Estes Gryphon #7280 Build, Part 10, Streamer and Controller Wire Standoff

The streamer attachment is easy enough.
A few inches down from the nose cone base, the streamer is taped to the shock cord.






TIP: The launch controller wire stand off should be dry assembled first before using glue. It took me two tries to get the right assembly order and the pieces lined up before gluing.




The long dowel sticks out the bottom balsa piece at an angle. It's not necessary to do this but I cut off the overhang.





The bottom lug and dowel ends were sanded flush after the glue dried.

We've all had boost gliders get hung up on the launcher, where the micro clips catch up on the elevon or rudder. With the controller wires tied at the top of the dowel, the clips are far off to the side as the rocket is launched. Follow the instructions for it's use and positioning on the launcher.

Estes Gryphon #7280 Build, Part 9, Mask & Paint

A strip of masking tape was pressed into the notch on the engine pod hook. I didn't want paint to stick to the glider body.





After the first white undercoat I noticed a few air bubbles and rough areas.
I used some glue on a toothpick to fill the bubbles and some filler/primer brushed on the rough areas.

There was still some open grain on the hook, Some CWF was rubbed in and sanded with 400 grit.

After this first white undercoat there is always some sanding on the rough areas and glue boogers.

Look close at the tip of the nose cone. There is a molding ridge at the tip. This was sanded smooth before spraying gloss black.

The shoulder ridge was filled with a Sharpie pen.

Estes Gryphon #7280 Build, Part 8, Gluing Up The Engine Pod

The filler/primer was scraped off where the hook assembly would be glued.



The hook is glued 1/2 forward of the tube end.

Flipping over the pod,
The launch lug is glued on the balsa finger on the other side.


Here's the lug glued in place. I didn't do any glue fillets, it would be difficult to to smooth them out with a finger along the top.

Your index finger would have to be very thin to fit into the BT-5 tube.

On the right side I'm marking the shock cord at 1" with a pencil. This is my depth gauge when gluing the tri-fold mount in the top end of the tube. 

I ended up using a dowel to lightly press and form the glued tri-fold mount in place.
Press lightly - the BT-5 tubes are thin and could be distorted when wet with glue.

Estes Gryphon #7280 Build, Part 7, Glider Assembly

A line of glue was set at the center of the canard. It was slid in place.

I looked straight on the front of the glider, the canard was canted at a slight angle.





TIP: Before the glue could set up, I slid a wedge of balsa into the joint to raise one side and straighten it out. The wedge was easily removed after the glue dried.

The finished glider ready for a coat of gloss light gray paint.

Moving back to the boost pod - 

The shoulder insert on the BT-5 sized nose cone had a raised ridge making it a rough slide into the body tube.
The ridge was sanded down with 220 grit on a block.

Estes Gryphon #7280 Build, Part 6, Wing Assembly

The wings were glued up on a flat, clean counter top.
Front two sides first,



Rear piece second.

Looking at the main body I did a dry fit check of the canard. It seemed too tight, probably because I have filled and primed the balsa before gluing it in.

A few passes with a flat diamond file opened up the slot and kept it square.

The two rudders are glued into the slot over the wing joint.

Use the alignment tool to get them at a 90 degree angle.






Both rudders were glued to the rear of the slot. This left an open spot at the bottom front.


FIX: For easier filling, I shaved a balsa wedge shim longer than needed.
It was glued into the hole, then cut off and sanded flat after the glue dried.

Here's the rudders in place with glue fillets applied.

Estes Gryphon #7280 Build, Part 5, Filler/Primer and Body Gluing

I'm building two Gryphon kits -
There was a LOT of balsa to prep and fill.

These pieces have already got a coat of CWF and sanded to surface. They are taped down to a cardboard scrap for a moderately heavy shot of filler/primer.
The hook piece (they look gray in the picture) are getting a second shot of filler/primer after sanding the laminates flat.

The main body pieces are glued up. Line up the front curve as close as you can.
All three pieces were clamped with the flipped clothes pins.






The finished main body assembly.

Like the hook assembly,
The three piece and rounded front end was sanded even and flat.



This will require another shot of CWF and filler/primer to close up any joint seams.

Mercury Little Joe Black Fin?

In 2003 I ordered a DVD from Mike Dorffler.
It was full of scale information and pictures of the Mercury Little Joe. I had always wanted to build this as a scale model but was never able to get enough information.

On the forums there was some discussion between Peter Alway and James Duffy about a mysterious black fin. James Duffy is an
authority on Mercury Little Joe scale builds.

As it turns out, three fins are silver. The remaining fin is orange on one side, black on the other. This is the only picture I could find of the black fin. Some thought this was a shadow.
The right side of this fin is pretty dark, the same density black as the capsule. The other side of this fin is painted orange.
This picture seems to be the Little Joe LJ5A or LJ5B.

Estes Gryphon #7280 Build, Part 4, Gluing up the Pod Hook

Pay close attention and do a few dry fits to get an idea how the hook is glued up.

Only the upper half of the outside pieces gets glue!

Here's one side showing the glue. Set the pieces side by side and draw a pencil line at the glue area border.

I used my flipped clothes pins to hold the laminated hook together wile the glue dried.

The front end of the hook was contour sanded with some 400 grit wrapped around a used engine casing.

After sanding I had to fill the seam left from the layered pieces.

Estes Gryphon #7280 Build, Part 3, Engine Hook Prep & Fill

Here's the engine pod "hook" parts.

That long finger extension on one side of the hook is delicate and can easily break off.
Later in the build the launch lug is glued on the extension.





All three pieces were filled with CWF then sprayed with filler/primer. Normally you would simply glue them together and fill afterwards, but this is s how model. I had to have every inside edge filled and clean.

In the picture I'm filling the inside corners for a smoother look. I used a diamond file to get inside the corners.




I also hit the pieces with a shot of filler/primer before gluing them together.  I usually sand to surface leaving very little filler/primer. The two side pieces were only sprayed on the outside leaving bare balsa for a better glue bond.
Doing it this way also involved more filling later -

Snap Swivel Attachment

On YORF, David Stribling posted some scanned instructions for the TLP Hawk kit.
The Launch Pad instructions are clean and to the point -

TLP Hawk Instructions 1: CLICK HERE
TLP Hawk Instructions 2: CLICK HERE

Here's yet another way to attach a snap swivel to the parachute shroud lines:
It's more difficult to get the lines through the small end loop. This is the way Estes would have you attach the lines to a nose cone eyelet or screw eye, except at the snap swivel. It allows you to remove or change out the parachute if needed.

NOTE: The Launch Pad company (Kits and designs) are for sale!
Check out their large variety of missiles, over 50 kits! CLICK HERE

Estes Gryphon #7280 Build, Part 2, Cleaning Up The Laser Cut Balsa

I'll be building this model for Estes as a "show" model. You probably shouldn't fill and paint a glider, the extra weight cuts down the flight duration. This one will be filled and painted.

Looking close at the booster engine tube "hook", there is some laser cut wiggles. These should be cleaned up before assembly.

Look close at the lower right of the wing halves. There is a small curved corner. Be careful not to sand this off -





As with most laser cut parts, the cut is a "wedge", wider at the bottom of the flat balsa sheet.
Square these edges up with a sanding block being careful not to change the shape or make the pieces smaller.






The "H" piece is an Alignment Tool. It's handy to have in a kit like this, giving you perfect 90 degree alignment of the glider parts.

Great Fin Alignment Idea

On TRF, Gary Saito posted a few pictures of his New Way rockets Flat Boy build. At first glance this looks like a rocket sitting on a stand.

"Since I didn't have a fin jig for a square tube I used the legs of the display stand and line of sight to align the fins."

Viewed from the rear - 

"Here's a couple of pics showing visual alignment of fins using the legs of a display stand. For four fins I use Qualmann's, for three fins it's Estes. However the Qualmann stands are made of fiberboard, so the squareness may vary depending on how carefully it was put together." 

Gary Saito

Thanks Gary! I love this tip - Simple and Brilliant!

Estes Gryphon #7280 Build, Part 1, Parts

I want to call this one "Gry-fon" but it is pronounced "Griffin".
From Wikipedia: The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and sometimes an eagle's talons as its front feet."





Here's the kit parts in the bag -

Some have posted they see a resemblance to the OOP Edmonds Aerospace kits. The new Gryphon is a rear wing, canard design but that's where the similarities end.

Also included in the kit is the Launch Controller Wire Standoff. This standoff helps hold the controller wires and clips away from the lower wings of the glider. A smart addition.
On the right are the black and white decals.

Estes Sasha Build #7271, Finished

This is a BIG, impressive design!

I had to take it outside for the overall picture (above) but for some reason it photographed blue! I did my best to get the colors back. I didn't look at the picture until after the two Sasha builds were sent off to Estes.

I think this is going to be a big seller for Estes. The upper stage bears a resemblance to the ESAM-58 Hobby Lobby exclusive kit.






I hit the green main body and fins with a dull coat. The nose cone and nozzle were left gloss light gray.

Estes Sasha Build #7271, Part 14, Upper Stage Paint & Decals

TIP: To keep the decal placement consistent on all sides of the fins, make a tracing with a cutout for the star. I also drew a box for the fin flap decal.









The fin flap decal wraps underneath the low edge of the large fin.








I missed some paint on the body tube ends.
Some green was sprayed in a cup and the paint rolled on the edge with a Q-tip.






After all the decals, the green body was hit with an acrylic dull coat. The nose cone and tail cone will be left glossy.

TIP: Before spraying on the dull clear, a moist paper towel picked up all the water spots left after the decals.






The screw-on engine retainer ring was glued on using the Beacon Fabri-Tac glue.