Stained Glass Helicopter Kaleidoscope Repair

Stained glass is a very versatile art .. So many unusual things can be made with it.  This is a good example, a kaleidoscope helicopter.  You look through the opening below the rudder, then turn the rotors up top and it produces very colorful images.  This one was damaged in shipping and is destined to be a Christmas gift.  Here's how I went about the repairs ..


Here it is, resting on its side, the skids under the helicopter were cracked, as was the upper rudder.

Rather than replace the iridescent glass, my customer asked me to repair the existing glass.

Therefore I used toothpicks as splints, and I glued the cracked glass back together.

Then I wrapped each skid in new copper foil.  For added reinforcement, I ran a length of 20 gauge wire around the entire perimeter of each skid.  This also served to bond the skids to the undercarriage wires.

After I secured the foil and wire in place, I soldered it fully.  Then I brushed on the black patina as shown.

 
The glue failed and the rudder fell off, as shown.

 In order to repair and reinforce the rudder, I re-glued it in place.  After the glue set, I wrapped new copper foil around the sides and back as shown.

 

Then I soldered it in place, being sure to bond the foil to the existing solder on the back end of the helicopter.  Now the skids are firmly in place, as is the rudder.

And here's the little helicopter, ready to make somebody happy as a Christmas gift!

Thank you to Mrs. B, a repeat customer, for coming back again to have me do this charming little project!

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