An Earlier Soyuz Build Part 1 -

With the debut of the new Estes Soyuz kit - 

I remembered an earlier Dr. Zooch Soyuz build. There was no plastic parts, just balsa, body tubes and rolled cardstock. The cardstock "witches hats" at the top of the strap on boosters took a few tries to get right. You even had to build the interstage trusses with dowels! 

The model is BT-50 based and uses 18mm motors.

 

Before I started this build blog, I posted builds on The Rocketry Forum.

This one goes back to 2009. 

Dr. Zooch Soyuz

CLICK HERE

http://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?t=5213

New Estes Kit -

https://estesrockets.com/pages/soyuz

Estes USS Enterprise #1275, Part 11, Pylon Brace Fit

The pylon brace fit was very loose. 

No amount of glue fillets will fix this.

On the left: A strip of 110 lb. cardstock was slipped into the slot, folded over and glued to the face of the brace. 

On the right: Look close to see the white cardstock shims in place. The fit is much tighter. 

Another dry fit of the pylons. 

The braces are inside locking the pylons in position.

Estes USS Enterprise #1275, Part 10, Pylon Supports & Dowels

Set the pylon in the cardstock base (the fit is too loose) and mark the tube height for a filler/primer mask.

Set the notched end in the bulkhead and mark for a mask on the other side.

The pylon ends were masked for a shot of filler/primer.

After the filler/primer dried, sand to surface with 400 grit.

Here's the outline for the pylon cut.

The straight sides and bottom were cut using my aluminum angle and a sharp knife.

The rounded back was made using a small rat tail diamond file.

I got a good fit of the pylon.

I'll usually cut a fin slot a bit narrow and widen it to fit. 

Estes USS Enterprise #1275, Part 9, Pylon Supports & Dowels

I fitted the pylon into the pylon brace, then set it next to the body tube. The pencil line is the masking area to keep the filler/primer off the gluing areas. 

On the right - the notched end of the pylon is dry fitted in the bulkhead and marked, again for a mask. 

Here's the pylon masked for a shot of filler/primer.

After the filler primer was sanded -

The cut out is revised to fit the pylon, rounded dowel on the back side.

Estes USS Enterprise #1275, Part 8, Pylon Supports & Dowels

I'll usually fill the tube seams before gluing things together.

On the left - Thinned CWF filler in the seams,

On the right - The filler sanded to surface.

A shot of filler/primer and sanding followed.

The pylon supports got some CWF and sanding.

The dowel/plywood joint got a second brushing of CWF and more sanding.

The propulsion unit marking guides were cut out and pre-rolled.

Press a dowel into the heel of your hand as you roll over the cardstock to put a curve into it.

On the right - the marking guide retains the cylinder shape after forming. 

The pylon slot is printed as a long rectangle.

The pylon is square on one side and rounded in the back.

I'm going to cut the slots to fit the actual pylon shape.

Estes USS Enterprise #1275, Part 7, Pylon Supports & Dowels

Removed from the die-cut ply sheet - 

The picture shows how rough the pylon support pieces are. 

Set on a flat surface, one was die-cut a hair wider.

The wider piece was sanded down to the height of the shorter piece. 

A dowel is glued to the back edge of the pylon.

Cut the dowel a little longer than the pylon.

Center the dowel and glue down the pylon edge.

After he glue dries,

Sand the dowel ends even with the pylon length.