 @dickyf said:

Hi Luigi - I must admit I have NEVER seen oval section rod and I've looked EVERYWHERE!!! lol Todd is correct the easiest way would be to work from solid round rod - select a diameter that is equal to the widest dimension of the spars and sand the opposing sides to give you the correct profile. Even at 1/32 the spars would only be 60-80mm long I would imagine and if you cut them to length first the rough shape can be scraped and then finished with a file and sanding stick in no time. If you're talkin' 1/48 (as this build appears to be) then ya could do it quicker than I typed this answer!!! lol Good luck

I was afraid that this was the solution

The reason to look for a ready oval section rod is that the structure has already a complex shape, and I was hoping to find a shortcut

The struts are N shaped, and are complex especially at the joints of the N.

[bullardino]

Mar 4, 2012 17:17:42 GMT -5 @dickyf said:

What's the prob with the originals Luigi? Sometimes modification is easier than re-building?

They are short, made of too soft plastic and bent. They are impossible to modify, I tried to and they broke in pieces.

The model is a very old one (it's the Arii/Otaki K5Y1 Willow), but I'd be very sorry not to finish it, as I partly scratchbuilt the cockpit, and the overall result is quite nice.

[stevereid]

Luigi-
if you have ONE good section of this, (from this kit or another), you could have copies made in resin. Once the mold is made you could have enough made to do a few planes.

Steve