scratchbuilding a stretcher

Geoff, I recently made a sretcher for my Kaman H-43B Helicopter. I used a iron on patch , olive colored that I bought at a local fabric store. It looks like the canvas stretchers and cots I remember and the color looks good. I took two lengths of round plasti struck plastic and sanded the ends to look like the handle ends. Then cut a section the length and width out of the patch. Make it a little wider than your end result because you fold the ends over your plastic frame. Draw your pattern on your piece of patch ( the half moon cut out areas at the ends and middle) Fold the patch in half and cut, then put over your frame . Fold over one end and touch it with an iron, do the same on the other end. I then took soft wire and shaped the legs and slipped it in the patch. It came out okay for me. Regards,Don

same as the other Modelers but try cigarette paper. looks like fine weave tarp material.

Same as mm23t, but go with "facial tissue", Kleenex. That paper is designed to hold up better when wet.

mmt.... thanks a bunch. i appreciate it

Geoff, I did this several years ago myself. I used small Plastruct cut to 13/4". To make the handles, I used some sprue material and sanded them to the proper shape. After making all of that, I tacked(w/white glue) the two pieces together to form the frame for the stretcher. I made mine approx. 9/16" wide. My next step was to cut some toilet paper a little larger than the frame, drape it over the frame and coat it with white glue and water combination. After it dried, the paper was trimmed, glued to the frame and painted. It was quite a bit of work, but it came out looking like a used stretcher. Hope this works for you too. Good luck.