Estes Space Corps Corvette Class, #7281 Build, Finished

Decals really make the finished model! Any more decor and it might be too much.
TIP: As mentioned earlier - Try one soaking and transferring one decal. If they seem too thin or hard to work with, spray the decal sheet with a coat of clear acrylic.

Estes Space Corps Corvette Class, #7281 Build, Part 8, Decals

Here's the upper wrap decal. Look close and you can see the center pencil line from the last post.
On the back side there is an overlap.

TIP: The paper towel is stuffed in the top of the body tube to keep the shock cord from falling out and getting in the way.

The fin decals are large and detailed.

There are three sets of two different decals - meaning the patterns do repeat.

I set the duplicate decals as shown on facing fins.

Mentioned earlier, the decals are very thin and prone to folding and sticking to itself.

On the left is the top of the vertical SPACE CORPS decal. Keep a border around the edges, don't cut into the inside corners.

TIP: When placing a cockpit decal over a curved surface nose cone, you probably should cut out the inside. It'll roll and conform easier over the tapered cone.

Estes Space Corps Corvette Class, #7281 Build, Part 7, Decals

The Space Corps build just "finished" on the blog was a Pre-Production Sample (P.P.S.) build that went back to Estes without decals. There was a slight mistake in the decals.
I assume - before thousands of kits are made, Estes gets a few P.P.S. kits from China. These are checked before a production order is made.

Estes sent me two more Space Corps Corvette kits to build. These most recent are P.S. or Production Samples. These had the correct decals.
GOTCHA: Be ready - these decals were thin! After setting the decals down on the first build, I sprayed the decal sheet with one coat of clear acrylic to thicken them up slightly.

I wanted to place the lower wrap decal as shown on the face card photo.
GOTCHA: This puts the decal over the low end of the launch lug.

On the left is a practice wrap before soaking the decal.
On the right is after the decal was placed and trimmed with a razor blade.

Between the before and after pictures shown above - 
TIP: I used a wet Q-Tip to work the decal ends into the crux of the launch lug fillet. Before the decal was totally dry, a razor blade was drawn down the fillet line and the overlap removed.

The two low legs of the STAR was centered over a fin, opposite the launch lug on the back.

TIP: Use your aluminum angle to help set the upper wrap in line with the lower wrap already in place.
On the left is the rocket turned upside down. The angle edge is set at the center point.
On the right a pencil line is drawn for centering the upper decal.

Estes Space Corps Corvette Class, #7281 Build, Finished (Almost!)

This is a sharp rocket, built around the strong BT-55 tube. As explained earlier, the decals weren't applied awaiting the minor corrections.
It reminds me of some other classic models that had many large decals like the Citation Patriot or Interceptor. Well, maybe not as many decals as the Interceptor.

Estes Space Corps Corvette Class, #7281 Build, Part 6, Details & Decals

The fin detail "guns" are slid in place and glued at the ends.
Check the exposed ends to make sure that the rear end of the red gun extends 1/2" out the back. The front exposure is longer.






I really like the new 18mm screw-on engine retainers.

I glued the threaded center ring in place with the Beacon Fabri-Tac. On the right is the screwed on retainer.



This build was a pre-production sample kit. There is always something that gets revised before kits are sold.

The Star in the Stars and Bars isn't resting on two points. This star will be rotated and corrected before the kit is distributed.


The kit I received had a full decal sheet. I was asked not to place the decals, that would be done by Estes after the model was sent back.

I did cut and place one fin decal side to show how colorful this model is. This was removed before shipping back to Penrose.

Estes Space Corps Corvette Class, #7281 Build, Part 5, Details Gluing & Masking

The fin detail lugs are easy to glue on crooked. Look at them directly from the outside to be sure they are straight on the edge of the fin.

The dowel "guns" are sprayed gloss red off the model. It's simply easier to paint them before to save some masking later.
The centers have tape over them to keep paint off the glued surfaces.

The body is a light gray, the three fins and nose cone are a darker gray.

I did my usual Scotch tape masks on the edge with masking tape and a plastic grocery bag to cover the rest. The corners at the upper edge are rounded off.

On the right is the mask reveal. Notice the tape is pulled back down and over itself at a sharp angle. I like to pull the masking tape when the paint is still a bit tacky, not fully dry. It makes for less tearing of the mask line.

Estes Space Corps Corvette Class, #7281 Build, Part 4, Nose Cone, L. Lug and Fin Gluing

I noticed a slight lip on the tip of the molded nose cone. It was sanded and the tip rounded.

This is injected molded, not a blow molded nose cone. There are no seams down the sides! It was very clean.

The base is glued into the open bottom of the nose cone. This is one of the first times I have noticed a "twist" to evenly spread out the glue. 

I used the Beacon Fabri-Tac on the two plastic pieces.

The longer launch lug was glued on the tube, centered between two fins.
The online instructions don't show Page 4, the step where the launch lug is glued on the body tube. It is glued 6" brom the bottom of the tube.

TIP: These pictures show how the glue fillet is "rolled off" going around the front and rear ends. Roll a Q-tip to more of a point and pick up the excess glue from the ends.

I usually fill the tube seams and spray some filler primer before gluing on the launch lug and fins. You do have to sand off the filler/primer down to the body tube surface.

I sand a bit wider than the fin and lug width for glue fillet adhesion.









The three fins are glued on and glue fillets applied.

Estes Space Corps Corvette Class, #7281 Build, Part 3, Fin Details

There are four pieces of launch lugs in the kit.
Three shorter lugs are used for the fin details (guns)
The fourth is the longer 1/8" standard lug to slide down the launch rod.

Here I've slid the lugs down some Q-tips handles to brush on some seam filling with CWF. Brush it on, let dry and sand off leaving the filler in the lug seams.






Before cutting the dowel to three 2 1/2" lengths, smooth sand it. It's easier to smooth when it is still a long piece.

The dowel is cut and the ends rounded.
The dowels were sprayed with filler/primer and sanded smooth.

The dowels are held in the launch lugs with some wraps of masking tape.
TIP: After getting the right friction fit, I unrolled the tape. The tape length was about 2 3/4" long.

TIP: Before wrapping the tape, mark the center of the dowel and the tape strip. Match the center marks and wrap the tape, keeping the sides even.

Estes Space Corps Corvette Class, #7281 Build, Part 1, Parts

This should have been the first post!
That's what I get for posting these after Midnight. I'll put them in the correct order tomorrow -

This is a 25" tall, BT-55 based model with three fins.

18mm standard engines.

All parts are great quality, the white plastic nose cone is long.

This was a pre-production kit.

Parts of interest:
BIG water slide decal sheet in red, white and blue
Three, three part fins
Dowel for fin "guns"
Three launch lugs for fin guns
18mm engine retainer

Estes Space Corps Corvette Class, #7281 Build, Part 2, Engine Mount & Fins

This was a pre-production build, some parts may have slight changes before the kit goes into full production.

The engine mount centering rings had a slot cut for engine hook movement. There is no engine hook on this model, so I glued the square slot piece back onto the ring and placed it in the upper position on the mount.

The fin assembly is made up of three pieces. When gluing up multi-piece fins it's important to true up the fin edges. Square them up with a sanding block with 220 grit.
The picture shows an uneven laser cut edge.

Here's the three pieces lined up on a straightedge. Try to glue the root edges on a flat surface as evenly as possible. There is usually some sanding after the glue dries.

The top picture shows an uneven root edge before sanding -



This is after sanding and evening up the three pieces down the root edge.