I assume you have a full complement of the tools needed to assemble the mechanics of the helicopter so I wont go into describing them. The most important tool in my scale workshop is the ubiquitous Dremel. I have fitted mine with a small chuck to make it even more versatile as I can slip any size drill into it below 1/8" diameter. I also have the usual collection of sanding and cutting discs and drums these tools come with. The cutting discs are very useful for cutting out doors as they make a very narrow cut, but when cutting out windows, I prefer to use an abrasive disc and get close with a drum sander. If you do use the sander for cutting out windows, finish the cutout with a needle file, its too easy to make a mistake with the Dremel. The abrasive disc is also very useful for cutting pieces of wood, but be prepared for the stench of burning wood to pervade the room and your clothes. Dremel also supply some carbide router type bits which are useful for cutting large holes in fiberglass but they are difficult to control accurately so use them with care.

To make grooves in paint for panel work and for general tidying up work in fiberglass, I scrounged some dental picks from my dentist. Once these are a little worn, the dentists tend to throw them out. This is why it costs so much to have your teeth filled. Use a straight edge to control the run, I prefer a 6" rule as it bends around most curves easily. Tack it in place with blue masking tape. The other way to make nice panels is with drafting tape used by PCB designers and architects. I have a range from 1/64" to 1/8" which covers most scales. Put this where you want the panel line and then lay coats of sandable primer on it until the tape nearly disappears. Peel it back carefully and you will have a nice panel line where there was none before.

When the primer has set, sand it down with fine wet and dry emery paper, with lots of soapy water to wash away the sandings, util the surface feels silky smooth to the touch. I use at least 320 grit and often a piece of very worn 400 grit paper. Make up your rivet gun from a 5cc syringe and a medium needle. Cut the needle at 90 degrees with your Dremel and use a #11 knife blade to debur the inside of the needle. Always keep the needle at 90 degrees to the surface when blobbing the glue in place and you will get nice round rivets.

To successfully mask off an intricate pattern, you need to use 3M vinyl tape and burnish it down, I have purchased a special tool for this from Micro Mark, but you can use the back of a spoon as well. The tool has the extra advantage of one end being slightly pointed and this is very useful for picking up the tape in awkward corners. When you do this, replace it with a little extra tape so that you can squish it into the corner. Always burnish the tape down especially around rivets. Then put blue, low tack masking tape to it to make a wide border. Burnish this down as well. Now you can mask off properly.

When you go to the paint store, pick up some tack rags while you are there and then buy some disposable rubber gloves and rub the tack rag over the entire area to be painted to remove any bits of grit.

I prefer to use an airbrush to paint very small areas and I use the biggest nozzle I can find. For anything bigger than a tiny part I use a detail gun. These have been sold through various mail order houses for $17 - $25 and I bought an identical one in a box from Sears for $75! I find a full size spray gun is too big for most models, but I have heard that some professional paint sprayers will use an HVLP spray gun to paint models. I found one of these threw on an enormous amount of paint in a second or two, far to fast for me to control, but then I am not a professional sprayer.

If you are going to spray paint, you need a compressor. Mine is a fairly small one, about a 3 gallon tank with a 5 cfm compressor. This means that it will start and run quite a lot when I am spraying. A bigger tank will reduce the number of starts, but of course it will cost more. There are little pancake compressors available for less than $200, but they will run a lot when spraying. This isn’t a real problem as the gun will require 30-40psi and the compressor will be trying to maintain 100psi or more. Do put a filter in series with the airline as the compressor will spit out small drops of water into your paint and ruin it. I use a disposable filter on the spraygun and I change it every time I paint something new. When you get a compressor, buy a airline nozzle and a tire inflator as well, they will come in handy, especially the blower nozzle.

If you are going to make a lot of your own small parts, you will need to solder them and I use a variety of soldering irons. One of my favorite is gas powered by lighter fuel and includes a small gas torch as well which is very useful for heating up some larger pieces. If its very big, use a plumbers butane or propane torch. To solder stainless steel you will need some flux, I use the blue stuff which I bought at a welding store. It also works well on brass, but often I can use multicore solders on brass as well. Forget soldering aluminum. It needs specialized equipment. This is because aluminum oxidizes instantly and as soon as you clean it, it has a coat of oxide which wont solder. You need an inert gas to surround the work piece to make it work successfully and that means a TIG welder. Get someone else to do it for you.

One of the most useful tools I have for making my own parts is a metric tap and die set. I bought mine from Europe, but I believe Micro Mart has a good set. To go with them you will need a good set of metric drills. Parts look great when they are drilled and tapped and there is no nut to hold it together. Just the ubiqitous loctite.

Of course, when you make your own antennae and other parts, you will need something to make them from. My local hobby store had a mixed bag of brass offcuts which has proven to be an excellent source of materials. There always seems to be a piece of just the right size in there.

Chapter 12