Quest/Aerotech Mean Green Build #Q5103, Finished

This is a sleek model with rakish reversed fins.
The BIG graphics work well.

Painting the black a few inches below the tube end gives the impression of a much longer nose cone.

I'll be using the "Candy" color paints on future sport model builds.

Quest/Aerotech Mean Green Build #Q5103, Part 3, Prepping For The Fin Stickers

Whoops - Got the post order wrong - 

I don't feel too bad about it - Nobody noticed or made a comment!

Here's Post 3, I'll fix the order in a few days.

After lifting the masks - 

As usual, I had to push some high mask "bumps" down to smooth out the line. 

The right side picture shows a well rounded leading edge mask.

This led to some extra work - the die-cut didn't to completely through the clear sticker material. I had to go over the curved lines with my knife to free them from the backing.

On the left is the root edge side of the fin sticker.

This was cut right at the black edge so the print on the sticker would tuck into the root edge fillet.

On the narrower side - 

I cut the right side about 1/16" away from the print so it would reach the outside edge of the fin.

Quest/Aerotech Mean Green Build #Q5103, Part 4, Placing The Stickers

This is the best placement I could find for the fin stickers.

The picture shows how the right side goes into the root, the narrower left side is just inside the outside edge. The sticker print wasn't as wide as the leading edge.

At the top end - 

There was a raised black paint ridge that could show under the upper wrap sticker.

I wrapped some old 400 grit around a Q-tip and carefully sanded the raised paint edge. I only wanted to knock down the edge. Be careful not to go wide or too deep. The upper sticker should cover the narrow sanded band.

To be sure the wrap around meets up, wrap a masking tape guide line around the tube before using the sticker.

Remove the sticker from the backing using a clean hobby knife blade. Don't touch the sticky side with your fingers, you might see a fingerprint after the sticker is on the model.

Dip the sticker in water to allow repositioning. Chances are you will want to set it down a second or third time. You can re-wet the sticker if needed between placements.

Note in the picture how the the black in the sticker slightly overlaps the edge of the black paint line.

Quest/Aerotech Mean Green Build #Q5103, Part 2, Masking The Black

I couldn't find a good lime green color after visiting two hardware stores.

I ended up ordering a Candy Lime Green online.

This was a small Tamiya can. I hoped there would be enough paint to cover the model!

White undercoats went down first.

I still had some paint left after spraying. This Lime Green paint is also a very fine metallic.

I had already rounded the leading edges of the upswept fins.

There was a problem - the black sticker streaks don't roll over the rounded leading edge, leaving a green strip at the top. I'll paint some gloss black over the edge and set the sticker line over that.

Setting the sticker over the fin gave me a good idea how wide the mask line would be.

The sticker print isn't as long as the leading edge, short by about 1/16" at the outside. I'll set the wide side into the root edge and paint black around the outside edge to match the width of the black sticker.

Here's the masks - 

The nose cone and 2 1/2" down from the top of the body tube will be gloss black.

On the fins, about 3/32" of the leading edge will be shot in gloss black. Plastic shopping bags covered most of the model.

Quest/Aerotech Mean Green Build #Q5103, Part 1, Specs and Engine Mount

 

This won't be a full build but will concentrate on finishing the rocket.

Construction is standard, larger three fin / nose cone model.

The body tube is 50mm, very close to 2" diameter.

Here's the box art and specs.

You might notice some of the picture has been cut and peeled from the kit box. I lifted a piece of the art to get a paint match at a hardware store.

Here's the engine mount, the setup is consistent through most of the "Advanced Rocketry line.

The Kevlar line is doubled with the loose ends set through the loop.

The line will be pressed into a glue fillet in the upper ring.