Enerjet by Aerotech Initiator Build, Part 11, Sticker Planning

Don't simply jump in and start laying down stickers - 

Plan ahead to see which stickers need to be placed first for everything to be centered and all to be lined up.

The INITIATOR name is centered up the body tube between two fins lines, on the opposite side of the launch lug.

I find the center by pressing a piece of paper between two fins. Press in and crease the paper at the root edge. Match the creases, and fold in half to find the center.

Mark the body tube with a pencil at the centerline.  

The decals aren't stuck down yet, but are held in place with tape on the back.

Notice how the orange trim line cuts through the word INITIATOR and lines up with the orange down peak of the upper body wrap.

I set the INITIATOR name sticker by visually centering it in the white area between the leading edge of the fin and the upper wrap. 

Lightly mark the center with a pencil. 

You'll want to see the center mark after the backing is peeled off.

Also lightly pencil mark the top and bottom at the base and top of the INITIATOR sticker. 

Enerjet by Aerotech Initiator Build, Part 10, Rear Centering Ring & Nose Cone Color Match

The rear centering ring did need some edge sanding to slide into the rear end of the main airframe tube.

You'll find it easier to fit it into the top end of the tube. If it ends up too tight you can remove it by spinning (turning) the ring to grab and slide it out.

You can't turn and flip the ring if inserted into the motor mount end.

The rear centering ring is slid in place until it contacts the back of the low ring lock ring. 

Apply a wood glue fillet. Here I'm smoothing out the fillet with a Q-Tip. It's too narrow an area for a fingertip.

Here's what I was talking about earlier, matching the nose cone color to the red on the decal sticker.

The sticker still has the backing on it, it's not stuck down yet. 

The nose cone will need some passes of the regular Ace Banner Red to lighten the burgundy color.

Before I just grab a can of paint I already have - I'll take the face card off the instructions (or cut the picture off the box) to the hardware store and try to match colors with the cap on the spray paint can.

At the time, burgundy was the closest color. But, things looked different when the sticker wrap was set next to the nose cone and placed over the white paint.

Plan ahead:

I didn't tie the shock cord to the nose cone because I thought there might be some color matching. With the nose cone untied, I could spray it off the model.