Fitting Interior Skins

[Sakrison]

A member PM'd me for advice about how to install interior skins in a paper model -- in this case the FlyModel C-47 or PBY Catalina. I'm currently building a repainted C-47 and an Li-2 (Russian C-47 knock-off) repaint of the FlyModel kit. I'm not installing interior skins on either one, because they really can't be seen through the fuselage windows.

When I have used interior skins, I typically do it this way for each section of the fuselage.
1. Assemble the outer skin
2. insert the inner skin, tack-gluing it above and below window/door openings
3. Tack glue the top and bottom of the inner skin, trimming it as needed.
4. insert and glue the floor and the fuselage formers.
I dry-fit everything before gluing, to ensure a good fit.

On the C-47, as with most kits, windows in the fuselage don't allow you to see much of the interior. I'm a firm believer in not spending time on parts and details that no one will be able to see. As long as window & door openings are aligned inside & out, I don't worry much about how the interior looks before the sections are joined. I spend most of my time and effort on what can be seen on or in the finished model.

Cockpits and open doors are the exception, and those sections might demand extra care and detailing, but the process for handling interior skins is the same.

[Tim Crowe]

A useful tip

Thank you for sharing

Tim