The Taube is built using balsa, spruce, birch plywood, lite
(poplar) plywood, and basswood. Each of these woods have
their own characteristics and were chosen for the best
strength to weight ratios for the model. Each has a
characteristic end grain pattern that is shown on the plans.
Since most of the parts in the kit are balsa, only the plywood
and hardwood parts are marked as such on the plan. The
balsa parts called out are dimensioned for you to help you
identify them.
The plans are used to build the entire model. Be sure to
always place wax paper or Saran Wrap™ over the plans to
keep the parts from becoming glued to the plans. The plans
also show a sample radio installation which is one way the
radio can be installed in the model. We have shown a
different method in the photos of this booklet. You may
choose to install the radio any way you want based upon the
size of your servos, receiver and battery pack.
Before You Begin Construction
The most important single item you can have to build any
model is a good straight building board. We build on a
“door core” which are usually available from any decent
building supply store like Menards, Home Depot, Pay-Less,
etc. Take your straight edge with you and ask for a reject
door. Something with slight damage to the outside veneer.
This won’t affect your projects, but you can expect to pay
considerably less than half the normal cost. We covered our
door core with a sheet of Cellotex™. You could also use
foam board or any material that is flat and will accept pins
easily. Always check your building board with a straight
edge to assure that there are no warps before you begin
assembling this, or any other model for that matter.
When removing parts from the diecut sheets, do it carefully
and have a hobby knife with a #11 blade handy in case the
part might not be cut completely through. Taking your time
here, will save you a lot more time than trying to fix a
broken spar slot in a wing rib later. Punch out the parts only
as you need them. This way you won’t accidentally use the
wrong part in the wrong place in the model. Clean the parts
up if necessary using a sanding block and then only very
lightly. You just want to remove the flash, and not any of
the part itself or it will be too small. So use 220 grit paper
on the block for a little added insurance. Speaking of
sanding blocks, we talk about block sanding many times
throughout this booklet. A flat sanding block is the only
way to sand 90% of any model. Hand sanding will produce
humps and hollows because of hard and soft spots in the
balsa, glue joints, etc. Always block sand everything except
the few spots that can’t be reached with a block. When final
sanding the model start with 220 grit paper to smooth
everything out. Then progress to 320 grit paper to polish it
for covering.
When drilling holes in balsa, it is best to use a pin vise to
hold the drill bit rather than chuck it up in an electric drill.
You will be able to control the bit better and more
accurately. There are a few instances where the instructions
will call for the use of a scrap piece of balsa or plywood.
There will be plenty of scrap wood that you will be able to
use from the diecut sheets. So save some of the larger
pieces from the diecut sheets for this purpose.
Probably the best advise we can give you when assembling
the Taube is to be sure to read this booklet through
completely before beginning construction. That way you
will have a good feel for how the model will be built and
what you are going to have to do. Also it is a good idea to
read ahead a few steps when actually building. Most people
like to move ahead anyway, and this way when you do you
are less likely to assemble something out of sequence that
could cause a problem later.
About the Wood in this Kit
We always strive to put the finest quality balsa, plywood,
and hardwoods in our kits. All the parts in this kit have been
hand inspected prior to packing the kit. However, wood
being a natural product is subject to warps and twists. Many
times this happens after the kit is packed when we can’t do
anything about it. This is due to stresses that are relieved in
the parts after they are cut from a block of wood and
sometimes won’t warp right away. If you have a problem
with a warped part, give us a call and we will replace the
part immediately.
Sometimes balsa will have mineral stains and other
aesthetic imperfections that will not affect the structural
strength of the model at all. It just doesn’t look very pretty.
Because of the current supply of raw balsa, you may get
some wood like this in your kit. Rest assured, we will not
intentionally put anything in any kit that would compromise
the structural strength of the completed model. Since most
models are covered with an opaque covering material, this
will never be seen in the finished kit.
Key to Abbreviations
ELE - Elevator
LE - Leading Edge
Fuse - Fuselage
TE - Trailing Edge
STAB - Stabilizer
PLY - Plywood
LG - Landing Gear
MM - Motor Mount
“ - Inches
CA - Cyanoacrylate Adhesive
