Estes Phoenix Bird Finished

Lessons learned:

This new, harder "balsa" may better withstand a hard landing but is difficult to fill and smooth.

Self adhesive wraps will never go on perfect, you can get them close though. Just be sure your underlying surfaces are clean before applying.
Two fins are left black, two fins get stickers on both sides.

TIP: Next time I would center the two main body wrap "birds" (picture at upper right) over the two fins without the stickers.

Estes Phoenix Bird Build Part 18 Main Body Wrap

This is the tough one!
I like to work from the center out instead of edge to edge.

A light pencil line was extended up from a fins root edge.
The center of the wrap was marked with a pencil at the top and bottom.

The wrap was removed from the backing paper but half of the backing paper was stuck back on the lower half of the wrap. The top half will be wrapped first.
Line up the center marks on the wrap with the center marks on the tube and press the center line of the wrap down the tube.

Work slowly around the top half smoothing out the decal as you go.

After the first half is applied, remove the backing from the other side.

Here you can see the overlap where the edges met on the other side.
The problem is, the overlap will cover up the red point!
I had to go back and carefully trim the edge so the underlying red would fully show. The backing was left on while the edge was trimmed with a sharp razor blade and straightedge.


 It seems to make no difference how careful you are, if the printing and die-cutting aren't perfectly square, it won't lay down correctly!

The red arrow points are in near perfect alignment with the fins but the ends of the wrap didn't line up.

I've wrapped a square of cardstock around the body tube.
It was slid down over the mismatched red edge. The edge of the cardstock was used for a guideline for the razor blade cut.

After lifting off the the cut edge, here's a better match of the red color separation.
This I could live with!

TIP: Save the leftover edges from the chrome trim sheet.

There's quite a bit of chrome trim left, especially the long strips along the sides.

You can use the chrome for body bands similar to the trim on the Semroc Nomad.

The Estes logo will go on my rnage box. It's too big to go on the model.

Estes Phoenix Bird Build Part 17 Fin Decor

Step 10 of the finishing instructions are vague about where to mask for the black fin area below the large chrome body wrap.

I masked higher up than needed, I figured the bottom edge of the wrap would give a better color separation than trying to match the wrap to a masked line.

Here I'm sanding down the paint ridge so you won't see it through the wrap.  

A clear coat of American acrylic followed after sanding the black down with 1500 grit sandpaper.

Before the clear coat was applied, any white dust was brushed off.

If you spray over dust with the clear, it'll easily be seen on the black finish.

Instead of just setting down the sticker, try a dry placement first to be sure of the correct position on the fin. 

The circular bird sticker was cut into a square shape (outside the die cut circle) with the backing paper still on.

It was set in the center of the fin so I could check the alignment.

The tip of the upper wing would be the high point of the placement.

TIP: Don't touch the back of the stickers if you can help it!

It's easier to get the placement right when the sticker is held on the tip of your knife. You can make small adjustments before setting it on the fin.

Again -

You get one chance to get the sticker placement right! Once they are down it's impossible to lift them without pulling up some paint.

Estes Phoenix Bird Build Part 16 Upper Name Bands

Draw a light pencil line down both sides of the body tube using the aluminum angle.

Find and mark the center point of these lines.
You'll be setting the edge of the "Phoenix Bird" name decal down this line.

The center tick of the line and center tick marked on the name sticker should both be lined up also.


For extra assurance, I ran a strip of masking tape below the pencil line .

Before laying down the decal, be sure the underlying surface is clean!!!!
As careful as I was, there was still a speck or two of dust that show through the decal.

Just the edge of the decal was set on the masking tape edge. Make sure the center ticks are lined up.

The decal on the other side is easy to position upside down! Double check the direction before applying.

I went ahead and marked the masking tape so I knew which side was forward and up.

Estes Phoenix Bird Build Part 14 Lugs and Primer

The lugs got Titebond Molding and Trim Glue fillets.
I try to "dress" the ends of the lug fillets by forming the tops ends with a toothpick.
Instead of having a blob of glue at the ends, the excess is removed with the toothpick. The ends of the fillet taper into the underside end of the lug.

At the end of a dowel an engine casing is friction fitted.

This goes into the engine mount for a painting wand.

Strips of paper towel are pushed into the rear recess to keep the paint out.

TIP: Before painting the nose cone, pull it out of the body tube slightly.
This gives you color coverage into the shoulder. Even if the nose cone is sitting a little above the body tube you won't see the balsa peeking through.

This doesn't work in all applications. This nose cone and upper body tube section are both white. Too much paint on the shoulder and the nose cone could stick and possibly prevent an ejection.

Estes Phoenix Bird Build Part 13 Launch Lugs

I didn't glue the lugs on at the same time as the fins.
There wouldn't be much room to apply the epoxy fillets on the fins with the lower lug in the way.

The body tube was marked for the lugs on the opposite side of the engine hook.
Some primer was scraped away for a better glue bond.

There is a 10" span between the lower and upper launch lugs.

This is to allow space for the main body wrap. I double checked it just ahead of the "stub" fins to be sure. I didn't want to end up cutting the wrap if the upper lug was in the way.

The lugs were both tacked down with white glue.
Tack the lugs first and double check their alignment with a launch rod slipped through both. You can adjust them now before locking them down with glue fillets.
Once I was sure of the alignment, fillets were applied using the Titebond Molding and Trim Glue.

After smoothing the fillets with a wet finger, any excess glue was picked up with a Q-Tip.

Estes Phoenix Bird Build Part 12 Primer Tips

At a launch, you'll see plenty of rounded over edges on square fins.

On the Phoenix Bird, only the leading edges of the fins are rounded.

TIP: To protect the squared outside edges of the fins from being sanded round, I set my finger over the edge (in the picture, over the outside edge) to act as a "bumper". It keeps the sandpaper from rolling over the square fin sides.

I've been using Duplicolor Primer Filler lately with good results.
I tend to spray just one heavier coat and sand that almost to surface instead of three or four thin coats.

The gray Duplicolor primer is thick and sands off in a powder.
I'll use 220 grit to remove the bulk of it then switch over to 400 grit to smooth that out.
You'll save some sandpaper as all fillers tend to load up.

Estes Phoenix Bird Build Part 11 Epoxy Fillets

The epoxy fillets are smoothed out with the end of a 1/4" dowel.

I tend to start in the middle of the fin and work down. Then turn the body over and smooth from the middle up.

Look close and you can see the excess epoxy under the dowel.

The dowel is being pulled down and slowly turned clockwise at the same time.

Turning the dowel pulls most of the excess epoxy away from the joint and onto the tape to be removed in a few minutes.

Watch the ends and edges! This is where you could end up with drops and dried "threads".

Before the epoxy dries, you can easily pick these up with a Q-Tip dipped in (91% or better) Isopropyl alcohol - not rubbing alcohol.

Dip the Q-tip in the alcohol and shake off the excess. Too much moisture and you could swell the fibers in the body tube.

Let the epoxy set up for a few minutes and remove the tape taking up all the excess epoxy.

Dip your gloved finger in alcohol and run it over the epoxy. This should smooth over the epoxy ridges left when the tape was pulled up. This ridge smoothing is done while the epoxy is still setting up. Once the epoxy is dry, you won't be able to remove the ridge with the alxohol.

When first adding epoxy to the joint, try not to use too much. Use enough to be able to smooth it with the dowel end. Too much epoxy and you'll be stuck with more to clean up later. 

TIP: Never mix or smooth epoxy with your bare fingers! You could be allergic (or develop an allergic reaction) to epoxy! Wear gloves when working with epoxy.

I bought nitrile dispoable gloves from Harbor Freight. They do sell them in extra large size!

Estes Phoenix Bird Build Part 10 Epoxy Fillets

Before this step, the fins were filled and sanded with thinned Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler or CWF.
For the fins, the CWF was thinned to a brush able consistency.

The body tube seams were also filled with CWF and sanded smooth.

The filler for the body tube seams is mixed thicker as not to diminish the adhesive in the CWF. You want the CWF to stay in the small recesses of the body tube seams when sanding to surface.

Mark the width of the fillets with a dowel marked with a Sharpie pen.

Run the marked end lightly in the recess of the body tube and fin joint.

You'll be left with a faint black line to lay the masking tape edge on.

The masking tape strips are layed down on the faint black lines.
Epoxy will want to go everywhere!
When smoothing the epoxy with the end of a a dowel, the excess will end up on the masking tape.

Here I'm transferring a drop of mixed Epoxy down the joint with a toothpick.

The open width of the masked joint is a good guide for how much epoxy to set down. Try to keep the epoxy between the edges of the masking tape.
If a lot of epoxy is over the tape you are probably putting down too much.

Estes Phoenix Bird Build Part 9 Gluing On Fins

After all the trimming and adjustments to the root edges here's the final fit of one fin.

Enlarge the picture and you can see how the front and rear of the fin (root edges on the body tube) are slightly raised but still making good contact.

The rear of the fin is flush with the end of the main ariframe tube.


I waited to fillet the rear centering ring.
Glue was added drop by drop and spread with the end of a rounded dowel.

Any excess glue (on the inside body tube wall and flat surface of the centering ring) was picked up with a Q-Tip. I was also able to remove the excess glue from the fillet to lessen the chance of the body tube "puckering" when the glue dried.

TIP: If you don't have Q-Tips on your workbench, go raid the bathroom cabinet. Q-Tips are indespensible for removing glue where your finger can't reach.

Estes Phoenix Bird Build Part 8 TIP: Nose Cone Shoulder Filling

TIP: Here's another way to get a cleaner separation line at the nose cone shoulder and body tube joint.

The nose cone from the Phoenix Bird kit was slid into a scrap piece of BT-55 tube up to the shoulder.

The picture shows how FNF was brushed fairly heavily right over the joint.

While the FNF is still wet, turn the nose cone joint against the body tube then pull the nose cone out a bit.
Turning the wet FNF against the tube will force a small bit of filler into the edge and actually mold a stronger, squarer lip on the shoulder.

When the nose cone is pulled out, you can see the slight raised ridge over the shoulder at the joint.

Sanding this raised lip down squares up the shoulder edge.

The launch lugs are short!

The lugs are slid over a dowel for filling.

If I had a four inch launch lug I would use that alone.

The front of the lug would be cut at a 45 degree angle to look more like the old Centuri plastic fin can.

Estes Phoenix Bird Build Part 7 Rounding the Leading Edge

Only the leading edge gets rounded, I would assume that includes the forward "sub" fins.
This "balsa" is very hard and the the rounded inside edge will take some extra time.
I ended up using 220 grit around a dowel to evenly knock down the edges.

Be sure to support the area behind the fin or it can easily break!

You can see it broke below the joint. The glue joint held strong!

After using the dowel and sandpaper, final rounding was done with sandpaper around my finger.

Normally I would use 400 grit sandpaper to round a softer balsa wood fin.

This wood is hard and 220 grit was used.

Estes Phoenix Bird Build Part 6 Gluing Sub Fins

To be sure the two piece fin had it's root edges in alignment - 
1. The motor mount assembly was slid into the rear of the body tube with no glue yet.
2. The main fin was slid into it's fin slot, dry, no glue.
3. The "sub fin" tip was glued on the main fin being careful not to get any glue on the root edge or body tube. Keep the small glue dot between the wood edges.
4. Let the glue set up for a moment.



Before that glue dried, the main fin was removed from the body tube slot with the sub fin attached.

Lay down on a flat surface.
All the glued "sub" tips were positioned close together.

Set a flat weight over the glued sub tips so they will be pressed flat and even with the flat sides of the larger main fin.

Some larger paint bottles were set on top of my old sanding block for additional weight.

Estes Phoenix Bird Build Part 5 Fin Prep

To allow for the Kevlar line tied below the upper centering ring, a notch was filed into the corner of the TTW fin tab.

I wanted the trailing edge of the fins to be even with the end of the mainframe tube.

With the fins in their slots, the trailing edges were above the rear of the tube.

The fin at the left is how it fit before trimming the rear of the TTW tab. The fin on the right was trimmed and is even with the end of the tube. 

The fin on the right shows how much balsa was trimmed away to allow the fin to slide down a bit to be even with the tube end.

Estes Phoenix Bird Build Part 4 Centering Rings

The notch for the engine hook wasn't high enough to allow for up and down movement. The rotary punch was used to make the notch higher.



 



I'd forgotten to make a notch for the Kevlar cord.

A rat tail diamond file was spun to drill a hole in the upper ring.

Here's the 135 lb. Kevlar tied in place below the upper centering ring.

Notice the engine hook retainer ring is split. The substituted ST-7 motor mount tube is wider than the thinner blue tube supplied in the kit.  I could have used a wrap of black electrical tape but that would have required more refitting of the
TTW notch on the fin tabs.

Estes Phoenix Bird Build Part 3 Addendum Sheet

 

There are some confusing illustrations in the blue addendum sheet.

In Step 6 the clear Mylar engine lock ring is glued closer to the center of the motor mount tube.

In Step 7, it looks like it has slid down and in Step 8 it is back in the correct position again.

On the (white) instructions in the kit, the ring positions measurements are very different from those on the blue addendum sheet. On the white instruction sheet, the rings are in a different position that wouldn't fit the fin tabs. The lock ring is butted up against the lower centering ring.

Before any glue, the mount pieces were dry fitted based on the measurements from the blue addendum sheet.

If you haven't done thru-the-wall fins before, this could help you understand how everything will fit together.

As you'll see later, a few adjustments had to be made to get the fin trailing edge to be flush with the end of the body tube.