
Mountain Models Magpie
5
Covering the Wing
Next, you are going to cover the Magpie wing using either colored wing tape, or clear
packing tape. You can use additional colored tapes to give your wing detail.
Choosing a Pattern
Make sure you choose a high contrast pattern using at least two colors, with the darker
color on the bottom and the lighter color on top. This will help you differentiate up from
down and left from right. Try drawing your pattern out on paper before attempting it on
your wing.
Applying the Covering Tape
For the Magpie, we recommend using wing tape (a colored tape) which can be purchased
from Mountain Models or clear packing tape which can be purchased at many office supply
stores. You may also cover the wing in low temperature iron on covering. If you choose to
use iron on covering, be very careful with the iron temperature or you will melt the foam.
Test the covering on a scrap piece of foam first.
1.
Lightly sand the entire wing. Remove all the dust or the tape will not adhere.
The adhesive spray is known to contain acetone which will eat foam. In order to
minimize the problems, you must have a clean nozzle emitting a fine mist, which is
kept a good distance away from the wing and moved quickly. Apply a very light
coating on the surfaces, allow some dry time, and then apply another light
coating, letting it evaporate a bit before bonding. The slight eating of the foam
ends up being part of the bond.
2.
Spray the wing with 3M 77 and let it set for about 5 - 15 minutes, until it is tacky.
3.
Reinforce the center of the wing where it will be held on with rubber bands. Do this by
laying down 4 strips of tape, 4” long on the top of the trailing edge of the wing,
overlapping the bottom of the wing by ½”. Do the same for the leading edge.
4.
Starting from the trailing edge, run a strip of tape across the length of one wing,
overlapping the center by one inch. The first strip should wrap around the trailing edge by
1/2". Continue laying down strips of tape to cover the bottom of your wings, overlapping