(Simple Stuka... pg.2)
Wheels
The main wheels begin as two pieces of 1/16"
balsa cross-laminated and glued together. Use a
compass to mark circles and center points on the
laminations, then cut and rough-sand to shape. Now
choose aluminum tubing that fits .020 wire, and
cut 1/2" long sections to use as hubs. Pierce
small holes in the center points of your wheels,
such that the hubs make a tight friction-fit into
them. With the hub inserted (but not glued yet!),
mount one wheel onto a section of .020 wire. Spin
the wheel,and adjust the hub until it spins true
- then use Cya to glue the hub in place. Repeat
with second wheel. Trim hubs to
extend only about 1/16" out from each side,
and sand a nice rounded contour to simulate tires
on your wheels. Finally, paint the wheels black.
For wheel hubs I cut small paper circles, painted
them gray, and glued them to the wheels. |
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The tailwheel isn't functional. It's simply a balsa
circle with a thin bamboo strut that extends into
the fuse. Glue a balsa brace into the fuse to accept
this strut, as shown on plan. The tailwheel will
be installed after tissue covering.
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Wheel Pants
Like the fuselage, the wheel pants are
quite square, which makes construction simple. This
photo shows how I used spacers to hold sides of
the "shoe" section together, while the
1/32" sheet top is glued on. Glue stick is
wonderful for tacking pieces like this together
temporarily - a little alcohol softens it enough
to allow removal.
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Cut a small hole in the top of each "shoe"
to allow the LG wire to pass through (refer to plan
for hole position).
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Each "pant" section is made from two
1/32" laminations, which should be cross-grained.Take
a single lamination and glue
it to a "shoe" section accurately
as shown per plan. Now bend some .020 wire to
permanently hold a wheel, and also to form the
"dog-leg" that prevents the wire from
twisting in the wheel pant (don't bend the upper
loop that attaches to the wing yet).
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Snake your new wire assembly through the hole in
the "shoe," and position it to lay on
top of the "pant" you previously glued
on. Make sure the positioning is accurate according
to the plan, then glue the second "pant"
lamination on top, sandwiching the wire between
the laminates. Clamp this assembly tightly until
the glue dries.
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Greenhouse Canopy
At least two approaches are possible with the canopy.
One is a plunge-molded version, and the other consists
of building up a box out of pieces of clear acetate
sheet. I went with the plunge-mold because it seemed
easiest. The first step in this process is carving
a balsa mold for the canopy. I carried this a step
further by pencilling canopy frame lines onto the
mold, to guide me in applying tissue strips to the
canopy later. |
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For a great explanation of how to plunge-mold canopies,
I recommend Mike Stuart's excellent tutorial, Moulding
Your Own Cockpit Canopies.
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The mold serves as an excellent support for your
new canopy as you apply frame lines and other details.
I stuck mine into a piece of foam for hands-free
support.
After careful trimming of the canopy to fit atop
the fuselage, I proceeded to decorate it. I cuts
strips of tissue for canopy frame lines, and attached
them with glue stick (coloring of tissue is described
later in this article). The antenna was made from
black EVA foam, which is very flexible. The rear-mounted
gun is hardwood dowel.
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Tissue Covering
Some readers will notice that I've simplified the
traditional splinter green camoflage of authentic
Stukas to a solid dark military green. Well, simplification
is what this model's all about! Starting with green
Esaki tissue, I applied parallel strokes of dark
green from an ink marker. All strokes were made
in the direction of airflow on the aircraft, and
the streaking effect produced a nice simulation
of a weathered finish. A little black chalk rubbed
into the tissue afterwards toned down the streaking
a bit, and added a lot of opacity to the tissue.
One light misting of Krylon fixative was sprayed
to fix the chalk to the tissue.
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