How-tos

From assembly secrets to repair tricks


7 QUICK WORKSHOP TIPS

7 QUICK WORKSHOP TIPS

MAN readers are a clever bunch; you’re always coming up with easier, more efficient ways to build and set up airplanes. Here are 7 workshop tips that we think you’ll enjoy using. Have a tip of your own you’d like to share? Send us an email at MAN@airage.com.   Simple Pushrod Guide You may not always […]
Easy Rivets on Film Finishes

Easy Rivets on Film Finishes

I thought I would share a quick and easy way that I have found to put rivets onto MonoKote or other plastic covering. Anytime I happen to be in a craft store, I always look around to see what I might be able to use on a model (you never know what you might find!). […]
Weathering Tricks: Add realism with paint chips and wear

Weathering Tricks: Add realism with paint chips and wear

After you’ve painted your model, add some weathering to really bring a scale plane to life. Each technique by itself is very effective and, added together, really produce astonishing realism. My friend Dave Reid commissioned me to paint his giant-scale SNJ Texan, and it has been the example for these ongoing how-to articles. I weathered […]
Dealing with In-Flight Failures

Dealing with In-Flight Failures

Sooner or later, every pilot will encounter a situation where something within fails during flight. Even though you may not be able to predict all types of malfunctions, it is important to know some common problems and how to react when a malfunction occurs. Let’s explore some unknowns — electrical and structural failures, pre-flight problems, […]
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

DIY Model Storage

Airplanes on the workshop floor always seem to catch “Hangar Rash,”  but organization is a great way to keep them out of harm’s way. Designed by Model Airplane News contributor Carl Layden, this system is primarily targeted at .40-.60 size airplanes but is scale-able from small electric planes and park fliers to big 50cc gassers. […]
New Uses for Clothespins

New Uses for Clothespins

The ordinary clothespin can do a lot more than hold sheets on a dryer line! Here are five of our favorite RC uses for them. Share how you use clothespins for modeling in the comments below! CLIP TIP For electric RC pilots, keeping track of battery status at the field can be a challenge. It […]
Getting into Gas – Expert Setup Tips

Getting into Gas – Expert Setup Tips

There are lots of good reasons to use gasoline engines to power your model airplanes. Generally speaking, they are easy to start, and run very reliably while producing their peak power at lower rpm than glow engines of similar displacement. With lower RPMs they tend to make less noise and burn less fuel per minute […]
Spice Up Your Loops–Fly the Avalanche

Spice Up Your Loops–Fly the Avalanche

The Avalanche will  cause spectators to gasp, especially when performed close to the ground. The surprise is that both maneuvers date back to a time long before 3D was even an aerobatic style. We enlisted the help of our good friend, aerobatic pilot and designer Mike McConville, to guide you through this maneuver and offer some tips […]
Building a Competition Worthy Scale Cockpit

Building a Competition Worthy Scale Cockpit

Scale competition is a segment in this hobby that I really enjoy. Like many, I grew up wanting to be a fighter pilot, but when I had to get corrective contact lenses in junior high school, those dreams ended so I decided to become an aerospace engineer instead. A big part of why I enjoy […]
Painting Proper Scale Markings

Painting Proper Scale Markings

There’s one thing all scale warbird modelers need to know. How to paint proper warbird markings. If you are one of many RC modelers who has acquired an ARF model of an American warbird, the chance that its star-and-bar markings is correct is about one in 10. It’s sad but true. Among models built by […]
Custom Gas Engine Throttle Arm

Custom Gas Engine Throttle Arm

Many times the control arms as delivered on gas engines are not up to the job. That is, they are too small or wrong shape for the job at hand in getting a pushrod attached to open or close the butterfly valve. This is pretty easy to remedy without getting on the computer and searching […]
Making Strong Wood Splices

Making Strong Wood Splices

I was sitting under a shade tent at a giant-scale fun fly recently when someone asked me where I got the longer-than-standard-size materials I use to build my big airplanes. I didn’t know what the fellow meant. He told me that his local hobby shop carried only 36-inch lengths of balsa and spruce, and that […]
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