The Little World

” Tis a green jig. It must be Irish. ”

Well, ’tis green now but it’s about to become feldgrau and then olive drab, and then azure blue in patches. And then you can assign whatever nationality you want to it.

It’s Mk III painting jig – the foamboard structure upon which I hang the aircraft to allow me to paint both upper and lower surfaces without having to let the wings or fuselage touch a support.

You’ve seen Mk I and II already but they were too small for the latest aircraft – a Grumman Avenger. I also wanted to incorporate lessons learnt from them:

a. Make it taller and then brace the vertical plate more. The jig cannot fall forward but it could potentially lean sideways – increase that footprint.

b. Trim down the vertical plate to allow easier spraying from the front of the aircraft. strengthen the bracing.

c. Edge it with tape to prevent premature delamination of the foam board.

d. Make the support axle hollow so that sprue, brass wire, or bamboo skewers can be used as aircraft support. They push into propeller shaft holes. In some cases a fuselage can have foam packed inside and the skewer can go into the foam. Jets can be fixed through their tailpipes.

e. Make it pretty. No need for the Little Workshop to look like something the Nibelungen would work in. It’ll get multicoloured and dirty soon enough.

f. Make it cheap. Shame on you if you buy one single thing.