Posted 5 years ago
ohmyflyguy
(83 items)
There is a small population for this Bronzart F-89 Scorpion. The Scorp was an early all-weather defense interceptor that soldiered on 10 years longer than expected making it a classic of the cold-war. This is one of the few survivors, it almost was discarded. The model weighs about 4 pounds and has a wingspan over 1'. So it has a heavy tail attached to a slim fuselage. The client purchased the model on-line and arrived poorly packed. The bird was "free-range" inside the box. The casualty was that it suffered an empennage ectomy.
Surgery was required to mend the issues. There were three major chunks involved on the lower portion of the fin. A repair was engineered keeping in mind the heavy cantilever load on the broken parts. Music wire implants were installed for vertical support. A process combination of medium viscosity Cyanoacrylate (super glue) in conjunction with slow-cure, high tensile strength epoxy were teamed together to produce the strong, permanent bonds. The tail is now in excellent condition with no visible seams or imperfections. At the client's request, the model was finished as one of those based in Alaska with high-rez Arctic markings. Other updates are upgraded markings on the base that were from 1955 and more detailed cockpit framing.
Great work! Sometimes the packaging is not the only reason for damage. The way the package is handled by the shipping company plays a big part on how it arrives at its destination.
I was asked to write a tutorial a few years back for eBay. The issue is that all items may be dropped up to 6' from one conveyor to another. If the item is not immobilised and enough packing so that the box must be compressed to close, any item with cantilever loads will snap. This gets even trickier with propeller equipped aircraft. I have actually sent for a copyright on my packaging process. The basic key is to anchor the item to a base plate such as on 3/4" thick pink insulation sheet. Once it is pushed down to the bottom of the container, fill with popcorn until the flaps barely can meet, Tape aggressively and no worries-ever!
Please let us know when you get the special packaging process copyrigh approved!