Scale Information
Pinked
edge finishing tapes on full size aircraft are not noticeable until
you get within about three feet of the surface. Please, when modeling,
do not use tapes that will allow you to see them from across the room-
it does not look realistic. The reason why some pinked edge finishing
tapes stand out to boldly is because they are not cut from the same
or similar material used to cover the model. We will cover this a
little more in the “Comparison” section.
There are generally,
and I state generally, three sizes (widths) of finishing tapes used
on full size aircraft. Please check with your documentation for the
particular plane you are modeling. Two inch width on ribs and some
longerons; three inch tapes around leading edges of control surfaces
and also on some longerons; and four inch tapes known as perimeter
tapes go around leading and trailing edges.
For most modelers
the rib and perimeter tapes will be the only tapes needed.
1/5
scale:
Rib tape width is .4”
Perimeter tape is .8”
1/4scale:
Rib
tape width is .5”
Perimeter tape is 1.0”
1/3 scale:
Rib tape width
is .66”
Perimeter tape is 1.32”
Now lets review the spacing and
or size of the “pinks” that are on finishing tapes. On the piece of
finishing tape I have, there are 6 pinks to the inch. At 1/5 scale
this would mean you need 30 pinks to the inch, which in all honesty
is just to small to be seen. At ¼ scale you would have 24 pinks to
the inch, which also is just too small to work well. And at 1/3 scale
there would be 18 pinks to the inch, which is probably doable but….
I
did a lot of testing and find that 15-16 pinks per inch “looks” really
good on the 1/3 to 1/5 scale models. The problem when using a scale
size pink smaller than the 15-16 per inch is that they tend to fill
with paint very easily thus you can not see them when finished so
why bother? I can make the pinks to scale size, but until they come
out with paints that have 1/5 scale size pigments and binders they
are not going to look right. As a great scale modeler extraordinaire,Dave Platt has stated many times, sometimes you have to make it a
little wrong in order to look right.
In order to get a real
scale appearance you will need to simulate the rib stitches that are
under the finishing tapes. There are people out there that sell a
very nice pre-made simulated rib stitching for model builders. Please
do a search to find contact information on their product.
Generally
speaking the stitches are two inches apart unless the area is within
the prop wash then they are spaced one inch apart. The width of the
stitch depends on the width of the location to which it is being applied.
I use small glue drops spaced accordingly to simulate rib stitches
and you can see how this is done in the directions.