Wasn't sure where to post this. I figured since almost all modern aircraft are trike geared this would be a good place.
A friend alerted me to the possibility that lead used as weight for tricycle geared models can undergo a chemical reaction that causes it to crystallize and expand over time. The expanding lead will eventually exert enough force to spilt seams and destroy even single piece nose cones. He showed me pictures of models that were anywhere from 10 to 15 years old, split to pieces and looking pretty much unsalavageable. He believes the problem is more likely to occur with "old" lead--supposedly newer lead alloys are less likely to crystallize. There is also some speculation that this may be a reaction between lead and CA glue. Here is a link to that European site showing pix of models split apart by expanding lead/CA: http://www.ratomodel...ca/lead_ca.html I use lead bird shot secured with CA glue to weight my trike geared models, so this news really has me worried. I have a lot of rare, OOP models and I would hate to see them destroyed this way. Has anyone experienced this problem? What are your oldest models with lead weight and what is their condition? Do you typically use CA to secure your lead weights? What are the typical weather conditions where you live? Could it be an issue of extreme humidity or temperature? Perhaps other factors causing it to happen? Or factors to prevent it? Why would it happen to some, but not others? Thanks for any further thoughts on this--I'm really worried for the future of my models. Karl