Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 24 Saturn V Wrap Prep

This is the lower end of the core tank after sanding the primer down.
This lower end took a couple of primer coats and sanding to get it where all the seams were filled.

The Saturn V scheme will require some planning and masking.
All the wraps were dry set in position (no glue) and marked for positions around the tube.
Maksing tape was set down where the wraps would be adhered. The masking tape was set a little "inside" the pencil lines so the wrap would overlap the white paint between the wraps.





After the first coat of white I had to go back and fill some small dips in the lower boat tail shroud.
Another coat of primer and sanding followed.






This dry wrap of the lower shroud shows how I cut it oversize or longer at the bottom.
The shroud seam still wasn't consistant all the way around. By cutting this lower wrap long, the wrap edge will go all the way to the bottom of the tube. The edge of the wrap will give a sharp edge and cover any seam or dip in the boat tail joint.

Tampa TTRA Launch March 17, 2012

You can see how many cars were lined up for the Tampa TTRA launch on March 17. Sorry, no launch shots yet!



Lonnie Buchanon preps his new, larger Angry Bird for a drag race with my PIGASUS.
Both had C engines, a C6-3 in the Angry Bird and a C6-5 in Pigasus.
I knew I should have painted my pig green.







Charlie Sharp made a beautiful carded Saturn 1B, flown with a C6-5.
Charlie is an ambitious modeler, he also flew a scratch built three stager.
It'll need a little more nose weight, the 1B did some skywriting.






Marie and Mike Nipper tried the Easter Egg again with a D12-5.
It was loaded with Easter candy and prizes.
It was unstable, but the kids didn't care, they quickly picked up all the "hidden" eggs.





While the blog build continues, my Dr. Zooch SLS is actually finished.
It's maiden flight was with a C6-5. Stable boost with a slow roll.
Two of my models had slow opening parachutes opening 100' above the ground.







Astron Mike launched the biggest glider I'd ever seen.
This is his Maxi Astron SST with an I225.
After a majestic boost the internal pod didn't fully eject. The C/G was thrown off and the SST had a stalling glide.
This was an unusual flight for Mike, his gliders just circle and glide . . .


My also flowns:
MAXI ALPHA flew to 625' with a C11-5. Beautiful first flight with a long walk to recover under an 18" parachute.
MMX SKYWRITER This well worn micro pencil flew to nearly 150' and returned under a small streamer. It's hard to follow these when you are more than 10' away from the launcher.
Rebuilt RED MAX with a C6-5. After the last long walk, the 18" parachute was reefed.

Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 23 LAS Nozzles

For just a slightly better glue joint, the angle cut side of the nozzle was contoured with a small rat tail diamond file.

This gives a better surface contact at the gluing surface.





A line was drawn around the LAS dowel at 7/8" from the tip.

The four LAS nozzles were glued just touching the line, evenly spaced around the dowel.

Cruising Again March 18 -25

I'm doing my Instrumental / Comedy act this week on the Holland America RYNDAM through the Western Caribbean.

I'll try to update and post entries daily
Internet connections on board ship are POOR and very slow. I'll try to add posts when in port, but it's a crap shoot at best.
I have plenty of drafts already written, I tend to write far enough in advance.

So bear with me - All will be back to normal when I return to the Port of Tampa in seven days!

New MPC Rockets

MPC is getting back into the rocket business.
This time with licensed models featuring KISS and Star Trek.
These pictures were found HERE

These look to be "Almost Ready To Fly" models.
There is nothing really groundbreaking here, two new plastic fin cans and nose cones.
Dimensions of the KISS rocket at the right is 20" tall, the Star Trek model shown below is 28" tall.
The face of the boxes say: Flys up to 260 feet altitude! Whoopee!
Are they going to fly these with anything more than an B6-4?

From the Article:
The first wave of product will include Star Trek and KISS licensed rockets and will be available in September 2012. Following that release will be MPC branded rockets in January 2013.



I do prefer the Star Trek model, the Enterprise print parachute is very cool!

These two rockets aren't exactly my style. But if it introduces some new people to the hobby - it's all good!

Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 22 LAS Nozzles

The small LAS nozzles are actually cut from the back end of fancy toothpicks.
These are small, and could be easily lost. Keep them in the bag!

I've already dipped them twice in varnish, wiped off the excess and sanded to surface.
It's a good idea to seal these nozzle pieces, they will look rough if just sprayed with white. You could spray them with primer and sand, but I prefer using clear varnish to seal and sand them before gluing to the model.

TIP: I used a four sided fingernail shaping file from the beauty supply store.
These are padded sanding sticks with four different grits from about 220 to 400 grit.
I'm sure they are a lot cheaper than the hobby store "boutique" sanding sticks. For something like these small nozzles, the padding under the sanding surface works very well.


They were cut to size after sealing.
These are small, for easier handling keep them long until you are ready to glue in place.

Pencil lines were drawn for a angle cutting guide. I wanted all four nozzles to come off the LAS dowel at the same angle.




All four nozzles were set on masking tape, sticky side up.
This was for two reasons -
You won't want to lose them,
You can check them side by side to make sure they were all the same length and angle of the cuts.

Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 21 Engine Mount Gluing

The line at the top is your index line.
The corrugated or Saturn V style wraps start on this line.
The seam on your boattail shroud should also line up on the index line. This way the seam won't be noticed at the side, under the SRBs.

The lower line is the Feeder Line placement line. The engine hook lines up on this.

If you are wondering where the corrugated wraps went, I won't be using them. I decided to use the provided Saturn V wraps. They will be glued on after the core tube is painted white.




My boattail fit wasn't as good as I would have liked. This is a dry fit of the engine mount.
I ended up sanding the end of the tube a bit so the shroud would fit it all the way around.






After the mount was glued in place, a dowel was rolled over the edge to smooth out any raised card stock.
This works when the card stock is still wet and malleable.