Tissue removal?

[gordonfan24]

Is it possible? I want to redo my Spitfire. After sitting for a while in the top of my office closet, the better half's cat has damaged it significantly. Is there any way to remove and replace without destroying the model?

[Mitch]

The way I see it you have a couple of problems.

The quick answer is YES. But that may depend on how you attached the paper. So a longer answer is MAYBE. I have removed damaged paper and usually I just remove the damaged section and replace that piece. My paper is only attached to the outside edge of the paper sections, so when I start to cut and remove a piece the entire piece can come off. Sometime I do not want the whole piece off and I have to re-glue the cut line to the nearest rib or frame.

It may be difficult to remove the large contact points like on the C, D, and E parts, and with sanding there still may be some paper left.

The next problem is covering the model again. Can you disassemble the main components? For models I have repaired I can usually remove the tail as I only have about 2 drops of glue holding in the stabilizer. The wing may be a bigger problem.

At some point I believe it is easier to build a new model or new tail / wing. The only part that I believe is worth saving and takes me the longest to build is the fuselage.

Good Luck, Mitch

PS: I did not see the picture at first. Just a suggestion about your wing fairing. I just used paper. Light cardboard is okay but I would put the grey side out. It may be difficult to fully cover that writing with paint. I would want to start with a 'blank' sheet.

[gordonfan24]

Thank you for the extremely helpful advice Mitch. I have separated the fuse from the wing, along with the elevator and stab, they came off too easily. I guess I need to work on my affixing of main components because I THOUGHT I put 'em on for good, LOL. Fortunately, I was able to remove the tissue from the wing quite easily, with what I believe to be very minimal sanding involved. I will tackle the fuse tomorrow. This is a display model so I would like to use possibly a different covering that will show well. May I please have some suggestions?

[Mitch]

I did not see any damage earlier. I see the damage on the fuselage now. Personally, I would only cut out the damaged sections and do a patch work repair. I fly my models and that will eventually happen to all my models.

I like the silkspan paper in the kits. But I suppose you don't have any left as you are taking it all off. You can buy more from Guillows. I made a Spit and covered with domestic colored tissue. Here is a picture. She is a flyer:

But covering with 2 layers of paper can be tricky. My lastest build the Focke Woulf, "Red 13", I plan to paint. If you can wait a week we will see how that turns out. Mean while check out easybuiltmodels for the colored paper. comes in 28 flavors... I mean colors.

Mitch

PS. Sorry I did not realize the picture was so blurry. It is the only picture of the Spitfire I have at the moment. I still have the model.

[gordonfan24]

It's all great. VERY much appreciated! I have nothing but time on my hands now and I'm all about trial and error if necessary. This hobby has intrigued me for what seems to be an eternity. To have such a resource at hand is immeasurable. Knowing now what you've stated, I believe it would be in my (and my model's) best interest to fly. I'm going to act like I'm starting as a noob and go from there. Stupid questions coming forthwith. Thanks again and I'll attempt to differentiate the specific questions I have with unique threads.