Boy Scouts & Rocketry, Paying It Forward

A few days back I walked to the grocery store. Outside, a group of Scouts was selling popcorn. Girl Scouts still sell cookies, Boy Scouts now sell popcorn. I looked closer and noticed model rockets on the kettle corn bag. 

The Scoutmaster asked if I was a Boy Scout. I said: "Yes. Scouting and rocketry got me through my teens." Two Scouts asked me about the rockets.

I don't always carry cash, that day only a debit card for groceries. I picked up a few things and returned home.

I immediately went upstairs to the rocket room and pulled two starter rockets from the kit stash. I grabbed some money for a donation. Returning to the store the kits were presented to the two interested Scouts. 

Estes Cosmic Interceptor Build, Part 20, Nose Cone Fix

There was a recess divot in front of the canopy.

It looks like the kit assembler cut off a mold line. 

I'll fill it with medium Super Glue. Set a drop of glue in the recess. Let dry horizontally, the glue drop can run.   

After the glue dries,

Sand to follow the round curve of the cone. 

The recessed lines are lightly filed using a triangular diamond file. Don't go too deep!

The recess lines are back, not perfect but better than not having them at all.

A shot of filler primer showed areas that needed touchup.

The second photo shows another mold line to fill towards the tip.

Estes Cosmic Interceptor Build, Part 19, Filling The Tab Recess

The top picture shows the CWF on the tabs sanded down.

The sanded tabs were given a controlled shot of filler/primer.

The filled/primer is sanded down using 400 grit on a sanding block.

Estes Cosmic Interceptor Build, Part 18, Filling The Tab Recess

Here's the balsa plug fill on the upper end of the N piece.

Two fill pieces go into the L and M wing pieces.

After the glue dries, the raised fills are sanded to surface using 400 grit on a sanding block.

The T piece tab is a bit short. It'll also get a balsa fill segment.

The inset shows the tab before and after lowering the height of the tabs. 

Like on the wing, this allows for a thicker plug piece.

The T piece is fitted after the wing is glued on. 

For now, glue only the filler segment. 

With the T piece all the way in the slot, press in the filler piece until it butts up against the T piece tab inside.

Remove the T piece without gluing it in leaving the plug in place at the correct depth.

After the glue dries, sand the plug to surface.

Estes Cosmic Interceptor Build, Part 17, Filling The Tab Recess

I wish the tabs on the S pieces were longer! If the tabs extended past the flat face of the wing, they could be simply sanded to surface.

The tab recess is shallow and could probably be filled with CWF. I prefer something stronger. 

I sanded down the tabs so the balsa plug would have a deeper fit.

Some 1/8" wide stripes were cut from the leftover fin stock.

These were cut a bit long and sanded for a tight fit.

I've done this before when the tabs were short on the Super Orbital Transport.

Estes Cosmic Interceptor Build, Part 16, Filler/Primer On The Balsa Parts

Here's all the parts taped down to scrap cardboard for a shot of filler/primer.

Notice the thin masking tape strips over the gluing area slots on the Q pieces. There is tape over the glue tabs on the T pieces.

With the S braces dry fitted, this will mask the gluing contact areas.  

After the filler/primer shot,

the glue tabs have no spray.

The wing showing the clear glue areas for the S braces.

The end tip Q pieces had a measured strip of masking tape over the gluing area.

The open CWF strip isn't sealed and glue can be absorbed. The gray filler/primer seals the rest of the balsa.

Estes Cosmic Interceptor Build, Part 15, More Pre-glue Fitting

The low edges of the intake tube will set into the fillet joints of the wings.

Looking ahead, I checked how straight the sides were using an aluminum angle. This will require some sanding to get the sides straight. notice the pencil mark - 

The visible end edges of the intake can be cleaned up with a wipe of CA glue and light sanding. This removes the fuzz and sharpens the looks.

Don't wipe any CA glue where wood glue will follow.


 

I set the vertical brace in place to mask the gluing areas for the filler/primer shoot.

The underside tabs aren't tall enough to fully fill the notch! This will need more filling after gluing the braces in. No glue yet, wait until after sanding the filler/primer.