New Estes HL Kits

On the NAR Facebook page, 
Gregory Henderson posted a picture of two new designs to be sold at Hobby Lobby:

John Scott Bryan added:
"From other discussions there are apparently eight Hobby Lobby exclusive kits - the two shown above, a whimsical Mosquito-sized rocket with curved fins and landing pad feet, and an alternate paint scheme version of the Sterling Silver - are “builder” kits. The others are E2X kits including a single glider version of the Double Ringer. Also, it appears that HL gets unique packaging and their own discounted prices - the number floating around is 33% - so no more 40% off store coupon for Estes at HL."




In another post from Gregory Henderson, all eight kits are shown - four are builder's kits, four are E2X. Photo by Bob Sanford.

Builder's kits are the two stage Epic II, Cherokee E, ESAM-58 and Luna Bug.

Semroc USS Andromeda KV-97, Part 12, Lugs and Detail Pieces

Here's the rear and front launch lugs glued in place.

Some of the fin details have been glued in place. There are small positioning dots burnt into the sail fin surface. As mentioned before, mine was a pre-production kit. The dots were a little outside the border width of the detail pieces. This has also been fixed in the production kits.

Here's the back end showing the detail pieces and the toothpick antennas glued to the small fin.

On the engine tubes I've placed some masking tape pieces. This will keep the black paint out for the fluorescent interior paint later.

The entire model will be painted an overall black so no white undercoats are needed. The only white will be hand painted inside the engine tubes for the fluorescent paint to follow.

Back To School Supplies! TIPS

You can pick up some school supplies (rocket building supplies) cheap right now -
I bought glue sticks, get the name brand glue sticks, not the store brand. I also picked up two bottles of school glue. The school glue was $1.00 each, you can probably find them for less.

I wouldn't use school glue for model rocket building - I'm only interested in the nozzles.
The nozzle on the wood glue bottle is meant for woodworking. The open end is too wide for rocket building.




Luckily, the threads and open top on both bottles are the same size.
Blow the school glue out of the school glue nozzle, run water through it and blow it out again.
Screw it on your wood glue bottle and you are ready for more precise glue application!

Exclusive Hobby Lobby Kits?

From YORF,
BRS Hobbies posted:
"I found some new Estes model rocket kits at Hobby Lobby. They were still in a big box, that were ready for hanging up on the walls.
One is a Cherokee-E and then a rocket with a single cylindrical glider instead of two like the Double Ringer. I also found another one that I haven't seen in the Estes 2019 catalog."

Bluegrass Rocket wrote:

"Talking with John Langford after the manufacturers forum at NARAM 61 I learned that there might have been the demise of model rockets at Hobby Lobby. He said they had intense negotiations and the compromise was making a line of rocket kits exclusively for Hobby Lobby. They have different face cards and are all new kits. John had several with him. The Luna Bug is a sci fi mosquito. A single ring version of the double ringer called Solo and others I don’t remember.

Scott 650 added:

"The Cherokee-E and Luna Bug were displayed at NARAM along with the Gryphon boost glider and a re-issued Phantom see-thru display rocket. I doubt, with the long lasting popularity of the design, that Cherokee will be a Hobby Lobby exclusive - other rockets though, that’s a reasonable possibility I suppose."

From Initiator 001:

"There are eight kits in the exclusive Hobby Lobby Estes line."

So . . . New rocket kits you can only get a Hobby Lobby! Smart move for both Estes and Hobby Lobby. That Cherokee D picture is from a previous blog build. If it is to be E engine powered the size and decor will probably change. 
Personal note: If you saw the Gryphon model at NARAM, that was probably one I built for Estes. It was sent out and would have arrived at Estes two weeks before the NARAM meet.

Semroc USS Andromeda KV-97, Part 11, Dots TIP and Launch Lugs

There are two small "dots" glued onto the body tube forward of the dowels.
These are cut from thick card stock. They won't fit the curvature of the body tube as they are now.

I drew a line down the center of the dot for a reference.
Set this line down the length of an X-Acto knife barrel or stiff dowel.
TIP: Press the sides around the barrel to give it a smooth curve.

Compared to the first picture you can see a difference in the fit.
You could glue these on without shaping them but there would be a gap requiring more fillet work.

My parts were from a pre-production kit and there were some small adjustments made.

The forward launch lug marking guide was high and the two lugs wouldn't be in line. This is an easy fix and corrected for the kit run.

Semroc USS Andromeda KV-97, Part 10, Small Fins and Dowels

TIP: This is an optional step, but you can seal the conduit dowels before gluing them onto the rocket.
I dipped a paper towel in some clear varnish and wiped down the dowels. You can use most any clear liquid finish.

After the varnish dries, sand smooth with 400 grit.

Scrape away the clear finish off the gluing areas.

Set the low end of the dowel in the wing/fin notch and over the forward conduit support fins.

The front dowel end will have to be trimmed to the forward edge angle of the conduit support.
Glue the conduit dowel in place.

Fillets should be added all around. Around the rings fillets are hard to smooth out and remove the excess glue. I used quite a few Q-tips to get where my fingertip couldn't reach.






Use the ends of the assembly jig to glue and center the short tubes on the ends of the engine pylons.

Apply glue fillets after the root edge glue dries.

White (Clear) Glue TIP

At the last club launch a fin was broken off my Dr. Zooch Saturn V.

TIP: When glue is seen on the outside of a rocket, use a white glue that dries clear.
I see this at club launches - a builder uses yellow wood glue for a repair. The glue fillets dry a dull yellow color. That yellow fillet can detract from a clean, light color finished model.

Use yellow glue for inside bonds and initial construction before painting. For a outside visible repair, try using a white glue.