Fast Patrol Launch by Steve 12345 - Aerokits/KeilKraft

[Steve 12345]

Thanks for the pic hexnut and as you mention so many of these are customised for the individual it's a no holds barred build pimp my yaught 

[Charter33]

Firstly let me say that I am no expert and no doubt there are far more knowledgeable members out there .... but here's my 'two peneth' 

I've used this composite material to join R/C aircraft cowls and wing halves and to scratch build wheel spats for a 1930's style R/C model.

Be warned - it's messy, smelly, you need to work quite quickly - but it's a lot of fun and very rewarding once you get the hang of it.

Health and safety - you need to work in a well ventilated area and wear rubber gloves. I prefer the surgical type. Not sure how much detail you want here, so .....

Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) combines the tensile strength of glass strands with the properties of a plastic, usually polyester resin although epoxy is also sometimes used.

The glass matting comes in three basic forms of various weights and sizes: Chopped strand - good for moulding compound curves like hulls, fuselages, cowls etc. Woven - including a woven ribbon good for joining wing halves, GRP canoe halves, cowling halves etc., and Finishing tissue - a light weight cloth and probably the most suitable for your intended purpose.

The resin needs a few drops of a catalyst to make it harden. As far as colouring goes once it has cured you can spray it with primer and then a colour of your choice. You can alternatively add coloured pigments to the resin so that it is 'self coloured'. These are not too expensive, and you only need a couple of drops, but to be honest spray cans, or an airbrush, are probably a more economic option when you're getting started. You would also need plenty of acetone for cleaning up equipment.

Your hull would need a coat of resin, a layer of finishing tissue and a further coat or two of resin, probably brushed on. If you really get into this stuff you will learn how to 'stipple ' resin on or, on bigger jobs, to use a roller (not to be confused with decorating rollers!) Once the resin has fully hardened you will need to rub it back with progressively finer grades of 'wet and dry' and / or rubbing compound, being very careful not to rub down to the glass layer, to get a good surface finish.

The biggest issue with suppliers is buying small quantities suitable for modelling. Some of the materials have a limited shelf life. It's not particularly expensive, although it's all relative I suppose. Some model shops stock it, although changes to what can be sent through the post has impacted on the mail order route to some extent. If you want to 'have a play' you can buy a car body repair Glass Fibre kit from National retail chains such as Halfords (I checked - there are half a dozen in Belfast!) for about £15. It has the resin, hardener and chopped strand matting in it. There are some really good 'how to' video clips out there on You-tube that will help you too.

Now the hard bit...... it's your build, and you are the Captain so the decisions are all yours, but if it was down to me I wouldn't use this as a finish on this beautiful boat. I'm sure that there are better methods to achieve a quality finish on your hull. At the very least have a practice go or two on something else first before deciding.

 

Good luck!

 

Graham.

 

[Steve 12345]

Thanks Graham for the very detailed response I had not thought of Halfords and after checking they do I fact sell two different size packs one at £15 and one at £10 so I will pick one of these up for a practise ,I would imagine this as you say to be a messy procedure so I will be sure prep everything first and have a clean up plan at the ready and to practice on something else first .