Installing Paper Fairings

[KirkH]

I'm building the Hawker Hurricane and have completed the wood and tissue part of the build and have assembled the components. Now I'm stuck by how to attach the wing/fuselage fairings, the ones that need to be copied from the plans and then made using heavy paper of some sort. I made them from card stock and I've been debating what to do. Do I use white glue and then pin them in place till they dry? Do I use CA glue? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[heywooood]

I use white glue on them and let the water in the glue soak in - let the paper or card stock achieve that good pliability - you can even add a drop of water to the glue dollop and mix it with a toothpick (I use a water bottle cap for small amounts of glue/water mixtures) and in this case I would only add a drop of water to a dime sized drop of white glue..
Check the fit of the fairing part to make sure it extends from leading to trailing edge and to see where exactly you want it. Then add the glue mixture to the business side with a fingertip and work it in to the paper a bit.
Lay it right in to the spot it is meant to cover the way you want it to look and with just your fingertips, pull gently at the leading and trailing edge of your fairing to gently draw it tight and just hold it there for a bit.
Once it is set I take a water based sealer or a 50/50 white glue and water mixture and paint the edges of the fairing all the way around the part. Dont get the part wet - just a light amount on the brush and go around the edges.
The glue mixture will wick into the seam..
The next day when all is dry I usually paint the whole area with the sealer...typically when that dries the part is tight and wrinkle free and shaped the way you want it

[KirkH]

That sounds like it would be do-able. Thanks for the info.

[heywooood]

fyi - for future reference - I typically install the fairings before covering or painting the model..the tissue or paint generally help pull the part down tight and hide the edges a bit better than when the card stock is laid on top of same...you can always cover just the wing and fuselage area where the fairing is applied with a carefully trimmed (oversized) bit of tissue then dope or seal and or paint as you would.

[KirkH]

That sounds like a good technique as well. So you glue the fuselage and wing together before tissuing? Doesn't that make tissuing much more difficult?

Also, am I right to use card stock for my fairings or do people use something else? I wouldn't mind hearing that there's something better out there. Thanks again.

[heywooood]

no - not typically. You would not cover the wing and fuselage after joining them. Always cover each major component prior to assembly. I meant to say cover the fairing carefully with a tailored section of covering tissue.
The idea being to fair it in seamlessly as possible. When I would do this - and mind it has been a while since I covered a model - I would try to make these areas look as clean as possible. That meant covering the fairing with tissue and making it look as if the tissue were the same size and shape relatively, as the aluminum section on the actual plane. If that makes sense. Making the card stock (or stiff paper) fairing more of an underlying support for the tissue section that I preferred to see. Sometimes I have difficulty explaining what I mean - but in this case I mistakenly typed 'before covering and painting the model' but I meant the fairings.

[Steve Blanchard]

Use watercolor paper. It molds quite well when dampened and holds the shape when dried. Offers great support to the tissue.