Scale Models - View Single Post - Project: 1/3 Model Of Auster G-AGOH From Recycled Materials

duncan · 29-12-2006

An interesting project Paul. Have you thought of going on the scrounge to the big paper companies ? They have large advertising budgets and do get involved in "educational" projects (just another way to brainwash teachers and children about the company`s products). The "Great Paper Plane Project" gets PR at universities and from British Airways I believe, TV companies love this sort of thing. Technical advice from the boffins in the paper industry and scrap (roll ends) from users in packaging and printing will magically appear if they sniff a PR opportunity. Save rummaging in skips, go to the source. When I needed brown wrapping paper for a barrier on blue foam that was about to be fibre-glassed found a nearby paper-mill that offered as much, and more, of high quality off-cuts that they advised would be better than the traditional brown wrapping paper, all free "Just send us a picture when it is finished" they said. Same with the glassing, a few enquiries at the aforementioned glassing firms supplier of resins and raw glass led to them offering to get the job done for me (if I did the preparation and finishing myself). Ask and thou shall receive. Same with they paint I needed, a phone call to the Rosyth Naval Dockyard PR office and they said "show us what you mean" meant a trip to the dockyard with my then unfinished hull and returned with 10 gallons of undercoat and 10 gallons of gloss grey as used on Royal Navy ships. There is no shortage of balsa in the world, it grows in many parts of the world but political and other reasons prevent economic supplies for modelling. It is a very rapid growth tree so sustainable amounts could be harvested with little threat to the environment. There was a plantation started in the far east a few years ago to avoid the uncertainty of supplies from the traditional source in Ecuador where more profitable weeds were being exploited. Maybe some of our Oz friends can advise if that Far Eastern project is still going. I think it might have been in Papua/ New Guinea or Borneo. Be sure to post picture of the Auster`s progress.

29-12-2006	#12 (permalink)
duncan one more feather ......! Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Scottish Highlands Real Name: Duncan My Models: HMS Invincible Visit duncan's Gallery Posts: 1,093	An interesting project Paul. Have you thought of going on the scrounge to the big paper companies ? They have large advertising budgets and do get involved in "educational" projects (just another way to brainwash teachers and children about the company`s products). The "Great Paper Plane Project" gets PR at universities and from British Airways I believe, TV companies love this sort of thing. Technical advice from the boffins in the paper industry and scrap (roll ends) from users in packaging and printing will magically appear if they sniff a PR opportunity. Save rummaging in skips, go to the source. When I needed brown wrapping paper for a barrier on blue foam that was about to be fibre-glassed found a nearby paper-mill that offered as much, and more, of high quality off-cuts that they advised would be better than the traditional brown wrapping paper, all free "Just send us a picture when it is finished" they said. Same with the glassing, a few enquiries at the aforementioned glassing firms supplier of resins and raw glass led to them offering to get the job done for me (if I did the preparation and finishing myself). Ask and thou shall receive. Same with they paint I needed, a phone call to the Rosyth Naval Dockyard PR office and they said "show us what you mean" meant a trip to the dockyard with my then unfinished hull and returned with 10 gallons of undercoat and 10 gallons of gloss grey as used on Royal Navy ships. There is no shortage of balsa in the world, it grows in many parts of the world but political and other reasons prevent economic supplies for modelling. It is a very rapid growth tree so sustainable amounts could be harvested with little threat to the environment. There was a plantation started in the far east a few years ago to avoid the uncertainty of supplies from the traditional source in Ecuador where more profitable weeds were being exploited. Maybe some of our Oz friends can advise if that Far Eastern project is still going. I think it might have been in Papua/ New Guinea or Borneo. Be sure to post picture of the Auster`s progress.