Estes Cosmic Interceptor Build, Part 30, Masking The Nose Cone Tip

Here's the nose cone tip paint suggestion - 

Black with a red tip.

I'll paint the black all the way forward, then come back and paint the red.

I have a clear plexiglass cutting board to cut the tape.

That texture underneath is my new countertop.

It took five tries to get the right arc. I kept going smaller with each try. Wipe a paper towel over the ink to pick up the excess.  

An arc is cut through the middle of the thick pen line.

The tape arc is wrapped around the tip. The tricky part is masking around the recess line.

Masking tape goes over the low end.

Paper is wrapped around the base of the nose cone.

Black is sprayed. 

The tape is pulled.

I got a decent mask but there was two small dots of lifted paint.

I'll show the fix in an upcoming post.

Estes Cosmic Interceptor Build, Part 29, I Gotta' Paint!

I'm tired of rain! I went outside to spray about 1:30 p.m. Humidity was probably a little high, there was some bluing of the glossy paint. I'll probably polish out any dull areas. 

Not the perfect scenario, but I've got to get moving on this one!

   

The side "shield" fins were painted off the model.

This is a big rocket with lots of inside areas. I felt it would be easier to mask these shields and the wings separately. 

They'll be glued on after the masks are complete.

With the nose cone in place, the model is longer than I can comfortably spray in a long, one arm sweep.

A cardstock "handle" was rolled and taped to the nose cone shoulder.

The engine mount ring got the final gloss black spray.

On the left is the first coat sanded with 400 grit.

The light sanding paid off, you can see the gloss in the right side picture.

Once in a while I run into balsa that shows grain even after filling.

The sanded paint helps fill them a bit, but this wood required more CWF. 

The final black will cover the bit of sanded beige filler. 
 

Adding A Pilot to the Odd'l Rockets F-18 Hornet kit

Frank D. added to his Odd'l Rocket F-18 build!

Inside the cockpit - 

You can see the pilot!

"A wooden bead painted yellow with a black visor."

A great addition - 

 

The full view of Franks F-18 painted Blue Angels style.

It's a tricky mask and looks great!

Waiting For Better Painting Weather -

Rain and humidity = 

No Cosmic Interceptor painting!

The Cosmic Interceptor is a big model, painting conditions have to be just right for good coverage.

Here's a look into what's coming up on the blog - 

Augendoc is 3D printing the ramjet nose cones for me.

I have vacu-form cockpits from the Odd'l jet kits.

I've already drawn up the decals.

The rest will be selected from too many accumulated spare parts.

Estes Cosmic Interceptor Build, Part 28, Small Things

The engine mount ring and intake vanes are painted black. It's easier to pre-paint then glue them in place. It would be nearly impossible to mask the intake vanes if they were glued into the tapered body tube.

The engine ring was taped to a painting wand (dowel) and sprayed gloss black. The paint will require light sanding and another coat.

Only the exposed front of the vanes need paint.

These also will require some sanding and another coat of paint.

The tri-fold mount was glued up and formed into a curve while the glue was still wet. I pre-form the mount so I can glue it in the tube later.

Here the mount is pressed into some of the leftover intake tubing.

It's been a frustrating weather week. I usually spray at about 2:30 p.m. when the humidity is low. Most all afternoons have been raining!

Estes Cosmic Interceptor Build, Part 27, Launch Lugs

I know - I'm pre-painting almost everything. On this complicated a build, you'll have trouble getting spray paint into all the inside and covered areas. When you paint over a glue area, the surface has to be carefully scraped or sanded so the glue can soak in and adhere the parts.

 

The lugs were pre-painted white.

The bottoms are areas of the lugs are touching the cardboard and won't get any paint.

The lug gluing areas on the model are sanded using 400 grit wrapped around a Q-tip. Sand an area a little shorter than the length of the lugs.

It helps to use a log tweezer to set the lug under the T piece.

Note the two glue lines.

One line contacts the body tube, the other touches the wing near the root edge.

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Here's the lugs in line.

I won't be applying glue fillets, there would be bubbles when the glue dries.

Because the glued areas had the surface roughened and paint removed, the bond is plenty strong.

Estes Cosmic Interceptor Build, Part 26, Fitting The Vanes

Don't glue the vane assembly in place. The body of the rocket is mostly white, the vane assembly is black. 

Paint the vanes and body separately, then glue the vanes under the tube intake.

Notice the high (middle) vane is touching the intake body tube while the smaller vanes have a gap.

The largest center vane was trimmed with a new razor blade.

Cutting into the corner, 

Shave a little and check the fit.

Here the fit is much better, all the vane forward edges are contacting the intake tube.