BLUF: I discuss tissue and possible tissue options.
As everyone is probably aware, Esaki has gone by the wayside. Some of us suppliers still have some amounts and colors, but I think all the popular colors are getting really scarce (that includes white).
I have mentioned my favorite DOMESTIC replacement before (FLOMO Brand), but I had a customer send me a message a couple of weeks ago. Randy Wrisley sent me this:
“Found some domestic tissue I really like. Called Pom tissue and sold by Etsy. I like neon colors, very dense color. Tissue doesn’t run when water sprayed and is colorfast when doped with 50/50 nitrate. Take dope without the fuzzys so common with other domestic tissue I have used. On the model pictured, I used Esaki on the wing and stab. I noticed the Esaki sagged a lot more than the Pom tissue. It may be heavier, but if one doesn’t have to add dye or other color enhancers weight is probably about the same.”
Here’s a photo of the model he described.
I think this is a Finn Supermax by Randy Wrisley
I told Randy that I would definitely check this out, so I found the ETSY site (“PomLove”). I was surprised at the variety of tissue they off (over 50 different variations). If you calculate, the prices are really cheap per sheet.
Here is the link to the Tissue section of the shop:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/PomLove?section_id=16271800
I ordered their White package and their Rainbow package. I just received it in the mail today.
These almost have a shiny side (no so shiny, but clearly more slippery) and a definite grain to the tissue.
The first thing I did was take a piece of white and weigh it. It measures 15″x20″ and weighs about 3.3 grams per sheet. I also weighed a sheet of the lavender. The colored sheets are twice as large, 20″x30″. The lavender weighed about 7.5 grams; so both colored and white tissue weigh the same.
I got out my trusty Excel spreadsheet and created a calculator to convert my “grams per sheet” to the standard tissue measurement of Grams per Square Meter (GSM). Here are the results:
Esaki was reported to have a GSM of 12
FLOMO (white) has a measured GSM of 14
PomLove has a measured GSM of 17
So the PomLove tissue (probably a chinese “domestic” tissue) is definitely heavier than Esaki, but you won’t have too much of a penalty on your sport models, especially the larger you go. The color selection is quite wide and it is cheap. So, the price is right. One thing I did notice is that the wet strength is not very good. This is typical of “domestic” tissues and should be no surprise. You can get around this by covering dry and shrinking the tissue.
In the end, here is another option when it comes to sport model tissue replacement.
George, that looks like it will work given the fact that Esaki is done. But, why not promote other vendors in the hobby that sells tissue, specifically domestic tissue that has been proven to be good. Who knows where this vendor or whoever is selling on Etsy is going to be in a few months, years. I think there are better choices out there to be honest. Please, promote within the hobby, it only helps us all out.
Hi Jim from Wisconsin,
I think you will find that I often refer my customers to my so-called “competitors”. I mentioned this tissue, not as a one-and-only solution, but as something others may want to try. I believe there are many more people using “craft” tissue for other purposes than there are stick-and-tissue modelers, so there are likely many more sources that are, to us, alternative.
Just today, I referred a customer to Retro RC and local department store sources. Earlier this week, I referred a customer to EasyBuilt for their Mt Fuji tissue.
I try my best to let my readers know what I am doing and what I am observing in this hobby. So, don’t worry, “I’ve got you covered”! 🙂