Tear Drop fuselage shapes and realistic turtle decks should be easy to build with this paper backed oak laminate.
I also am interested in alternative building materials. I think I’ve read almost every article about building with corrugated cardboard. I was also looking into foam core / foam board when Flite Test exploded onto the scene with full-blown kits made out of flat foam sheet with craft paper on both sides, but the paper is easily stripped off (watch one of their build tutorial videos, wow!).
I am familiar with several types of laminates or laminated materials. This term means two materials layered together, it does not mean oak “laminate” with a paper backing. If you were to layer a thin slice of oak (easily split) with a layer of paper to prevent the splitting, the two materials bonded together would be referred to as a laminate. In other words an oak “veneer” glued to a layer of paper creates a laminate.
That being said, I can see oak veneer or other species of wood veneers being bent perpendicular to the direction of the grain quite easily. And a paper or even cloth (silk? Polyspan? Tea-Paper?) backing would most likely prevent splitting. the material would seem quite useful for wing skins, fuselages, and tail feathers, anything with a simple unidirectional bend or bends.
I just don’t see that bending happening in two directions in order to create a teardrop shape, a humped turtleneck, or a cowl. I’m not saying it can’t be done, I’m just saying I’m not a believer so “show me”. I wish you luck with that part of your experiment. Personally I think you’d have better luck with a molded paper-pulp structure such as a plain old egg carton. They can be molded into quite clean shapes and curves as long as fast-and-cheap is not your goal like the egg industry.
since we are theorizing alternatives and hybridizing materials left and right I would like to make a suggestion regarding paint: don’t use it. Explanation: As we know most paint is a binder or medium filled with particles of color (pigment), or zero particles for clear. The bottom line for most of us is that stuff is thick, gloppy, and HEAVY so that the binder can contain the pigment. A reasonable alternative to me would be a dye or stain or even ink. Dyes and stains don’t contain particles. The medium is usually very thin and the color is dissolved into the medium so the medium doesn’t have to carry or coat the pigment as in paint. You apply a dye or stain, brush, wipe, or spray it on and the medium for the most part evaporates leaving behind a very thin and light color coat. We would have to re-learn our procedures and our color theory to make it work. A dye sprayed over another dye would not hide the bottom color. The medium of the top color would tend to melt the bottom color layer and allow them to blend. Unless we could figure out a light weight clear for in between coats but still dyes are more transparent than paints. However I think it might be possible to lay down a light weight white base coat, followed by some nifty graphics by airbrushing dyes over peel off masks (probably made by Callie), followed by a final fuel-proof clear coat of rattle can 2-part Spray Max 2K, or WBP (water based polycrylic) shot through a HVLP sprayer.
That’s mostly all I wanted to say. My brain hurts now. Long day. I am glad you are semi-retired, out of the rat race, doing what YOU want to do, and I am hoping your health is improving.
I really do wish you oodles of luck and good fortune with the alternative materials project. Keep me in mind to buy some Beta Kits to build!
Thank You.
Paul W.
Cypress, CA
Topic: Eric Rule/RSM (Read 4488 times)