I'd rather cut out my own fins then deal with bad die-cutting.
You can be as careful as you want but chances are the trailing fin tips will probably break at the grain.
TIP: Note the direction I'm cutting. You have less chance of the tip breaking off if you draw the blade down and away from the brittle tip.
And it happened!
TIP: The corner broke off one of the wings. I couldn't find it so I glued an oversize balsa piece with yellow wood glue. Don't use CA glue for this. You might find the wood glue sands easier.
Let this dry thoroughly before sanding.
Use a block with 220 grit. The inset shows the repair.
Chris welcome to my world of old vintage builds and die crushed balsa.
ReplyDeleteHi David,
DeleteRegarding die-cut fins, I've mentioned before how easy today's builders have it with pre-cut laser cut fins. I told my Mother about the (new) laser cut process. She mentioned how she made balsa wood airplane kits as a child. All the fuselage and wing formers were cut by hand. When I was in my teens I bought a very old balsa/tissue kit. I cut all the formers by hand.