Nose weights

I use lead.  It's the lowest temp. melt of any heavy metal, It's readily available at tire shops, in the form of used disgarded tire weights, and i can usually get them for free.  Also you can melt them down to any shape you need.  Failing tire weights, fishing sinkers work well too and come in many shapes and sizes.

I generally use one of two methods for weighting the forward end of aircraft.  I add shotgun "shot" to two-part epoxy and mix that together into a paste that can be packed into all manner of spaces.  And, I use spent bullets, found in the berm at my shooting range.  I've epoxied 9mm and .45 ACP bullets into the nose-cones of jet fighters (and perhaps drop tanks too) and I've also epoxied longer spent rifle bullets into or onto available spaces.   For instance, for my 1/48 Monogram F-84F, a .308 bullet fit onto the top of the intake splitter like it was designed for it.   ymmv...

Gary

I use fishing line sinkers.  They are made of lead and come in a variety of sizes.

From fitting nose weights are a very good idea.

modelingmadness.com/.../terryweights.htm

Another way to reach him is to go on Hyperscale or Modeling Madness and put his name in the thread title.

Edit, here is one source of a "weight Powder"

http://www.bulletswage.com/prtung.htm

just cut a plate to hold it, fill the nose, glue in the plate,,,,,,,,,,,or cut a plate, drill a hole, glue in place, funnel the powder in, glue something in the hole

Rex

Rex, thanks for the link to the nose weights.  Very handy indeed.

Gary

Some thoughts: I have used lead sinkers as well as lead shot and lead solder. I have also made a mold for lead weight of an area in the airframe as far forward of the models center of gravity as possible so as to minimize the weight needed. I once filled each cylinder of the eighteen cylinder radial engine, times two, for this purpose. It hid the weight and made the aircraft set on its nose gear. I put weight in the nose and the spinners  and engine compartment of a P-38. The one problem is the weight on the landing gear, but with the advent of aftermarket metal gear this is no longer a problem for most popular models.

Ever have the landing gear buckle over time because of the weights?  I't warmer in Florida but a friend of mine showed me models with bent landing gear due to the weights.

Yes VN750 I have experienced the bowed out landing gear as well as collapsed gear due to the weight. A solution that works, other than aftermarket metal gear, is to drill out the gear leg and put in a metal pin, e.g. straight pin or piano wire. This stiffens the gear and gives it strength. This is a tedious process and is not a solution for every model. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and use a clear piece of sprue to hold up the tail, or mount the model on a display base and tie down the nose. I use a fine wire and put it behind the nose wheel and through the base.  

For you that melt lead, how do you make the molds?

Smooth On (known as a resin company in modeling)

www.smooth-on.com/.../index.html

Rex

Can lightly oil up the space you want to put it in, make a modeling clay plug to fit it, pull it out, mold a clay chunk over it and pull out the plug.  Clean out the oil (Try olive oil) and pour your lead.  Just do it with good ventilation.

I also use modeling clay and sometimes RTV. I fill the space where I want the weight to go with the clay, say each half of the fuselage nose or a prop spinner. As stated above oil or wax the surface so the clay will release and remove the formed piece. I place it in plaster and let the plaster harden. When the plaster is cured I pull out the molded clay and fill the plaster with lead. When the lead is cool remove it from the mold and clean it up to fit the intended space. I have also made molds out of high temp RTV and used them for multiple castings. I have also carved molds out of wood for simple molds. I have a small ladle for melting and pouring lead that came with a mold set for lead figures (lead soldiers). Take care as hot lead hurts.

Along with lead fishing weights there are also tungsten weights that came out several years ago.  They are hard but extremely heavy and not as bad for you as lead.  It's 1.7 times heavier than lead due to it's density so you can stuff more weight into a smaller space.  Walmart used to carry them the last time I checked.

Don,

I was just at Michael's where they had the Pinewood Derby material on display. I failed to notice any powders, but saw several sizes of weights to include small disks that appeared to be lead. I was there for other reasons and just took a cursory look to reminisce. May be worth another look for you since it may be Pinewood Derby time.

Carl

You can also get lead weights with adheasive backing.  Thin enough to bend to conform to the inside of the fuselage.

www.amazon.com/.../ref=sr_1_2

cvsusn

Don,

I was just at Michael's where they had the Pinewood Derby material on display. I failed to notice any powders, but saw several sizes of weights to include small disks that appeared to be lead. I was there for other reasons and just took a cursory look to reminisce. May be worth another look for you since it may be Pinewood Derby time.

Carl

Yeah, I have seen the seperate weights, but the putty just sounded like the ideal thing.  The space available in the nose of some kits is just so odd shaped that I frequently cannot pack enough of discrete weights in.

I have found that the larger the scale, the easier it is to place weights in the nose-cone section of jets.....particularly in the case of the 1/48 Revell F-105. For this bird, I used a lead bullet component, as it is cone-shaped already, and then secured it from behind with some silly putty.

I make a casting of lead.  Using the  kit part, make a mold from aluminum foil by pressing the foil into the cavity of the part. .  Place the foil mold in sand (to keep the shape), melt some lead, and pour it into the mold.  Epoxy the weight into the part.  Sometimes you have to place lead in every open spot forward of the center of gravity.  In the engines, the nose, in wheels, under the floor.  Once in a while I drill out the center of the landing gear strut and insert wire to stiffen the parts against the weight, (started doing that after the nose strut of my B26 collapsed)

works for me

Maybe I should try the sand casting.  I tried making plaster of paris molds from carved wood patterns to make weights for the A-37 I am working on.  I have always had trouble with plaster- it cracks on my.  My mold had two cavities, one from right pattern, one from left.  I did get a good weight from the right mold, the mold in the area of the left pattern just fell apart and crumbled!  Got half the weight I need, anyway.

I guess I should learn to do sand casting anyway- it is something I always wanted to learn.  For a non-critical casting like this, I assume I can use any sand.

I must be old school. I mainly use lead shot and super glue. If there's a spot for an adhesive backed metal weight, I'll use that.

Might be time to add a super magnet to the aircraft display base and a small amount of steel in the nose of the aircraft.

I've never tried searching for Tungsten powder.

I see it advertised

http://www.tungstenheavypowder.com/Tungsten_Heavy_Powder/Tungsten_Heavy_Powder_Products/tungsten_heavy_powder_products.html

but do not know if small quantity sales are available.

go to your tackle box and drag out some sinkers

Don, you can get square lead weights from the pinewood derby car section of your LHS... at least you should be able to. If I remember right, they come in a sheet that allows you to easily break off the amount you need, kind of like a Hershey's candy bar...

Don, sand casting is picky with the type of sand and how you handle it.  You also need to be completely dry or else you could get an explosion of steam.  I would recommend a lot of research before trying a sand casting project. Good luck.

John

I find square weights no better than spherical for applications requiring high density- the space available is not square/rectangular, so packing density is still a problem.  Usually the space left open is a truncated cone with a segment chopped out.  Somehow, melting and recasting seems about the only way to go.  That is why kit mfgs should do it.  Lead and other low-temp alloys could be easily die-cast in kit production.

Lets face it, it is the tri-gear planes that need nose weight, but tri-gear ships also have less volume in nose because of the volume the gear stowage area takes.

I've always used "split shot" fishing sinkers.  You might also try bird shot or .177 cal pellet gun ammo.

Has anyone ever tried to just mold the lead weights, beat'em into shape with a hammer?

Huumm!  That might work!