Models without tabs

[billy.leliveld]

Originally Posted by Dragos

Like this , I think.

Yep, that's it, a picture tells a thousand words, thanks, Dragos

[Lex]

By no tabs did you mean backing tabs from scrap paper or butt-joining all the way...? They do have different meanings you know :D

[ThunderChild]

I think the most important has been said.
What also helps is to just study the parts before you start cutting out. Make sure you know and understand what goes where and how the parts fit together. That way you will soon be able to figure out for yourself what technique mentioned here will be best suited for that particular part you want to build.

[Werner Smuts]

Interesting.....

[Golden Bear]

My models are designed without tabs and I usually cut them off when I find them because it ruins an edge.

I totally disagree that this makes for a "flimsy" model since you still have a glue bond holding pieces together. Also, bonding flat to flat doesn't necessarily give you greater bonding area since when you squish it flat most of the glue exits and accumulates at the edges.

For small structures I frequently will cut out and fit a piece that sits inside to hold the thing to the shape.

Carl

[NutjobGTO]

Just a thought, in preplanning;

I'm using a single big box with printed detail, instead of a true ladder frame, on the 359 I'm playing with.

Usually, in a tabbed model, that'd print out in a single piece, with four sides, and a tabbed seam down one edge, and that seam would skew the box out of square unless the designer is good with sheet thickness allowances. (Which I am not.)

I'm wondering... When you're making a boxbeam like that, might it be easier to make a U-channel with two tabs, and then have a separate strip to close it in? That way, while you've got two seams, you've also balanced the sheet thickness error on both sides and kept the whole thing square.

The other option would be two U-channel pieces, one glued inside the other, to make the beam.

[Mike Stamper]

I use Balsa wood for long edges. I buy a thin sheet then cut it into the appropriate lenght and width. I glue this to one piece and "rest" he other piece on it with a little glue.

This come in handy when the tab is in a difficult position. A good example is the walk ways on my current project. The walk way is glued to the main wall using the tabs, but I add a strip of balsa to the bach if the front wall. I remove the tabs from the front of the walkway and using a few dots of glue on the balsa the parts fit almost automatically.

I also agree with Carl, the modern glues are so much stronger that butt joints are easier than in the past. Most of the domes on my recent models are butt joined.

cheers
Mike

[Mark Petersen]

The only way I really like glue tabs is if they are part of a underlying or back-up piece. That way they can be used on edge joints and have a flush surface. But if they are include on models that come in a digital format then it is simply a matter of printing a second sheet and trimming a portion of the part, say of an aircraft fuselage, that contains the tabs and a thin strip of the skin. All at once you have a glueing strip that you will be able form to the profile of your main part. Oh and you can use regular printer paper to print up the glue strip sheet

[pahorace]

In my SIAI M. S79
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SIAI Marchetti S.79 "Sparrow Hawk"
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I even drew many exsta tabs not included in the kit (but I have not used all).
Until now I do not yet know how to paste the individual sections without the tabs.
While two complete sections I can paste interface through two identical diaphragms (without the use of tabs).
Is clear, however: the tabs must be autonomous and not included in the design of the parts, in this last case, I will cut.

Orazio

[bigbenn]

Hi,
I always cut the tabs off because they create an unsightly seam and the parts do not edge join properly. Since I build my models from paper kits which I have enlarged in black & white (I use water based paints as I go along with the construction and build in 3D), it is necessary for me to edge join all of the parts and I use PVA glue (it looks like white milk but dries clear) to make a very strong joint when dry - enough wet glue on both surfaces as you would find on the back of a postage stamp.
Before bending and joining the parts, I use the part as a pattern and draw around it onto my 1/8" card stock which I will later cut out and trim down to size for a neat internal fit. It is easy to bend card around round objects, like bottles, cups, rods and so on, once you have lightly wet the 1/8" card stock, lightly under a cold water tap - just allow the card to dry out normally and it will hold the new shape.
Once the card part is constructed, I sheet the inside surfaces with 1/8" card as mentioned above, using PVA glue on both surfaces. With funnels, it is easy to use thin card, cut to size and fitted into the round shape so that all parts edge join. In this way, it is easy to construct round objects with a serious strength, when dry.
Richard (BigBenn)