Estes Shark #1111, Build, Follow-up

Well, yesterday's post (shown below) ended up being posted on the wrong date, last week! Don't know how that happened. You can specify what days you want things to be posted. I must have hit "Set Date and Time" button and not the "Automatic" publish button.    

I got my BNC-50AR balsa nose cone from erockets.biz

The upper pic was the Alpha style "placeholder".

The lower picture shows the new, bare balsa cone.

How the rocket looked before:

Here's the build with the correct shape, original nose cone.

Sometimes a little change makes a much better design.

Estes Mini Arcas, #2441, Part 2, Tail Cone

Any rocket kit that has a tail cone only includes one cardstock shroud. If you've ever formed a cardstock shroud, you know the fit might be iffy. 

I won't be taking any chances with a single shroud.

I drew a 1" reference line above the printed kit shroud. The tail cone was scanned, the 1"reference span was double checked in Corel Draw. The shrouds were printed on 110 lb. cardstock.

Will I really need eight tail cones? No.

But, I can make a few and use the best fitting shroud.

Estes Mini Arcas, #2441, Part 1, Parts

Here's a newer one from Estes.

A larger BT-55 Arcas kit was produced by Estes from 1972-1973.

This "mini" motor version is BT-20 based with streamer recovery.

Parts are of good quality.

The streamer is 2" x 24" chrome Mylar.

To see the instructions: CLICK HERE

The balsa sheet is 1/16" thick.

The small laser cut pieces are the fin supports. They are tiny!

Only one cardstock shroud is supplied. 

More on that later - 

What Does This Have To Do With Rocketry?

It doesn't have much to do with rockets!

Still, a fascinating look at a pedal car restoration.

You think some rocket repairs are complicated?

Worth a watch - CLICK HERE

I'm Camping!

Sorry, no posts for the next three days - 

I'll be camping (with Dakota) at the Lake Manatee State Park in Bradenton, FL.

Posts should be back to normal this Saturday . . .

Estes Shark #1111, Build, Finished

Classic and clean, a favorite from my teen years.

No masking, just paint it gloss white.

The decals don't overpower the design.

Mentioned earlier,

The fin decals were borrowed from the Interceptor kit.

The mid section with the USAF logo decals.

The temporary nose cone - 

A BNC-50AR is on order through erockets.biz.

Note the tiny nozzle decals.

Estes Shark #1111, Build, Part 11, Tiny Thruster Decals

If you've ever tried to position those tiny camera targets in the Estes Saturn V kit, you'll wish they provided a few extras. These little decals magically disappear after you think they are in position. You'll find them sticking to a finger or in your lap!

This is one reason why I draw up and print more decals than I need. Some extras are used for "soak" time testing. Others are duplicated when I think there could be a problem.

There is two sets of four thruster ovals on the Shark decal PDF.

The instructions say to draw the thrusters with ink. I wanted a cleaner, consistent shape than what could be drawn by hand.

The thruster decals are small!

Use tweezers to hold them. Don't let the decals sink to the bottom of the soaking water. Float them on the surface as they soak.

After the decal set in and dries, 

apply some Future clear acrylic using a Q-tip.

I ended up using all eight decals to get four properly placed.