Nike Apache Auction Finishes Tonight!

The Estes NIKE APACHE Auction ends tonight on Ebay

To see the model: CLICK HERE

Estes Nike Apache Finished

Considering this model was started in the mid 1980s, I was glad to finish it up.
The decals really added a lot, especially on the Apache.
The Nike fin mask took a lot of time. The black between the Apache fins would have been tough to mask and paint. The Contact paper blackboard covering material came through again.

Estes Nike Apache Build Part 13, Parachute and Shock Cord Tie In

The rubber shock cord supplied in the kit was just 12.5" long!
Glue that short length into a tri-fold mount then recess it 1" inside the body tube. After tying it to the adapter lug you've only got 6" of shock cord left between the Nike and Apache sections.
Add to that, the long upper stage Apache would be swinging and hitting the lower section during descent.
This one will require a LONG shock cord.
I started with a new 5' long shock cord.

To keep the upper section away from the parachute the snap swivel loop was tied about 8" from the adapter lug. In the left side of the picture you can see the tied loop above my thumb and forefinger. The chute snap swivel will attach to that loop knot.

On the right is the distance between the Apache nose cone and top of the Nike booster. Out of the picture top I'm still holding the swivel loop to see how the model will descend.
This long length should prevent and snap back and stop the Apache upper section from banging into the Nike when the model returns under the open parachute.

Estes Nike Apache Build Part 12, Nike Decals

Those black bars are left from the cradle the Nike sat in when it was painted.
A piece of masking tape was lightly set on the body tube to line up and center the ends.

I don't know why, but the United States decals are separate on the decal sheet. It would have made more sense to move them together and clear coat over the two words making it a single decal instead of two.

This two piece decal made it a bit harder to place and line up.

I checked Peter Always ROTW for decal placement.
I still visualized it but the book reference got me closer than just the face card picture.
Again, a piece of masking tape was set down once I figured out where the "U" in United would be.

Estes Nike Apache Build Part 11, Low End Masking

Three of the fins are painted red, the remaining fin is yellow.

This is a typical mask for me using marked Scotch tape at the fin fillets then masking tape filling in the larger areas.
The tube gets a wrap of plastic grocery bag plastic.

All the edges were pressed down and sealed using the soft end of a Q-tip.
These work better than a fingernail or dowel end. It seals the tape without scratching the paint or scarring the balsa.

This mask took longer than just three pictures.

After all the red masks are shot and removed, more masks are set down for the yellow painted fin.

Estes Nike Apache Build Part 10, Decals and Black Trim

The clear borders will have to be cut back on the silver sides, otherwise they would bump into the fins and overhang the top of the body tube.




After the wrap decals were in place the open white areas were set and centered over a ruler.
The red Thiokol decal was centered in the white and between two fins.

Instead of masking again I used the contact paper blackboard material again.
It took a few tries to get the right width. The front of the Contact paper piece butted up against the edge of the decal.

Earlier I had rounded the leading edges of the fins. There's a little red peeking out around that leading edge but it doesn't really matter. this was much easier than more masking on the small BT-5 tube.

The instructions said to paint the nose cone silver but aluminum is a close match to the decal color.

Estes Nike Apache Build Part 9, Painting the Apache

The fin can of the upper section Apache is painted red.
The mask line was right above the leading edge of the fins.







After the mask was sprayed and the tape removed, I had a little light red over spray. You can see it below the mask.

TIP: Instead of scraping or sanding off the red. I used a Mr. Clean magic eraser. The inset picture shows the red paint removed.
Just go light with the dampened eraser so you won't remove the white paint, just the over spray.

I didn't want to mask for the black areas between the red fins.
The next post will show an easy way out.

Estes Nike Apache Build Part 8, White Undercoat and Touch-up

The sections were joined and a dowel/casing paint wand was slipped in the engine mount.
Two light coats of gloss white were sprayed with light 400 grit sanding between coats.

Look close and you can see the sanded fin fillets.
Paint coats can actually act like the final fillers when sanded to surface.

These fillets were sanded with 400 grit wrapped around a "padded" Q-tip.





As careful as I tried to be, I sanded through the white paint and almost to the balsa.
You can see the gray primer on the corner of the fin.

TIP: Some Rusto 2X gloss white was sprayed into a small cup.
A Q-tip was dipped in the paint and the excess wiped off.
The end was rolled over the exposed corner.

The Rusto 2X paints allow easy touch-ups, they blend easy without lifting up the base coat.
Just be sure to "roll" the Q-tip over the area. Don't brush or scrub the paint on, roll the wet tip over the touch-up.

Estes Nike Apache Build Part 7, Fin and Lugs Gluing

The engine mount was glued in with the BT-20 tube even with the end of the BT-55 main airframe.

A fillet was applied around the lower centering ring with a Q-tip.

The Apache fins were glued on the upper BT-5 tube.

The die cut may have been a bit off.
I sanded the trailing edges flat with the end of the body rube.

Looking at Alway's ROTW the Nike fins go above the wrap by about 3/32". If the fin trailing edges went to the end the wrap marks they would barely sit above the top of the wrap.
I raised the fins so the tops would overhang a bit more.

After the first fin was tacked in place a wrap of masking tape wrapped around the tube and against the top of the leading edge.
This gives me a height reference for the other three fins.

The FinTool was slid in place and the other fins were glued on.
These fins don't trail below the body tube so the "tuning fork" shaped extension pieces were used.

You can also check the alignment of the fins by looking through the rear slot with the FinTool in place.

The two lug segments were glued onto the already filled and sealed balsa standoffs.

My practice now is to glue the lugs on the same side as the engine hook.

This is for good reason -
When on the launcher, it keeps the micro clips away from the rod and engine hook.

Estes Nike Apache Build Part 6, Nike Body Wrap

I looked for the BT-55 fin marking guide and realized it was a glued on body wrap.
Instead of cutting up the instructions I made a wrap out of 20 lb. copy paper.

Here's how it lines up, even with bottom of the body tube.

The trailing edges of the fins are about 5/8" from the rear of the tube.

I used a glue stick for the wrap. The glue stick gives you a chance to reposition if you don't get it right the first time.
White glue could over saturate the thin wrap.

Try to get an even coat over the entire wrap.
There is a piece of clean paper underneath the wrap to protect my work surface.

I got it close, there was a very slight overlap at the joint.

Estes Nike Apache Build Part 5 Another Dented Body Tube!

How ironic - the second Nike Apache kit I got from Ebay also had a dented end!
These older brown tubes are better than a new white ones. I'll try to fix it.

First slide in the adapter fro support and to pressure the tube into a better round shape.

Medium CA was applied with a Q-tip.
Be careful not to glue the adapter into the tube.

Before the CA glue sets up, roll over the area to mold the wet tube with a burnisher.
This will glue down any high areas and strengthen the end overall.

I'll still add some CWF and sand to fill any low areas.

Here's the tube after the CA glue.
It's round now and strong enough to be salvaged.

Estes Nike Apache Build Part 4 Die Crush Fins

The old style die cutting wasn't very clean.
The blades must have been dull when this balsa was cut.

The balsa is good quality. It is hard to see the cut outlines of the fins.

Two sets of four fins were stacked and gang sanded.
You forget how accurate laser cutting is compared to die cutting.
With die cutting, all four fins are a little different.

You can see a crushed gouge on the outside edge of the third Nike fin.
A little filler and it should be fine.

The instructions have you leave the fin edges square. I'll probably round them.

The launch lug standoffs needed some cutting to remove them from the balsa sheet. They were only cut half way through.

Estes Nike Apache Build Part 3, Parts Again

I bought a second Nike Tomahawk on Ebay.

I'll be building both the old kit and the newer Ebay kit at the same time

The parts of interest:
The rubber shock cord is a short 15" long.
The 5/55 blow-molded adapter
The parachute tape disks have no adhesive left, they fall off the backing paper.
A nice small decal sheet.

Estes Nike Apache Old Unfinished Build Part 2

Now that I have new BT-55 tubes for replacement, the old tube was peeled off and the engine mount removed.
27 (or so) years ago masking tape was wrapped over the engine hook.
When the hook was lifted the old tape easily tore!
Electrical tape is a much better retention wrap.

The left over tape adhesive was brittle and easily scraped off.
The tube was pretty clean after light scraping.

I decided to add a replaceable Kevlar loop to the lower centering ring.

The rotary punch tube wouldn't reach with the ring already glued on.
A small hole was drilled by spinning the tip of a #11 X-Acto blade into the ring.
The hole was widened and better rounded using a sharpened dowel.

Here's the repaired and improved mount.
(I probably should have rolled the black tape over the Kevlar tube)

An engine block was added, there wasn't one in the original kit.

Estes Nike Apache Old Unfinished Build Part 1

I bought this one years ago at a toy store.
The Semroc Classics list says the kit was produced from 1986 - 1989.
It was bagged up in Penrose.

I had started the kit but stopped when I couldn't find a replacement BT-55 tube. This was before there were many online vendors.
The tube from the kit was bent on one end.







I had added glued in a BT-55 black coupler hoping it would form the crimp back to a round shape.
It still would need some filling.

I had also installed the tri-fold shock cord mount.
This was prior to Kevlar ties at the engine mount.

Old Estes Nike Apache Kit #1957 Engine Mount Fix

I found this unfinished kit in a storage box. It was probably bought in the late 1980s. Back then I was curious to see what Estes was up to after being away from the hobby for years.
The kit was available from 1998 through 1989 and still made in the U.S.

There were reasons why I didn't finish it.
Right out of the bag, the lower BT-55 tube had a dent in the back. I didn't have easy access to replacement tubes then and set the model aside after making the engine mount and sealing the fins.
Another reason to replace the BT-55 now, I had glued in a tri-fold mount and the kit supplied shock cord was only 12" long!

The engine mount was cut out of the bent BT-55.
I had used two wraps masking tape over the engine hook.
Out of curiosity I lifted the engine hook - the tape cracked!
This model was stored indoors in an air conditioned room and the masking tape still deteriorated!

It reminded me of tape left too long on a window.
The tape residue flaked off the engine mount with a light scraping with the back of my hobby knife.

I'll add the removable Kevlar to the mount.
The rotary punch won't fit over a centering ring already glued in place.
These holes for the small tube were drilled with the tip of an old knife.
The hole was widened using a sharpened dowel point.

I'm installing a replaceable Kevlar mount. See HERE
The small blue cotton swab tube was glued in place and the Kevlar loop fed through.
I was surprised the mount didn't have an engine block.
A block was in the spare parts box and it was glued above the engine hook.

I actually have another of these kits and will do a full blog build on a later date.