Micro-Maxx Estes Fat Boy, Part 9, Decals & Finished

I thought the FAT BOY body tube decal font was something drawn up by the Estes artists. Turns out it is a legit font named "Bauhaus 93".

The picture below gives an idea how small it is in my hand.

The F. A.T. fin decals fit well with just enough border edge. I drew them up (copied and mirrored) so both sides of the fins would have letters.

Mask the nose cone shoulder and spray it red.

Now that I know the decals fit, the decal PDF is available to Patreon subscribers. If you'd like to build a micro FAT BOY, email me at oddlrockets@bellsouth.net and ask for the FAT BOY decal PDF.

Micro-Maxx Estes Fat Boy, Part 8, Engine Mount & Streamer

The engine mount was slid in until the MMX motor was higher that the trailing edge tips of the fins. I didn't want the model standing on the engine mount tube.

After I was sure of the engine mount position, a glue fillet was applied using a Q-tip. 

The body is short so an upper glue fillet was also applied around the forward centering ring using another Q-tip.

The Kevlar line is tied to the elastic loop in the nose cone base. The loose end was pushed into one of the holes in the shoulder plug.

A plastic streamer was taped onto the Kevlar line one third the way down form the nose cone tie.

Micro-Maxx Estes Fat Boy, Part 7, Mask & Paint

After filler/primer and sanding - 

The model was slid down a painting wand for white undercoats.

The engine mount hasn't been glued in yet so the rocket can slip onto the 18mm motor casing attached to the painting wand. 

On the left, 

Sharpie inked Scotch tape is run down the root edge joints. The leading edge masks are "rounded" by using multiple small pieces of tape.

Before cutting the Sharpie marked tape, wipe off the excess Sharpie ink with a paper towel so no ink gets transferred onto the model.

On the right,

The rest of the body above the fins is taped and blocked with a cut plastic grocery bag.

The fins after the masking tapes were pulled -

I found a picture of the Semroc FAT BOY online and used those colors.

The fins were painted light blue. I had to make a trip to Ace hardware for this "one-time use" color. The nose cone is off the model to be painted gloss red.

Micro-Maxx Estes Fat Boy, Part 6, Fin Grain & Body Tube Seam Fill

Before printing the decal (and wasting a decal paper sheet)

A test sheet was printed on 20 lb. copy paper to check the fin decal sizes.

These are a tight fit with an even border around the custom drawn letters.

The fit seemed good and the water slide decals were printed.

Here's the fins after a CWF fill and sand with 400 grit.

Filler/primer spray follows then more sanding to surface with 400 grit.

The fin gluing line had the filler/primer scraped off.

Filler/primer seals the surface. Wood glues won't stick as well on a sealed surface.

After scraping, redraw the root edge pencil lines.

Micro-Maxx Estes Fat Boy, Part 4, Nose Cone Plug

I didn't have a shoulder base for the old plastic nose cone.

Using the same material as the centering rings, trace around shoulder end of the nose cone with a sharp pencil.

Cut just inside the pencil line with scissors.

Round out the base with 220 grit on a block.

Sand, check the fit and sand some more until you get a slip fit.

Glue a reinforcement strip to the inside.

Punch two small holes for shock cord attachment.

Tie a short piece of elastic with a square knot.

The plug is set just under the edge of the shoulder base. By insetting the plug under the edge allows you to add a glue fillet.

The glue fillet was made with Fabri-tac glue.

Micro-Maxx Estes Fat Boy, Part 2, Centering Ring Fit

Left side picture:

Two uneven, rough cut rings stacked for gang sanding to fit.

Right side picture:

A 1/4" diameter dowel was slipped in for strength while sanding the ring sides even

Sand, test fit and sand some more until you get a good friction fit in the BT-20 tube.

The finished mount with a MMX motor slipped inside to check the position of the engine block slid in from the top.

The finished mount will be glued in with the motor extended a little beyond the edge of the BT-20 tube.

Micro-Maxx Estes Fat Boy, Part 3, Centering Rings

I sure the small rings are available somewhere, I didn't have them. Why wait for an order. I'm cheap so I'll make a few.

A 1/4" punch was used to start the inside ring hole.

The hole was widened using a knife spin followed by a half round diamond file.

The fit was checked with the yellow engine tube I had.

Center the BT-20 tube over the cut just made and trace with a sharp pencil point.

Cut just inside the pencil line using scissors.

Final fitting in the next post -

Micro-Maxx Estes Fat Boy, Part 1, Parts

The picture above is close to the full size MMX build!

This is a spare parts drawer build.

The only parts missing are the centering rings.

Those will be hand cut out of the white framing mat material. 

The nose cone is a leftover from a retired rocket, already painted silver.

Decals have been drawn up, I doubled the F, A and T letters for both sides of the fins. The original kit only included decals for one side of the three fins.

Kevlar line and tablecloth streamer.

Fins will be cut from 1/16" scrap balsa.

The launch lug is a BIC pen ink tube, cut from the end where there was no ink.

The yellow motor tube and engine block are original Quest MMX parts.