Hi guys:
One more belated post:
I wanted to show you a tool that I made to work on the somewhat fragile cowls without holding them in my hands. It allows me to do the rivets, painting, details, etc., while turning the cowls over and doing the other side without smearing the other side. Sort of like some of the paint stands I have seen on this website, only smaller. It is nothing more than 1/4" balsa from the scrap pile. It has a rather extended base for stability. I then drilled the two uprights concentrically with a 1/4" drill. I then placed a long piece of 1/4" aluminum tubing into those holes without gluing it. I then glued a balsa "cross" onto the aluminum tubing that matches the inside dimension of the cowls. I now slide the cowls onto the assembly and can work on all sides of the cowl without touching it by simply rotating the tube. I experimented with the application of some of the first rivets. I used white glue. Even though it is called "white glue", they dried out a harsh orange/yellow. I think I will go back to RC/56. It dries clear.
The cowls are somewhat light in the interest of overall weight. I used three layers of fiberglass and polyester resin. I constructed them by making them by stringers and formers and then covered that with glass. I then removed all of the balsa except for some left in the extreme front for strength. They are somewhat flexible, but I believe they will firm up by the time I add the engines, mounting brackets, etc.
My apologies for this late post, but my Chron's recently put me in the hospital with a bad infection. The infection did a number on my kidneys and now we are fighting to get them back. If we can't get them back, I may have to start a dialysis regimen. The only reason that I mention this is because if I have to go to dialysis, I may not be able to go to any more scale events even if I finish this plane. Rats!
Jim Fruit