Building materials

All things related to 2548 Scale

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draftman1
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Building materials

Post by draftman1 »

I am new to scale and I see that alot of planes are made out of foam. what kind of foam is it? I normaly build spads but some planes are not spaddable. I have looked at all of the build threads and wow, there are a few talented builders out there. thanks for any info
crash_out
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Post by crash_out »

Hello there, welcome to the RCCA forum!

Most of the scale planes are built from insulation foam. It's generally available at home improvement or building supply stores. The two major brands are Dow and Owens Corning, which make blue and pink foam, respectively. It's really as simple as cutting the general shape using a bandsaw or hot wire cutter, then sanding to final form. Wings are a bit more complicated.

For a really good article, check out http://www.georgiacombat.com/Eindex.html . There are a couple of links to building a scale plane from scratch. You can also check out the instructions page at www.jkaerotech.com for some good info. Finally, check out the 2548, electric ww2, and scale building section of the forum-there are a lot of sifferent ideas scattered through there!
draftman1
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Post by draftman1 »

Ok Crash, thanks for the info. my biggist problem is that non of the lumber yards and home centers carry bluecor or the pink stuff around here. I gota find it out of town. I still have some time till the event. there sure are some nice planes in the build threads. thank you
crash_out
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Post by crash_out »

We didn't get anything larger than 1 inch around here until recently, and even now the 2 inch we get is scored every 8 or 16 inches, severely limting the size of parts we can get. Some areas of the country simply don't carry it at all. They will offer to order it for you, provided you order about $1000 worth...
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Ed Kettler
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Post by Ed Kettler »

We get our blue foam from a commercial refridgeration firm (walk in resturant sized refridgs)
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boiler
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Post by boiler »

There are sevral sources of already cut wings. You can order whatever airfoil you want. Give them the size and shape of the wing then they can use foam that they get in their part of the country. Check with some of the guys that kit 2548 planes.
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o1moregil
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Post by o1moregil »

http://southwestvault.com these guy can ship it to you, they have diffrent density blue foam
draftman1
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Post by draftman1 »

thats great guys, thank you for the information, I will get on it
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Post by THend »

I have to drive to Los Angeles to get mine, what a drag.
draftman1
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Post by draftman1 »

I just found out that my dad needs to go to glendale next weekend to pick up his car from my sister. I will try to get some then when I get his car. thanks Andy
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Blue Note
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Post by Blue Note »

Hey,

I have found the 2" thick blue foam at a supplier where they do concrete work. You know, lots of re-bar and such. It took me forever to find a source as well, and I live in a pretty big town. It too is scored, but not every 8" - some pieces are wider. Still, plenty for most wings if you plan out your cuts and aren't cutting the leading edge or ailerons out of foam. Also, I've had very little difficulty cutting wings even if smaller pieces are glued with 3M 77 ( Classic ), but this is NOT preferred, just necessary at times. It stinks having to paying freight charges for a couple pieces or having to cut it down just to get it to you house. Good luck.
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Post by crash_out »

yes, ours (both pink and blue, from different sources) is scored into 4 peices-2 8 inch, and 2 16 inch. You CAN cut a wing if you plan it out properly to get the thinner section at the score, but cutting a fuse is pretty much screwed. I guess you could fill the scores with PU glue, but I'm sure that would mess up your hotwire cuts...

I can get the white beaded R Max foam locally that isn't scored, but it's the same price as Dow or OC, and a lot weaker....

Funny thing about cutting it down, I've bought so much I have templates laid out in the wagon to know where to cut it to get maximum use and still fit it into the car....
draftman1
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Post by draftman1 »

has the white foam worked ok? if a large enough cruch was used, it should work. I bet its alot harder to sand and cover isnt it? being a combat plane, I dont expect it to last along time. thanks
crash_out
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Post by crash_out »

It is substantially lighter, but you'd have to put some extra support in there. It is very difficult to sand. I think it's best use is in wings-I have to do very little sanding after the hot wire process for mine. As for covering, I've never covered it with iron on, always used bi-di/packing tape or fiberglass.

In some areas it's only around 12 bucks a sheet, which might make it more attractive, but here it's the same price as the extruded foam, and I can't justify it unless I'm just trying to save weight.
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boiler
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Post by boiler »

After a mid-air it snows a lot!!!
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