Dumas Kit # 319 Curtiss Sparrowhawk

[Doppiejohn]

I have what might seem like a dumb question. I have been building Guillow’s kits for years and build for detail and display. When I build a WWII
Kit I cover it with 1/32” balsa sheeting and fill in the seams with wood filler, my question is why do you cut all those pieces and glue them between the stringers, that seems to me to take more work and time but then again I’ve never done it your way.

By the way that is a really nice model you put together, you’ve got a lot to be proud of.

I just finished a Guillow’s DC-3/C-47 kit finished in the C-47 configuration and covered it like I stated above. When I build a model I go on the internet and find pictures of that plane kit and finish my model to match the real plane and make my own decals for it.

Ok enough said again GREAT JOB.

Doppiejohn

[heywooood]

Why do I infill as opposed to ‘skinning’ or overlaying my builds with balsa sheeting?
Two reasons. The first is that there is something seriously wrong with me. Has to be. The other is that I have found that sheeting has two problems - the first is that doing so ‘grows the model’ or makes it oversized. In your example it is grown by 1/16” overall ( when you skin a wing l, top and bottom for example, with 1/32” material that wing is now 1/16” thicker than it should be) The second reason I prefer infill is related to sizing also. When I do it I use 3/32” thick balsa and leave the infill pieces ‘proud’ to the bulkheads, formers and ribs, by about 1/64”. This way, when I sand the model smooth I am sanding typically to the tops of those exposed edges - and ending up with a solid 1/16” minimum material thickness all over the model AND closer to the actual dimensions of the prototype aircraft in scale. Overlaying means sanding that 1/32” thick material unevenly in places causing ‘thin spots’ or sand through. In some places you may end up with balsa that is as thin as tissue. I do it this way for durability and the ability to achieve a better finish without concern for distorting the scale dimensions of the model or sanding through the skin. Everyone who builds has options and can do as they choose. I have streamlined the infill process to make it a bit faster and more efficient, getting max yield from the balsa sheets that I can. Having done both methods I have found I prefer infill - but that’s just my preference.

[heywooood]

And it is not a dumb question..one of the reasons I started the Heywood Planes youtube channel was to answer this question specifically - as well as the other handful that I am most often asked whenever I post these build projects.