Top Flite TOPA0145 - Manual (Page 40)

❏ 2. Inspect all surfaces for uneven glue joints and
seams that require filler. Apply filler where needed.
Many small dents or scratches in balsa can be
repaired by applying a few drops of water or
moistening the area with a wet tissue. This will swell
the wood so you can sand it when it dries.
❏ 3. Final sand your entire model with progressively
finer grits of sandpaper, finishing with 320 or 400-grit
sandpaper.
❏ 4. Use a large brush, compressed air or a Top Flite
Tack Cloth to remove dust from the model.
Balance the airplane laterally
❏ 1. Before balancing the airplane make sure you have
the engine and all of the radio equipment installed.
❏ 2. Mount your wing.
❏ 3. With the wing level, carefully lift the model by the
nose and the aft end of the fuselage under the stab
(this may require two people). Do this several times.
❏ 4. If one wing always drops when you lift the model,
that side is heavy. Balance the airplane by gluing
weight inside the other wing tip. Do this by carving a
cavity in the bottom of the balsa wing tip and filling it
with the amount of weight required to balance the
model laterally. Glue the weight in place with epoxy
and cover the rest of the cavity with balsa filler. An
airplane that has been laterally balanced will track
better in most maneuvers.
Cover your model with MonoKote ®
It is assumed that you are an intermediate to
advanced modeler, so we won't go into many details
on covering techniques, but here are some tips you
should consider:
1. Most importantly, NEVER CUT THE COVERING
DIRECTLY ON THE SHEETING. The P-39 depends
upon the wood sheeting for some of its strength.
Modelers who cut through the covering tend to cut
into the sheeting and this will weaken the structure.
2. We recommend priming the plastic wing fillets,
airscoop and exhaust stacks before covering the
fuse, then apply color after you cover the fuse. This
way you can "build up" the paint to nearly the same
level as the covering for a nearly invisible transition
between the two.
3. Use a Top Flite ® Hot Sock ™ for your Top Flite
covering iron to minimize dents in the wood from
your covering iron. You'll probably go through three
or four socks by the time you finish covering your P-
39. The Top Flite MonoKote Trim Seal Tool is highly
recommended for this model due to the curved lines
and fillets in the fairings and fin area.
4. Some modelers have three irons going at once:
one on high heat without a Hot Sock for stretching
the covering around curves like wingtips; one on
medium heat with a Hot Sock for bonding the
covering to large sheeted areas like the wing and
stab; and a Trim Iron for small areas.
5. When covering large sheeted surfaces such as
the wing, bond the covering in the middle and work
outward, pushing out air as you proceed. Do not
move the iron in a circular motion, but move it span-
wise with the grain of the wood.
6. Areas that require an extraordinary amount of
shrinking (such as the bottom of the fuse at the front)
can be successfully shrunk tight with a heat gun. Use
a glove to avoid burning you fingers.
7. When covering smaller parts with square edges
such as the elevators and ailerons, cover the ends
first with separate pieces of covering. Then, all you
have to do is wrap the covering around the top and
bottom and iron it down.
8. One method we like to use is to "pre-cut" the
covering when possible to accurately fit the part,
leaving "handles" in curved areas like the dorsal fin
and the tip of the fin. Cover the main surface of the
part and the straight lines of the leading and trailing
edges first. Hold onto the handles as you heat the
covering and wrap it around. Cut the handles off
when you're done. You can use this method for the
wing and stab too.
9. We recommend drilling or cutting small vent holes
through the ribs in the ailerons, rudder and the
elevators with holes on the ends of those parts to
allow expanding hot air to escape while you cover.
Otherwise, air sealed inside the control surfaces will
expand and never allow the covering to fully shrink.
If you plan to cover your model with Top Flite
MonoKote film and you will be using Top Flite
LustreKote spray paint for parts that require painting
and/or fuelproofing, you may find it easier to apply
LustreKote to some of those areas with a paint brush
instead of spraying it from the can. To apply
LustreKote with a brush, hold a tube (such as a
drinking straw) to the spray nozzle, with the other end
of the tube emptying into a container. Depress the
spray nozzle until you have enough paint in your
container to do the job. Spraying LustreKote into a
tube will keep most of it from becoming airborne. Allow
the paint to stabilize for about ten minutes before you
brush it on. This is a handy method for painting visible
areas on the outside of the model that require
fuelproofing and must match your MonoKote finish
(such as the wheel wells and the insides of the flaps).
To simulate the Zinc Chromate used on the inside of
aluminum airplanes, mix yellow and blue.
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