Centuri Draconian Marauder #5336 Build, Finished

It's finally done!
I'm not a big fan of this kit. All the thicker pieces of die-cut card stock had pressure bulges on the underside. It took CA glue and sanding to get every edge smooth and flat.

I don't think the average builder would have felt good about the finished model. Many later Centuri sport kits and the Fighter Fleet had "fibre" fins.
This model has four sheets of the die-cut card stock. The way they are glued together, it would be impossible to get spray paint coverage inside the wing, missile and tail ring surfaces.

It's interesting how Centuri took a television space fighter and converted it to a flying model. We'll see how well it flys.
EDIT: It flew once on June 6 at the monthly Orlando R.O.C.K. launch. Like many winged designs it wanted to fly like an airplane. After leaving the rod it went off at a 45 degree angle which led to a long recovery walk. Heavy and draggy.

Here's the Monogram plastic kit box art.
The plastic kit was molded in coral. The Centuri instructions said to paint it brown.

Enlarge the picture and you could see the layered overall details.
The Centuri kit is closer to a "profile" model, a nice break from the ordinary.

Cruisin' in Alaska

I'm off to Alaska on the Holland America Zaandam from June 17 - 25. I bring this up as blog posting and comment replies might be interrupted. Internet connections on a ship can be spotty.

I join the ship in Juneau and go North to Seward. New passengers join and then travel South where I disembark back in Juneau.

I don't get hired for ships as often as before. Cruise lines continue to lure younger audiences. Producers try to make smaller shows appear bigger, but in the end are tacky and insipid.
On my down time, I'll be working on Odd'l projects and another carded downscale model.

Centuri Draconian Marauder #5336 Build, Part 21, Missile Launchers

The missile launchers were fitted to the wings.
Some sanding was required to get the wing edges to contact the round body of the launchers.

The inset picture shows the glue lines.

The missile launchers were painted off the model.
I did some careful scraping down to the body tube for the glue contact lines.

More Wire Hook Pull Tools, TIP

Lonnie Buchanon made a simple wire hook to pull shroud lines through the small metal ring on the end of a snap swivel.
The blog post is CLICK HERE

Chris Gonnerman commented:
"I have several rolls of cheap "safety wire" which I use for a broad variety of rocketry tasks. For instance, I use a long piece folded at about the one-third mark to fish shock cords through mounting eyes or loops deep inside a rocket; by using such an anchor, I don't have to keep adding glue every time a shock cord needs replaced, and I can put this kind of anchor in a rocket that isn't shaped well for the "replaceable Kevlar" anchoring system. I put such a loop in my FSI Sprint clone last year, and I pointedly did not attach the shock cord until it was done, just to prove I could make it work."

I made a Kevlar pull tool from a length of coat hanger wire.

It's probably used on every other build.

One end is a "U" shape, the other side an "L" bend.

Here I'm fishing the Kevlar out the back of the engine mount to check it's condition or tie on some new elastic.

Centuri Draconian Marauder #5336 Build, Part 20, Decals

The old decals with the MicroScale clear coat transferred easily.
TIP: Instead of using a wet brush or paper towel to work out bubbles, use a damp Q-tip to set the decal into place.
Work the air bubbles out by rolling from the center to the edges.

After the decals had set up for a day they got a coat of Future.
I used the Q-tips again. Dip the tip in the Future, wipe off the excess and lightly "roll" on an overcoat.

A canopy decal side is made up of two pieces.
The larger center "B" piece probably wouldn't easily fold over the ridge down the middle. I cut the decal in two.
Set the "B" sides down first.



After it dries set the "C" piece down as an overlay.
Do your best to "mirror" the two C pieces getting an even fit over the top and raised canopy.
After everything dries a new razor blade trimmed down the overhang.

Stiletto Design Inspiration?

In 2009, Bob Sanford made a visit to Quest Aerospace.
Lots of great information and pictures in these YORF posts: CLICK HERE


Douglas Shrock (Shrox Rocket Designs) showed some of his prototypes.
He's holding the SHX-3 Stiletto, one of my favorite models.



Yesterday on RocketReviews.com I ran across this: CLICK HERE.
Geof Givens did a plastic model conversion of a Lindberg kit in 2009.
Where does design inspiration come from?
I never knew the Douglas X-3 Stiletto even existed until I saw the plastic kit. You can see the similarities.

Here's my Quest SHX-3 Stiletto, modified for 24mm  engines. It's usually flown with a D12-5.

The build posts are HERE

Launch, NEFAR, Bunnell, FL, June 13, 2015

How you feelin'? Hot, Hot, HOT!
These Summer launches really wipe me out.

The Civil Air Patrol joined us today so a second LPR rack was set up.
Good call and Thanks guys!
Most of the CAP flights were fine until the two stage Loadstars were launched. A few too many had the engines reversed, B6-6 in the booster and the B6-0 in the upper stage. The rockets were on the ground when the B6-6 ejection charges would ignite the B6-0 in the upper stage.
The CAP Alphas and Patriots had great first flights.


A few had questions asked about my Estes R2D2, today flown with a C6-3.
Boost was straight to about a 275' apogee. I was concerned about the parachute, it had been sitting idle too long around the rear eject engine mount.
There was a lout "pop" at ejection and the chute opened without problems. R2 landed without damage.

My Odd'l Rockets LITTLE GREEN MAN had a textbook flight until it touched down. I waited for the "All Clear" to pick it up and found it in the only water in the field.
The water was poured out of the body!
It is drying now and so far no swelling or distortion of the tube or fins.
The older German Quest B6-4 was sooty but got it to an estimated 325' up.






I'm really tempted to produce a kit of the Odd'l Rockets SPOOL. Today flown with a C6-0 to about 275'.
After the propellant wall broke through a very fast spin brought it back close.

Here's the rebuilt and refinished Estes V2 awaiting launch with a D12-3 engine.
Great boost to 450' and full eject of the 18" Odd'l parachute with spill hole.
The wind was picking up and it landed near the flight line.
A fin was split when the nose cone snapped back and hit it at ejection. More repairs!

On the next pad is Cris Morris' Odd'l Rockets Pigasus, flown today with a C6-5. Thanks Cris!


Phil Brodman made this "Harbor Freight" rocket from the pages of a Harbor Freight catalog!
I know what time that goes into making a rocket just from printed book pages. The body tube and nose cone were hand rolled with many layers of paper.
The Harbor Freight was flown twice with D12-3 engines.
Very strong and stable!




My fifth and final flight was the clone of the Estes MINI SHUTTLE.
With another sooty Quest B6-4 in the tail it rose to 350' before a soft parachute recovery.

Five up, Five recovered.
One to repairs.