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  Covering Corrugated Surfaces
                 
    
             By Georg Cupr

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Depending on the scale and whether the model is precise to a given scale. Balsa and Basswood triangle stocks are available from architectural and hobby suppliers
which when glued to a surface to replicate raised corrugation their shape edge is rounded over appropriately and faired in at each end to provide surface onto which
to place Flite-Metal beginning from the midpoint down the length of the raised balsa or basswood working toward the leading & trailing edge of surface proportionally
along a virtual midpoint line dividing the width of the surface.

Contact with surface is only on top of raised balsa or basswood...not between rows at this point. Using an appropriate diameter fibrous burnishing stump, place the
side of the stump between each row, beginning at the center...half way across the surface. Repeat outward one additional row at a time in opposite directions until
the aluminum is pressed gently to the surface but not with too much pressure. A little pressure will go a long way.... When half the fore~aft length of raised balsa or
basswood is covered, repeat in the other direction being careful to no press down beyond the length of each individual raised section.
 

Your previous experience with heat shrink modeling coverings comes into play at this point as you will adhere a gripping strip of hardwood or ply about 1/2 inch wide
to the loose end of Flite-Metal to provide even pulling force as you burnish the remaining portion evenly across the surface with the same burnishing tool used between
each raised row. End of burnishing pencil...aka stump can be used to "distribute and pull" uneven stretching to prevent wrinkles from forming. Wrinkles are burnished
out using the gray end of the Sharpie Fine Line marker provided with FK packaging of Flite-Metal products.

Inverse of the above is a recessed "milled" row of corrugation in the same locations as the previously described balsa and basswood triangle stock. Milling is done
with a full size router or router attachment to a Dremel or other brand of high speed rotating tool. With an appropriate diameter milling tool, drop and route out proper
length female corrugation where documentation indicates it should appear.

This style is much easier to accomplish on something like the T-34 because after applying Flite-Metal across the surface, you go to midpoint of each recessed row
and gently press down with a proper size burnishing tool or soft stick and move fore and aft to press the adhesive backed spanning Flite-Metal down into the female
corrugation. I have never seen it delaminate after curing to a fiber glassed surface.

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