Personally I like to use the low melting point metals and pour a weight in to the randome. quench it in water and move on. I built a model with a weight that came with it once and it promptly fell on its tail when I turned it over after the glue on the landing gear had hardened over night. I ended up drilling a hole in the model and poured in liquid resin to add some nose weight and sanded the hardened resin down to match the skin of the airplane. Now I fill the randome as far as possible even if its more than I need.  

Viejo

 What about a pair of rare earth magnets.  one in the front  wheel, the other countersunk  in the base.....

 

Reasoned

no..maybe..

 

The trouble with some kits is the packing factor needed.  I forget what the packing factor of spheres is, but I'll bet the small amount of volume left in the nose in some kits calls for solid lead :-(

no..maybe..

armornut

Believe it or not some modern day aircraft still use a tail stand during maintenance or cargo loading operations. If you choose to use a tail stand to keep it from being a tail dragger it is NOT out of the realm of possibilities. These items are removed just before flight and often carried as part of the aircraft's Minimum Equipment List.

 

armornut

Believe it or not some modern day aircraft still use a tail stand during maintenance or cargo loading operations. If you choose to use a tail stand to keep it from being a tail dragger it is NOT out of the realm of possibilities. These items are removed just before flight and often carried as part of the aircraft's Minimum Equipment List.

 

And then there was the Vari-eze, a homebuilt.  The cg in flight condition with pilot (and passenger if there was one) was fairly far aft, and so the main gear were even further aft.  With no one onboard, the CG moved aft beyond the gear.  So it wanted to sit on the tail naturally.  Since it was a pusher with the prop back there, that was not a good idea.  So to park it, when the pilot got out, but still holding on, he retracted the nose gear (the main did not retract).  The plane then sat on its nose!  Rotating it that far forward brought the empty plane's CG back ahead of the main gear!

Believe it or not some modern day aircraft still use a tail stand during maintenance or cargo loading operations. If you choose to use a tail stand to keep it from being a tail dragger it is NOT out of the realm of possibilities. These items are removed just before flight and often carried as part of the aircraft's Minimum Equipment List.

Bossman

Just an alternative . . . 

Instead of "pushing" the nose down with weights from above, there are other ways you can "pull" the nose down from underneath.  It requires fixing the model to a base - but it doesnt have to be permanenty fixed.

One method is to drill a small diameter thru hole in a wooden base under the spot where the nose wheel will sit.  Then drill a larger diameter countersink hole on the underside of the base at least 1/8" deep or more.  String a loop of invisible thread through the hole from the bottom and wrap it over the nose wheel or through a hole in the landing gear.  Pull the thread down so that it pulls the wheel to the base.  While you're maintaining tension on the string from below, jam a toothpick in the hole and nip it off flush with the underside of the base.  If you want to remove it - just yank the toothpick out with a pair of pliers.

A second method that works well with larger kits (with beefier wheels) is to drill the same kindof hole in a base, then drill a deep countersink hole so that when a screw is inserted into the hole from below, the threads will stick above the top surface of the base.  Pre-drill a pilot hole in the bottom of the nose wheel and then turn the screw into the wheel, pulling it down to the base surface. 

One benefit of these methods is less stress from the weight on the landing gear - another is that you simply dont have to deal with squirreling away weights in every spare opening.

I've used both methods before.  They're easy and effective.

Hope that helps.  Good luck,

Chris

 

What about a pair of rare earth magnets.  one in the front  wheel, the other countersunk  in the base.....

JohnnyK

 

 

Gamera

Well, as you said including them in the kit would increase the price. And if they sold them separtly they'd have to contract them out to another company, then package them, set up a whole stock-keeping and distribution system- I expect it would be a lot of work. Plus some companies stopped making lead figures and switched to pewter because some areas were so afraid some kid would swallow a chunk of lead that they banned stuff like this. 

There are aftermarket parts already, a net search found this guy:

http://www.hyperscale.com/2007/reviews/accessories/terrydeannoseweightsreviewbg_1.htm

Says 2007 on the link, no idea if he's still in business or not though. 

 

 

 

 

I do not think that he is still in business . I tried to  order nose weights from him for my 1/48 B-24 and received no response. He never replied to my e-mails either.

 

 

Sorry, figured it was a business this guy was running out of his basement/garage. Well, at least you did get a pile of useful advice from the other guys here, some of which I'm going to file away in the back of my brain for myself.

Gamera

Well, as you said including them in the kit would increase the price. And if they sold them separtly they'd have to contract them out to another company, then package them, set up a whole stock-keeping and distribution system- I expect it would be a lot of work. Plus some companies stopped making lead figures and switched to pewter because some areas were so afraid some kid would swallow a chunk of lead that they banned stuff like this. 

There are aftermarket parts already, a net search found this guy:

http://www.hyperscale.com/2007/reviews/accessories/terrydeannoseweightsreviewbg_1.htm

Says 2007 on the link, no idea if he's still in business or not though. 

 

Intresting solutions thst I am sure will work.I prefer to add weight as aI do not affix my planes to a base.On my B-25 I had to make a new nose gear out of brass tubing due to the weight needed to prevent tail sitting.

Just an alternative . . . 

Instead of "pushing" the nose down with weights from above, there are other ways you can "pull" the nose down from underneath.  It requires fixing the model to a base - but it doesnt have to be permanenty fixed.

One method is to drill a small diameter thru hole in a wooden base under the spot where the nose wheel will sit.  Then drill a larger diameter countersink hole on the underside of the base at least 1/8" deep or more.  String a loop of invisible thread through the hole from the bottom and wrap it over the nose wheel or through a hole in the landing gear.  Pull the thread down so that it pulls the wheel to the base.  While you're maintaining tension on the string from below, jam a toothpick in the hole and nip it off flush with the underside of the base.  If you want to remove it - just yank the toothpick out with a pair of pliers.

A second method that works well with larger kits (with beefier wheels) is to drill the same kindof hole in a base, then drill a deep countersink hole so that when a screw is inserted into the hole from below, the threads will stick above the top surface of the base.  Pre-drill a pilot hole in the bottom of the nose wheel and then turn the screw into the wheel, pulling it down to the base surface. 

One benefit of these methods is less stress from the weight on the landing gear - another is that you simply dont have to deal with squirreling away weights in every spare opening.

I've used both methods before.  They're easy and effective.

Hope that helps.  Good luck,

Chris

Some good tips, Putsie.

Hi guys !

Over the years I've placed weight is some strange places.

Cut the engine front off and glued weight behind the thinned egine front.

Cast pilot seats from lead (I'm still working from a block obtained 30 years ago)

Under the floor, in wheels when they are two piece.

But I've had some "funny results"....put so much weight in a B-26 that the landing gear began to bend after about a year....needs to be replaced with aluminium tubing.

When the instuctiions state how much weight is needed I use a postage scale to measure.

I've also made a simple mold of the nose (before assembly) uing aluminum foil, placed that mold in sand, and cast a lead weight in the approximate shape of the nose interior.

Just my 2 cents...

Have fun !

Bish

I don't think i have even had a kit that includes weights. Many don't even suggest how much weight to add.

But i simply get around the whole issue by securing the models to a base.

 

Same here. Asked them if they would stock an entire line of paints. .....

Yes I use lead birdshot all the time and the small diameter of the shot makes it easier to epoxy it in tight spaces.The shot did great with my P-61 build but the seperate nose cone made it a lot easier.       in the case of my 1/48 JU-287,I put two .50 caliber muzzle loading bullets inside the fuselage but it was not enough.So I drilled a hole in the Rato rockets and filled them with bird shot and that did the trick.I made the landing gear out of brass tubing for strength due to all of the weight added.    

I  built a Cessna 172 from Minicraft recently.  This is one of their new kits with superb molding, including a beautiful engine.  But, there is not enough room around the engine to cram enough lead in that space.  So the plans tell you that if you want it to sit on the nose gear without a stick propping up the tail, you must omit the engine!  geez, if they had cast that beautiful engine from lead or pewter, I'll be that would have done the job.  Minicraft casts with pretty thick rear fuselage and tails, so it takes a lot of nose wieght!

I don't think i have even had a kit that includes weights. Many don't even suggest how much weight to add.

But i simply get around the whole issue by securing the models to a base.

Another good spot on multi engine aircraft for weights is in the engine nacelles behind the firewalls but ahead of the main gear. I filled that area on my B-26 with lead shot, and it worked like a charm.

Finally got the nose down. It took about a bunch. I ended up with a tiny re-sealable bag from simething that I poured the LG in and sealed that. I then stuffed in the turret topening over the nav position. it now is a nose sitting craft. Sheesh that is a LOT of weight.

Put a wire brace under the tail.

It's not a-prototypical, esp. for cargo planes.

It's one heck of a lot easier than all of those gyrations being decribed. And cheaper.

Easy to avoid in photos.

JohnnyK

 

Geezer

.....and I still have a tail sitter. I am bummed out right now. More weight is needed.

 

 

 

 

From what I have read on the Internet, you will need to pack the area behind the pilots with lead. 

 

I am afraid that is true....I will have to go to the store!

Like Mick Jagger says "You can't always get what you want "Although it would be nice.

On Tamiya' Me 262 they made the front gear bay out of white metal,so that provided the weight.

Geezer

.....and I still have a tail sitter. I am bummed out right now. More weight is needed.

 

.....and I still have a tail sitter. I am bummed out right now. More weight is needed.

Eric and Geezer, those are great ideas for adding weight. Thanks. I was thinking of filling the naivigator's area solid with weight. Except for a small window, that area of the plane is not visible.

Hi JohnnyK. Unless they made a weight for every open spot on the B-29, they would have to use spent uranium. My current build is the B-29 and it is finally not a tail sitter...I think. Getting ready to put the wheels on today to see. I have

Used Liquid Gravity from Deluxe Materials to fill the wheels, fill the area above the chin turret, put BBs around the cockpit floor, put weights in the forward inch or so of the tunnel, and dropped/glued weights in each nacelle. The thing feel like it has five pounds of weight!