A step by step guide for building balsa models #2

this article is a continuation of my first article in which I went through what you’re going to need to build a balsa model and how to assemble the body, rudder and elevator.  in this article I’m going to go through how to build the wing and how to cover the body and wing with balsa while the elevator and tail is going to be covered with tissue paper. But I’m going to write an article about how to cover a balsa model with tissue paper and also making it into a free flight model as soon as I get this FW 190 done, so if anyone have a specific Guillows 500 series model that they would like to have a tutorial on how to cover it with tissue paper and make it into a free flight model write in the comment what plane it is and i might choose it depending on if I have built that one before or how many of them I have already built of that specific model. 

Step 1: start with the center section of the wing

pine the parts down with the help of pins (note you don’t have to start with the center section of the wing and instead start with either left or right wings). 

Step 2: cut the rib notches 

Use the wing ribs patterns to cut out the notches of the rib. for ribs F2 (on the plans I used that was the number it can be another number on other models) you will need to crack it so that it can be bent and glued in its right place and in the right way, to do it you will have to cut half way through the wing rib and then carefully bend it 

Step 3: placing the center sections wing ribs in place

glue the wing ribs to the center section and use the pins to hold them in place, also use the pins to keep the outer ribs (F2 in my case) fron bending inward or outward

Step 4: place the center sections spares 

glue the spares to the ribs and pin them in place, the length that they are supposed to be can be seen on the plans, for the one that is under the ribs just slide it in. Keep in mind that the size if the central section varies from model to model.

Step 5: start with the basic of the wing



Look at the plans where the leading edge, trailing edge and wing tip are supposed to be at, glue them together and keep them in place by using pins.

Step 6: add the wing ribs

For this do as in step 2 and cut out any notches from the ribs, and as always glue them to the leading and trailing edges and keep them at place with pins. also make sure that they are standing somewhat straight, it doesn’t have to be exactly 90 degrees but somewhat close to that. 

Step 7: add the spares

Next it is time to add the spares to the wing. First of your going to need tree spares, out of the tree spares one of them is going to be at the bottom this one is the simples on because it is going to be straight while the two others will be needed to be bent at the end.

Use the plans to find out where to make the cut into the spare, after making it carefully bend it also make sure to cut a bit of the tip as seen on the picture. After you have done the preparations put the spares in place with glue and keep them from moving by using pins. after this repeat step 5 -7 on the other wing.

Step 8: attach the wings to the center section

Next is to attach the wings to the center section and give the wings the angel that you want. If your planning on making the model into a free flight or control line model use the angel for the wings that is shown on the plans (same goes probably if you’re making it into a Rc model if your using only elevator and rudder to steer it), but if your planning on making it into just a model Google the plane and add plans to the search terms and measure the angel that is given for the wings. After deciding on the angle of the wing glue the wing to the center section and use something to hold the wings in the right angel as the glue dries, you can use wooden glue but I personally recommend using epoxy or any stronger type of glue, this is to make sure that the wing won’t start to slide down after removing the supports from under the wings.

Next, I’m going to go through how to cover the elevator, rudder, wing and body. the elevator and rudder are going to be covered with tissue paper while the body and wings are covered with balsa. but when I have finished this model I’ll write an article about covering balsa model with tissue paper and making it into a free flight model.

Step 9: covering the elevator and rudder

I’ll be going to trough how to cover the elevator and rudder at the same time due to that they are covered in the same way.

 But before you start covering the elevator and rudder you will need to have them finished, you will also need to mix the wooden glue your using to cover the parts (the glue I’m using is standard wooden glue Erikeeper) with water, this is to make the glue thinner.

use the rudder and elevator and trace their pattern on to tissue paper, use a scissor to cut it out but don’t follow the pattern exactly and leave a small gape between the line you drew and the place you cut it out (as can be seen in the picture, sorry that the quality isn’t that good on this one).

After you have cut out the pattern and mixed the glue with water use your finger or a brush to cover the areas on the picture that is drawn with a red line with the thinned glue.

  Put the tissue paper carefully on the elevator and rudder (do it carefully so no wrinkles are made), then take any of the extra paper that is hanging over the rudder and elevator and bend it over the edge and put some glue on it. after this let the glue dry and do the same thing on the other side.

After the glue has dried use a spray bottle filled with water and spray it on the elevator and rudder, but don’t do it to close to the elevator or rudder because the paper has to only be drenched a little, after this let the paper dry either by itself or use a hair fan to dry it faster. after this the paper should be stiffer than before and there should be less wrinkles in the paper (if either bends after you have dried them spray them again and let them dry by them self while you have a book or something similar on top of them keeping them flat). After this the covering of elevator and rudder is done.

Step 10: covering the fuselage with balsa

You are going to need the fuselage, scrap balsa and glue.

Take and cut out parts from scrap balsa and sand it down until it fits into the holes between the side stringers and glue it into place, do this to both sides (as seen on the picture) at the same time this is to prevent the body from starting to bend. 

As you keep covering the body and come to the part of the body where the cockpit is you can choose to take and cut a bit of balsa and make it into a floor, don’t
add a floor if you’re going to make it into a free flight model because the floor might be in the way for the rubber band if placed to Lowe.

keep doing this until the whole body is covered in balsa. Don’t cover the part of the body where the elevator is supposed to be slide into (the part of the body that isn’t covered is supposed to not be covered in balsa, the reason is due to that the cabin is placed there and covers it). after that take a sand it down with sandpaper until the balsa is even with the fuselages frames and side strings.

Use wooden putty and cover the whole-body with it, after that use some fine sandpaper and sand it down to the same level as the balsa, this is to make sure that the body is smooth and that there are no uneven spots on the body. after this paint the whole body with white paint, the paint will show any uneven spots on the body and if you find any use some wooden putty on it

After This the covering of the body is done.

Step 11: covering the wing

when it comes to covering the wing i prefer to start with the middle and work outward, this is due to that the center sections underside is only needed to be covered on it.

due to that the wings underside is flat is quite simple to cover. Take a piece of flat balsa that thickness is around the same as the leading edge and trailing edge (preferably as close as possible), take and put the center section on the balsa and use a pen to trace the shape and then cut the parts out.

  After that glue the pieces into place. 

Cover the rest of the wings underside in the same way

Note that the numbers on the part is only there so that I know that which part come in which order. Next, I’m going to show how you can make the wheel wells for a balsa model, for this you have two option either paint it by using black paint this is the best option if your covering the underside with tissue paper, the other options is to cut out the wheel wells which is the way I’m going to show.

First of your going to need the pattern for the wheel wells, the easiest way to do it is by taking a copy of the plans. Use double sided tape to get the paper to stick to the wing and so that any extra paper can be easily removed. after that take a cut through the balsa but be careful when cutting over the wing ribs, after cutting through the balsa take and carefully remove the out cut part and pull of any extra tape from the wing.

Next cut out some pieces of balsa that are big enough so that they will cover the wheel well (the thickness of the balsa isn’t important), glue them in place and hold them in place w pins.

Next is covering of the wings over side, due to the shape of the FW 190s wing I can’t cover it all at once and have to cover a small part of the wing separately, but the center section over side is leaved uncovered.

I’ll be using 1mm balsa to cover the over side of the wing. Cut out a piece of balsa that is big enough to cover the area that is supposed to be cover, make sure that the piece fits, then take and use glue to glue it into place and it is a good idea to use a lot of glue so that the balsa surely stays in place and doesn’t move after gluing, and use needles to keep it in place (for anyone that is building a FW 190 and is wondering what parts the piece of balsa is covering it is F2 and half of  F3 the reason I for only covering half of the F3 is due to that when covering the rest of the wing, the balsa piece that will continue needs to have the same shape so that it will look good).

Cover the rest of the wing in the same way but leave the tip of the wing uncovered.

To cover the tip, take some scrap balsa and cut some parts to use to cover the tip, glue them in place and use pins to keep them in place.

After the glue has dried take and sand them down into the shape you want or need them to be, and after sanding them down take some putty and cover any uneven spots on the wing tip, underside (but don’t put putty in the wheel well because it will be hard to sand down), at the leading and trailing edge and any other uneven spots on the wing. 

after this the covering of the airplane is done and it’s time to assemble it.

Step 12: assembly of the body, wing, elevator and rudder

Start with the wing and see if it fits, if it doesn’t take and do the necessary adjustment that is needed, as soon on the picture I had to remove some of the 1mm balsa next to center section (the black lines shows where I had to cut off some balsa).

glue the wing to the body with either wooden glue or epoxy, use needles to hold it in place.
Glue the elevator in place and use the wing to see if it is straight or is too much up or down on any of the sides.
glue the rudder into place and use pins as seen on the picture to keep it in place, also make sure that it is standing as straight up as possible. For those wondering what the black lines on the elevator and rudder are they are the separation of the elevator and stabilizer, rudder and fin and I drew them there to be used as reference when it comes to painting the model.

If you want to make the transmission from rudder to body and to elevator smother, take some tissue paper and glue it in place with some thinned glue and cut away any extra paper.

Next it is time to glue the fairings, use a printer and take a copy of the fairing displayed on the plans (get at least 4 copies just to be safe) 

Use normal wooden glue to glue it in place and let it dry in peace (this tend to be one of the hardest part of a model). If you flip the plane over you will see that the underside of where the fairings is uncovered, fix it by taking some scrappaper and cut it into the shape of the back part of the fairings.

glue them to the underside with glue and let them to dry in peace.

This has been the second part of my step by step tutorial on building balsa models and how to cover the body, wing with balsa. 

in the third and last part of this tutorial I’ll be showing how to cut and glue the plastic parts, how to assemble the landing gear and how to make a scale propeller and of course some tips for painting the model and some other thing.

as I said in the beginning I’ll be making an aritcle later about covering a balsa model with tissue paper and if anyone have a plane that they would like me to use in the tutorial leave a comment what plane it is. And if there was something in the article that confused you leave it in the comments and ill reply and try to make it clear whatever got you confused.

Article updated 8.1.2018: fixed some misspelling that bird2jump notified me off.