Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 28, Fin Tip Decals

These fin decals are tricky! Be sure to rub and leave some water down the leading edge and sides of the fin before transferring the decal.

Set the thick black center band down the leading edge of the fin. Hold it up to the light and you can better space the center. 

Be sure the decal corner is at the corner of the fin.

When the center is positioned, roll down the sides.

Cut the top corner close to the black ink. I cut right at the black ink and it didn't run or bleed when soaked.

This is about as good as I could get the two decals to match up!

I counted 31 decals on the sheet!

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 27, Decals

There are 30 decals to place!

The front of the canopy decal is set back 1 3/8" from the front of the tube. The instructions say to scrape away paint around the decal for better adhesion of the canopy. You don't have to scrape the paint, I'll show another method coming up.

The center of the ramjet nose cone decal is cut out, close to the black ink. 

The outside of the ring is actually cut closer than shown in the picture.

Set the "NO STEP" wrap decal around the BT-50 tube dry first to get an idea of the spacing. The ends don't touch the root edge.

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 26, Decal Fixes

Applying and aligning the wing leading edge decals is tricky!

Trim the clear edge tight at the upper corner.

Set the wide black centerline evenly over the leading edge, then fold down the sides. 

The outside edge (top) decal fits a little over the black outline of the leading edge decal already in place. I didn't get a perfect match at the corner.

Home drawn decals always seem to need some tweaks.

That's why I said to wait before requesting the decal PDF. 

I widened the wide end of the upper decal so the corners would match up (I hope!)

The "DANGER - KEEP OFF" grate decal needed a gray fill.

Another decal printing!

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 25, Canopy Fitting

I was lucky, I got a good canopy on the first try.

Clear, sharp with no bubbles.

The excess was trimmed off and the canopy sanded with 220 grit wrapped around a body tube. First around a BT-50, then around a BT-55.

Initial forming over a smaller tube cuts a sharper arc. Ideally you want to sand in a straight line, up and down. There can be some wiggle. You can get a better fit starting with a smaller diameter tube.

The front and back will sand easily and fit before the sides. Keep sanding until the sides contact the tube. 

Watch for the roll-around "stringers". These can be removed with light passes of 400 grit. Sand only the sides, don't scratch the clear surfaces.

Here's a near fit of the canopy. Note the sides haven't touched the tube yet. That means more sanding.

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 24, Canopy Carving

On the left - 

The front window line is penciled in. 

On the right - 

That angled taper is cut and sanded.

The top to the rear is rounded.

Side windows are marked.

The front windows are left flat.

The bubble rear canopy is rounded tapering down to the back.

The wooden form is taller than it needs to be. The height will be lower after sanding to fit the BT-55 tube.

For an easier release of the clear vacu-form plastic - 

The entire canopy gets a coat of medium CA glue and is allowed to dry.

This hardens the wood. Sand smooth with 400 grit.

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 23, Canopy Carving

Well, I'm cheap! I refuse to pay too much for a canopy when I can make it myself. It may not be an exact copy, but close enough for me.

I've carved a few canopies before, more instructions are found in my article for the Apogee Peak Of Flight Newsletter: CLICK HERE

I went to Michael's Crafts and bought a small bag of basswood blocks. The price was $10.00. I pulled up the Michael's website and found a 30% off digital coupon. That brought it down to $7.00.

The blocks were too big. Using a glue stick, a canopy print was stuck onto the block. Pencil border lines were drawn.

The block was held in my workmate vise and cut with a handsaw. I don't own any power equipment.

With a new #11 blade in my X-Acto knife, rough forming was done making small chip cuts.

Block sanding with 220 grit cleaned up the sides.

Note the edge is wider than the decal print. The clear vacu-form canopy should probably be just outside the decal edges underneath.

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 22, Canopy Size? Oooops!

I redrew the decals using the online PDF for reference.

Patreon members - 

Don't request these yet. I may have some resizing and tweaking to do. 

I thought it was funny that the back of the cockpit decal had a fire extinguisher and first aid kit.

I assumed Estes used the old Centuri Fighter Jets clear canopy. Those kits were ST-10 or about 1" in diameter. The Strikefighter is a larger diameter BT-55 at 1.325" diameter.

The Strikefighter canopy is larger. I won't be able to use the small canopy I have.

Checking the forums, the Strikefighter kit used a canopy similar to the the Guillows P-51 Mustang. To see it, CLICK HERE. 

Now I've got some thinking to do. Do I order a Guillows canopy for $10.00 plus $5.00 shipping?

Morerockets.com has a Strikefighter replacement canopy for $5.99 plus $12.99!!! shipping.

Or - do I carve a larger canopy and use it in my vacu-form machine?

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 21, Details Glued In

The gun and radar pod assemblies were a tight fit in the BT-5 tube. I used a tapered dowel to roll down the inside burr that was in the way.

The tight fit made me think twice about sliding the assemblies into glue in the tube.

I slid them in, and aligned them dry.

A glue fillet was applied around the rear centering ring using a dowel. 

Inset the glued dowel in the back and roll the end around the ring tube joint.

Here's where we are - the canopy and decals are next!

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 20, Paint!

The white paint on the Mega Mosquito crazed!

I didn't follow my own rules - paint on plastic dries slower than paint on balsa and tubes!

Wait 48 hours for tubes and balsa,

Wait 96 hours (4 days) to re-coat plastic nose cones.

The Strikefighter nose cone had a longer dry time and turned out smooth and glossy.

The gun and radar pods were painter silver.

Note the sides of the rear centering rings were masked and remain white for better adhesion.

The Mega Mosquito nose cone was sanded and re-shot with filler/primer.

After drying, this was sanded with 400 grit.

Wait 4 days, shoot again with a white undercoat.

The Strikefighter body was spray painted with white. It was difficult to get a overall gloss "wet" final coat. Too many nooks and crannies.

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 19, Making The Canopy Part B

Before sanding, the ink line is still there along the rough edge.

TIP: Wrap 220 grit sandpaper around a tube one size smaller than what it will be glued onto. The finished model is BT-55 based, so initially sand the canopy edges on a BT-50. 

Why go with a smaller diameter tube? There may be some wobble making a wider curve than you will want. Sand up and down in a straight line.

As the edge is sanded, the remaining inked edge gets thinner. Some of the lip may flex and separate.

Sand a bit, check the edge and sand some more.

When the ink and thin edges break off,

Switch to 400 grit wrapped around the BT-55 tube - See the picture at the right.

Here's the dry fitted canopy on the BT-55 tube.

Don't glue in place yet - 

I'll have some specific tips about how to adhere the canopy to the tube.

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 18, Making The Canopy Part A

Vacu-form parts aren't really difficult. Take it slow and it'll turn out fine.

First, outline the outside edges with an ultra fine point Sharpie. Trace around the indent line that goes around the canopy bubble.

Score (don't cut through the plastic) directly on the ink line.

The picture on the left shows the cut lines needed to flex and crack at the scored lines. 

These outside lines are cut through the plastic, cutting from the scored line to the outside.

Bend the plastic up and down along the scored line. After a few bends, the plastic should crack down the ink and scored lines.

At this point, the edges will be rough.

We'll fit the canopy to the tube in the next post.

The BIG Fix! of the Mega Mosquito & Strikefighter Canopy

This is why you should do a white undercoat before spraying the final color.

The Mega Mosquito replacement nose cone was molded in a fairly opaque white. I didn't think a white undercoat would be needed. I was wrong!

I'll wait two days before spraying a gloss white. Two days after that the final  yellow should match! Live and learn.

I'll need a clear canopy for the Strikefighter build. I'm using the same canopy found in my Odd'l Rockets Fighter Fleet kits.

It seems you always have to throw out the first vacu-form attempt. Then usually make four sets of two (eight canopies in total) before the heating unit on the small vacu-form machine gets too hot.

I was on a roll today. I made 10 sets of two for a total of 20 canopies!

The BIG Fix! of the Mega Mosquito

A few years back I had a Kevlar/shock cord separation on my Mega Mosquito. The nose cone and parachute floated away, the body landed top down leaving a little dent in the tube.

I picked up a replacement BT-70 Bertha style nose cone at Jonrocket.com. The nose cone felt too tight in the older body tube.

The inside lip of the body tube got a damp (not wet) water wipe around the top. 

Dampen the paper towel and squeeze out excess water before wiping down the inside of the tube. You only want to dampen the inside tube wall.

The nose cone was flipped over and pressed into the damp body tube.

This helped push out the dent and re-round the body tube.

Don't force the nose cone in too tight! You only want to slightly flare out the tube end for a slip fit of the nose cone shoulder.

After a few hours, remove the nose cone and check the tube shape. It should be rounder and have a better fit against nose cone shoulder.

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 17, Glue Fillets

I lay small pieces of masking tape around the end of the body tube to keep paint out of the inside of the tube. This makes for a better fit of the nose cone.

All the fine sanding of the fairing pieces paid off - 

The surfaces are even and uniform. 

I tried to keep the glue fillets small on the fins and stabs.

More pinhole bubble holes showed up when the white paint was shot.

There are some rough areas around the scoop. 

More work - more glue fillets and sanding.

Mini Goblin Kit & T-Shirt

Estes just released a Mini Goblin kit and t-shirt.

CLICK HERE for the kit

CLICK HERE for the t-shirt

 

For any of the "older" design purists out there - 

The "3" should be flipped on it's back so it looks like a stylized bat.

Check out the original instructions at Jim Z's: CLICK HERE

If the model were standing upright the 3 is flipped 90 degrees on it's right side.

I'm being picky. Still, an interesting original design tweak.

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 16, Stabilizers & Wing Gluing

The core tube and vanes assembly is slid into the nacelle tubes. Rotate them as shown in the picture below. Notice the (rear) short vanes are even with the back of the nacelle tube. 

The stepped root edge of the stabilizers are glued to both the BT-20 and BT-50 tubes. I had to sand each fin root individually for full contact down both tubes. 

On the left side of the picture you can see the gap. The right side picture is after sanding and fitting.

The smaller stabilizers are glued on, in line with the wing and the vane.

The stab and fin root edges are close together. Save yourself some frustration and glue fillet the stab before gluing on the fins.

The fins are glued on. 

These root edges also had to be fitted to fully sit on both tubes.

This picture view is from the rear.

I didn't need the fin angle alignment guide to glue the fins on.

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 15, Some Early White Paint

I shot the fairings early to better see the fillets. 

Look close - the glued edge areas are shiny, the center of the strip isn't. 

The edge fillets are sealed by the glue. The paint soaked into the cardstock where there wasn't any glue. Paint will seal things up, some light sanding is needed to even out the surface.

 

The core tube and vanes would be impossible to paint once they are slid into the nacelle tubes. These will also get a shot of gloss white.

I did mask the glue areas. Notice the thin tape strips covering the outside edges of the vanes.

After the paint dried, I found some small fillet bubbles.

Rather than using the glue bottle on the bubbles, I applied small drips onto a toothpick tip and pressed the glue into the recess holes.