A Basic Model Aircraft Workshop

Image source: http://www.modelflying.co.uk/sites/3/images/member_albums/45294/plane%20storage%201.jpg

These days many beginners enter the hobby with a ARTF(almost ready to fly) model, they are often reluctant to build there first model airplane, thinking the building will be difficult, the tools complex and they will need a large area to set up a workshop and will need to invest a large sum of money.

Nothing could be further from the truth, there are advanced modelers who have devoted entire rooms or have erected workshops in which to enjoy there hobby, but the basic model airplane can easily be built in a corner of any home, I personally have built many models myself on a board on the kitchen table.

When I built my first model all those years ago I did not have a clue,It was built on a old dining room table without a building board and the parts where held in place while the glue (balsa cement in those days) dried by window glazing tacks knocked in with a small hammer, luckily as I said the table was old and I lived to tell the tale,

However I hope this article will guide a beginner through the setting up of a simple but adequately equipped model workshop,sufficient for the construction of most model kits and many scratch built models as well,Where possible I will show how some common household items and a few basic tools available in the larger DIY store can substitute for more expensive modeling tools

Where specialized tools are available or desirable, hopefully this article will help in choosing which of several tools will give the biggest value

The Workspace The minimum space needed to build the average R/C trainer is a area of about 5 feet by 5 feet,While it might be useful to have a larger area, this space will be adequate to construct most free flight,control line and radio controlled model airplanes, a place near a electrical socket and well lighted being the main points to consider, also it needs to be somewhere where it would not be a problem if wood scraps,sanding dust or glue ended up on the floor and can easily be cleaned up, A large carpet remnant or a old rug under the worktable would prove helpful here.

The Building Board A good flat building board is the most important and basic tool, fortunately, it is also one of the least expensive. Although there are factory made building boards available, thousands of models have been built on a standard drawing board . A good store bought alternative is a cheap cork faced notice board from a local store.

To keep the building board straight and free of warps, bows or twists, the building board should be laminated to a sheet of 3/4" Medium Density Fiberboard ("MDF") Ply or Melamine faced chipboard could also be used. Such a laminated building board can be easily picked up and moved out of sight if the workspace needs to be cleared for other activities. This is what I use personally glued together with PVA wood glue and screwed around the frame, the frame can be removed from the notice board if you wish,should it get in the way.

A worktable will also be needed to set the building board upon. Many modelers have discovered that a card table set up in a corner is a perfectly adequate workbench for building smaller models. Others have used a kitchen or dining room table, but this can be a source of annoyance for other family members. Ideally, there will be a corner of a room where a workbench can be set up on a semi-permanent basis, and if there is room, a hollow core door resting on strips of wood screwed to the wall makes a very nice, sturdy and stable modeling workbench.