Showing posts with label MMX S Mars Lander. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MMX S Mars Lander. Show all posts

Sunday, September 13, 2020

Semroc Micro Mars Lander, KMX-02, Finished!













This was different!
It isn't hard to assemble but the painting took some planning. The instructions suggest black for the low tapered ring above the gold nozzle, but I left it white.

I'm not expecting big altitude, just a fun Micro Maxx flight.
It has already had a first, successful launch.

Next up - The Estes Battlestar Galactica Colonial Viper 

Saturday, August 29, 2020

Semroc Micro Mars Lander, KMX-02, Part 2, Leg (Fin) Prep


The lander legs are cut clean on some 1/32" thick basswood.

Before removing the legs from the sheet, the strut holes were cleaned up using a small rat tail file. Just a light twist to smooth out the laser cut holes. I found out later this wasn't needed, so skip what I did here.
On the Semroc MMX Orbital Transport, I used only one coat of filler/primer. Those fins were basswood and I thought that would be adequate as there is very little grain to fill. I wish I had used two coats, there was still some grain showing through on the O.T. after painting.

The leg pieces were left on the sheet for spraying and sanding. I wouldn't normally leave them on the sheet for a filler coat, but these pieces are small and a little fragile. The picture on the left shows the lower right quarter of the sheet after sanding down the filler/primer with 400 grit. On the right is the center piece that glues between the leg support pieces - these are very small.
TIP: Keep all the small parts in a zip lock bag after they are removed from the laser cut sheet. These can be easily dropped and lost.

This shows the filler/primer left in the basswood grain after sanding.

Go light when sanding, I did break one of the thin upper areas when fitting the legs.

The edges do have some laser burn "chatter". Sand smooth but not enough to change the shape. Be very careful if you decide to sand around the thin upper rod near the "control cylinder".

Friday, August 28, 2020

Semroc Micro Mars Lander, KMX-02, Part 1, Parts


In the past I've built the full size Estes and Semroc Mars Lander (Sorry, not on this blog) and the Estes Mini Mars Lander: CLICK HERE.
Now things are going to get even smaller -
This looked like a challenge and I have plenty of MicroMaxx motors to fly it with.

Here's the front and back of the package.



The largest square white pieces are the Leg Alignment Tools, at the bottom of that piece is the engine mount depth gauge and the three nozzle laminate rings.

The parts of interest, clockwise from the upper left:
Printed card stock trim pieces.
Strut support pieces (laser cut thin card stock)
3D printed nose cone
Nozzle base disk (1/8" thick balsa)
Lander Legs (1/32" thick basswood)
Center - Antenna disks (basswood)