Hawk1270 Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 Are there any books, websites, videos, etc. out there regarding scratch-building model air frames? I have scratch built several small parts from styrene plastic sheet, tubing and Milliput over the years to dress up my models but I have never built an entire model aircraft and would like to give it a shot. Only thing that's keeping me from embarking on such an endeavor is how to shape aircraft curves. I know it can be done from styrene plastic; I just don't know where to start. Any suggestions? Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MoFo Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 John Alcorn's two books are commonly recommended starting points: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Scratch-Builders-Aircraft-Techniques/dp/0764307959 https://www.amazon.com/Scratch-Celebration-Static-Airplane-Modelers/dp/0887404170 Harry Woodman's book is on-line, and a classic, too: http://web.archive.org/web/20080122044909/www.wwimodeler.com/harry/woodman.html Fon Davis' DVD isn't really airplane specific, but I've heard really positive things about it (some really respected modelers are big fans): https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Professional-Model-Making-Davis/dp/B0066CJOAS/ Gerald Wingrove has two really great books, too. They're about scratch building cars, and he uses metal, but there is still a lot of great info for aircraft modellers: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Car-Modeller-1/dp/1861266448/ https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Car-Modeller-Gerald-Wingrove/dp/1861267509/ Lastly, for more videos, you can just spend a bunch of time going down the Youtube rabbit hole. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hawk1270 Posted February 10, 2017 Author Share Posted February 10, 2017 Thank you MoFo!! All of those links are a good starting point! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 (edited) I'm joining you in your question, Hawk1270. Thanks for those references, MoFo. This topic fascinates me too. I've built small curved parts using the bulkhead and filler method -- only, the vacuformed shell ends up with lines where the styrene bulkheads are, I'm not sure why. Maybe they want to fuse with the styrene shell because of the heat. Don't forget to post your scratchbuilt airframe builds, Hawk1270. I'm really interested. and check out these threads by Major Walt for some inspiration. http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/241075-148-lifting-body-scratchbuild/ http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/290530-148-lifting-body-scratchbuild/ and a sci-fi build thread from roback over at therpf. http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=173853 It's incredible how they get to the finished product starting out with just bulkheads, planking and filler. Edited February 10, 2017 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hawk1270 Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 Thank you crackerjazz! My apologies for taking forever to get back to you; I've been busy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 I've built two models from scratch using a number of techniques,none of which were too complicated.. it just takes a bit of planning. Check out my website http://www.barneysairforce.com and go to models Fleet Canuck and Grumman Alleycat construction articles. Barney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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