Fliskits MACME Shrew Finished

For a MicroMaxx model, this one won't get any great altitudes. But it doesn't have to.
It is stout and heavier than most MMX kit designs.













Getting all the segments to line up takes time, even on the larger BT-70 based Flis ACME Spitfire.
The kit is labeled as a Level 3 build. Working smaller is always more demanding.
With the skins there is no painting and they look great without a lot of added weight.
The 20 lb. printed paper skins probably weigh about the same as a coat of paint.

Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 20, Fin Gluing

The fin shapes are a little confusing, all four are different.
I had to set them into the original laser cut cardstock piece to be sure.

The fins were tacked on using very little glue. (See the last paragraph for the reason why.)
The inset picture shows the offset of Fin #1. I is glued just to the side of the shroud seam edge. (This isn't mentioned in the instructions, I was just trying to hide the seam edge with the root edge of the fin.)
This throws off the perfect 90 degree "cruciform" you'd normally want.
All the other fins fall right on the lines and bolts printed on the shroud.

The other three fins could be glued on beside the printed lines. From the rear everything would have looked more aligned.


The instructions say: 
"All fins with the exception of Fin #3 are flush with the bottom off the shroud."
The drawing shows the trailing edges a little forward of the rear of the shroud.
I glued them more like the illustration. There is a printed line going all the way around the shroud. The rear of Fins 1, 2 and 4 were set on the line.

This picture was taken after the finished photos shown in the next blog post.

I used very little glue to get finished pictures of the model.
The fins were carefully cut off to pack the model for the flight home the first of July. The fin span is the widest part of the model and more apt to be bent or torn off the shroud in transit.

Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 19, Fin Skins

A "soft" embossed fold was scored on the inside of the skin with the rounded tip of a butter knife.
The wraps and fin skins were printed on 24 lb. paper so use a light touch.

The new glue stick gave an even coat of glue and allowed the skin to be re-positioned to get the right fit.

This is the root edge of Fin #3.
The printed skin overhangs all the outside edges.
The fold rolled easily over the rounded leading edge.

Be sure the fold is tight over the leading edge.






After the glue had dried, the outside and root edges were sanded flat with 400 grit on a block.

The trailing edge still shows a little laser brown burn, the other fin edges  will be better sanded.

Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 18, Fin Skins

Before you think about rounding the leading edge (for a smoother cover of the skins) -
Double check the fins on the printed skin page. I rounded what I thought was a leading edge - it was the root edge.
I had to cut a new fin from the open extra area on the laser cut sheet.

These fins are not standard shapes! Check twice before rounding.

The fins are very cleanly cut on thick .050 card stock.
Don't punch them out off the card, they can peel and separate. Cut through the very small holding "ticks" with your knife.

For a smoother look and an easier bond over the leading edge, the leading edge was rounded.
Take a moment and sand off the hold ticks and some of the brown burnt edges on the root, outside and trailing edges.

With the skins over the leading edge and on the flat surfaces, the outside edges will be exposed.
These edges got a coat of white glue. the white glue bead also rounds out the edges a bit.

Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 17, Lug & Kevlar Tie

The illustration in Step 18 shows the lug hanging out the back end. Step 17 tells you to have the lug end flush with the bottom of the ring.
Step 19 shows the lug even with the bottom ring.

The top end of the lug is even with the top joint of the B section.
I cut off about 1/8" from the lug bottom to get it like the inset picture on the right.
You are best off cutting the lug so it is even with the low ring.
The longer lug would get in the way of a wrap of masking tape around the nozzle end of the MMX engine.

The lug with the "cover" glued in place.
The top of the cover is pulled in at the sides to fit around the lug.
The cover bottom is more flat and fits the curve of the shroud.

I "pre-drilled" a hole for the anchor nail with a toothpick tip.

The Kevlar got a knot and was folded over at the knot.
The knot was pressed into the hole with a blunt toothpick.
Glue was squirted in and the nail pressed into the hole locking in the knotted line.
The nail head edges got a fillet of white glue.

The build so far - now ready for the fins.
The hardest part is over.

Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 16, Gluing The Segments

Finally - gluing the body segments!
Even though the instructions specify lining up the seams with the red and black lines on the interior tube, my edges didn't match up exactly.
I ended up turning the segments slightly for a better fit on the segment below it.
The seams weren't always in line for the best fit.

On the left -
White glue was applied to just the exposed inside lip of the ring. This left the glue on the inside and prevented any from oozing out of the joint.

While the glue is still wet the paper is pliable and can be "molded".
Roll your smooth burnisher over the joints and you can flatten out some of the raised edges.

A few of the seams were starting to open up.
I found I could rub just a bit of glue stick on the raised edge and burnish the lifted edge back down tight.

I'm using glue sticks more and more for this type of build.
White glue is too wet and could tear up the paper surface.

Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 15, Launch Lug Hole TIP and Fix

I did my best to open up the long oval hole but I was cutting through two layers of paper.
More of the oval was removed until the inserted lug wouldn't distort the shroud.
The oval edges weren't clean and the white shroud underneath was showing through.

Well, why not cover up the whole thing?

I cut out a patch piece to cover the bad cut.
The patch piece is simply a square cut out of an extra shroud print.
It covered things up and looks like it was meant to be.

Looking at the shroud now, I probably could have cut a single horizontal slit near the top and simply slid the lug through that.

Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 14, Launch Lug Hole TIP and Fix

Cutting an elliptical launch lug hole in a base shroud is always dicey - especially at this small size.
On a larger model I'd use my adjustable punch at the top and bottom of the lug cutout. This model is too small for the punch and the shroud is already glued on. 

Here's what you'll be cutting out, the gray shaded oval between fins three and four.
It's cut out after the shroud is formed and glued on.
You'll also be blindly cutting through the overlay skin - it's now covering up the oval print. Good Luck.

To find where the lug will intersect the shroud:

Push in up from the bottom, through the hole in the lowest centering ring.
Make sure the lug is straight and push up until the lug edge raises a bump in the shroud.

In the inset picture, carefully sand through the two layers off shroud until you can see the lug edge.

Continued next post . . . 

Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 13, The Real Nose Cone Part B

NOTE: You won't be using all the provided clay in the nose cone! The instructions don't mention this.
There is just not enough room to fit it all in. You still need space to recess and glue in the nose base assembly.
The nose base should butt up against the bottom of the clay.
Flatten the last pancake of clay at the correct angle so the nose base sets against it.

The nose cone skin was stuck on with a glue stick.

Even with the best fit, there was still a small white lip underneath.
To harden up the edges for trimming and sanding, the bottom edge got a light coat of CA.

The other end of the nose block was too tight in the body tube.

I saved the left over BT-2.5 piece from the first step to fit the nose block before gluing it into the nose cone.

The inset shows everything fixed and in place.

Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 13, The Real Nose Cone Part A

The nose cone shroud was cut from the kits pattern sheet.
Two posts back I made a practice nose cone from copy paper. With only one chance to get the shaping right I wanted to practice first.

The instructions say "A small hole in the tip is normal".
TIP: You can make the tip hole smaller on any conical shroud by lightly pulling down on the right overlap side off the shroud, where the tweezers are in the picture.
It will take a few tries to get it right. Try it without glue first.

The nose block was smaller than the hold in the nose base.
To increase the outside diameter, 
I added two wraps of a copy paper strip to get a good fit.
The strips were set down with the glue stick.

TIP: Instead of using the entire clay weight at once, use smaller pieces.
Start with a small cone shaped piece and drop it into the tip.
Pat that into place with the soft end of a Q-tip.
Knead another small piece of clay into a ball. Flatten the ball into a thick pancake shape. Drop this in and again form flat and against the sides with a Q-tip.
The instructions say: "Take care no to deform the nose cone".
Instead, use light pressure on the packing clay to round out and form the conical nose cone.

Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 12, Shorten the Inside Tube

After over sanding the segment angles for the best fit,  I ended up with the internal tube a little long.
The top ring could be moved down about 1/16" and be closer to what was intended in the design.

With the tip of the blade, small punches were made around the glue fillet.
Look close at the inset picture and you can see the knife tip cuts.

This came off easier than I thought it would.
The ring was lowered 1/16" and glued on again.

After it dried the short tube extension was sanded flush with the top of the #5 ring.

Another dry fit -
The front end isn't illustrated in the instructions but this is probably what it should look like.
The Kevlar line will be tied below the #5 ring and come out of the side.

Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 11, First Try Test Nose Cone

To make a practice cone some 24 lb. paper was taped beneath the kit supplied thicker stock.
By cutting through the single kit cone pattern I'll also cut a second practice cone on the paper underneath. I'll form the copy cone first to test the fit.

The glue tab seemed very narrow, I cut mine wider.

The practice cone was formed and the tab area closed with a glue stick.

On the left you can barely see angle of the the interior nose base through the thin paper.
Just like on the base shroud ring, an angle was sanded onto the edge to better fit the nose cone sides.
The open side of the ring centers over the seam.
This is still a dry fit, no glue or clay yet. I was more concerned about the next picture.

Check the inset picture to see how high the #5 ring ended up. This is my fault, I probably sanded the segment angles too much to get a better joint fit.
The angle of the nose cone lip does cover it all up, though.

I'm still going to carefully remove the #5 ring, slide it down slightly and trim the interior BT-2.5 tube flush with the top of the ring.
(I know, it's unnecessary. But I like a good fit.)

Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 10, Base Shroud and Fit

The base ring is glued onto the "A" tube segment.
Be sure the launch lug hole in the ring lines up with the penciled launch lug line.
In the picture at the right it was incorrect! I had the base plate hole lined up with the black line. The penciled line was to the right. The ring had to be carefully cut off and moved to the correct position.

TIP: In the picture I'm lightly sanding the ring to an angle to better match the angle of the shroud. This makes a better fit on the low end of the shroud. Now the shroud won't bulge at the bottom.
Look at the brown edge and you can see where the upper edge is whiter. This is because some of the burnt edge was sanded down.
Be careful not to sand the top edge of the tube, just the top of the ring edge.

The shroud is glued on the tube/ring assembly.

Look through the hole in the base plate to be sure the lug line is aligned with the hole.

The skin was glued on next with the glue stick.

The inset picture shows the overhang of the skin.
On the left the skin has been sanded down to the edge of the base.

Here's the best dry fit I could get!
I had to turn the A, B, C and D pieces slightly away from the alignment lines to get the seams to butt up tighter.

There is a gap at the top, I don't know if this is correct or not.
I can only hope the overhang lip of the nose cone will cover this up.

Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 9, Base Shroud Forming

The shroud was pre-curled in the heel of my hand, by rolling a dowel over the paper.
The gluing tab on the base shroud tail cone is narrow!
I wouldn't recommend using white glue on this, use a glue stick.
TIP: Instead of laying glue on the small tab, try gluing the inside of the opposite edge. It'll still glue over the tab and you won't have to worry about any glue on the outside of the shroud.

The long, smooth jawed tweezers really help when holding the shroud closed.
The pressure helps "set" the glue.

After the glue stick adhesive has dried, a thin coat of white glue was rolled on the inside tab seam with a Q-tip.

Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 8, Skins and Fitting

Before removing the cutting guide wraps, mark the inside of each segment.
The "AB" inside the tube stands for
A Section - Bottom.

It's easy to get these mixed up and it would be a jigsaw puzzle if not marked.

Now I can cut out the segment skins.
The seam edges were cut right on the line, the curved edges were cut wide and will be sanded off later after gluing.

The skin seams fall right on the black lines.
Again, use a glue stick to adhere them. The glue stick isn't anywhere near as messy at liquid white glue and allows for pulling up and re-positioning.

This is the first dry fit of the segments, the fit is very good now.

The white bottom segment will get a shroud cover.
The hole on the bottom ring is in line with the penciled launch lug line.

Fliskits MACME Shrew Build, Part 7, Tube Cutting

After cutting, lightly sand the cut ends flat.

The fit of these segments is important.
Make clean cuts and don't sand off any more than you have to.

Here's the edge sanding before and after.

When I got to the last "D" segment, there wasn't much holding the cutting guide on the tube.
It slipped and I ended up with a bad cut.

Small pieces of Scotch tape were rolled over the ends of the tube to keep the cutting guide in place for another try.

Here's the first dry fit of the body tube segments.
The second try at the tube cuts were worth it.