Vim had numerous innovative features including a trim tab on the rudder, two-speed winches and a lighter mast made of Duralumin (a form of aluminium used in the aircraft industry).
Flight characteristics with the rotating wing-tip panels were not as expected so a conventional vertical fin on an extended rear fuselage, and ailerons constructed from fabric-covered Duralumin on the outer wing traling edges, were added after initial flights.
After the body's frame had been built, the sheet aluminium or Dural would be shaped around it.
High-strength aluminium alloys such as the Duralumin-type alloys (Al-Cu) which depend upon precipitated phases for strengthening are susceptible to intergranular corrosion following sensitization at temperatures of about 120°C.
This skeleton was made from Dural and it was then filled in with foam rubber or cotton cloth and covered with latex to serve as skin, giving his models a more natural and realistic look, while simultaneously making it easier to handle them.
Initially the shields were made from Duralumin to save weight, but these quickly corroded and had to be replaced.
Cars 1 to 3 used welded hollow aluminium extrusions, cars 4 to 5 used brazed aluminium honeycomb panels, and cars 6 to 9 used an aircraft-style Duralumin fuselage construction.
This was a large aircraft (Riesenflugzeug in the German classification) constructed largely of high-strength steel for highly stressed parts, and Duralumin (aluminium alloy) for low stress parts.