Monday, July 10, 2017

Estes Apollo Little Joe II Build, Part 36, Escape Tower Decals



The vertical black bars are centered above the nozzles.
I drew a vertical pencil line to center the first bar.

You'll have to cut very close to the bottom box as it butts up against the lip of the cap.
GOTCHA: These decals are thin! I am not going to place the HUGE wrap decal on the body in one piece.

Rub some water on the tube so the decal won't freeze up in the wrong position. A little water "lube" allows movement and makes it easier to remove air bubbles.

TIP: Keep the backing on as you smooth out the first 1/4 of the decal on the tube before sliding the back over to expose and place the next quarter decal. I use a wet Q-tip to roll out water and air working from the center out to the edges.
Smooth as you go removing bubbles before sliding the backing off the next quarter area.
After you set down the first two quarter panels go back and check to be sure the first panel is straight.


Here's the finished assembly - WHEW!

3 comments:

  1. Yes, looking very nice!

    I had two of my fins split after using the epoxy on the spars. It's not bad and I can fill them with a little putty. No one will ever notice it but I will always know it's there. Grrrrr. Oh well, live and learn.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Eddie,
      The same thing happened to me but the fin split while I was gluing in the spar. (See Post 54) With the epoxy being slippery the spar might slide in a bit farther than it could on a dry fit.
      I kept a close eye on the fin leading edges and sanded a spar thinner if needed.
      It's still a good compromise, you probably won't pull off a fin and part of the corrugated wrap on a hard landing.

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