.
Care should be used not to apply heavy, wet coats of dope. Put on light coats and
allow them to dry thoroughly before applying a second coat. A spray gun is a
good method of getting a good finish with a minimum amount of dope. Be
especially careful with dope spray cans not to wet the plastic too much. Spray
several light dusting coats with adequate drying time allowed.
A Cure for Fuselage Warping
You may have noticed that when a
piece of balsa is doped on one side
and not on the other, it will curl. The
same thing can happen on the
fuselage sides under the wing
opening, particularly when you put on
a number of coats. (The rest of the
fuselage will not show this effect to
any extent because it is four-sided
and cannot distort.) The effect isn't
noticeable until after full cure of the
dope and aging, which may take
several months. To prevent this from
happening, give the inside of the
fuselage a coat of dope every time
you give the outside a coat. This has
an added advantage in making the
cabin area fuel proof. In addition,
when the hardwood servo mounts are
installed, have them a little over-long
so that the cabin sides are bulged
slightly outward.
Plastic may also be painted with Sig Skybrite, Sig Plastinamel, K & B Superpoxy,
Hobbypoxy or Du Pont Dulux Enamel. Don't use other paints without testing first
on scrap plastic. For best results, Skybrite Primer, K & B or other primer should
be applied to the plastic before finishing with enamel or epoxy.
Painting the Canopy Framing
Dope is very difficult to use on the canopy plastic because of its warping action.
Therefore we recommend Sig Skybrite, Sig Plastinamel or other suitable enamel
or paint-for-plastic for the canopy. Epoxy can be used but it doesn't stick as well
unless primer is used under it. Sanding the gloss off the canopy plastic will help
adhesion on all types of paints. Mask off the edges of areas to be painted with
1/8" Stripe-Rite or similar plastic tape which will stretch around curved areas on
the canopy. Mask off the rest of the unpainted areas with wider tape to protect it
from scratches during handling. If some type of paint other than those mentioned
here is used, test on a scrap of plastic first.
NOTE: Plan the painting so that the
canopy can be glued on the fuselage
as soon as the paint is dry. Don't
leave the canopy lay around since it
is likely to warp, either from the type
of paint used or the fact that the
framing is only painted on one side.
Cyanoacrylate glues may be used with caution to attach the canopy. With some
brands, when a seam of glue is put around the canopy, the fumes may build up
inside and cause fogging of the plastic. To avoid this, we put two holes in the
cockpit floor. (In an inconspicuous place - behind the pilot's headrest.) A piece of
tubing was inserted in one hole and blowing through it as the glue was applied a
bit at a time, exhausted the fumes out the other hole before the canopy was
harmed.
DKM-235AB Kougar Stars and Bars
decal. The large stars and bars
measure 7-1/4" wide, the small 4-3/8".
DKM-235B Kougar Team Numbers
Decal. The diameter of the circle of
stars around the numbers is about 4-
1/4".
DKM-235AC Kougar Black Lettering
Decal. "USAF" letters are 3" high, "U.S.
Airforce" is 1" high x 9-1/2" long, the
buzz numbers are 13/16" high.
DKM-235C Kougar Team Insignia
Decal. The width of the bar on the stars
and bars is 3-1/4". "U.S. Air Force" is
7/8" high x 8-1/2" long.
Color Schemes
On a non-scale model like the King
Kobra, a wide range of color schemes
suggest themselves. We will show here
the ones used on the prototypes but in
order not to increase the price for those
builders who may prefer other
decorations, no decals (except for the
"King Kobra" name) have been provided
in the kit.
The F-16 inspired color scheme on one
prototype used the emblem, insignia and
lettering from the DKM-235A Kougar
Thunderbird Stik-Tite Pressure sensitive
set (Also available individually as DKM-
235AB Kougar Stars and Bars and
DKM-235AC Kougar Black Lettering.)
