Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 22, Canopy Size? Oooops!

I redrew the decals using the online PDF for reference.

Patreon members - 

Don't request these yet. I may have some resizing and tweaking to do. 

I thought it was funny that the back of the cockpit decal had a fire extinguisher and first aid kit.

I assumed Estes used the old Centuri Fighter Jets clear canopy. Those kits were ST-10 or about 1" in diameter. The Strikefighter is a larger diameter BT-55 at 1.325" diameter.

The Strikefighter canopy is larger. I won't be able to use the small canopy I have.

Checking the forums, the Strikefighter kit used a canopy similar to the the Guillows P-51 Mustang. To see it, CLICK HERE. 

Now I've got some thinking to do. Do I order a Guillows canopy for $10.00 plus $5.00 shipping?

Morerockets.com has a Strikefighter replacement canopy for $5.99 plus $12.99!!! shipping.

Or - do I carve a larger canopy and use it in my vacu-form machine?

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 21, Details Glued In

The gun and radar pod assemblies were a tight fit in the BT-5 tube. I used a tapered dowel to roll down the inside burr that was in the way.

The tight fit made me think twice about sliding the assemblies into glue in the tube.

I slid them in, and aligned them dry.

A glue fillet was applied around the rear centering ring using a dowel. 

Inset the glued dowel in the back and roll the end around the ring tube joint.

Here's where we are - the canopy and decals are next!

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 20, Paint!

The white paint on the Mega Mosquito crazed!

I didn't follow my own rules - paint on plastic dries slower than paint on balsa and tubes!

Wait 48 hours for tubes and balsa,

Wait 96 hours (4 days) to re-coat plastic nose cones.

The Strikefighter nose cone had a longer dry time and turned out smooth and glossy.

The gun and radar pods were painter silver.

Note the sides of the rear centering rings were masked and remain white for better adhesion.

The Mega Mosquito nose cone was sanded and re-shot with filler/primer.

After drying, this was sanded with 400 grit.

Wait 4 days, shoot again with a white undercoat.

The Strikefighter body was spray painted with white. It was difficult to get a overall gloss "wet" final coat. Too many nooks and crannies.

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 19, Making The Canopy Part B

Before sanding, the ink line is still there along the rough edge.

TIP: Wrap 220 grit sandpaper around a tube one size smaller than what it will be glued onto. The finished model is BT-55 based, so initially sand the canopy edges on a BT-50. 

Why go with a smaller diameter tube? There may be some wobble making a wider curve than you will want. Sand up and down in a straight line.

As the edge is sanded, the remaining inked edge gets thinner. Some of the lip may flex and separate.

Sand a bit, check the edge and sand some more.

When the ink and thin edges break off,

Switch to 400 grit wrapped around the BT-55 tube - See the picture at the right.

Here's the dry fitted canopy on the BT-55 tube.

Don't glue in place yet - 

I'll have some specific tips about how to adhere the canopy to the tube.

Estes Strikefighter, Kit #2015, Build, Part 18, Making The Canopy Part A

Vacu-form parts aren't really difficult. Take it slow and it'll turn out fine.

First, outline the outside edges with an ultra fine point Sharpie. Trace around the indent line that goes around the canopy bubble.

Score (don't cut through the plastic) directly on the ink line.

The picture on the left shows the cut lines needed to flex and crack at the scored lines. 

These outside lines are cut through the plastic, cutting from the scored line to the outside.

Bend the plastic up and down along the scored line. After a few bends, the plastic should crack down the ink and scored lines.

At this point, the edges will be rough.

We'll fit the canopy to the tube in the next post.

The BIG Fix! of the Mega Mosquito & Strikefighter Canopy

This is why you should do a white undercoat before spraying the final color.

The Mega Mosquito replacement nose cone was molded in a fairly opaque white. I didn't think a white undercoat would be needed. I was wrong!

I'll wait two days before spraying a gloss white. Two days after that the final  yellow should match! Live and learn.

I'll need a clear canopy for the Strikefighter build. I'm using the same canopy found in my Odd'l Rockets Fighter Fleet kits.

It seems you always have to throw out the first vacu-form attempt. Then usually make four sets of two (eight canopies in total) before the heating unit on the small vacu-form machine gets too hot.

I was on a roll today. I made 10 sets of two for a total of 20 canopies!

The BIG Fix! of the Mega Mosquito

A few years back I had a Kevlar/shock cord separation on my Mega Mosquito. The nose cone and parachute floated away, the body landed top down leaving a little dent in the tube.

I picked up a replacement BT-70 Bertha style nose cone at Jonrocket.com. The nose cone felt too tight in the older body tube.

The inside lip of the body tube got a damp (not wet) water wipe around the top. 

Dampen the paper towel and squeeze out excess water before wiping down the inside of the tube. You only want to dampen the inside tube wall.

The nose cone was flipped over and pressed into the damp body tube.

This helped push out the dent and re-round the body tube.

Don't force the nose cone in too tight! You only want to slightly flare out the tube end for a slip fit of the nose cone shoulder.

After a few hours, remove the nose cone and check the tube shape. It should be rounder and have a better fit against nose cone shoulder.