1 What's It All About? 5
2 Before And After 9
3 ARC Makeover 15
4 Customize a Kit 25
5 To Cowl or Not to Cowl 39
6 Streamlined Cowls 49
7 Old-Timer Cowls 63
8 Radial cowls 73
9 Preformed Cowls 81
10 Invisible Cowl Mounts 89
11 Fairing a Vertical Fin 93
12 The Fuse-Fin-Stab Connection 99
13 Boom/Fin Fairings 105
14 Simple Wing Fillets 109
15 Landing-Gear Struts 113
16 Wheel Pants 121
17 Easy Louvers 127
18 Wing and Cabane Struts 131
19 Instrument Panels 135
20 Custom Pilots 141
21 Custom Wing-Servo Mounts 147
22 Duplicating Complicated Shapes 151
23 Shapes with Complex Curves 159
Useful Addresses 165
If you have ever drawn a sketch of an airplane, this book is for you. In fact, if you fit any of the following descriptions, this book (and the two volumes that preceded it) is exactly what you've been looking for.
This book is not about designing airplanes. It is about taking advantage of all the engineering work and experimentation that go into designing an aircraft that will fly well and adding your own touches to make it unique.
On the other hand, if you can design an airplane - draw the plans and build from scratch - this book is filled with ideas and building techniques that can help you build more easily. I've learned how to build airplanes by building airplanes, but kits have their place, too. The more kits you build, the more ideas you'll get, and the more techniques you'll eventually devise on your own.
I've found that if I can see the way someone built something that worked, I don't have to dream up a way to do it - or worse, experiment. I either do it precisely as it was done, or I alter the technique to suit myself. Throughout this book, I show the building techniques that work best for me. You may use these techniques as starting points and then enhance and embellish them by drawing on your own knowledge and experience; or perhaps you'll go with the notion that if a technique works, it doesn't need to be fixed.
This book doesn't deal with the simple "Pin the wood over the plan..." building technique; it's devoted to building and modifying the more difficult parts, such as cowls, wheel pants, tail fairings, wing fillets, louvers, cabane and wing struts and instrument panels.
Some models simply stand out from the rest. This book is all about making your model the stand-out!
Warning: customizing airplanes is like eating peanuts or potato chips: you can't "do" just one. Enjoy the experience and good luck!
2 Before And After 9
3 ARC Makeover 15
4 Customize a Kit 25
5 To Cowl or Not to Cowl 39
6 Streamlined Cowls 49
7 Old-Timer Cowls 63
8 Radial cowls 73
9 Preformed Cowls 81
10 Invisible Cowl Mounts 89
11 Fairing a Vertical Fin 93
12 The Fuse-Fin-Stab Connection 99
13 Boom/Fin Fairings 105
14 Simple Wing Fillets 109
15 Landing-Gear Struts 113
16 Wheel Pants 121
17 Easy Louvers 127
18 Wing and Cabane Struts 131
19 Instrument Panels 135
20 Custom Pilots 141
21 Custom Wing-Servo Mounts 147
22 Duplicating Complicated Shapes 151
23 Shapes with Complex Curves 159
Useful Addresses 165
If you have ever drawn a sketch of an airplane, this book is for you. In fact, if you fit any of the following descriptions, this book (and the two volumes that preceded it) is exactly what you've been looking for.
- You are never satisfied with the ordinary.
- You take a particular pride in your work.
- You think model airplanes should look like their full-scale counterparts.
- You don't like ARFs because they're "lookalikes."
- You carry a picture of your latest airplane.
- You like winning contests.
- You see beyond the obvious.
This book is not about designing airplanes. It is about taking advantage of all the engineering work and experimentation that go into designing an aircraft that will fly well and adding your own touches to make it unique.
On the other hand, if you can design an airplane - draw the plans and build from scratch - this book is filled with ideas and building techniques that can help you build more easily. I've learned how to build airplanes by building airplanes, but kits have their place, too. The more kits you build, the more ideas you'll get, and the more techniques you'll eventually devise on your own.
I've found that if I can see the way someone built something that worked, I don't have to dream up a way to do it - or worse, experiment. I either do it precisely as it was done, or I alter the technique to suit myself. Throughout this book, I show the building techniques that work best for me. You may use these techniques as starting points and then enhance and embellish them by drawing on your own knowledge and experience; or perhaps you'll go with the notion that if a technique works, it doesn't need to be fixed.
This book doesn't deal with the simple "Pin the wood over the plan..." building technique; it's devoted to building and modifying the more difficult parts, such as cowls, wheel pants, tail fairings, wing fillets, louvers, cabane and wing struts and instrument panels.
Some models simply stand out from the rest. This book is all about making your model the stand-out!
Warning: customizing airplanes is like eating peanuts or potato chips: you can't "do" just one. Enjoy the experience and good luck!
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