Framing looks fantastic.  I like this technique.  Definitely will have to look into using on my next bubble canopy. 
Tom

All is looking really good and thank you for the template method of applying lettering, this may be the method for adding the registration markings on my Interstate.
Mike

That is awesome
Shipwreck

Been working on the markings for the T-28.  Insignia and shields are printed tissue with the backs opaqued using a white colored pencil. Letters and numbers are cut from black tissue using patterns printed from graphics created in Powerpoint.  I used the cut-out pattern as a template to align the lettering on the aircraft.  Each letter was tacked on with a dot of glue stick applied near the center of the letter with a toothpick.  Use the sticky toothpick to pick up and place the letter on the model within the template.

Once the letters were in place the template gets removed, then I flowed dope thinner onto each letter using a small brush.  The thinner wicks into the tissue, dissolves a bit of dope from the tissue underneath and locks the lettering in place.

Lessons learned: 
1.  Cut the lettering so the dull side of the tissue is to the outside. Apply the glue stick to the shiny side of the tissue.  This makes it easier to move the letter around for final alignment, and also absorbs the thinner more readily when locking the marking down on the model with dope thinner.

2.  Once the letters are cut out, remove any shapes inside the outline of the letters on the template before using the template to align the letters on the model.  This reduces problems with the template catching the tacked-on letters as you remove it prior to applying thinner.

Mike

alfakilo wrote on Jul 5^th, 2018 at 8:45pm:


A video of that would be nice Mike!!!!  No pressure! But tomorrow would be good!

The part that amazes me is how the tissue is formed around the lip of the cowl...just perfect! I'd love to watch how you do it.

Had fun at Gainesville despite the wind and have been tied up the last ten days with a makeover of the room where I build.  Here's how I approached covering the compound curves and scoops on the cowl:

The T-28 cowl has clamshell panels to facilitate maintenance - I broke the covering up the same way and used the panel lines to hide the joints.  Before covering I brushed balsa fillercoat over the cowl and sanded it smooth (helps hide the woodwork and makes it easier to slide the tissue around).  All covering was done wet with glue stick and 50/50 alcohol-water mix.  The orange tissue was chalked with neon orange to make it brighter and a bit more opaque.  Here's the sequence:

1. Covered the inside of the carb and oil cooler air scoops, wrapping the tissue around the inside of the cowl opening.

2. Marked the location of the panel lines on either side of the two scoops and the rear edge of the cowl with modeling tape.  Covered the scoop areas, trimmed the tissue to the tape lines, then removed the tape.

3. Marked the location of the right side cowl access panel with tape, then covered the bottom area between the tape and the oil cooler scoop.  Trimmed the tissue to the tape on the right side, then used a #10 curved blade to trim the overlap with the oil cooler scoop, trying to keep the overlap to about .5mm.

4. Marked the rough location of the antiglare panel with tape, then covered and trimmed the cowl sides and removed the tape.

5. Marked the final location of the antiglare panel with tape, then used a white Prismacolor pencil to tone down the orange tissue where the black would overlap (I had about 3-4mm overlap at these joints).

6. Used scrap tissue to make a template for the antiglare panel, then cut that from black esaki and applied it wet using the tape lines as a guide.  Had to do a bit of trimming to clean up the front edge.

7. Made the exhaust shields from silver esaki and put a 3mm strip of black esaki inside the cowl to mimic the gap between the cylinders and the inside cowl lip.

8. Using strips of index card as a straightedge, drew panel lines over the overlaps using a black Prismacolor pencil.  If you look closely you can see the tissue overlaps, but the panel lines draws the eye away from the overlaps and hides them pretty well

To get the tissue to stretch over the cowl I cut the pieces oversize, applied glue stick to the model around the perimeter of the area being covered, wet the tissue, then started applying it at the aft edge of the cowl.  Working gradually forward, I pulled the top and bottom edges tight, smoothing the tissue down with a fingertip.  Approaching the front end I pulled at the top and bottom forward corners about as hard as I dared to stretch the tissue over the forward radius as much as possible.  From here I smoothed the tissue over the forward cowl lip and used the back of a fingernail to burnish the tissue smooth over the edge.  There were some small wrinkles at the forward lip, but burnishing them down as the tissue dried and shrank made them almost invisible unless you're looking at them under strong light from a few inches away.

I used much the same approach to do the silver tissue on the wingtips.  For the tips I covered the bottom side first, trimmed off the excess at about 10 o'clock/2 o'clock looking from the front, then covered the top side pulling the tissue over the wingtips and trimming at the 9/3 o'clock position for a small overlap.

Hope this makes sense...

Cheers,

Mike

Thanks guys.  The airplane is a T-28, built from a prototype kit by William Scott from PT Aviation.  I finished covering the flying surfaces today - still needs markings and canopy frames.

Tom, nothing special about my tissue techniques, they are all stolen from newsletters, build threads and so on.  I'm prepping to leave for the meet in Gainesville tomorrow so I'll come back to this next week with more thoughts on covering.

For this build, all tissue was applied using UHU glue stick and in some areas tissue joints were sealed after application using 50/50 white glue and water.  I covered over well-sanded bare balsa in the framework areas; for infilled areas I brush on Aero-Gloss balsa fillercoat (out of production, going to have to find a new fillercoat) then sand with 400-grit.

I covered the fuselage framework dry.  The cowl was done wet.  The white and orange tissues were chalked (white and neon orange respectively).  The orange chalk worked really well to simulate dayglo orange, but it was messy as you-know-what and I worked in fear of leaving a big Cheeto thumbprint somewhere on the model...

Wing, fin and stab were covered wet, stab tissue was pre-shrunk on a frame before application.  Panel lines were drawn onto the flying surface tissue with a black Prismacolor pencil before putting the tissue on the model (that way if I screw it up I can start over without stripping the model.

I'll think about the process and results this weekend and see if I can offer lessons learned next week.

Cheers,

Mike