Rocketry Items on EBAY

The finished 1969 catalog 

Estes ALPHA

is up for bidding on EBAY HERE

this is the same Alpha built on this blog. 

No plastic, all balsa with custom decals to match the 1969 catalog illustration.

Also listed is the 
Centuri Contestant Packet from the 1976 NARAM 18
It's all there - 
Catalog, hobby store flyers, decals, iron on t-shirt transfer and the Centuri Design Manual.
(Sorry, the Sure Shot igniters can't be mailed!)
Check it out HERE
Both items are five day listings.

Stop by and make a bid!

MPC USS Enterprise Build, Part 7, Sub Assemblies

15 minute epoxy was used to glue the BT-50H tube in place.

Drops of epoxy were allowed to run down the sides of the ribs and tube.






The instructions show plastic glue being applied to the plastic connector and the tubes slid over the shoulders. This would allow the glue to ooze out onto the visible outside surfaces.
Apply the glue inside the tube and slide the connector in. This keeps the glue inside the sections.




TIP: Glue the fin can in place, center two fin ribs around the Enterprise illustration closest to the end of the tube.
The instructions don't specify a position for the fin can - why not center it!

MPC USS Enterprise Build, Part 6, Connector and Nose Cone Adjusts

Over time, the built-up card stock end of the connector could unwrap.
I also wanted to round over the square end.

Some medium CA was applied and the edge rounded with 220 grit.

Inside the connector, here's how the shock cord was tied on.
The cord went over the "X" struts.
A Duncan Uni-Knot was used.

The top side of the connector was too tight going into the upper tube section.
These edges were also rounded for an easier slip fit.

On the other hand -
The nose cone cone was very loose!
A single wrap card stock was glued into the body tube.

I could have used wraps of masking tape on the nose cone shoulder.
On a larger body tube I'd rather build up the inside of the tube.

MPC USS Enterprise Build, Part 5, 24mm Engine Mount Part B

What I couldn't reach with the Dremel was trimmed back with my knife.








Here's the BT-50H tube in place. You can see the ribs against the tube.
Yes, the tube hasn't been cut to the final length yet.

The engine cap will need a notch for an engine hook.
Rough cut the notch with a knife and file the final shape.

The engine mount tube was cut with 1/8" extending beyond the engine cap.
The upper end extends 1/2" above the top of the ribs.

Look inside - there's a notch cut for a replaceable Kevlar line.

MPC USS Enterprise Build, Part 4, 24mm Engine Mount Part A

To make this a 24mm model, there will be a lot of plastic cutting and grinding.
The low end of the fin can (left side) will be widened and the interior ribs (right side) will be cut back.

The locking engine cap won't be locking when I get through with it.

If you cut through along the recess line you will remove the interior support tube, shown at the bottom of the inset.

Sand the new larger hole round with 100 grit wrapped around a dowel.
The inset shows the BT-50 heavy wall tube slid into the new hole.

After englarging the 18mm hole in the fin can to 24mm -
The interior ribs were cut back with a very old Dremel tool with a sanding drum. The plastic was more melted than actually sanded.
I removed only enough of the rib width for the BT-50H tube to slide in while still resting and being supported by the ribs.
I can't imagine a hot Quest engine beside the ribs. I would think they would melt! The BT-50H tube will give better insulation.

Another Mega Mosquito and Mini-Brute Mosquito Question

I stopped by the JimZ website to check the older, more detailed Mosquito instructions. I was curious if they rounded or airfoiled the fin edges.
They are HERE, scroll down to the BETA series version.

Read the EXTREMELY IMPORTANT message  below the exploded parts illustration.

Here's the only construction illustration from the new kit version. It's an exploded parts illustration.
It says simply: "Glue all the parts together".
White glue is shown, plastic glue is not.
White glue won't hold the plastic nose cone in the cardboard body tube.

I'm not complaining, I just think it's interesting.

Estes Saturn V Parachute Hook Bend TIP

You can apply this tip whenever You have to make a bunch of bends the same length.

In Step 17 of the Saturn V kit, you bend a brass wire into a "U" shape.
(The wire is an attachment point for the upper parachute.)

On the left, a small piece of masking tape was stuck to my pliers.
This tape piece was a stop point for how far the wire was set down into the plier jaws.
It helped guarantee each bend of the "U" was the same length, or (at best) closer than I could get without it.