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Embry Riddle Cessna 172 Skyhawk Project

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  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, April 10, 2007 11:23 AM

-----UPDATE-----

Ok so I have been working in photoshop to try to get some cleaner images to work with to make the stencils. Here is what I have so far. Click them for the actual sized images.

 

Can anyone tell me a few tricks on how I can get these efficiently resized to the scale of the model so I can print them to make stencils?

 Thanks :) 

  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, April 7, 2007 1:02 AM

-----UPDATE-----

 I have been working on cleaning up the model completely of any of the original design. All the red and black has been stripped off and cleaned up. I went to the art supply store and picked up a new Xacto Knife and asked for something to help remove the glue left behind from stripping the vinyl and mylar strips that made up the old design. They suggested I use rubber cement thinner as its mild and wouldnt warp or discolor the mylar. I got a can of Besting Solvent Thinner "For thinning or reducing rubber cement" and it did the job beautifully. Here is a before and after of the work I did on the fuselage.

BEFORE 

 

AFTER 

 Making progress I suppose thats whats important :)

  • Member since
    December 2003
Posted by cbreeze on Thursday, April 5, 2007 9:51 PM

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, now I get it   Smile [:)]

Anything I can do to help you make this happen, let me know.

Chuck B.

  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, April 5, 2007 9:02 PM

cbreeze thank you for being so patient and kind in your endeavor to educate me :) I hadn't looked at those points you mentioned on the sharpness of the pinstripes and how hard they would be to mask. Tonight I will concentrate my efforts to transferring my PSD to Adobe Illustrator as I do not have corel draw and make them vectored. I live 5 mins from NYC where there are tons of sign shops so I will call around to try to find a vinyl cutter.

 And yes she is amazing. Its not everyday you come across a woman who completely complements you.

 I have never flown RC before, I am asking a friend of mine to do it for me. He is very skilled with flying RCs airplanes and jets. If that falls through then my backup plan is to hire one of the local AMA RC pilots to fly it at the BBQ for me :) One way or the other this plane will touch down with a ring in it for my girl.

 Again thank you so much for your time and patience. I will keep you updated on the progress of the project.

  • Member since
    December 2003
Posted by cbreeze on Thursday, April 5, 2007 8:11 PM

Riotz,

I have built a number of RC airplanes and have not been confident enough of the paint/covering bond to actually paint one of my projects.  Not to mention the problem of wrinkling.  One thing I did not mention is that you are going to have to "scuff" your base covering to give the paint something to grab on too.  When you scuff the shiney base covering, it is going to dull.  The design you are trying to duplicate has a lot of thin/tapered lines and it is going to be really hard to "scuff" only these areas that will be painted.  Also, your design is going to involve a lot of masking. 

I personally think that the best way to do want you want is the cut vinyl method I suggested.  Corel draw is one program that will convert your design to vector files and then you can transfer that to a disc and take it to a sign shop where they can cut your design for you.  I bought a copy of Corel draw on Ebay real cheap ($20.00) and that is how I now do my RC airplane graphics.  One of the guys in my flying club has a vinyl cutter and he cuts the designs for me.  I also know that sign shops will, for a fee, cut the vinyl.   With the vinyl graphics you will get your sharp colors and crisp edges, numbers and letters.  You will also be able to match the colors pretty close as there are hundreds of different colored vinyl available.  In order to get crisp/sharp lines your stencil is going to have to be bonded to the base covering.  You can't just lay a stencil loose over a surface and get crisp lines.  So it seems like you are going to be cutting your stencil which will take time when you just might just as well cut vinyl.  Also, small numbers and letters are going to be tricky to do.

Keep me posted on your project and feel free to ask any other questions. 

BTW, have you ever flown RC before and this must be some girlfriend  :-)

Chuck B.

  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, April 5, 2007 6:13 PM

So I went to my local paint supply store today, its a pearl paint store here in NY and has a complete floor devoted to airbrushing. I went in and asked questions on the project and I was told that I could use acrylics with airbrushing on the mylar to get the sharp finished look I am going for. I was told in the process I should cut out the stencils and mask them to the model then use light layered passes to attach the paint to the mylar.

Would this work properly to do what I am thinking of doing? I really wanna get this looking as sweet as possible and also to play with my new airbrush :)

  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, April 5, 2007 1:43 PM

Wow thank you so much for that informative response Cbreeze. You have really helped me out alot with better understanding the situation. I was afraid of the possibility that the mylar would not stand up to the paint I wanted to use. That being enamel or acrylic. I am a little bummed out that I cant use paint now to do the job as I wanted to have that amazing shiny new paint look and a nice clean appearance. I am however going to take your advice on trying to find a vinyl cutter. While in HS one of my friends dad's did this sort of work and made me a cutout to put on the side of my PC case. I have already done extensive work in photoshop to create the graphics for the aircraft so I think I will go that route.  The plane is an electric plane by the way. So I dont have to worry about gas. Is there NO way at all to use paint on it? I have already bought the airbrush I mentioned above though mainly for this project I wanted it to work on painting other RC models as I develop skills. If there is anyway at all to do this please let me know. Keep in mind that the Cessna 172 will only be flown a few times after which it will be hung up for display in my girlfriends study room. Thanks again for all your help.

  • Member since
    December 2003
Posted by cbreeze on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 7:32 PM

Riotz,

In addition to building plastic models, I build and fly RC aircraft.  Personally, I wouldn't use paint to do your project.  The problem with paint is that you are placing the paint over a plastic film that was used to cover the airplane.  That plastic film will shrink and expand with temperature changes causing wrinkles in the smooth covering.  Normally the wrinkles can be made to go away with the application of a little heat from a heat gun or iron.  Both of these tools are used by RC modelers to apply the covering to the balsa structure.  Once you start doing that, you will probably ruin your paint job.   Also, you didn't say what type of engine your model has.  I am guessing that it is electric.  If that is the case, you don't have to worry about your paint being fuel proof.  If it is a glow engine, then you have to have a paint that is fuel proof.  Glow engines tend to be messy and usually result in part of your airplane being covered with fuel/oil that was blown back from the engine.  There are some really good scale  RC modlers that can do realistic paint jobs on their models.  They use latex paint on airplanes that are covered with fiberglass and use gas engines.  The gas engines are easier on the paint and the paint is going on a surface that is solid and stable and not subject to develop wrinkles with changes in temperature.

You have two other easier options.  The plastic covering used on model RC airplanes comes in many different colors.  You can get colors that match your design and cut them freehand.  The covering has an adhesive on the back.  You simply lay your pattern over your base color, apply a little heat and this bonds the pattern to the base covering.  I have seen some good modelers do some really complex patterns this way.  Two of the more common plastic covering brands are Monokote and Ultrakote.  

The second option is to do your design using your computer and a graphics design program.  Your are going to need one that will convert your design to vector graphics (I think that is what it is called).  In any event, you want to be able to take your completed design to a sign company or someone who has a vinyl cutter.  The cutter uses your design image and cuts a vinyl pattern.  The type of vinly is commonly used to make lettering for signs.  The vinly comes in hundreds of colors and also has an adhesive on one side.  You spray windex on your base color, position the vinyl where you want it, use a credit card to smooth any bubbles out and let it sit for a little while.  Your vinly trim piece is now bonded to your base covering.  The windex will enable you to position the vinyl trim piece without fear of having it bond to the base covering.  The windex evaporates bonding the two pieces together.

Finally and after you have done all this work it's time to fly.  If you don't have any experience flying model airplanes, do your test flights on something else.  It is not easy to fly a RC airplane and most people will crash on their first attempts.  The most common problem is that people forget that an airplane flying away from you has the controls and control imputs be as they would work in a full sized airplane.  Once the airplane turns towards you, as you look at the airplane now, the control  imputs are reversed.  Things happen fast when you fly a RC model airplane and the imputs have to be instinctive.  If you have to think about which way to move your transmitter controls, you are going to crash.

Flying and building model RC aircraft is very fun and rewarding but like anything else, requires practice.  I would hate to have you spend a lot of time and then crash your airplane.

Hope this helps,

Chuck B.

  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 1:00 PM
Sorry if I didnt explain that part properly. The red and black that you see in the pictures are just more mylar films stuck to the main white one. I have already stripped off these red and black films and have nothing but a white based mylar covered model. I was afraid the paint would cause the mylar to warp in some way. Is there anyway to paint on top of the mylar with a primer or some sort of base paint, then paint that with a base coat of white then finally painting on the ERAU livery design?
  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: USA
Posted by MusicCity on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 12:50 PM

Personally I wouldn't paint it at all.  The mylar that is typically used on R/C aircraft is a heat shrinkable covering; Coverite, Red Baron, etc.  It is very flexible and many types of modeling paint are going to do nothing but flake off.  An ordinary iron, or a small special-purpose covering iron, is used to heat it and cause it to adhere.  What I have done in the past is to cut strips of the covering material for the stripes, and just iron them on over the top of the base covering.

 Regardless of what you choose to do I'd start with the white as the base coat and then add the red and black.  Trying to get white to cover over either of those colors will be difficult. 

Scott Craig -- Nashville, TN -- My Website -- My Models Page
  • Member since
    November 2005
Embry Riddle Cessna 172 Skyhawk Project
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 12:25 PM

Hello everyone. I am new to the world of modeling though I have been interested in it for quite some time. There has always been something attractive about it. Recently I came up with an idea for a gift for my girlfriend, who graduated from the Embry Riddle Aeronoautical University in Daytona Florida and started planning how to execute it. In planning it somehow evolved into a full scale project with a timeline. The original idea was to get a Cessna 172 Model and have it repainted to match the livery of the Embry Riddle Cessna 172 Skyhawks in addition to having the N# of the first Cessna 172 she flew in her logbook. That somehow seemed too limited so I started looking for a RC Model Cessna 172 that I could do the same thing to so we can actually fly it. I found one from Hobby-Lobby that was about to be released and pre-ordered one. After ordering I then set out to find a company or someone who could paint the model the way I needed it. I looked near and far and finally found a company who could do it. I sent them an email and they confirmed they would be able to do it but I would have to ship it to them. When I got the address from them I found out then that they were based in the Phillipines. Now after considering whether or not to pay for the shipping to send it there I came up with the idea of just doing it myself. I searched around the net for every picture I could find on the EARU Cessna 172 livery designs and came across a talented individual who had done a repaint job for the Flight1 Simulator Cessna 172 in ERAU's livery. I contacted him and he agreed to send me his work. So now I have the entire design in PSD format that I can print out stencils to paint the model with.

 Next came the question on how I should go about painting the model. I was told I can brush paint it, use decals or use an airbrush. I decided to go with AirBrushing and started researching what I needed to to do so. I am hoping you guys can help me by telling me if the choice I am about to make is the correct one to do what I have to do.

 Here is are a few pictures of the Hobby-Lobby Model Cessna 172S. The model itself is made from Balsa Wood and is covered in mylar. All of the red and black mylar can be stripped off without causing any issues but the white mylar has to stay as it covers all the balsa cutouts on the wings and along the fuselage to keep the aircraft flight worthy. Will I be able to safely paint on top of this mylar with the airbrush paint and will the paint bond to the mylar properly?





More at http://www.hobby-lobby.com/cessna172.htm

Here are pictures of the real life ERAU Cessna 172S. The design is very simple, it has a white base color with eagle head pinstriping along the sides broken with the N#. The tail shouldn't be too difficult and the Wings are a simple 3 Band Blue in the middles and one blue band on the ends. What is the best way to go about finding and making the exact colors used in the the design to paint the model with?





 Here is a picture of the livery design that I have in PSD to be printed out in scale to make stencils for painting to the model. What medium should I be printing the design on so I can airbrush it to the model?









Ok now on to the Airbrush kit that I think is the right one for me to do this and to continue to learn how to airbrush. I picked an IWATA kit as I heard they are one of the best to work with. The one I picked is the IWATA Revolution-CR Airbrush Kit with Mini Tank Compressor. Link http://www.tcpglobal.com/airbrushdepot/r450020t.aspx ... Is this a good kit to get and would I need anything else to use with it to do the work I have to do?

 I apologize for making such a long post which may be confusing to understand. If I havent explained anything properly I would be happy explain it more in dept.

 One more thing to add ... This was to be a suprise present for my girlfriend but it has evolved into being the means at which I propose for her hand in marriage. One of the members of my local AMA club has agreed to fly the model during my annual family BBQ with the ring inside and land it to be picked up by her. Smile [:)]

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