Model Minutes Leduc 22 Build, Part 5, Central Tube and Coupler

"General instructions Photography may lightly differ". (Yep, they typed "lightly differ".)
The central tube picture was different than the center tube included in the kit. The tube picture was from a different model.

Even the long central tube can be formed in the palm of your hand. Do one side then flip the card stock over and form the other side.

Be sure the end of the dowel is rounded, otherwise you might get some scarring that could show through at the tube mid-point after it is rolled.

The outside tube coupler was too loose on the lower T1 and upper T3 sections.
NOTE: To the left of the T3 mark is the upper centering ring location. Later in the build I glued the rings right between those lines.

I cut another strip of 110 lb. card stock and rolled a second, tighter coupler.
NOTE: The replacement coupler wrap I made was the exact length of the kit supplied piece. Notice it is set right to the placement line on the lower tube.

Why bring these printed placement marks up now?
I want to be sure alignment would be correct later on, all the lengths and part positions should be correct for the final assemblies. You'll see what happened in future posts.

Thor Able Carded Build Part 8 Upper Stages

The A1 section was pre-shaped and rolled around a dowel.
This model will need nose weight and clay would probably be used.
A plastic Bic pen barrel was just about the right diameter to glue the A1 section around. The internal plastic pen barrel will also protect the white cardstock from oil stains from the clay.




The CA-1 conduits were cut from the cardstock.

These are very thin, be sure your straitedge doesn't slip.






The backside of a very dull razor blade was used to help straighten out the glued strip.

Home Made Rockets on YouTube

From tlgrimmy on YouTube -
A three part model rocket assembly videos using scratch parts.

Part 1, CLICK HERE
Part 2, CLICK HERE
Part 3, CLICK HERE

Some interesting points:
Using metal skewers for engine hooks.
A parachute protector, what he calls and ejection shroud, on part 2.

Estes Tech Pak Build Part 4, Body Tube Rolling

Run some water over a sponge and squeeze out most of it.
The damp sponge is run over the glue on the inside of the orange wrap.

Only wet about 4" at a time.
Set the tape, roll and stick on the white layer.
Wet four more inches and continue.
The remaining tape will hang over the bottom end of the tube.
I found myself pulling on the wrap end to keep it flat, taut and wrinkle free.




After you finish up the first layer, press down any wrinkles with a dowel.
Some of it will smooth out.

Trim off the bottom overhanging wrap.





To the left you can see the second layer being wrapped.
It also starts at the top going the opposite direction of the first wrap.

The inset picture shows the finished wrap.




After the tube dries you can sand off the overhang.
The thick form tube is inside for support when sanding the ends square.

When the gummed paper is dry, the tube feels like a weaker BT-50.
It will make it through a few flights but not dozens.

Estes Tech Pak Build Part 3, Body Tube Rolling

The tube rolling isn't easy!
Take it slow and follow the kit directions closely along with a few tips shown here.

A 4" X 11" piece of 20 lb. paper is cut and wrapped around the thick body tube form.
The instructions don't specify what kind of glue to use. Trust me, use a glue stick.
White glue is too wet and won't let you re-position this interior wrap.
The interior wrap glues to itself at the end of the edge and not to the brown body tube form.

Unroll the orange wrap tape and cut it in half at the center.
The wrap is hard to keep open, it'll want to roll up again.

At the ends are plenty of wrinkles, I hope these come out when the tube is wrapped.

One end of each wrap piece is cut at a 45 degree angle.
Cut the angles in a mirror image as shown in Step 3 B.

When the angle cut is set straight on the top edge of the white layer it sets the orange wrap at the correct angle to go around the widthtube.

The white interior wrap is slid down to the bottom of the form tube. This leaves some of the form tube sticking out the top.

Do a dry fit of the orange wrap (no water) to see how it fits on the tube.
With the wrap wrap running 45 degrees down the tube it will automatically over wrap itself.

See the next post before wetting and applying the wrap.

Carded Satellite Interceptor Build Part 6 Body Tube Wraps

Before you start gluing a carded model, wash your hands and keep them clean!
Carded models, especially white carded models will pick up any oil and dirt from your hands.

Bob Harrington's carded models are true carded plans. The flat print rolls into a body tube about the size of a BT-5.
For a little more strength, I decided to roll the printed half of the body around a regular BT-5 tube. This is a long body for a 1/2" diameter final tube size. I've had trouble rolling a long tube before and to make it easier, I cut the "tube" length in half.




I sprayed the back of the wrap with spray adhesive and started wrapping the tube down a pencil line.

Covering a tube this small, the wrap started to lift. I ended up sneaking some white glue under the lifted edge using a razor blade. The glued edged were rolled back down with the white barrel of a Sharpie pen.




Even at this small scale, the top of the wrap was continued with another piece of printed card stock.
I don't know what I did wrong here, but the upper red stripe was wider than the printed stripe on the lower body piece. I couldn't get it to print correctly so I'll try to make adjustments later.

DFR Tech Delta II Build Part 19 Wraps

I got the new vinyl wraps for the Delta II.
These are a good improvement over the self adhesive paper wraps. They are bright, clear and precut.

I did the usual line down the body tube for lining up the edge of the wrap.

The vinyl holds well, but you can peel it off and re-position if your alignment is off.
Just be sure the body tube surface is clean! Anything from glue or lint will show through the vinyl as a bump.

The print on the SRM numbers are placed 1/4" from the end of their tubes.

I positioned the first one (the number 9 centered between two fins) then wrapped a thin strip of paper around all the SRM tubes.

The paper strip goes along the bottom edge of the vinyl number squares.

This will make the lower distance alignment foolproof. Simply set the bottom edge of the vinyl square on the top of the paper strip.

Check to be sure the vinyl number is centered by looking from the rear. Use the SRM mounts for a center reference.

Dr. Zooch Saturn 1 SA-5 Build Part 11 S-1 Tank Placement

The rolled tanks are glued into place.

I sanded off a little of the overlapped card stock from the one black tank that'll sit against the engine hook. The thickness of the engine hook will raise that one tank tube higher than the others. Removing a little card stock from the back will set in the lower end just a bit.

For now, glue was only placed on the rear edges of the tubes before setting them into the thrust structure tube. I'll glue the tops down later.

When gluing the black printed tanks in place, sight down the tube from the rear to make sure the "United States" band is centered and even. This won't matter much with the white tubes, but you'll notice it later if the black tubes are out of line.

As the tubes are glued in place, check to be sure they are sitting into and against the spider beams.

I didn't glue the tubes to the spider beams, they are there for positioning. The tubes were glued just at the bottom for now.

Dr. Zooch Saturn 1 SA-5 Part 8 S-1 Tanks

Here's all six of the white rolled tanks. The best four will be used on the model.

The last two are still drying on the dowels. Only one dowel is supplied with the kit, I had another left from an earlier Zooch Saturn 1B build.

This is the dry test fit of a tank against the spider beams.

If the tubes were rolled tightly to the proper diameter, they will rest lengthwise against the beams and the ends will but up against the centering rings.

Dr. Zooch Saturn 1 SA-5 Build Part 7 S-1 Tanks

The only way I've been able to get a good start on the tubes is to push and hold in the starting side with a straightedge.

Push the inside edge down, start the roll and remove the straightedge.

Use both hands to hold the inside edge tight until the turned wrap holds them in against the dowel.

I found I only need to glue the last 1/2" of the edge to hold the tubes closed.

Apply a drop or two and use the bottle nozzle to spread out the glue evenly.

It won't take a lot of glue.

Press the glued tab down then burnish and roll over the seam with a clean dowel.

Leave the tube on the dowel while drying.

Dr. Zooch Saturn 1 SA-5 Build Part 6 Rolling S-1 Tanks

Rolling the S-1 tanks will take a bit of explanation.

Start a pot of water boiling in a pan. After it boils, lower the heat to a low, slow boil. You want the water to steam.

Start with a larger 1/2" dowel. You'll need a soft surface to pre-form the rolls. Just like I'd do with a shroud, set the card stock piece in the soft heel of your hand. Press the 1/2" dowel into the card stock and push it from side to side over the card stock. The card stock will start to curl.

Because this is a longer piece, you'll have to flip the card stock over to even up and curl the other side. Keep pressing the dowel into the card stock from side to side, gradually tightening up the curl.

Switch over to the 3/8" diameter dowel supplied with the kit. Continue forming the wrap in your palm, slowly making it smaller. When the ends nearly touch each other, it's time to switch over to the steam.

While the picture shows just my left hand (the right hand was taking the picture) you should have both hands holding the roll, one hand on each side.

Rotate the card stock roll over the steam and you'll feel it start to soften up. Make the roll smaller yet with your fingers. Take it slow! Your goal is a smooth tube with no creases.

Now start rolling and forming over the smaller 3/8" dowel.

More on the next post.

Dr. Zooch Saturn 1 SA-5 Build Part 5 Rolling S-1 Tanks

These tanks can take some practice to get right.

You are only given four white tanks in the kit, I drew up extras from a sheet of white 110 lb. card stock. Simply draw up some boxes that are 2 9/16" wide X 5 1/4" tall. It's hard to see the light pencil lines unless the picture is enlarged.

The kit tanks might be a little easier to roll if printed lengthwise with the "grain" of the paper. While the included patterns are certainly usable, you are rolling the tubes against the natural "roll" of the paper. Try rolling some 110 card stock with the width and then again with the length. You'll find the paper rolls easier down the 11" length. I drew up the extras with the long side of the wrap down the length of the card stock.

Before rolling the four black printed tubes, you should practice with the plain white pieces. If you draw up your own extra white pieces, you can afford to mess up a few before tackling the black prints.

I tried to make up eight white tanks and messed up two. Out of the six remaining, I'll pick the best four to use on the model.

My rolling technique will be on the next blog posts.

Carded MMX Estes Sky Writer Post 4

To roll card stock tubes, I use Eric Truax's "dry iron" technique.
When I first read about this technique I thought it couldn't work. I was very surprised by the great results.

Here a smooth coating of white glue is layed across the glue tab. I'm spreading out the glue using the backside of a razor blade. I like using a flat blade because I can push the glue right up to the yellow color line.

Let it dry completely before proceeding.

This small strip of card stock will need some "training" before it'll roll into a tube.
Always wash and dry your hands before doing any paper forming.

I set the card stock printed side down in the fleshy heel of my hand. Progressively smaller dowels are pressed and drawn across the card stock (away from you) to get it to curve.

Pre-rolling cardstock will prevent creases from showing on a finished model.
I no longer pull shrouds over a table edge to get them to curve. I pre-roll them as shown here.