| When you are planning on a radio airplane project, | | | | from local grecers to the hobby stores across the |
| there will be a few items you cannot do without on | | | | country. They are simple and do not need to be |
| your list of things to buy. We will consider some of the | | | | purchased from a specialist supplier. But do make sure |
| most important ones here, but no doubt you will need | | | | you have one. |
| more as per the particular design you are using. Some | | | | 4. Glue - Whatever your choice of building material, |
| items you can use over and over again on different | | | | you will need to find a way to hold the fuselage of |
| projects, while some will come in handy just for one | | | | your craft together. Superglue is a favorite with model |
| project. | | | | air plane makers, as is epoxy. Both are good agents to |
| 1. The body material - Your model plane will be made | | | | hold wood together. If you are using material other |
| of balsa wood. So this is the most obvious material | | | | than wood, find out what works best with that material. |
| you will need to purchase. Some plans may make use | | | | When making a boat you need to worry about water |
| of other materials, but most usually it is balsa wood | | | | proofing so you need to use sealant apart from the |
| that model planes are made of, since it is light weight. | | | | glue. |
| On the other hand if you are planning on a large model, | | | | 5. An electric Cutter - when you are making a |
| you could use a deiffrent kind of wood or another | | | | miniature model you really dont need a high power |
| material. | | | | electric saw to cut your stuff. A hand held table model |
| 2. The mechanics - your model air plane will need a | | | | would do fine. But do use a Dremel for the finer edges. |
| motor, and the radio unit to steer and fly it. You could | | | | It is miniature and hand held. |
| very well buy each part seperately if you are an | | | | Everything mentioned in this article is easy to find, and |
| experienced campaigner at this. But if you are not, we | | | | not very highly priced either. As you go along you will |
| strongly advise that you buy a kit, where everything | | | | no doubt require a few more tools. What we have |
| comes connected so there is no confusion there. | | | | here is the most basic of tool kits you will want to |
| 3. A good modellers' knike - The X ACTO is a popular | | | | make your model craft. Finally, the tool of |
| choice with model craft builders. It is a very simple tool, | | | | craftsmanship is as important as any hardware. Work |
| but irreplacabble when you need to cut out the balsa | | | | with patience and with care. |
| here and there. Such knives are commonly available | | | | |