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1/48 Airfix Lightning nose weight


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Help.

What is the best way to get the requisite weight in the nose of a 1/48 Airfix lightning.

I usually use shot gun pellets embedded in blu tack but the space is quite limited.

How have you chaps achieved 3 points of contact please.

Thank you.

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To come by tyre balance weights that can be molten down may soon become increasingly difficult, as these are made of zinc these days.

But larger lumps of lead can still be found in fishing shops, or in the form of sheets at a roofer. Sheet lead is also easily cut, shaped and rolled, avoiding the need to cast lead.

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lead.jpg

Your local hardware shop should stock rolls of roofing lead for about £20 or so; normally 2m x 15 cms - I'm not sure sure what the weight is, but it's heavy, maybe 10kg. I found that fishing weights work out very expensive, I suppose it depends how many tricycle-undercarriage kits you have in the stash but I would guess that this costs me about 20p - 50p per kit!

It can be cut into any size or shape with a pair of secateurs or old scissors, or even with a Stanley knife.

I bought this one years ago and it's going to outlast me; no problem!

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I used some lead shot from an old dive weight pouch but that would be very similar to the shotgun pellets you usually use. Try missing them up with some white flue and then fill the centre radar cone with them, and let it sit point down until dry. Then tape it into position to see if that has added enough weight. If not you can squeeze a few more in around the cockpit and above the intake pipe in the nose. Worst case add some lead behind the cockpit bulkhead, but I found filling the radar cone was enough.

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I found that a bi-conical fishing weight (think of two cones joined base to base) inserted into the radar bullet fairing and one or two flat lozenge-shaped fishing weights glued to the rear of the front bulkhead behind the lower engine face did the job. Fine lead shot poured into the radome with PVA (and some in the fairing behind it and above the nose wheel bay) also does the trick.

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Fishing splitshot you put down the line to cock floats is quite a good choice and come in varying sizes. I find the larger sizes like SSG are good. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DINSMORE-7-WAY-SPLIT-SHOT-FISHING-DISPENSER-SUPER-SOFT-SHOT-/131707744393?hash=item1eaa64b089:g:9HIAAOSwX~dWod6GHere is a link for ebay but you can find them alot cheaper than this.

Cheers,

Mark.

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Thank you everyone for your advice, I have had a fiddle about this morning and have managed to get plenty in.

Some shotgun pellets in white tack around the cockpit and in the bullet and 8x €0.20 coins taped together to make an 'Avon' should keep her on the ground...

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