TIP! Cheap Clear Plastic Fin Stock

It never occurred to me to find clear plastic fin material from a cheap picture frame.

This one came from WalMart. With this style frame, you can clearly see it is made out of plastic. There is no wooden frame surrounding the sheet plastic.
The plastic is about 1/16" thick.
Sure, it's a little thicker than what you once found in the Estes catalog, but it's still workable.

Look to the lower left. There is a crack in it already. No matter, there is plenty of sheet plastic for my next project.

The plastic will be cut into four pieces for a four finned model.
It's easier to cut the plastic into four pieces, one for each fin.
Cut with plenty of border room (much larger than your finished fin) so you have something to hold onto when cracking down the scored lines.
Tape the clear plastic over your fin pattern.




You'll have to score the plastic on both sides for it to break clean down the outside edges of the fin.





Score one side and flip over the plastic. You'll be able to see the first scored line easily through the clear plastic.
In the picture you are looking through the plastic from the uncut flipped side. I have yet to move the straight edge up to the cut line for the second score cut.



Here's the finished edge after cracking down the scored lines and sanding flat with some 220 grit sandpaper on a block.

Be ready, scoring and cracking this clear material will take some practice. Your first tries may not have clean breaks.