Vashon Valkyrie II Build, Part 10, Red Paint

Only the nose cone and fins are painted on this one. I'll be using gloss red, just like the catalog cover picture.

This is a rare model there the fins are painted off the model. The root edge gets slipped into a "rail" on the body. They first got a white undercoat.
Notice the dulled right side, lightly sanded with 400 grit. All I do is knock off the gloss a bit without sanding through to the wood.

I can't just tape the fins down onto the cardboard, paint could seep under the edge making a rough mess.

Under each fin is a circle of masking tape, sticky side out. This floats the fin above the cardboard. Sprayed from above the underside edges won't get any paint and stick to the board.

Be sure to let the paint dry thoroughly before flipping it over onto the tape circle to spray the other side.




The nose cone was also sprayed gloss red. This turned out to be one of the smoothest gloss finishes I've ever had!

The printed parachute tube was a bit marred. I used a Sharpie to color in some of the white edges and seam.






The checker print was badly done. The stripe widths are uneven.
I could probably do better using the Contact paper blackboard vinyl. We'll see -

Booster 55 Rocket Build, Part 6, Upper Body Gold Trim

The rocket needed something else at the top. I decided on a roll pattern.

I made a paper wrap and folded it into four sections. The roll pattern vertical bars will center above the fins. After a few measurements I decided on eight 1/4" wide lines.

A wrap of tape will align the tops of the trim bars.

The aluminum angle was set on the body tube and lines drawn onto the masking tape wrap.

The gold trim bar top was set against the tape edge. Looking down the body tube you can vertically align them with the fins.

After the first four bars were set the remaining four were visually set between them.

Nike Goon Build, Part 9, Black Trim

Here's the smaller fins.
A strip was set between the two fin triangles to keep the cuts in line.


Interesting thing about the trim. Down the root edge there is a thin white line. The squares set on the body tube are separate pieces. You don't have to worry about tucking the vinyl into the root edge.



The upper roll pattern was easy enough.
Wrap a strip all the way around the body tube.
Cut at the mid point below a small antennas and halfway between two antennas.
Lift out every other piece and position below the original line so the corner tips touch.
TIP: You could easily do a checkerboard pattern by repeating this "cut and lift" a few times down the tube. You just have to be sure the vertical cuts are straight and parallel.

There are cut-outs above the large fins. On the original decal sheet they are rectangles with rounded corners.

I didn't try to cut round corners but just cut of small triangular bits off each corner. Visually it'll imply a rounded end. Nobody will notice unless they really look close.

Ranger Clone Build Part 21 Payload Section Roll Pattern

A longer strip just over 1/4" wide was cut.
Wrapped around the top of the tube, it was set over the tops of the smaller squares.

I've learned through past experience, self-adhesive trim can shrink and leave a gap.
It's best to overlap it slightly.

Don't worry about the overhang, just be sure the bottom edge lines up when the strip meets after going around the tube. Trim off the excess end and burnish.


Both ends of the tube are sanded with 400 grit on a block.

The picture shows how the trim material rolls off to the center. You'll want to sand from the outside to the center.
I sanded light enough to remove the trim but not remove the white paint on the tube edge.




With the nose cone in place, here's the completed payload section.
It wasn't that hard to do. The final results were worth the one hour it took to do it.

Ranger Clone Build Part 20 Payload Roll Pattern

After all four long stripes were set down, the stop wrap of paper is removed.

You can see how well the square tops have lined up.




Cut the overhanging ends off the back. Don't cut them close, you'll trim them with a sanding block later.

Keep these, they are used for the smaller checkerboard pieces. They should be close to the correct width needed.

Set them back on the backing sheet and cut them into perfect rectangles about 5/8" high.



Set these smaller rectangles down between the top of the long stripes.

I had two that were too wide. Set them down, mark with a pencil. Trim and re-apply.

Ranger Clone Build Part 19 Roll Pattern

The entire rocket was painted a gloss white undercoat.
One fin and the payload section got a thicker coat of paint. White is the finish color on that one fin and payload section.

I saved the fin marking guide. It will be used to mark the tube for the upper roll pattern. There are four vertical black stripes running down the payload tube.

The marking guide was folded between two facing fin lines to give the width of the black stripes. The stripe width turned out to be just slightly over 5/8".

Wrap the marking guide around the payload tube and make pencil tick marks at the four fin locations. Using a pencil and angle, extend the lines the entire length of the payload tube.
These marks shouldn't be too dark, you'll only be using them as a guide for lining up the stripes.

At the other end, a straight strip of paper was wrapped around the tube.
This is the "stop" for the upper end of the longer stripe.

On the old Estes pictures, there are lower long stripes, then upper short stripes alternating like a checkerboard.

The paper strip edge was set about 3/4" from the top of the tube. At the 3/4" mark the stripes will alternate.

The black stripes were cut out of my favorite trim material, Contact Paper Blackboard Covering material.
It cuts clean, is very thin and re-positionable.
Try this Contact paper once and you'll agree. It's cheaper than trim Monokote and easy to work with. It's a semi gloss finish, not a shiny gloss.

TRIVIA: The models you saw in old catalogs were often trimmed with colored electrical tape and even colored paper.

TIP: Whenever you apply self adhesive (or pressure sensitive materials) clean off the surface right before you lay down the trim material. Any speck of dust will make a noticeable bump you'll see through the trim material surface.

I've placed the first stripe.
The upper end is square and butts up against the paper wrap stop.
The left edge of the stripe runs down the pencil line.

If you cut the stripes carefully and they are square, you only have to line up the one left side down the pencil line. The other side will take care of itself.