Sunday, January 16, 2022

Estes Skylab #001973, Build, Part 31, Finished










Whew! Another finished Saturn V, this time the Skylab version.
Here's the front and back views.












With the newer two piece plastic fins, the low end is much stronger than the previous Centuri vacu-form fins.

The internal crescent fairing reinforcements help strengthen the fairing assemblies.


The middle reduction transition.












The Third Stage Wrap is the most difficult to mask and paint.
There are no shortcuts - You'll have to use the info found on page 12 of the instructions. It's sometimes easier to use the Metric measurements.







The new nose cone section. 

7 comments:

  1. Niiiice :-) Are you going to fly it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Leo,
      Nope - not a flyer! This one is being sent to Estes on Monday.

      Delete
  2. What a beautiful rocket. The Estes 1/100 scale Saturns are impressive to behold when finished.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jimmy,
      Yep they are impressive, but most 4" diameter rockets are a little BIG for me.

      Delete
  3. Chris,

    I'm building an Estes Saturn V Apollo 11 Limited Edition on and on for about 2 years and just began masking and painting the wraps.Can you suggest the best way to mask the corrugated wraps and what paint to use. I had bad runs on mush of the despite detail in applying in the grooves. It was very deflating but I think I can rebuild the damaged wraps.. I used spray enamel and some areas came out smooth but others started to melt the wraps. I have to remove and reapply the hardest middle wrap and sure not looking forward to all of that cutting. If I try again I certainly want to make sure I succeed.

    What is the best for the corrugated wraps and what paint for the black. I don't understand why the black melted when I sprayed the entire assembly in white enamel in the combination paint/primer without any problem even if sprayed thick in spots.

    Really appreciate any help. Especially with tale that will have good adhesion on the correlations without paint leaking under it.

    Thanks,

    Bryan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Bryan,
      I didn't try to push masking tape into the corrugations. Instead I outline the black areas with a ultra fin point Sharpie. Then the masking tape application isn't so critical. Paint must be sprayed directly over the masked areas - not from the sides. https://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com/2018/01/estes-saturn-v-mask-tip.html
      Here's the entire build from finished model to start: https://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com/search/label/1969

      It's tough to say what happened to your wraps. There may have been some solvents in the enamel. Lately I've been using the Ace Hardware Premium Enamel with good results.

      Delete