The lower fins are thicker and stronger, the fin strake toothpicks are a better diameter.
This wasn't built to be an exact clone. I sometimes like to make personal improvements hoping it will make it through more launches with less repairs.
I'm not happy with the pink decals. It's really apparent on the large roll pattern decal. A fix will follow . . .
I was gonna ask if you've ever tried double-layering decals to intensify the color (I haven't). Will wait to see what your fix is.
ReplyDeleteThe white vanes on black motor mount came out fantastic. I did something like that on a recent build, and masking in there was really difficult (although I didn't have so many vanes to deal with).
Hi Neil,
DeleteI have done double layer decals before, but with kit supplied decals I shouldn't have to. I did scan the shroud but wasn't expecting any problems with the decals. I guess I could have redrawn the decals (a real pain getting a wrap to match up) but went with a different, new solution for me. The post will be up tomorrow.
The only way I could get the color separations clean on the vanes was to paint first then glue them on. The glue joints on the vanes and upper small fins may not be the strongest, but those areas aren't really under much stress during boost and recovery. The main low fin glue joints are very strong.
I look forward to seeing your solution. I haven't really encountered this problem yet but it's only a matter of time, given my use of home-printed inkjet decals.
DeleteThanks, Chris. I'll apply your improvements to my next Laser X build. I think they will help it survive "more launches with less repairs" -- although my first Laser X flight last year landed in a retention pond, so there's not much to be done with the soggy, warped tubes...
ReplyDeleteIf you had known (beforehand) how the decals would end up looking, you could've matched the paint colors to decals (as they would appear on the model). Then you could explain this was on purpose to achieve the proper "scale effect" (in scale modeling using slightly muted colours help to make the model "look right" -- colours tend to look muted with increasing distance due to the atmosphere. Thus a model painted in muted colours held at arm's length better matches the apperance of the much larger full-size object that is some distance away).
ReplyDeleteHi Naoto,
DeleteInteresting, but I don't think I would have gone that route. I'm stuck with rattle can spray paint and my red choices are limited. I also thought it would make an interesting blog post.