Put the sag in blades?

A few ideas.  You can gently bend them down between your fingers; sliding out from the hub slowly toward the tips.  Another is to lay the blades upside down in a bowl and place some weight on the rotor mast so it pushes them into the bowl and bends the blades.  Leave it overnight and it should retain some of the bend.  Lastly, carefully heat them with a hair dryer on low and bend manually.

Thanks for the ideas. I am just starting out in the Helo world and I am totally hooked! I built an OH-58D Kiowa and it was a blast, but the blades just look too straight. I work around Mediflight Helo (Revell actually just released a 1/35 scale version of the one here in Lee County FLA) and even the small ones have some sag. Thanks again. Travis/STFD637

I have used a dinner plate to get a droop in the rotors ,which is similar to the idea Heavyarty mentioned

I placed the plate outside in the sun for a couple of days , It seems to work okay ...

I have only tried it on medium to large 1/72 scale rotors , I did try with some hot water in the sink once but I ended up with too much of a bend and a kink in the blades which I couldn't fix .

HTH.

                           John .

John,

 

Thanks for the advise. I will give that a try. I do all my work in 1/72 so that helps a lot. I love the HH-3!! Is that the Revell kit or the Lindburg? Either way it looks great! I have the Revell HH-3 kit in the stash with all the necessary decals and resin to convert it into the Coast Guard Variant. I think I am up to 4 other HH-53s in the stash now. I can't wait to dig into those!

 

Travis/STFD637

Hi Travis ,

Thank's for the kind words on my HH-3E build , I combined a Revell Seaking cockpit and rotor housing to improve Lindbergs kit , here's a link to the HH-3E build ..../forums/t/90644.aspx

Like you I'm also a big fan of the H-53 helicopter , here's a pic of my finished builds including a stalled USCG HH-3F Pelican , she was built the same as the HH-3E ;

Here is a pic of my H-53 stash...

Good luck with your builds Travis ;

Kind regards

                       John .

John,

Very impressive collection! I would love to get up the courage to buy and build one of the 1/48 kits. I really like that they can be built in the "stowage" mode. I have seen tem built up and they look great! I am always impressed to see other peoples stash photos. I keep telling my wife my collection isn't really that big. The last FSM had a great article writtien about "building" kits in your head and I had her read it.......She is pretty understanding. Thanks again for the tip!

Travis

Take a piece of aluminum or brass flat stock, bend it to the shape you want the blades to take on. Attach the blades to the metal, drop into hot water, let cool and check. Repeat as necessary. Affix the blade to the metal form/jig with clothes pins placed at each end. Don't use tape or anything that could leave an imprint in the hot plastic.

I usually do this before I assemble the rotor assembly.

There are interesting techniques in here. I have to try them.

I usually hold the blade under my desk lamp (an incandescent "day light" bulb) for as long as I don't get burned, lol. Then reshape it using my fingers along the blade. Always support the blade underneath or it will snap from the rotor. Be watchful of plastic turning white as it indicates you are about to break it.

Be careful because a light bulb will melt platic if it's exposed too long.