🚀 go-pugleaf

After several years, the oil in many types of commercially available modeling
clay begins to separate.  The remaining solid gets harder, crumbly, and
lighter.  What's worse, the leaking oil can really damage a finish. 

Sort of like recent publicity around certain surgical implants, it's like a
time bomb that may or may not go off and you've no idea when or if.

I find electronic solder (types with no built-in flux) and the lead foil
from wine bottles to be the best I've used.  Fine solder can be coiled or
wadded and there's little need to melt it, just a few dabs of superglue
or even good white glue should hold it.  Lead foil can be formed to shape,
glued, and layered.  The hard-to-use top parts of the bottle seals go
well here, too.

The idea of forming foil into the cavity, supporting the shape outside of
the model, then melting in solder sounds pretty good, but if you really
need that density of weight, there's probably someplace else you could 
put it that you're overlooking, like engine nacelles maybe.  Sure, leverage
counts for a lot, but if we're dealing with a tricycle A/C, (and most
weight problems are) then anything forward of the main gear will help.
If the nosewheel tire is molded in halves, fill it with a coil of solder.
Maybe there's room in the wingroots or fillets.  Try taking weight OFF
of the back, too by thinning non-structural stuff.


	Bob "don't usually have to weight ARMOR models" O'Brien