Estes Black Brant XII, Kit # 9723 Build, Part 24, Some Additional Build Thoughts

On these adapters, the silver was painted first. The silver was masked off, the orange area got a white undercoat, followed by the orange paint.

Look close - 

On the left, there is some slight discoloration at the shoulder. This was where the the tape adhesive mask made contact with the silver paint.

TIP: Polish the slight discolor with polishing compound to remove any adhesive and even out the silver.

 

This picture is from the data on the Meatball Rocketry website: CLICK HERE 

Notice the brown ring around the body to the right of the silver.

It is visible on the kit face card, not shown in the kit instructions. I wanted to add it to the show models. 

There is also a gold color on the edge of the fin attachment plates. I didn't add the gold - I didn't want to risk a very difficult mask.

Here's the only spray brown I could find that was close. I don't normally use Rusto paints anymore, sometimes you are stuck.

This has a new "5 in 1" spray nozzle. The dial is rotated to different settings.

I did some tests using the High (setting 1), Medium (setting 2) and Low (setting 3) nozzle settings. 

Be aware - the High setting 1 is a VERY heavy flow. The Medium setting was still too thick. I ended on Setting 3, the low setting. 

On the left is a less detailed "flying" version. I also didn't smooth out the molding seams.

On the right is a "show" build. These two builds got the extra brown ring and smoothing of the mold marks.

The flying builds got tube seams filled with CWF, but not the extra filler/primer spray and sanding. The flying builds didn't get as much attention to the balsa grain on the fins, no filler/primer follow up.

Semroc Aerobee-Hi KV-2 Build, Part 2A, Fin Forming

On YORF, 
"Gus" (Steve Krystal) and Peter Alway were comparing original Model Missiles Aerobee Hi kit parts with the Quest 50th anniversary commemorative kit from 2008.
I had a question after starting my Semroc Aerobee Hi kit -

Hi Steve,
Thanks for posting the pictures, interesting to compare the two kits.
Question for you - What is the thickness of the fins?
I have a more recent Semroc Aerobee Hi kit and the fins are 3/16" thick!
Maybe I'm too used to 3/32" thick fins, but the kit fins just look clumsy!

Chris,
Fin thickness is 3/32. Photo below is of the actual die-cut sheet which just happens to include the relevant info, LOL.
Steve

Thanks Steve!
I'll be cutting some new (appropriate thickness) fins!
I had a feeling the fin stock was too thick.

EDIT: Strange - If you look up the kit fins on the Semroc website, they are listed as 3/16" thick: CLICK HERE

Mercury Little Joe Black Fin?

In 2003 I ordered a DVD from Mike Dorffler.
It was full of scale information and pictures of the Mercury Little Joe. I had always wanted to build this as a scale model but was never able to get enough information.

On the forums there was some discussion between Peter Alway and James Duffy about a mysterious black fin. James Duffy is an
authority on Mercury Little Joe scale builds.

As it turns out, three fins are silver. The remaining fin is orange on one side, black on the other. This is the only picture I could find of the black fin. Some thought this was a shadow.
The right side of this fin is pretty dark, the same density black as the capsule. The other side of this fin is painted orange.
This picture seems to be the Little Joe LJ5A or LJ5B.

FREE Scale Modeling Book PDF

On the NAR Facebook page, Peter Alway just announced:

"My 1994 book on scale modeling, "The Art of Scale Model Rocketry" is now available as a free .pdf download from the NAR. Just click on the title on the "Free Samples" list."

It's on the NAR "Products" page. To download the book, CLICK HERE

It's a great read - and FREE!

Estes Apollo Little Joe II Build, Part 17, Fin Support

Here's the final stick size - Your fit may be different. Cut a little large and fit to your model.
The overall length is 2 11/16" with the taper starting 1 5/16" from the end. The tapered end to the right fits into the fin cavity.




The instructions don't mention it but imply the rear centering ring is even with the end of the body tube.
On the actual Little Joe II the nozzle plate was slightly recessed. I could build up the inside so the rear centering ring is closer to the bottom of the tube but will probably leave it as is.
This picture was posted by John Pursley in the TRF build. 

I'll be following John Pursley's advice and make the nozzle plate and centering ring removable. Some flights have shown some melting of the plastic nozzles.

With the rear centering ring against the square fin supports it's a very strong assembly.

Again I can't take credit for using a fin reinforcement spar. The master modeler's at The Rocketry Forum - George Gassaway, James Duffy and John Pursley figured out the structural improvements.

The fins are probably fine without the stick reinforcement. I've read a few launch reports where a fin has been knocked loose from the corrugated wrap on a hard landing. Plastic to plastic bonds between the fin and the body are sometimes a problem.

Estes Apollo Little Joe II Build, Part 3, Still More Parts

That large water slide decal wrap would be very difficult to apply. I'll probably cut it into smaller segments, maybe even cutting out the squares individually.
Ask anybody who has tried to apply the Mega Der Red Max body wrap!

Here's the mystery piece!
The parts illustration does say "NOT USED". But I have to wonder why it was attached to the plastic tree. I checked the old Centuri instructions and it's not shown there either.

The only thing I can figure is it might have been the tie point for the capsule shock cord. It can lay next to and be glued against the vertical rib inside the capsule.
This cylinder piece was part of the old molded Centuri parts. That might be what is shown in this illustration. The new Estes HH piece is probably an improvement over the older attachment.

The Centuri Little Joe Historical Brochure is included!
It was Copyrighted in 1968 and had a retail price of $1.00.

There are 12 pages of history and scale data.

Enerjet News Mercury Little Joe Build, Part 9A, Black Fin?

Apparently one fin on the Little Joe I is orange on one side and black on the other!
Here's a conversation from TRF:

Originally Posted by Peter Alway 
"Funny how once you've seen that fin black on one side, you can't unsee it!"
______________________________________

Response from James Duffy:
"Tell me about it. I'm off to the hobby shop this afternoon for more black lacquer.

Here's what Peter is referring to: After building Little Joe models for the past decade and a half, Peter gently pointed out that one side of the orange fin is actually black. After staring at still and motion photography of this thing for sixteen years I had never noticed this major detail, simply assuming that this side of the fin was in deep shadow. Fortunately the modular construction of the model will allow the fin to be removed and repainted easily.

Never underestimate the power of a second set of eyes deployed in any situation."

James
________________________________________________________________________

My response:
"James, I'm following this build closely! Impressive work.

What? one side of the orange fin is black? All this time I thought it was one orange fin, orange on both sides.
I'm building the Enerjet News Little Joe right now.
http://oldrocketplans.com/pubs/Enerj...enerjet173.htm

I know their scale data isn't really correct, I'm just building it like plan using the Estes re-issue capsule and tower.
With the black capsule it's closer to the LJ5, LJ5A and LJ5B versions without the orange on the body.
The orange fin is glued on, mine will stay orange on both sides.
It'll end up a sorta look alike semi scale flier."

Hans "Chris" Michielssen

Old/New NAR # 19086 SR

James Duffy's Little Joe

If you want to see how to really build a Mercury Little Joe, CLICK HERE

James Duffy knows this rocket and how to put it all together! Two spare capsules to boot! In the TRF thread check for every rivet and even duct tape on the tower.

This version is the earlier Mercury Little Joe. The later Joes had the black Mercury capsule.

Shaping Estes Nike Smoke Fins, Part 1

I probably won't be doing a full build on the new Estes Nike Smoke.
It's a standard build except for the scale fin shaping. These following posts will focus on the fins.

Mentioned earlier, the older Centuri and Estes kits are almost the same size. The fins are also about the size. I used the Centuri patterns and cut a few from 1/8" stiff balsa.
Back in January of 2014 I did an article in the Apogee Peak of Flight on Shaping Scale Fins. These blog posts cover some of the same information in the article: CLICK HERE
The Nike Smoke fins are a different taper than those shown in the article.

BIG TIP: If you've never tapered or shaped a scale fin before, don't start with the laser cut fins supplied with the kit! Cut some extra fins from scrap 1/8" thick balsa and practice on those. I didn't get it right the first, second or third time. Practice makes close!

The leading, outside and trailing edges of the fins get a good wiping of medium CA. Don't apply CA glue to the root edge.
The CA seals the wood so the black marker (in the next step) won't get soaked into the wood, but just stays on the outside of the CA coat.
The CA glue also strengthens the fin edges, something you do want when they are sanded to a thin edge/

TIP: Notice to the right of the Q-tip in the picture. I made a point of brushing some CA glue over the rear corner where the tip could break down the balsa grain.

After the CA glue dries, the outside edge get a quick wipe of a black permanent marker. The black ink gives a high contrast making it easier to see and gauge the thickness when thinning down the fin from the root edge (thicker) to the outside edge (thinner).
For now, only blacken the outside edge that has been treated with the CA glue.

Here's the three practice fins with the blackened edges ready for shaping.
The black edges will be sanded off after the fins are shaped.

Thoughts on Nike Smoke Fins

I don't have the new Estes BT-60 based Nike Smoke kit yet, I don't even know if I'll get it or not.
On oldrocketplans.com they have the old Centuri Nike Smoke instructions with a fin scan and ruler.



I dropped the picture into Corel Draw and messed with the sizing until the 1" ruler matched a 1" square box I drew. This got the fins size close to the Estes kit fin size.







From the Centuri instructions the fin taper measurements are shown.
The fin root edge is 1/8" thick and tapers to 1/16" at the outside edge.
I had never looked that close before and didn't realize the "diamond" taper line doesn't go to the outside corners. It starts 1/8" in from the leading and trailing corners.

I traced the fin picture with the 1" square reference.

The balsa grain direction runs parallel to the leading edge in the older Centuri model.
On the Estes kit the grain runs straight at a 90 degree angle to the root edge.

The Estes fin has two places where the corners could easily pop off when sanding the taper.

These are just observations. The fins are hard enough to sand to a scale taper. Most builders will probably just round the leading and trailing edges anyway.

Nike Smoke fin shaping is coming up!

TLP Pershing #K046 Build, Part 25, More Scale Data!

Thanks to links from Eero Fluge, I have a good scale drawing of the Pershing! This is from the January 1970 issue of  Model Rocketry magazine -
CLICK HERE

Looks like I'm going to have to remake the fin vane pads. I was pretty much guessing and going by what I could see in the Estes instructions.
I might also do the rear fins again, thicker this time.
Interesting too is the rounded tip on the nose cone.

There might not be a Pershing build post for the next few days! The cruise used up many of the posts I had in draft form and now I'm going to remake the fins and fin vane pads. I'm also busy with land shows.
There should be posts, but they will be on other rocketry subjects. 
Just give me a few days to get the Pershing back on track.

NASA 3D Models Web Page

DavidQ on TRF posted a link to the available NASA 3D Models: HERE

If you have a 3D printer, or access to one, this could be a great source for scale modeling.

Carded Downscale Black Brant VB - Part 1, Prints and Needed Parts

Information for this downscale model is from the Peter Alway Book, SCALE BASH
Available from NAR Technical Services CLICK HERE
This book along with the Alway Classic ROCKETS OF THE WORLD 
is highly recommended!

I've down scaled the BLACK BRANT VB
to BT-5 size.
The instruction copy was written last September. The Semroc nose cones are listed, but you could use the longer plastic nose cone found in the #303160 Estes NC-5 nose cone package.

It's easier than you'd think - 
Make one print on 24 lb. white paper for the body tube and launch lug wrap. Make a second print on 110 lb. white card stock for the fin overlays.
After the ink dries, give the printed side a few light coats of clear acrylic.
Add a BT-5 tube just over 7" long and some cereal box cardboard for the interior of the fin laminate.
The 1/8" launch lug is just under 1.25" long.

The body tube skin, lug cover and fin overlays are applied with a glue stick. Instead of painting, the lower red band on the nose cone could probably be another red band from the 24 lb. paper.

Carded and printed skin models are underrated.
The body tube wrap makes the BT-5 tube very strong. The laminated fins are stiffer than you might think.
The models are cheap and fly as well as any kit.
If you screw up a wrap, peel it off and print another.
This model has high detail and no painting!

Patreon members: If you'd like the PDF art to make a Black Brant VB,
email me at: oddlrockets@bellsouth.net
and request the Black Brant VB PDF.

Estes Paveway III Build, Part 9A Upper Tube Length?

That upper BT-20 tube seems longer than the one shown  on the face card picture.

I tried to take a picture of the upper assembly at the same angel as the face card photo.

It was reduced until the lower (BT-60) body tube was about the same diameter. This was overlayed onto the face card picture.

It looks like it is twice the length it should be!

The paint scheme profile picture also shows it to be shorter.

Now the questions - 

Was the supplied tube longer for stability reasons?

The BT-20 is the same length as the supplied motor mount tube. Was this done just for kitting convenience?

Which length is closer to scale? Does it really matter?

From a quick Internet search, here's the GBU-24 Paveway I, II and III.
This kit is based on the third bomb at the bottom.
The upper tube is shorter than the one supplied in the kit.

A rough guess shows the tube is about twice the length of the upper fin root edge. I'll probably end up cutting the tube.



After looking at side views of the model I ended up cutting only 1/2" off the upper tube.
One wrap of masking tape was used as a cutting guide. An old casing was slipped in to provide something to cut against.

It's a small change but does look closer to the face card and above pics.

Ogive Nose Cones

David Stribling (Rocketguy101 on TRF) wrote a great article explaining the shape and formula of Ogive nosecones.  

http://www.scribd.com/doc/38293750/Ogive-Nose-Cones

If you didn't know, a 3:1 nose cone simply means:
The nose cone length is three times the body diameter.
A 4:1 nose cone length is four times the body diameter, and so on.

Roy Green (SpevATL on TRF) added this:
An ogive is described by the intersection of two circles. If the center of those two circles falls on the shoulder line of the nose cone, the shape is a tangent ogive; if they fall on either side of the shoulder line, they are secant ogives.The best discussion I've found is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nose_cone_design

I never got into the math when picking out a nose cone.
With so many shapes available I just hit the "Add To Cart" button.

Scale Bash Book

NAR Technical Services is again carrying the Peter Alway book:
SCALE BASH
Build and Fly Scale Models from Non-Scale Commercial Kits
Plans and patterns for 78 models of 29 real rockets.

Originally printed in 1998, this second printing is from this year.

You can order it HERE 


Mr. Alway has done all the research work for you -
Using available 3:1, 4:1 and 5:1 conical nose cones you can build 24 models of different sizes using the standard Estes BT tubing.
Note: The 3:1 shape means the height of the nose cone is three times the base diameter.
The 11 degree conical nose cone is used for six more models.

Original size drawings and colors are included.
On the right are the fin patterns for the Hydac rocket.
On this one, four fin sizes are included for BT-5, BT-20, BT-50 and BT-55 versions.

Field Guide To American Spacecraft Website

If you ever wanted to see rockets in person visit this site to find out where they are -
http://www.americanspacecraft.com/pages/aaindex/home1.html

The website was produced by James H. Gerard.
You'll find addresses to the museums and some photos of the rockets on display.

Meatball Rocketry Website

The Meatball Team won the scale competition at NARAM 50.
Stop by their website and find out why!
You'll find Plenty of scale information and build tips.
http://meatballrocketry.com
The articles on how to make the Saturn 1 (or 1B) fairings are worth the trip alone! Go to Model Rocketry, then articles.

Estes Bullpup Build Part 9, Decals Information

The Estes instructions say to use the face card picture for decal placement.
The problem is, it only shows one side. 
Viewing from the rear, we'll call this the right side - the nose cone facing to the right.

I did a web search for pictures and came across the Jim Ball scale site:
HERE
That link will take you to the Bullpup page. At the bottom you can visit the home page - lots of great information there.

Here's the "right" side off my re-finished Bullpup.
Decals are applied as the facecard shows.

If you were to apply the right side decals first with the nose cone to the right -
Set the model on a table top and rotate it 180 degrees so the nose cone is facing to the left.
The decals shown here are now on the opposite side.

This second picture is from the Jim Ball's site shows a (slightly elongated) Bullpup with the decal view from the "left" side.

If the real Bullpup were hanging under the wing of a fighter jet, you could read the warnings and U.S. AIR FORCE (right side up) from both sides of the missile.

Rockets Of The World - Finally!

It's about time!
I finally bought a copy of Rockets Of The World by Peter Alway.

Every time I needed scale information I could usually find something online or borrow the book information from a club member. (Thanks Brian!)
I was expecting a soft cover edition but was surprised to get it in hard cover.

This is an amazing book and a great value. I ordered mine through NARTS.
Highly recommended! Hats off to Peter Alway!