Estes Vesta Intruder #7312 Build, Part 2, Vane Piece Fix

The two models I built were pre-production kits.

In one of the kits, the forward crescent vanes were burnt a little short. Maybe the laser cutter wasn't dialed in yet.

Some new vanes would have to be cut.

On many kits there is extra balsa on the outside edges.

I simply traced around one of the good crescent pieces and cut out some new pieces. 

This is nothing new - When I started in rocketry we traced patterns and cut out fins. No die-cutting, no laser cutting.

The Vesta Intruder has twelve (count 'em twelve) vane pieces.

This will lead to some extra work as I round, fill and prime before gluing onto the body tube.

Semroc Laser X, KV-33 Build, Part 1, Parts?

Well, I don't have a parts picture.

I thought I took one, but may have just dived into the build.

This repro kit was produced by ERockets, I bought it from JonRocket.com. The bag was big and loose, wider than needed for the kit parts.

It's hard to see in the bag picture, but all the fins were separate, off the laser cut sheet.

Here's where I deviated from the kit parts.

I mentioned earlier I felt the larger 1/16" thick fins were a weak point. I traced the kit fins onto some 3/32" thick balsa and cut them out by hand.

The 12 motor mount vanes and upper fins are fine as is in 1/16" thick balsa.

Overbuilding?

I've been known to replace a standard BT-20 and BT-50 with heavier wall tubes. I also use a Kevlar line to an elastic shock cord from the engine mount. 
But I've go my reasons. Thin wall tubes can crimp, rubber band shock cords deteriorate. That's usually where I draw the line.

I saw this on Facebook:


"I can never leave anything stock ..
I thought this was only the case for my vehicles, but I see it’s transferred over to my rockets too!
Some g10 on the way for TTW fins... I’m thinking 1 wrap of glass for the supplied thin wall BT. Said bye bye 18mmt and paper centering rings . I think A 29mm BP or composite motor would get this guy movin nicely! ??  will also get rail buttons and wood centering rings to make this one mean little rocket!!"



To each his own. We all handle rocket building a little differently. 
The Baby Bertha retails for $14.99 now. With most parts being replaced it looks like you bought an expensive nose cone.

Semroc MMX Orbital Transport, KMX-01, Build Part 3, Parts Prep

I didn't want to use the burnt launch lug "engines" on my build. in addition to the burnt edges, the lengths were inconsistent.
I have plenty of small launch lug pieces saved from previous builds. Four lengths were cut and the edges sanded smooth.

The laser cut parts are 1/32" thick basswood.

There isn't much grain in basswood but there is enough that it can be filled and sanded smooth.
I don't normally spray a sheet with the parts still attached, but these were small to treat individually.

The front and back of the sheet got hit with a good spray of Duplicolor Filler/Primer.


EDIT: When the build was finished I almost wish I had done a second shot of filler/primer and smooth sanding. There was still some grain showing. Still, it was much better than no grain filling at all.


Here's how one half of the glider wing looked after the filler/primer was sanded down.

All 36 pieces were held in a small zip bag until needed. I'd recommend keeping them all together - some are small and would be easy to lose.

Quest Striker AGM Build, Part 2, Engine Mount Assembly and Upgrades

To use the Odd'l BT-20H heavy wall tubing with the 3" long Odd'l Rockets XLEH (EXtended Length Engine Hook) - available soon!
Cut the BT-20H engine mount tube to 3" long.
Cut a notch for the forward bend of the (longer) engine hook, 1/4" from the forward end.

Notice the position of the engine block - It will end up glued underneath the top bend of the hook. See the fourth picture in this post. This prevents wear and tearing of the engine mount tube.

Here's a dry test fit of the kit supplied centering rings. The fit was very close, it took a few easy passes of 220 grit around the center hole for a friction fit on the slightly wider diameter BT-20H tube.
I did the test fit to mark the rings for a notch cut at the engine hook locations.

Looking ahead - 
GOTCHA: Here's the first problem in the instructions:
If you do a tape wrap around the engine hook, you won't be able to slide the tube (with the tape wrap) into the tail cone after the centering rings are glued on the ends.

So - First, glue the smaller low ring in place on the small end of the tail cone adapter. The engine mount tube is slid in and through the lower centering ring. Then glue the top ring over the BT-20H and down onto the tail cone.

The engine block is slid in from the bottom, dry no glue yet.
Use an engine casing to push it up and against the upper bend of the engine hook.
Leave the engine casing in place for now. From the top, apply a glue fillet locking the engine block in place. Remove the engine casing.

Latest Estes Order

I rarely order from Estes directly unless there are some good prices on clearance models.
A short while back Estes added the Mercury Redstone and Little Joe Apollo capsules, separately from the kits. CLICK HERE and scroll down to the bottom.
These parts kits do not include the white print decals.

Centuri once offered the Mercury Redstone capsules in their catalogs. I always regretted not picking up a few for projects like the Mercury Little Joe I. I think I have enough now.

Estes Payloader II #3022 Build, Part 2, Replacement Parts

The body tube is a standard thin walled BT-50 and prone to bends and crimps. It will be replaced with a thick wall T-50H from BMS.

On the left is the kit supplied BT-50. The clear payload tube is wider and overhangs the BT-50.
The inset picture shows the thick wall BT-50. It's a much better match to the payload tube diameter.
The thick wall tube has an outside diameter of .990, not quite (but closer) to the Centuri ST-10 at 1.04" diameter.

I'm also replacing the BNC-50K style Alpha nose cone with a parabolic custom cone from BMS.
It's about 1/4" longer and closer to the original Centuri kit shape. On the left is the kit nose cone, the inset shows the replacement. Cutting 1/4" from both sides gives an additional 1/2" of payload area.
Besides that, it just looks better. Why bother with a clear tube if half of it is filled with balsa?