Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Part 14, Moving The Launch Lug

On the flipside (underside) - 

Pencil mark the lug line, the ends just inside the 2 3/8" lug length.

Using a straightedge, cut some very shallow lines just into the paint.

Scrape off the paint, it will chip off between the scribed lines.

The same launch lug was glued on to the scraped area.

With the lug in the right place, 

now I can sleep at night!

Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Part 13, Moving The Launch Lug

I got the launch lug placement wrong! 

I'm usually on top of these things, but for whatever reason the launch lug was glued on the top when it should have gone on the underside. 

    

I didn't glue fillet the lug, so the removal was fairly easy.

The glue that was left was sanded off using 400 grit.

Mask off the area just around the glue sanded area.

Notice the edges of the masking tape are raised so the sprayed paint will feather in instead of having a sharp edge.

Carefully spray just the open area -

After the paint dries, light sanding follows. Another coat may follow if the surface isn't smooth.

Estes Semi-Scale Saturn V, Kit #K-39, Part 29, The Clear Fins

I remember attaching clear plastic fins on the old Thor Agena B and Gemini Titan kits. They were never a strong hold, often popping off at the root edge on landing.

The instructions call for clear dope to attach the fins. 

With the way this build is going, I'm not ordering any expensive "adhesive".

Beacon Fabri-Tac has acetone and should be able to hold tight enough. A bead of Fabri-tac was applied down the root edge tab.

In addition to the Fabri-tac, I ran some medium super glue applied with a toothpick.

Squeeze a drop on scrap cardboard - 

Dip the toothpick tip in the drop of glue - 

Run the toothpick tip down the root edge spreading the glue in a controlled line.

Another concern - while the tab fit well into the slot,

there is a visible gap down the fairing.

I could spend time making the fin fit better, but with all the other problems with this build, I'm not going to bother!

Estes Semi-Scale Saturn V, Kit #K-39, Part 28, Oops! I Screwed Up!

I usually have good results using the Scotch tape masks. Not this time!

The instructions said to "use a very fine brush" to paint the areas where the system tunnels are into the black areas. I decided to mask for the black areas.
 

Scotch tape was used for the borders of the black areas. The rest of the larger white areas were covered with brown tape and copy paper. 

I got paint bleeds at the tunnel ends. A glue fillet would have blocked the the paint. The off-white cardstock absorbed the black paint.

Bits of the cardstock wraps were torn off when the tape was lifted. I was careful - I removed some of the tape tackiness before sticking it on the model by pressing and removing it on my pantleg. 

I didn't apply glue fillets on the long system tunnels. The side  edges weren't smooth and the paint got underneath.

On the left you can see where the cardstock was lifted.

The mask in the right side picture came out okay. 

I'm not happy with the way it turned out. There's really no way to fix it unless I pulled off the old cardstock and tunnel details and tried again. I won't be doing that.

 

After the problems cutting the fin slots and this bad mask, this build is a "bust". 

Another glitch in a future post.

Estes LTV Scout, Build, Part 20, Oops! & Upper Decals

Oops! I gave the fins two days to dry before the final shot of black paint. It happens to all of us! I should have waited another day. Plastic takes longer to dry than paint on balsa or Kraft tubes.

The paint crazed on one side of a fin. I'll sand and reshoot before gluing onto the model. 

I tried the old, kit decals. To my surprise, they were fine!

They stuck and conformed pretty well. I did have to slice the decals where they rolled over a tube/adapter seam.

The red lines decals can help hide the tube joint. 

I'll have to use some decal solvent to insure it stays down over the tube/adapter connection.

Below is the complete decaled upper section which will descend on an added 12" chute.

 

Centuri Skylab Build, #KB-4, Part 16, Oops! Gluing On The Wrap

The 3D wrap was a bit large and slid loose on the 2" tube. I decided to cut out a sliver for a tighter fit.

3D plastic is brittle! When I tried to score the cut line the piece cracked.

The second break was down the cut score line. I set that piece aside. I'm not really concerned as the launch lug will cover any seam.

The wrap was glued on using Fabri-Tac glue. Fabri-Tac contains acetone and works well with plastic to Kraft tube joints.

The Fabri-Tac gives you a little working time, it's fairly slow to dry.

Tape was used to hold the wrap tight as the glue set up.

That broken off piece was glued and slid into place.

There was a gap towards the top. No big deal, the launch lug will cover it.

BMS School Rocket, Build, Part 3, Engine Mount

From the instructions:

This shows a dry fit, the centering rings aren't glued over the laser cut lines yet.

The Kevlar shock cord is tied through a cut hole and around the engine block.

I prefer tying a small loop knot and setting that under the top bend of the engine hook. This is an idea from Semroc. 

More later - 

OOPS! Originally I raised the lower centering ring above the laser cut positioning line to give more flex of the engine hook. I had to lower the ring, it would be in the way of the TTW fin tab.

I set the rings in a light ring of glue, applied to the tube. The ring is slid into the glue ring.

Side by side, 

Here's how the engine mount centering rings set when glued onto the laser cut lines.

You have some good space around the rings and fin tabs.

 

Enerjet by Aerotech, Astrobee D Build, Part 29, Oops!

I wanted to show the "Launch" version with the shiny aluminum wrap. 

The screws sticker strip was carefully removed.

    

It happens to all of us! I screwed up.

I don't think I've ever had a perfect finish. I know where the flaws are.

On the left you can see some rough finish with some white undercoat peeking through.

I held the upper body with a paper towel as I sprayed a dull coat acrylic onto the glossy gray. Some of that clear dull coat landed on the paper towel I was holding onto. It soaked into the paper towel and into the paint already on the tube.

After the clear coat dried, some light sanding followed with 800 grit.

I resprayed with what was left of the Tamiya International White. Let dry, lightly sand to help fill.

One more spray coat covered the mistake.

MPC Lambda Payloader Build, Part 12, Fin Stripe Decal

Sometimes you swing - and miss! So you compromise.

I hoped to place the fins stripes on both sides of the fins with the tops meeting up, rolling over the leading edge.

The first stripe was set down, parallel to the root edge.

Flipped to the other side - 

The ends were rolled over, ending up at an angle on the other side of the fin.

The second stripe was set, overlapping the first side decal over the top and bottom.

A new single edge razor blade cut a straight line through both thicknesses of overlapping decals. GO LIGHT with the cut. You are only cutting through the thin decals, not into the balsa.

You may have to hold down the overhang ends tight as shown on the right.  

Before the decal sets up and is still a bit wet - 

Lift up the decal ends and remove the overlaps.

Wet the lifted end and press them back down.

Sometimes this works, it depends on the fin shape and the angle of the leading edge. 

In this case it didn't work! There wasn't a good flow over the round leading edge.

I cut the top ends back a bit, just at the start of the rounded edge.

The two-sided decal stripes were also placed on the opposite fin. The kit box only showed one fin with the stripe. I decaled two fins for a better visual balance.

Wolverine Phoenix AIM-54A, Fix!, Part 1, What Happened?

Here's one I assembled in 2012, the Wolverine Phoenix.

It's a clone of the big Estes Phoenix kit, #1380. 

There was a glitch in the pre-production kit I received. 

The model is made up of two BT-80 body tubes, the lower tube should be 14" long, the upper tube, 7.6" long. Both tube lengths are joined by a coupler. 

In my "kit" the lower body tube was sent at its original length of 18". I assumed the tubes were the correct length and assembly followed.

Having never built a Phoenix rocket before, it didn't think anything was amiss until I went to apply the decals. The open mid section ended up  about 4" too long!

While building, I also drew up the kit instructions for Uncle Mike's Rocket Shack/Wolverine Rocketry.

Here's a link to the first build from finish to start: CLICK HERE

This project is to cut out the extra four inches as cleanly as I can.

The scrap tube will have to be peeled off the coupler. Cleaned up then rejoined (hopefully) at the right length. I might lose the upper launch lug. I can home print and replace the small black decals in the middle.

This has bugged me for years! The model has never been flown.

Estes Blue Origin New Shepard Build, Part 9, Parachute & Engine Retainer

Here's the finished nose cone with the upper tunnel ends filled and painted.

I was happy with the results.

Note the position of the tunnel top position to the right.

Oops! The tunnel top should be closer to the left, at the edge of the black paint feather edge. 

This was my mistake. It didn't really effect the look or position of the feather decals (by much) that go down the body.

The engine retainer is screwed in place. 

Note there is no white paint on the screw threads. The threads were masked before spraying the white.

I tugged the shroud lines and they easily broke. These were replaced using #10 Embroidery Thread.

The parachute was tied as a "no-tangle" chute. To see how a "No-Tangle" chute is tied, read the Apogee P.O.F. article: CLICK HERE

A snap swivel was added.

The chute was not tied to the nose cone, but attached a few inches down from the nose cone. This helps prevent the nose cone from swinging in and out of the shroud lines, tangling the chute.

New Way, Der Squared Max Build, Part 3, Engine Mount Gluing & Jigs

The engine mount was glued in.

Glue for the forward ring was applied using a coat hanger wire with a taped Q-tip on the end.

Glue was applied to the Q-tip and transferred inside the body tube. The motor mount is slid in place and a fillet applied to the back centering ring.

Mentioned earlier - I forgot to add the shrink wrap tubing over the Kevlar. 

These are some well fitting Fin Jigs.

The smaller, forward jig was pressed together against my block.

Press the larger rear jig together and slide apart. The laser cut leaves an ash mark that shows where the glue line should go.

Another template is for the launch lug placement.

Fold and press over the corner of the tube. The alignment lines should be drawn next to the single centered fin slot.

Cleaning Up! Missing Posts?

Stuff happens!

I wondered why a few readers asked where I got the balsa nose cone for the EAC Firecat build. I thought all that was covered in the first "Parts" post. Doing some backtracking, I found that post was still in Draft form, never published! To see it: CLICK HERE

I also skipped Step 22 of the most recent Super Orbital Transport build. It's in the correct order now! To see it: CLICK HERE

The NewWay Boxie Birdie was missing build step Part 4. Here's that correction: CLICK HERE

That's enough cleaning up for tonight. No other posts today - instead, there are now three never seen (missing) build steps.

I did make up a new name banner for the top of the blog -

That NewWay SquaRed Max build is coming up!

Estes Super Orbital Transport Build, Kit #7314, Part 8, Wing Tips & Engine Housings

The wingtips are glued on, here shown upside down.

After the glue dries, CWF filler is brushed over the tab/notch seams.

I chose to sand off the tabs and leave the notches filled on the wings. While it's easier to align the engine housing sides using the cut slots, it takes much more work to fill the tabs that usually end up beneath the surface of the open slots. 

Oops! I did run into a problem  - of my own making. I probably sanded off too much!

Sanding down the tabs may have slightly lowered the height of the engine housings. The BT-20 jet tubes wouldn't comfortably fit under the housing assemblies.

I wrapped 400 grit around an engine casing and sanded a very shallow dip in the top surface.

In the picture above - those little dots help me keep track as I assembled three kits. The marked pieces all came off the same balsa sheet. 

The finished look is good. Those subtle dips under the top piece aren't noticeable.

Note the right and left rounded corners of the engine housing.

Quest Harpoon Decals Fix

I don't use clear coats - either overall sprayed or Future. I've never been able to get great results. 

There are some times when I apply Future clear acrylic to seal and strengthen old, dry, brittle decals.

Future can be used to hold down the seams where two ends of a decal meet. I dip a Q-tip, wipe off the excess on a paper towel then brush  down the joint.

I used a new, single edge razor blade to cut off the overhang on the outside edge of the decal. Use a "sawing" motion to remove the long decal without cutting into the balsa. That overhang chipped!

Some Future was wiped onto the decal root area and the broken up edge to prevent any more of the blue breaking off.

Here's a broken edge before the touch up. 

Darkest colors are the easiest to match up. Some Royal Blue paint was sprayed into a small cup and the decal breaks painted.

I was careful but still had some paint overlap the outside face.

After the paint dried, some very light scraping removed 90% of the blue. I didn't want to go too deep and cut into the white. 

Not perfect, but much better.

Goofing Up A Build - MRN, June, 1964

Steve Riegel posted on the NAR Facebook page:

"When I was a kid in the 80s, I recall reading a parody article (maybe older than the 80s?) from the POV of a newb who made every classic blunder a he rushed through building his first kit. There was a specific line about using scissors to cut out the balsa fins since it left a nice, splintery edge for gluing.

If anyone has a copy of that article, I would love to get one for the classes I teach. Thanks."

Edit: Found it, Model Rocket News, June 1964. Copy available on JimZ's site.

I remember this article from a "Best Of the MRN" collection you could buy from Estes.

How many of you used too much glue thinking: "My rocket will be stronger than everybody's!"

Always remember: "That's their way of selling more stuff."

Read on . . . it's a good laugh!

Estes Blackhawk #2053 Build, Part 17, A Fix & Decals?

Directly opposite the knife tip you could see a corner of a fin split.

Set some glue on the knife blade and work it into the split cardstock.
 

Pinch the split together with tweezers until the glue sets.

You can use the tweezers to reform and get rid of any crease lines. 

The parachute assembly is standard. 

A longer elastic shock cord was substituted for the short rubber cord.

The tri-fold shock cord mount was glued 1 1/2" below the top of the tube, 1/2" farther down than the instructions recommended.

I was worried about the age of the decals so I gave them a coat of decal film. 

The decal film goes on with visible brush strokes but is smooth after it dries.

This time around, the decal film didn't help at all.

The first decal easily broke up! Why bother with the rest of them, this wasn't a good sign.

So for now, I've got a black rocket.