How to Build a Model Plane

Millions of people around the world are fascinated with aviation and flight. These people can be split into two groups: enthusiasts who just love the look, sound and speed of airplanes; the other being people who actually fly them as military and domestic pilots. Regardless of what group you might be in, building a model plane can be a lot of fun and a great gift for pilots and enthusiasts alike. There are a lot of different types of plane model kits you can buy, build, custom-paint and design.

Things You'll Need

• Model plane kit Glue Newspaper Work table Hobby knife Soap and water Paint Paintbrushes Spray paint

Instructions

1. Find a model plane kit to build. You can build anything from jumbo jet planes to military planes, all depending on your own personal tastes and style. The Internet is the best place to look for a model plane kit as you will find a bigger selection of kits to choose from than your own local hobby store. Sites like Up Town Sales and Oakridge Hobbies are great sites where you can find kits to buy and build.

2. Prepare your worktable. Remove all trash and debris from your work station and put two layers of newspaper down on the flat tabletop surface to protect the table from glue and paint.

3. Remove the parts from your model plane kit and wash them off. Take the plastic mold frames that hold all of your pieces (known also as sprues) and wash them off in warm water and soap. This will remove dust and dirt from the parts that could keep them from gluing properly.

4. Take your hobby knife and carefully cut all of the pieces off the sprues and group them. Take all the pieces and put them in groups according to the type of part they are, placing them in separate containers that are appropriately labeled. This prevents losing pieces and getting pieces mixed up.

5. Paint all of the cockpit pieces. The pilot seat and other pieces of the interior should be painted using paint and brushes before gluing them into the airplane model. If you glue them in first, you will not be able to reach all of the pieces with a paint brush and may end up not being able to paint the pieces at all. This can make your model look tacky and unprofessional.

6. Spray paint the body of the airplane. This is best done outside as it will prevent you from inhaling paint fumes, which could be harmful to your health. It can also help you avoid getting paint on your other stuff that may be in the same room that you are working in. Evenly coat the whole body and wings and then wait 24 hours before applying a second coat.

7. Assemble and glue the engines pieces together. When gluing the pieces together, be sure to apply the appropriate amount of pressure to holding the assembly together to ensure the glue is bonding. Glue the engines onto the wings of your plane. This will vary depending on your plane design. Most jumbo jet designs have the engines mounted to the wings, while some military planes do not.

8. Glue in cockpit pieces and attach canopy. Carefully glue in the cockpit pieces after the paint has dried on them. Then snap the canopy in place on the cockpit.

9. Glue on the wheels and the landing gear. After you assemble the wheels, you are ready to mount the landing gear to the bottom of the plane model. Not all models contain landing gear, so if your kit does not include those pieces, you can skip this particular step.

10. Soak decals in warm water for 15 minutes and then apply them to model plane. After logos and decals are placed on the model, it is completed.

Resources

• Uptown Sales: Model Plane Kits
• Oakridge Hobbies: Airplane Model Kits
• Model Aces: Model Kits