Ebay Auctions Ending

The Classic Estes (Semroc) 

STARSHIP EXCALIBUR 

Ebay auction is ending Thursday night!

This is a pretty one, I almost hate to see it go! (But I need room for other builds)

To see the auction - CLICK HERE

Also being auctioned:

The Estes PHOTON PROBE

This is the better of the two kits built on this blog. 

It's an original kit from 1991-1993, not the Classic Series reissue.

To see this auction - CLICK HERE

Stop by, make a bid and support the blog!

Starship Excalibur Listed on EBAY

The Classic Estes (Semroc) 

STARSHIP EXCALIBUR 

is up for auction on Ebay!

This is a pretty one, I almost hate to see it go! (But I need room for other builds)

To see the auction - CLICK HERE

Also being auctioned:

 The Estes PHOTON PROBE

This is the better of the two kits built on this blog. 

It's an original kit from 1991-1993, not the Classic Series reissue.

To see this auction - CLICK HERE

Stop by, make a bid and support the blog!

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Finished

Scratch another build of my bucket list!
This was a difficult build, it probably took more time than I would have wanted. It was a bit like the Estes QCC Explorer, the fin intakes took extra work to get smooth.
A great design and a classic.

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 30, Decals

TIP: Never use water slide decals unless the model paint is totally dry. If the paint is even slightly tacky you won't be able to slide the decal into the final position.

On the left: Wet the surface by rubbing some water at the decal location. Inset picture: After the decal is positioned, use a damp Q-tip to roll out any air bubbles and to press the decal into the corners.
Work the air bubbles out from the center to the edges.

The front end of the long orange bands overlap the nose cone joint.

Place the decals with the nose cone on. After the decal dries cut through the joint with a razor blade.

The crew module windows are long and narrow.
It's easier to place a thin decal by doing it in two pieces.

The inset picture shows the front windows. I cut them close for an easier fit around the nose cone contour.

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 29, Decals

Here's the new name decal, printed at home.
Choice #4 seemed to be the favorite. It certainly looks better than the original Dom Casual font.

TIP: Never soak a large kit decal first.
I cut off the catalog number corner to check on soak times and how it slides off the backing paper.
If this test decal bleeds or tears it might need an additional clear coat.

If you don't have one, get some long tweezers. It comes in handy if you have to fish the decal out of the soak water.

Dip the decal all the way into the water first, then float the decal on the top.
I usually start with a 30 second soak then see if it slides on the backing paper. If not, I'll soak it some more.

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 28, White Paint

After all the adventures with spray paint I decided to try something new.
My can of Rusto 2X gloss white was about 1/3 full and the nozzle probably not clear. Rather than risk it, I grabbed a new can.

TIP: Before spraying directly on the model I made some passes on some scrap cardboard. Good thing - some rough "cottage cheese" sprayed out after the initial first pass.
I've written about this before, Rusto 2X can be a great paint most of the time. You just have to take some precautions.
Shake, then shake some more.
Some pigment might be in the interior feed straw. If the paint is new or has been sitting on the shelf you might want to clear whatever might be settled inside.

This time I got an even coat with a pretty good gloss.
This is a tough one to spray, too many inside areas that can get dulled with over spray.






And the front end -
After it all dries the decals will be applied.
And yes, I did print a new name decal.
Font #4 got the most votes.

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 27, Ah Crap! - Fix

Small bits of white glue were pushed into and under the edges of the slot.
The excess on the outside was wiped off. After cutting, the loose card stock fibers were pressed down and into the glue with a small tweezers.
The sides of the slot were also formed and squared up using the sides of the tweezers before the glue dried.

Here's the slot after enlarging and cleaning up.
I was concerned but it actually came out very well.

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 26, Ah Crap!

Right now I'm spraying gloss white and sanding between coats.
I went to carefully remove the painting wand (a dowel and an engine casing) I didn't want to put any stress on the tail shroud.

I slipped and the engine hook notch tore!
I had already made the notch longer than the shroud pattern showed. As it turns out, it needed to be even deeper.

I grabbed a new razor blade and first cut the corners of the end of the notch, to the left in the picture. Then the sides were cut from the left to the right side.

There was still some paper fibers on the inside of the shroud. I'll clean those up and strengthen the shroud edges in the next post.

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 25, White Coats, More Sanding

You know how frustrating it is.
You think your surfaces are smooth and your fillets well rounded. The grey primer coats show things and you end up with more  sanding.

Now the white coats come. I thought I'd be finished with this one by now!

The more details, the more finishing problems.

There are still some areas that will need smooth sanding.
This build has slowed me up! I usually do blog posts in draft form two weeks in advance. I'm falling behind on this one!

Old MRN Cover with Starship Excalibur

In a recent comment, Naoto Kimura found a Starship Excalibur variant on an old Model Rocket News cover from August 1968.

I have seen this cover before but never associated it with the Excalibur.

That is definitely the Starship Excalibur with three added SRBs.

No, I'm not going to add this to the build.

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 24, Dry Sand & Nose Weight

Some 400 grit was wrapped around a Q-tip for cushioned sanding in all the fillets.
There is a LOT of fillets and joints to be sanded.

A washer weight goes underneath the screw eye. I would think with all the fin area this one would be stable without the nose weight.
Be sure you have centered your screw eye hole before setting the washer in place.
The instructions don't mention it, but add some glue to the bottom of the washer.
Set and center the washer then follow with the screw eye. Turn the screw eye in until it butts up against the washer.

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 23, Cleaning Up The Lugs

There was a rough edge on one side of the launch lug opening.
While the first white undercoats were not totally dry, a sharpened dowel was turned in the end, re-rounding the lug.

The front lug antenna housing needed some cleaning up. The sides weren't totally square.

The side of my knife was set against the flat opening compressing the balsa and paint.







Here's the cleaned up opening.
The picture is distorted, the antenna and square opening are centered.

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 22, Fin Gluing

The fin root edges were sanded down removing most all of the grey primer filler.

The first fit required some of the inside tab to be sanded off until the fin sat flat on the crew module and BT-5 tubing slots.

Here's one of the fins after fitting.

Be sure to check the centering of the forward fin vane as shown in the inset picture.

Here's the moment every builder waits for, the finished assembly.
An impressive model.

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 21, Launch Lug Gluing

These two inline launch lugs are different. They are covered or surrounded with built-up wood and dowels.

The front "antenna" housing was built earlier. It is glued 1 3/8" from the top of the main air frame tube.

The long rear lug is centered between the split BT-5s and even with the tube end.

The rear lug gets dowels on both sides and the remaining fin vane is flipped over and glued on tip.







This should have been pictured earlier, when the long lug was first glued on.
Always line up two lugs with a launch rod section. You can tell how well the lugs are centered between the BT-5s with the rod between them.

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 20, Crew Module Gluing

The underside of the crew module is wide. After drawing the placement lines most all the primer/filler was scraped off with a knife.

The back end of the crew module is glued 1/4" from the rear of the main airframe.

Mentioned earlier, the fit against the body tube seemed tighter right after shaping. These gaps will be filled and fillets applied.

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 18, New Decal Name Font

On YORF, Jeffy Jeep mentioned he didn't care for the Starship Excalibur name font used on the Semroc decal sheet. I had to agree!

You have to realize this model was designed back in 1968! An amazing design for that time. In 1968, font choices were few. New fonts were expensive and print shops used what they had on hand.

I wondered why Carl at Semroc picked this font for the kit. Look at the upper right of the Estes plan shown above - there it is! Carl was just following the Estes example.

The original font looks to be set in Dom Casual Extra Bold, a goofy looking font for a Starship. I looked through some type styles that were already on my laptop.

#1 is a good choice. Bold, contemporary and easy to read.
#2 is the same font used on the Star Trek Enterprise.
#3 is too modern and doesn't reflect the year this model was designed. The "S" is a little like Star Trek logo.
#4 reminds me of Battlestar Galactica or Intellivison.
#5 just doesn't work - too bold and too recent.

Type fonts should reflect the design and the time period of the subject.
I'll want to pick a font that was from around 1968 but maybe not available for sale then.
I'll probably go with #1 or #2,
What do you guys think?

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 17, Rear Shroud Fit and Gluing

It takes very little glue to join a shroud tab. Smear the glue evenly over the glue tab so none can be squeezed out when the tab is pressed in place.

I set the shroud over a wide dowel and burnish the tab are with a sharpie barrel. It's only necessary to burnish towards the overlap line. If you go too far to the right you'll emboss the card stock tab underneath.

The inset picture shows the first dry fit of the shroud. Earlier the engine mount was glued in so the rear ring was recessed by 1/16". I wish it were set in a little more, the fit of the shroud end could have been even with the tube end.

The shroud was removed and a very thin bit of the edge was trimmed off to make the shroud fit deeper.

The shroud was glued in place. I used my sanding block to evenly press it into place.




While the glue was still wet, any uneven surfaces were smoothed with the back end of a Sharpie.

The inset picture shows the fitted shroud, ready for a glue fillet of Titebond M&TG.

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 16, Rear Shroud Prep

So, you think I printed up enough extra shrouds?
The single kit shroud was scanned, copied and printed on some 110 lb. card stock.

Why so many? 
I always make up three or four and use the one that fits the best. The slightest difference in the glue tab positioning can make a better fit over a body tube.
This one is different. It only has to fit well over the BT-20 engine mount tube. The wide end slips inside the BT-55 main body. The wide end of the shroud butts up against the lower centering ring on the engine mount.

TIP: The pattern shows a rectangular engine hook relief slot. The sharp corners of a slot like this can tear. Punching a rounded slot will be stronger.
Use the rotary punch to make the hole first. then cut the sides with a sharp knife and strait edge. Enlarge the inset picture to see the cuts.

Notice the punch is made deeper than the original box end. I didn't think the slot depth would allow enough movement of the hook when inserting and engine. After making the first two shrouds I had to make two more with an even deeper slot punch.

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 14, Details

I didn't realize there was a fourth fin vane when the fins were re-cut. This extra vane is glued over the longer, rear launch lug. The designer went out of his way to hide the launch lugs.

This extra vane had to be filled, sanded then primer filled and sanded.

After the tube had seams filled and the body tube primed I felt a glasseine overlap on the tube. It's not something you would see until the white coats are sprayed.

CWF was brushed on and sanded. A brushed coat of CA glue followed to lock the CWF in the shallow step. After the CA was sanded smooth the step couldn't be felt.

The engine mount is glued in the rear. The lower centering ring is recessed about 1/16" from the tube edge.
After the glue has dried inside on top of the upper centering ring a fillet was applied around the rear ring joint.

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 13, Reactor Bay End Caps

The reactor bay nose cones required two applications of CWF and smooth sanding.
The inset picture shows the end after the final shot of primer/filler and sanding.






In the back end of the half round BT-5 tubes are the end caps.

These are glued in flush with the tube end.
While the glue dries you'll have to hold the tube ends down around the caps as it will want to flare open.



The designer went to some effort to cover up the launch lugs. The smaller front lug is inside the shuttle bay housing.

The longer rear lug has a long dowel on each side and has a small fin glued on it.
The dowels were smoothed with filler primer.
After sanding most the primer off you can see what was left in the wood grain.