Centuri Quasar Clone Build, Kit #KC-7, Part 14, Pre-Painting The Nozzles

Where I can, I'll pre-paint some assemblies to save time on masking later.

Here's one of the nozzles taped down on scrap cardboard. Wrap the tape with some overhang. Cut the tape loop into strips and splay the strips out.

Notice just the lower end of the tapered base is taped off to keep the gluing area dry.

It'd be tough to get paint coverage inside the nozzle.

Some metallic aluminum paint was sprayed into a small mixing cup. 

A Q-Tip "brush" was used to get paint inside.

Now the outside areas can be sprayed.

New Way Boxie Birdie, Build Part 2, Parts Prep

Most laser cut cardstock has some charring and smoke discoloration.

You can clean up most of it with a white eraser. White eraser leaves no marks - a pink eraser could leave some pink marks.

The picture on the right shows the cleaned up part.

I lightly sanded the tab sides, the tabs that would be seen on the finished model.

On the left is before sanding the tabs clean.

On the right, the tab edges were sanded with 400 grit on a sanding block. You can certainly see the difference. The charred edges might be hard to cover with white paint. Clean them up for a whiter finished model.

Quest/Enerjet Minotaur Q5015 Build, Part 3, SRB Prep

The glassine wrap seam was very tight - I couldn't even find it in some places.

I won't have to do my first pass of CWF. 

This will only need a good shot of filler/primer and sanding to fill the seams.

I wanted a sharper edge on the nose cone shoulder.

Start by sanding and squaring up the tube edge with 220 grit.

Slide in the nose cone and turn against the roughened tube edge. The rough tube edge will "sand" and sharpen up the shoulder corner.

Next - 

Brush on CWF over the low half of the nose cone. This gives you a clean nose cone tip to hold onto for the next step.

Brush the CWF over the shoulder lip and a little onto the coupler side, shown in the left side picture. Brush on CWF like this all the way around the lower half of the nose cone. 

Press the nose cone down onto the tube edge and  turn.

Leave the bead of CWF that forms on the shoulder, shown above on the right side. That will be sanded down after it dries.

Rocketship Games Alice's Star Rocket #R6, Part 2, Parts Prep

I normally separate the fins and apply CWF with a brush, but these fins are thin.

This fin stock is 1/16" thick. I decided to apply the CWF filler using a fingertip while the fins were still on the sheet.

The thinner coat should keep the chance of water warping low.

This picture shows the fins from an earlier MMX Hawkeye build, but the filler on this model was applied the same way.

Here's all six fins, still on the sheet drying underneath my kitchen cutting board.

The top of the board has a pebbled surface, the underside (setting on the balsa) is smooth.

This wet balsa will take a while to dry with the sheet of plastic sitting on top.

The nose cone finish is smoother than the engine mount. The engine mount has the more typical "ribbed" 3D surfaces.

After testing the fit in the BT-5 main tube, I did sand some of the roughness down. Don't sand too much - I still maintained a good slip fit in the body tube.

Semroc Point, KV-58 Build, Part 5, Root Edge Mask & Undercoats

The original Point kit had a short shoulder on the nose cone. This allowed full clearance at the top of the punched holes in the body tube.

In the right side picture - 

I sanded down (well, up) the shoulder so the holes were fully clear.

The seams were filled with CWF.

Primer /Filler followed with sanding to surface.

Thin strips of masking tape was set down the root edge lines for gluing on the fins later.

There are six fins and they are close together. Masking would be difficult.

With the root edges clean, I can paint the fins black off the body, then glue them onto the white body tube. 

TIP: Here's a good example why you need a white undercoat before color coats go on.

On the left is a filled, primed nose cone. Red was shot directly over the filler and primer.

On the right I used a white undercoat before the red was sprayed. 

Colors like yellow, orange and red are somewhat transparent. A white undercoat makes the color coats brighter and less "splotchy".

Semroc Point, KV-58 Build, Part 3, Parts Prep

The nose cone shoulder lip was a bit rounded.

I painted CWF over the shoulder edge, only on the low end of the nose cone. Keeping the CWF off the top of the nose cone gives me something to hold onto.

Press into the body tube and turn the nose cone. this will leave a raised bead of filler.

After the CWF dries you can sand the new lip even with the sides of the nose cone. That should square up the edge.

The nose cone had a dip in the center. I marked it with a pencil and did another coat of CWF in that area.

The ST-7 engine mount tube had the seams filled with CWF. Filler/primer followed. This was sanded to surface leaving the gray filler in the seams.

The circle punch ports got a light wipe of glue to protect the tube from the ejection charge.

Estes DARC-1, #7307 Build Part 3, Prepping Part W

How do you fill the small holes in the balsa?

The hold down tics in the holes are sanded down with a small diamond file. Just remove what is left of the tics.

Sharpen a dowel and sand smooth.

Set the dowel in the holes and gently turn. This can compress the edges, round out the circle arc and sharpen the edges.

A Q-tip is dipped in some CWF filler.

Press into the holes and turn.

Before the filler dries, rotate the sharpened dowel again to lightly push the filler into the balsa.  

On the left - 

Leave the raised lip of filler until it dries.

Sand the filler flat, to surface with 400 grit on a block.

On the right I have applied CWF over the face. A knife blade cleared it from the laser cut lines.

Sand smooth. On this CWF application, keep the filler out of the holes.

You'll have to fill the edges after the piece is removed from the balsa sheet.

Estes DARC-1, #7307 Build, Part 2, Some Parts Prep

Some of this build will be out of instruction sheet order. I often look ahead for steps that might involve extra wood grain filling before assembly.

On the lower outside edges of the wing fins are laminated wedges (Parts C). These are made up of four pieces of laser cut balsa.

As always, I cleaned up the laser cut sides just removing the wedge cut. I don't sand off much, just enough to square up the sides.

Four pieces are glued together. Make two sets.

On the left, the back sides are lined up on a straightedge while the glue dries.

The picture on the right shows a before and after sanding of all the sides.  

The front landing "skid" has a balsa center piece with four holes (Part W) .

Carefully cut through just the hold down tics and remove the dots.

More prep on this skid piece in the next post - 

Estes Indicator #7244 Build, Part 3, More Parts Prepping

Square up the tubes by sanding the ends with 220 grit. You might be surprised by how many kit tubes aren't cut clean.

Pick an end and mark the BT-20 body tube Front and Rear.

You can do a wipe of CA glue on the top (nose cone) end of the BT-20 tube only - All other tube ends will have glue applied later. The CA glue edge would seal the tubes - wood or plastic glue won't soak in.

This is the 13mm engine mount tube.

At the top is the slit for the engine hook.

Notice there are more than one mark going around the tube at the centering ring and Mylar retaining ring locations. I like making three or four marks so I know the rings are perpendicular to the tube.

The fit of the flat 5/50 centering rings were too tight on the BT-5 engine mount tube.

I did some simple scraping to open up the inside diameter.

Uh-Oh!

I've never checked the shroud line length on a premade parachute.

The two adjoining chute "corners" were matched up and the center area of the shroud line loop stretched tight. 

Each shroud line loop was a different length, two are shown here. This could make for a lopsided parachute. 

I cut off the shroud lines and replaced them with #10 embroidery thread.

I know - the parachute would work fine as is, right out of the kit bag.

I'm single and have time for very important rocket nerd things.

Estes Indicator #7244 Build, Part 2, Some Parts Prepping

The fins show clean laser cutting but some of the line segments didn't match up.

These should be squared up with a block or you won't have a good root edge bond. 

Here's what I mean - 

This shows the edge sanding about halfway through the sanding. Keep sanding until the burnt edge is nearly gone.

I also like to square up and flatten the engine block and those thick 20/50 centering rings.

A squared up engine block can fit better against the upper bend of an engine hook. 

Sometimes a low engine mount centering ring is set flush with the end of the main airframe tube. Square it up and the joint will be less noticeable on the finished model. 

The finger tab was cut off because I'm a big boy.

Flip over the hook and put the cut end at the top of the mount.

The inset picture shows the bent end of the mount after hitting it with a metal file to roll off the sharp corners. This makes engine insertion easier.

ASP MMX Jayhawk Build, Part 2, Parts Prep

Before sliding the couplers into the tubes -

Round off the edges with some 400 grit sandpaper.

The rounded coupler won't fold in the edge of the body tubes.

On the left is the tube ends butted against each other. Small tubes are difficult to cut square.

Square up the tubes with 400 grit on a sanding block.

On the right are the same tubes after sanding and truing them up.

The marking guide matches up and fits the little tube diameter!

Thanks A.S.P.!

Here's the kit supplied small plastic angle to mark the body tubes for the fin locations.

Hang onto the marking angle - you might need it for a future MMX build.

The base and shoulder of the nose cone needed a little squaring up.

Not a big deal - the outside surface was smooth and the slot cut very clean.

Estes Airborne Surveillance Missile Build, #0867, Part 2, Parts Prep

The nose cone shoulder seemed long.

I might need an extra 3/8" for the upper section parachute compartment.

A single 5/20 centering ring goes outside the lower BT-5 tube and is visible on the finished model.

On the left is the ring right out of the bag.

To start, sand the sides flat on a block with 220 grit sandpaper.

Rub some wood glue into both sides and let it dry.

Sand the dried glue sides with 400 grit. The glue will seal the flat sides so the paint won't soak in. You'll end up with a glossier, smoother finish on the top and bottom surfaces.

The seam on the outside of the ring was filled with some CWF and smooth sanding.

Estes Twin Factor #7250, Build, Part 6, Disk Bevels & Lunch Lug Prep

You'll get a better fit of the shroud if the low disk edge is angled.

On the left I'm not sanding. The shroud is just sitting on the ring and base - no glue yet. I'm using the shroud to get an idea of the sanding block angle.

On the right, notice the masking tape on the tube to prevent any sanding of the tube edge. I'm just sanding an angle on the disk edge.

The base angle has been sanded. You can see it in front of my fingertip.

The launch lug is evenly cut in two.

If the launch lug is stiff, you can cut through it with a single edge razor blade. 

If it feels like it is being crushed, slip a dowel inside the lug for support when cutting.

Round out the ends with a sharpened dowel.

Sand the lug ends flat,

Round out the ends again with the sharpened dowel.

Estes Saturn 1B, #7251 Build, Part 17, Fill Anchor Slot & Prep RCS Nozzles

The wire anchor slot needed a shot of filler/primer and smooth sanding.

This tube had already been filled with CWF and shot with filler/primer. This was the final fill.

I did mask around the anchor area.

Here's the finished Service Module after spraying with silver paint.

TIP: Leave the RCS nozzles on the trees for easier filling and painting. This one on the left was broken off the tree.

In the center of the RCS nozzle is a molding dent. I squeezed a drop of medium CA on scrap cardboard. A toothpick picked up some of the glue. This small drop of CA is placed in the circle dent. 

It may take a few drop and dries to fill this dent. 

Sand the hardened CA to surface.

The RCS nozzles are sprayed white while still on the plastic trees.

Let dry, then brush paint the nozzles flat black. 

When the paint dries, cut the nozzles off the trees. Sand off any plastic flash. Paint the exposed white plastic on the ends of the black nozzles.

Build time:

Fill & Paint Anchor Wire Area: 20 minutes

Prep RCS nozzles & Paint: 40 minutes

Total build time so far: 10 hours, 55 minutes

Estes Saturn 1B, #7251 Build, Part 9, Tower Assembly

I'm not building in the order of the instructions. I'll be bouncing around a bit -

    

One side of the tower has alignment pins,

The other side has alignment holes the pins fit in.

TIP: You can sand the side with the alignment holes a little smoother for a better fit of the two sides.

Only sand smooth the side with the holes, not the pins side!

The resulting fit is subtle but better - 

On the left is the dry fit before sanding the "hole" side.

On the right is the better dry fit after sanding the one side of the assembly. No glue yet!

You have to glue the ring inside one side of the tower before gluing the two sides together.

It helps to use tweezers -

Liquid cement (in a bottle with the brush attached to the screw cap) works best for a tower assembly.

You can hold both sides together - 

Then brush the outside down the seams. After the glue dries, lightly sand the glued seam with 400 grit sandpaper.

Build time:

Glue up tower - 20 minutes

Total build time so far: 6 hours, 25 minutes