I have received numerous inquiries regarding a web site or catalog of what products I can offer and since I don't currently have either I thought I would put up a thread that I could point guys to for the information.  I have every intention of creating a web site at some point but, to be honest, it would be pretty sparse at the moment.  I am a one man show and for the most part the items I offer have been those that I have developed for my own models or at the request of friends in the model community.  However, I have an endless number of ideas for new products that I would like to develop and so hopefully my catalog will be expanding on a regular (if slow) basis.  Currently I am focusing on two areas that have shown the most marketing potential, cockpit details (and more specifically instrument panels) and laser cut vinyl surface details.  The latter are relatively easy to develop while the former require considerably more investment in R&D and, thus, are much slower in coming.  

Laser cut vinyl surface details - This is a brand new area for me so I don't yet have a library of complete surface detail sets for particular aircraft.  I do have requests for several different aircraft though and they are coming.  For example I have a request for a complete set of surface details to include rivets, fasteners, hatches, inspection panels, etc. for the F4U-1 Corsair in 1/5 scale.  Once I have created the necessary files to produce them a "1/5 Scale F4U-1 Corsair Detail Set" will be added to the catalog along with the same in other popular scales.  I will also more than likely offer some generic rivet and fastener sheets in various scales.

Flush Rivets - I can offer these in any diameter starting at about .030" on up and with whatever spacing between rivets is required.  I can also do double or triple rows of rivets or pretty much whatever you need.  Normally these will be provided in 2 or 2.5 mil thick matte silver or burnished chrome vinyl but other colors can probably be sourced if you have a particular need.  The silver/chrome works very well where you intend to weather through the finish.

Fasteners/Screw Heads - These are provided in the same manner as the rivets except that the minimum diameter is about .050".  Any smaller and the detail of the screw heads (slotted or Phillips head) is too small to be visible and often results in a little shriveled up ball of vinyl!  Custom fasteners of almost any type can be made if you are able to provide suitable documentation.

Clear Rivets/Fasteners/Screw Heads - All of the above are available in clear vinyl as well for those who wish to apply them on top of Monokote or other iron-on coverings or anywhere that you want them on top of the finish rather than underneath it.  Great for customizing ARF models!  NOTE:  I have done limited testing on these in regards to how well they will stand up to exhaust residue and repeated cleanings.  A clear coat is recommended although I can't tell you for certain if it is absolutely necessary.

Below are the clear rivets applied to a Monokote covered test panel.  The cutting process leaves a slightly darkened edge which helps to define the rivet.  (A fortunate happenstance!)

Raised Rivets - For models around 1/7 to 1/8 scale an acceptable raised rivet can be achieved by using 4-5 mil vinyl in place of the thinner material.  They are not truly button head of course but do a satisfactory job of simulating them at any distance in my opinion.  (For even smaller scales the thinner vinyl will do the same job.)  Just FYI, the thick vinyl I have used for these is white and I'm not sure if silver is available.  Thus, a silver base coat over at least the rivets may be necessary for weathering purposes.  If you would like to put a new spin on an old trick you can apply a drop of glue on top of each vinyl rivet to simulate a true button head shape.  The glue will spread to the edge of the vinyl and no further resulting in glue drop rivets that are all the exact same diameter.

Below is a pic of the 4mil vinyl rivets on my 1/8 scale Hellcat fuselage.  These are about 1/16"diameter and DO NOT have any glue drops on them.  The Hellcat used raised rivets on the fuselage and flush rivets on the wing and tail surfaces.  I burned the flush rivets using the brass tube in a soldering iron method.  The contrast between the burned rivets and the vinyl rivets is readily apparent when viewing the model and does a good job of representing the different rivet styles of the full size.

The following picture shows the vinyl combined with a glue drop to represent a button head rivet on my Harvard. 

1/5.3 scale Spitfire cockpit kit - Designed specifically to fit the fiberglass fuselage offered by www.vicrc.com for the Brian Taylor design.  With the possible exception of the bulkheads the kit can be used in any 80-90 inch Spitfire.  Many have been sold to customers building the Pica, Platt, and Yellow 1/5 scale Spitfires as well as several who have installed it in Taylor's built up fuselage shown on his plan.  I am more than happy to discuss the sale of individual parts, ie, the panel, seat, gun sight, etc. if you are not interested in the full kit.  Please note that this is not a complete cockpit kit in that it does not include any of the side wall items.  I would like to add those eventually but it's not at the top of the priority list at this time.  Also be aware that this is a kit and requires a substantial investment on the part of the customer to assemble.  An extensive set of illustrated instructions is included to assist the builder but it is not what I would classify as a "weekend project".  Now that I've talked you out of buying one here is what it consists of!

Lastly I must add that these are produced on a limited run basis.  They are very time intensive to produce and with a slim profit margin so I can't do them "onesie-twosie".  I generally make runs of half a dozen several times a year and thus there may be a waiting period on them.

Instrument panel kits - I can also offer these fully assembled and painted on a time-available basis. 

1/6 scale P-47 (82" span)

Top Flite Giant Scale P-47 (currently only available fully assembled)

1/5.6 scale Sea Fury (81" span)

1/5 scale Bf-109 (80" span) - This panel was developed for the Fliteskin Products Bf-109F/G kit and is available exclusively through them at www.fliteskin.com.

1/7 scale Hawker Typhoon details - Originally made for the Brian Taylor design the items below are also the correct size for the ARF offering from ESM or any Typhoon around 72 inches span.  Pictures shamelessly lifted from Exxon's fantastic Taylor Typhoon build thread found right here on RCSB!

Exhaust stacks - Solid cast from resin.

Radiator - Laser cut parts combined with a cast resin inlet.

1/8 scale Grumman Hellcat details - The items below were designed to fit my own Hellcat design but many builders have used them on the CMP/Nitroplanes Hellcat ARF as well.  They could also be used with the Brian Taylor design of the same scale.

Canopy - Vacuum formed clear canopy with molded in frames.

Gear doors - Vacuum formed plastic gear doors come trimmed to size as shown.

Drop tank kit - Vacuum formed plastic drop tank shells combined with laser cut balsa parts to create the mounting pylon.

Instrument panel graphics - I have a few printed instrument panels for builders who are looking for a simple two-dimensional representation of the panel for sport scale.  These come printed on glossy card stock and can be provided in any scale you need.  Simply trim and glue in place.

P-47 Thunderbolt

Grumman Hellcat

What's on the horizon? - I am constantly working to add new product as time allows.  As noted previously my main focus right now is instrument panels.  New panels that are already in development or soon will be include the following:

-1/6 & 1/8 scale Grumman Hellcat

-1/6 & 1/5 scale Vought Corsair

-1/5 scale Focke Wulf FW-190D & Ta-152

-1/5 scale Kawanishi N1K2 George

-Various scales of P-51 Mustang panels

Eventually I would like to expand to include many of the major cockpit detail items such as gun sights, seats, throttle quadrants, control columns, rudder pedals, etc.  Other than the Spitfire I don?t know as I will offer any more complete cockpit kits due to the time involved to produce them and the limited profit margin.  However, I would like to be able to offer the major components which would allow the builder to furnish a full cockpit with a minimal amount of scratch building.  Currently I?m working on those items for the P-47 Thunderbolt in 1/6 scale as seen in the examples below.

1/6 scale Mk.8 gun sight

1/6 scale P-47 throttle quadrant

1/6 scale P-47 electrical switch box

Beyond cockpit details I would also like to expand to include various armaments and ordinance.  Of course I'm always interested in your input so if there is a particular item you would like to see produced please let me know.  As you might imagine the decision to produce is based upon several factors but, as you might imagine, the main one is sales potential.  I am more than happy to discuss custom work for the more obscure types but, of course, it comes at a custom price and on a time-available basis only.

I will continue to post new items here as they are developed and keep everyone informed as to what's available and what is coming until such a time as I can get a dedicated web site created.  Please email me directly at the address below for information regarding cost and availability or to order.  For any other questions or comments please feel free to post them here as others may be interested in the information.

Thanks to everyone for your interest and inquiries and also for your patience as I do my best to expand and perfect my products.  Much appreciated!

cwveich@cwvmodels.com

Yellow Aircraft Spitfire horizontal stabilizer kit -  This built up tail unit is laser cut from balsa and ply and builds substantially lighter than the fiberglass and heavy plywood unit supplied with the kit.  The fiberglass stab in the kit is also prone to "oil canning" giving a wavy or "starved horse" appearance and does not include a scale, gapless hinge line.  My kit alleviates all those issues.

Top Flite Scale Corsair tail kits - These laser cut kits replace the flat tail surfaces provided in the TF kits with scale, airfoiled surfaces and includes the scale, gapless hinge lines.  Available for both the .60 size and the Giant Scale Top Flite Corsair offerings.

Pinking Tapes - Thanks to the help and encouragement of RCSB user "zpainter" I can now offer laser cut pinking tapes custom made for your project.  These were provided in vinyl for zpainter's fantastic Don Smith FW-190 project but I may be able to provide them in other materials as well.  Let me know what you need and I will do my best to accomodate.  The laser cutter allows for finer pinks than can be had from the vinyl cutters being used by some other suppliers of pinking.  Zpainter's use of my pinked tapes on his 190 can be seen on his build thread starting on page 85, see link.

http://www.rcscalebuilder.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1456 5&PN=0&TPN=85

Riveting Strips - These are laser cut riveting strips to help you quickly and accurately burn or scribe rivets using the sharpened brass tube methods.  They are simply made from card stock as it is not affected by the heat when burning them with a soldering iron.  Pretty much any rivet diameter and spacing can be provided as well as double or triple rows of rivets or just about anything you need.  Also, the rivet holes can be placed whatever distance away from the edge of the strip you need in order to accurately locate them in relation to your panel lines.  Just lay the edge of the strip against a panel line and start burning!  They can even be used to accurately "eyeball" around curves with a bit of practice.  They do wear out over time but half a dozen strips should be enough for most projects.  As you might imagine, since they are nothing more than a few cents worth of card stock, they are not going to be too expensive!  About 99.9% of the cost is going to be for laser cutting time which will vary depending upon what you need but you're probably looking at $5 + shipping for a half dozen strips in most cases.  Inquiries to cwveich@cwvmodels.com.

For anyone looking for a method of dressing up an ARF or an otherwise finished model I thought I would share some pics of a Hangar 9 P-47 I'm working on.  The stock covering job has been retained but panel lines are being added along with my clear vinyl rub on rivets.  One complaint that I've had in regards to the clear rivets is that they do not show up well on darker surfaces.  So I did some expiramenting on the black and yellow checkered tail surfaces.  On the yellow the panel lines are drawn with a dark grey pencil and the clear rivets show up nicely as is.  On the black areas the panel lines are done with a light grey pencil and the rivets have been dry brushed with white acrylic craft paint.  The dry brushing takes but a few seconds to do and works like a charm.  The whole thing is then given a coat of flat clear, in this case Lustrekote out of a spray can.  The added detail really brings the finish to life from a couple of feet away as can be seen below.  Time consuming?  Yes it is.  Worth the effort?  Absolutely!

A rather miniscule item but one that I have been asked to produce on multiple occassions, gas caps.  Here is the first, suitable for P-51 Mustangs and AT-6 Texans and probably other US aircraft as well.  They are laser cut from plastic and I can make them in just about any scale you need.  They come painted and ready to go as seen in the pic.  Cost will be about $5 per pair.

Thanks Thomas!  Below is a pic of the real deal for comparison and keep in mind that mine is about 1/2" in diameter.