-
Work Surface
— You will need a table to build on and an
actual building surface on top of that. The building surface can be a
piece of ceiling tile which costs just a few dollars. The table
top must be flat.
-
Pins, Rubber Bands
and Masking Tape — You have to have something to
hold parts together while glue dries.
-
Hobby Knife
— #1 hobby knife handle with #11 blades. These are
made by a variety of manufacturers and available at any hobby shop, craft
stores, fabric stores and most hardware stores.
-
Single Edge Razor Blades — Available from
hardware stores.
-
Razor Saw — Use to cut through thicker stock or
hardwood sticks.
-
Cutting Mat — Don't cut on your building
surface. You can buy a good cutting mat from Wal-Mart or a fabric
store. A piece of cardboard works well too.
-
Drill
and Standard Set of Drill Bits — A lot of holes need to be drilled.
Purchase a set of bits from 1/16" to 1/4". An electric drill
is an absolute necessity. In many cases having a pin vise in
addition to the drill will make things easier.
-
12" Metal Ruler
— Available from office supply stores or
hardware stores.
-
36" Metal Straight Edge
— Used to true up balsa sheets when used with a hobby
knife. A 48" straight edge is probably a better choice. A piece
of aluminum trim from a hardware store works well. They come in 8'
lengths, but a hack saw can easily cut it down to whatever length you want.
-
Drafting Triangle
— Available from office supply stores. Absolutely
necessary for making sure parts are square to each other, such as when
gluing on the fin.
-
Wood Glue — Any carpenter's glue will
work. Also nice to have are epoxy and model airplane glue.
Cyanoacrylate (CA) is useful, but it allows you to make mistakes faster
which are very hard to correct. I don't recommend CA to beginning
builders for that reason. Wood glue is slower and gives you time to
get parts properly positioned.
-
Sandpaper
— There is too much to say about it in a short blurb.
Read the linked page to learn more about what sandpaper to buy.
-
Sanding
Blocks — Make your own. They are inexpensive, easily made and
work much better than commercially available sanding blocks.
-
Wax Paper or Plastic Food Wrap — Used to
cover plans so that the part you build doesn't get glued to the plan.
-
Sealing
Iron — Only necessary if using iron-on
coverings.
-
Paint Brushes
— Necessary if using a doped on fabric or tissue finish. If you choose
to spray paint your models using cans or spray equipment you will still need
the brushes to apply the fabric.
-
Needle Nose
Pliers
-
Screwdrivers — Standard, Phillips and Jeweler's.
We use a lot of small fasteners that standard size drivers won't fit.
-
Allen Keys — A lot of the fasteners we use
as well as engines have Allen heads. You will need Imperial and Metric
Allen wrenches.
