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What weights do people use for tail sitters?


pizzapaolo

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Just started on a Hasegawa B-24 coastal command Mk III - the instructions call for 90g of weight under the cockpit to keep it from tail sitting. What do people generally use for weight? In the past I've used a mix of bluetack with old screws etc but I am thinking there must be a better alternative that is more...weighty.

 

I would much appreciate any tips folks have?

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I have some strips of stick-on weights for alloy wheels.  Handily they are marked in grammes 5g / 10g / 20g.  You still have to experiment to get the right amount and placement without crushing the undercarriage though!  They can also be chopped up for confined spaces, I assume the glue will last for ages given the intended use...

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I have used lead wool (available from plumbing supply or hardware stores) or fishing sinkers.  I usually glue them in with epoxy glue.

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lead scrap is one,  I have a load of leftover from lead roof flashings.

 

there is also tungsten putty,  as Tungsten is denser than lead, and non toxic, this maybe the way to go

http://www.winderby.com/m05_040829.html

 

Tungsten putty is used by anglers,  a google got a load of hits,  and maybe worth considering in confined spaces.

looks like you can just get Tungsten powder, as there a related google hit is 'how to make your own tungsten putty

 

not tried it myself,  something I must look into ...

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28 minutes ago, Troy Smith said:

there is also tungsten putty,  as Tungsten is denser than lead, and non toxic, this maybe the way to go

http://www.winderby.com/m05_040829.html

I wonder how they arrived at the conclusion that Tungsten is "non-toxic". My impression was that its effects are just less well researched than others`.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungsten#Health_factors

 

More to the point of the topic, little-cars has the so called Liquid Steel:

https://www.modellingtools.co.uk/liquid-steel-200g-12735-p.asp

Obviously, the product is not "liquid", but I like to think it is "steel". :D Basically small spheres that should be easy to fit and glue into small places.

Edited by Fin
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1 hour ago, Ham said:

I have used lead wool (available from plumbing supply or hardware stores) or fishing sinkers.  I usually glue them in with epoxy glue.

Just don't attach it the way I did. Packed lead wool into an engine nacelle of a 1/72 Me 262 and then flooded the nacelle with thin CA. The exothermic reaction as it cured seriously deformed the nacelle ;)

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45 minutes ago, Hamiltonian said:

I have a chunk of sheet lead that's thin enough to cut with heavy-duty scissors - I cut strips off that and epoxy them in place.

 

Ditto,started to take leftover pieces of it when I was still working as carpenter on naval yards,too bad they switched to quantity above quality and collapsed,those places were gold to build yourself house furniture using overpriced spare material that nobody wanted to recycle ^^

 

Luigi

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Liquid Gravity has a nice small diameter. Easy to fit into smaller spaces. Glue with PVA, epoxy, or acrylic glue. 

 

Tungsten has higher density than lead, so may be easier to use. It's also non-toxic. 

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2 hours ago, pizzapaolo said:

bluetack

Be very careful using Blue AND White tack, its formula make up is secret, but it is known to be oil based and tends to leech over time...........just google bluetack oil for dire results,

 

I know some of you think its a load of bullocks as you have been using it for years, but its a fact - its oil based and leeches.  Blue tak is more or less the same as Plasticine............oil based

 

For weighting my kits I use a popular weight as per BRISTOL BLUE s input...............chopped up lead weights from Tyre changing companies......loads of them at Kwik Fit(other companies are available).....dont cost a penny

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I bought a roll of lead flashing from a local builder's merchants about ten years ago for £20, and I reckon it will last last well beyond me! With an old pair of garden secateurs it can be cut to any size, and is soft enough to bend into whatever shape is desired.

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If a lot of weight (e.g. 1/48 scale Canberra) is required then I use 9 mm pistol bullets. They have a Full Metal Jacket so no need to handle lead and you know exactly how much one weighs. For small spaces airgun pellets or cal. 22 bullets are good. I attach them with blue tack and/or Milliput.

 

Kind Regards,

Antti

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I also use FMJ bullets, .308 cal are nice and pointy and fit well in the nose.  I use 9mm for further back in the fuselage or in cowlings or nacelles.  I hold them in place with crazy glue.  Cheers.

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Just now, pizzapaolo said:

Just started on a Hasegawa B-24 coastal command Mk III - the instructions call for 90g of weight under the cockpit to keep it from tail sitting.

I usually use lead. Leftover flashing from anyone who's had a conservatory added to their house. Cut with scissors into small pieces, secured in the nose of the model with PVA glue or blue-tak

However for a B-24 - I've built a few of those.  My favoured method is to extend the tail prop, to avoid tail sitting without the ballast.

Academy_B-24_J_Liberator_2.jpg

Academy_B24_H_Liberator.jpg

 

Edited by theplasticsurgeon
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If there are any A-10s in the area you might find some depleted uranium.............

 

Seriously though, and to the point of the OP,  Liberators are so hard to make nose sitters that you may deform the undercarriage. Look for Tony O"Toole's builds with pictures of real ones with stands and drums under the rear fuselage.

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2 hours ago, Welkin said:

I bought a roll of lead flashing from a local builder's merchants

Like Welkin, I bought a roll of lead flashing from my local Wickes several years ago. Absolutely ideal - not had a tailsitter since.

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Another user of lead flashing, but mine came from renos that I did on my last house in Sydney. There was a big lump of it in the builder's skip on the site, and when I saw it I said "You're not going to the tip" and grabbed it. I've now got enough weights to last me for as long as I'll need them. I just cut it to size using metal shears, and can get quite a bit into very small spaces.

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A hand up in support of shotgun pellets. Mine are the smallest that I could find in my local gun shop, and to hold them in place I usually line whatever area I'm using with plastic card to make an escape proof box, join the fuselage and pour 'em in. Takes a bit of engineering, but I enjoy that, and it eliminates any issues with glues and reactions. It also means that should I ever feel like a bit of Latin dancing, I have maracas ready to hand.

 

Cha cha cha.

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