Model Airplane Building Archives

Going All-Out With A Classic Balsa B-17-F – Part 14 I finished the last work session on the B-17 fuselage by sharing my decision on the best way to go about sheeting/skinning the framework. Just so you know, what we’re doing does not qualify as “planking”…that’s a somewhat different process based on using lots of...Continue reading→

Going All-Out With A Classic Balsa B-17-F – Part 13 Now that I have a fully framed -up fuselage assembled to the stage that I can actually set it in place against the wing, the logical next step might be to get to work “finishing” it by starting the process of balsa sheet planking/skinning. But…...Continue reading→

Going All-Out With A Classic Balsa B-17-F – Part 12 Do you like it when all the separated parts of a project finally begin to come together? I certainly do, and…for me anyway… that’s what starting work on the fuselage of a new model airplane is all about. As you’ve already figured out, I nearly...Continue reading→

Going All-Out With A Classic Balsa B-17-F – Part 11 We finished our last building session with the basic structure of the wing, as well as the engine nacelles aft of the cowls, all built. All that was left to complete the outline was the flaps and ailerons, and I’m going to build those now....Continue reading→

Going All-Out With A Classic Balsa B-17-F – Part 10 I finished off the last session (Part 9) by promising you a “prodigious mess of balsa shavings” that would result from completing the job of shaping all four engine nacelles. Doing that turned out to be an exercises in using a sequence of traditional model...Continue reading→

Going All-Out With A Classic Balsa B-17-F – Part 9 Part 8 of our “building the B-17” story ended with my giving you a sneak peek at the first of the aft nacelle fairing blocks stuck into place. In showing you that (as a hint of things to come) I got a little ahead of...Continue reading→

Going All-Out With A Classic Balsa B-17-F – Part 8 I finished our last session of B-17 building by closing-up/sheeting-in the forward section of one of the one of the engine nacelles. I’ve been doing nacelles for quite a while now and I’m sure it has occurred to you (as it did to me when...Continue reading→

Going All-Out With A Classic Balsa B-17-F – Part 7 I finished our last building session by closing up (adding the last of the 1/16”balsa sheet skin) the lower surface of both wing panels and doing some final reinforcement and preliminary sanding around the flap well access. With that done, the next step is to...Continue reading→