New Way Mars Snooper II, Build, Part 5, Parachute Assembly

The New Way kit shroud line tie/reinforcements are interesting. They are Tyvek and can't be torn. There is adhesive under the "dots" but not under the narrow folded bridge.

There are holes punched in the white chute plastic.

Center and press the round side directly over the punched hole.

Fold it over and stick the underside centered directly over the the hole.

The folded extension will hang over the edge of the white plastic a little bit. 

When I build a New Way kit, I always try to use the suggested knot. I find it hard to tie so I went with my usual Square Knot.

The shroud lines seemed very long, almost too long. 

I passed the ends through the small loop in the screw eye and tied them off. The excess was cut off.

New Way Mars Snooper II, Build, Part 4, Nose Cone Prep

Clay nose weight is provided.

I rolled it into a conical shape for an easy insertion into the nose cone.

The clay was tamped and leveled with the flat end of the supplied dowel.

The plastic nose cone had a flattened top.

The tip was rounded with some sandpaper.

The nose cone shoulder lip was slightly wider than the upper BT-20 tube.

This was reduced with some 220 grit on a sanding block.

The base of the nose cone is glued in place.

I used Beacon Fabri-Tac glue.
 

New Way Mars Snooper II, Build, Part 3, Engine Mount

I used one of the 20/50 rings as an edge to draw a line around the center of the engine tube for the strap placement.

The engine hook notch is made, 1/4" down from the top. Insert the engine hook upper bend.

Glue was spread over the back of the cardstock wrap. The centering ring was slipped on and used as a edge for straight placement of the strap.

The instructions say to glue the upper ring even with the end of the body tube. I wanted a stronger hold on the engine hook. 

The ring was notched to slide halfway over the top of the engine hook.

The rear ring can be slid into the BT-50 body tube to keep the split end closed as the glue dries.

The lower split ring can be glued even with the bottom of the tube.

This flat ring surface will be exposed on the finished model. The ring would be rough and absorb some paint.

I coated the ring with a light application of white glue and let it dry.

The dried glue surface was sanded smooth with 400 grit. Don't get any glue inside the tube.

The sanded glue coat "seals" the ring end and should look smooth when spray painted.

NOTE to Beginners: Wood glue can work as a cardstock edge and ring "sealer" as shown above. Wood glue will not work well for filling balsa. Occasionally I see a posted picture where a new builder coats the fin surfaces with glue, thinking it will fill grain and seal the wood. The results after painting are never good.

When a wood worker mentions sealing wood, he is treating the wood so it can't absorb water. Wood glues are water based and can still soften from exposure to water.

Spray painting wood and body tubes will effectively seal the surfaces. Filling and sealing before spray painting will yield a better finish and a stronger build. 

New Way Mars Snooper II, Build, Part 2, More Parts

The kit includes two copies of the cardstock shrouds and pieces.

I wish more kits included more than a single shroud giving a second chance to get it right.

More on the card stock shroud fit later on - 

The small BT-5 ram jet nose cones are 3D printed.

There are five short launch lugs.

Two are glued in line for the launch rod,

the other three are used on the landing legs.

These are sealed in the smallest bag I've ever seen in a kit.

New Way Mars Snooper II, Build, Part 1, Parts

The instructions set-up old school, printed on 8 1/2" x 11" and folded in half.

On the right is the parts picture - lots of parts in this one!

New Way Space Models are known for their square tube kits. This one is considered a "Replica Rocket and uses more conventional round tubes.

Everything is in separate bags.

On the left is the small parts,

On the right are the sandpaper, emery board and Q-tips. A nice addition in the New Way kits.

Six tubes in total, all nested and bagged up.

New Way Mars Snooper II, Build Background

The original Mars Snooper was introduced in the 1966 Estes Catalog.

At the time it was one of the more challenging builds.

Plenty of multi piece fins, seven balsa nose cones and adapter, three cardstock shrouds and eight balsa vanes. Fitting that long launch lug through three shrouds was difficult!  

The original Mars Snooper continued in production for nine years until 1974.

The Mars Snooper II made it's debut in 1975.

The three nozzle shrouds were reduced to two. The upper fins were now one piece and glued on the lower tube. The two pieces of the lower fins are close in shape to the original design. The eight engine vanes remained but were now die-cut from thick cardstock. 

Three BT-5 fuel pods were topped with ramjet nose cones from the Mini Bomarc kit. The rear nose cones are replaced with simulated landing legs.

The paint was simplified with no difficult masking. The entire model is painted gloss red except for the white dowel legs. All decals are printed in white.

The Mars Snooper II was an easier build than the previous version. Fewer nose cones, and no balsa vanes to fill. 

It stayed in production for five years until 1980.

                

The build starts tomorrow!

Odd'l Rockets F-104 Recovery Suggestion

This is similar to a suggested recovery on the original Centuri Fighter Fleet Jets.

Alternative Recovery:

To have the jet recover horizontally and lessen the chance of fin or wing damage:

1. Glue the engine mount in so the engine hook is at the top, nearest the rudder.

2. Tie the nose cone onto the shock cord, leaving two inches of the elastic cord. Tie the parachute shroud lines to the end of the elastic.

3. Tie some excess shroud line (you will have some left over from the parachute assembly) to the engine hook. Then tie 

to the shock cord at the balance point, 

where the model hangs horizontally.

The string should be long enough to lay outside and down the body tube during boost. After the parachute and shock cord are in the body tube, the string will end up between the body tube and nose cone shoulder.

Estes EAC Firecat #0821, Build, After Thoughts, A Fix & Comparison

Naoto Kimura wrote in a comment:

"A potential "gotcha" with regards to the launch lug -- the launch lug needs to be offset from the side of the main body tube to make sure the launch rod clears the nosecone (something that the instructions does not state explicitly)."

You know me - I follow the directions!

I should have taken the bulbous nose cone diameter and launch rod clearance into consideration. 

Bar Geezer followed: 

"I glued mine inside the pod on the other side of the pylon. Gives enough clearance for the nose cone and hides the lug."

I ended up doing the same thing! Placed inside the pod the launch lug isn't seen.

I set a line of glue down a 1/8" diameter launch lug. Tweezers were used to place the lug inside the pod. 

Out of curiosity -

I placed the nose cone from the Estes Mini John kit next to the my new BMS balsa Firecat nose cone. The profile is almost the same except for the indented nozzles and lines. 
 

Quest/Enerjet Big Dog Q5010, Finished

I tried four different shades of reds on the nose cone - this was as close as I got to matching the transparency of the wrap sticker. I can usually get a better color match than this! The instructions simply say to paint it red.

The paw print stickers only cover two facing fins. I would have liked to see two more on the opposite side.

It's interesting where the wrap overlaps. Where there is two layers of the red sticker, it doubles the opacity and matches the nose cone paint.

And a final shot of the nose cone -

Quest/Enerjet Big Dog, #Q5010, Build Part 5, More Stickers

Here the rocket body is turned over.

I'm working out water drops under the surface.

You should try to work out the water as you are wrapping from the center name out. Set down the center of the sticker and work around the tube slowly, pressing out the water and any air as you go.

I used another piece of penciled masking tape for a centering guide for the "dots" vertical sticker and the horizontal "BD" sticker.

Both of these two stickers are centered between the two fins and on the opposite launch lug side.

TIP: Set the large body wrap to purposely overlap the top of the tube. The overlap is cut off using a new razor blade using a small sawing back and forth motion.

The white lip of the body tube is colored with a red Sharpie.

The "Paw Print" stickers go on the fins.

Like the Estes Big Daddy, there are only two stickers to be placed on facing one side.

These are big sharp graphics. I just wish there were another set to place on the opposite side.

Quest/Enerjet Big Dog, #Q5010, Build Part 4, Red Paint, Re-Paint & Stickers

The nose cone color could be a problem.

The instructions say to paint the nose cone red - but the sticker placed underneath isn't a true red.

Setting the big wrap sticker over white paint gives a lighter shade of red that doesn't quite match the paint on the nose cone.

Normally I'm lucky and can find a color that matches the stickers. The picture on the right shows a bright Rusto 2X Apple Red. This color turned out much darker than the red ink in the sticker. 

I ended up spraying the nose cone with a lighter shade of red, Rusto Poppy Seed. This was a satin finish that needed a gloss clear coat to shine it up.

This Poppy Seed Red was still darker than the sticker, but closer. 

I tried four different reds and the Poppy Seed red was the lightest.

After refilling some small grain lines in the fins, I had to do a re-shoot of the gloss white.

Instead of painting the entire body tube (it's a tall model) I find it easier to mask off the body tube and just spray the fins.

PLAN AHEAD before setting down the large wrap sticker.

The name should center between two fins on the opposite side of the launch lug.

Notice the masking tape wrap with the centerline marked in pencil. The wrap of tape helps me set the wrap base on straight.

I had to start this at the centerline of the BIG DOG name and work back to the launch lug side.

 

Wet the upper body tube with a finger where the sticker will go.

Remove the sticker from the backing and dip it entirely into a shallow bowl of water.

Shake off some of the excess water.

Use the water dip ONLY on plastic stickers.

Start the wrap at the center pencil line on the tape wrap.

Smooth out and remove excess water as you go.

Use the masking tape line as a guide for the low edge of the sticker.

With any luck - 

The right and left sides will meet in the back with about 1/8" overlap.

Quest/Enerjet Big Dog, #Q5010, Build Part 3, White Paint

After the first coat dried - 

Enlarge the picture and you can see some balsa grain still visible.

Once in a great while, my two-step grain fill process still leaves some grain. 

Here I've rubbed a very thin coat of CWF into the leftover grain pores with a fingertip.

Make this final fill just enough to make for easy sanding. Exposed  CWF can dull a gloss finish.

Shown earlier - I apply masking tape around the inside edges of the 50mm tube. Then roll and stuff a paper towel to keep the engine mount unpainted and clean.

In the upper end of the 2" diameter tube I rolled up some corrugated cardboard to make a spraying handle.

After sanding,

I lightly brush off any dust using a cheap chip brush.

Some prefer using tack cloths, but I have had some leave some sticky residue on the surface. The brush seems to clean just as well.

This is an easy paint job - The body is white, the nose cone is red.

More on the red paint coming up.

Quest/Enerjet Big Dog, #Q5010, Build Part 2, Fin & Launch Lug Gluing

The fin marking guide in the instructions sheet didn't meet up when wrapped around the tube.

I have let Quest/Aerotech know and they are  correcting that error.

I went to payloadbay.com and then to "Tools". then "Fin Wrap Tool".

TIP: Even though the Quest website says the outside diameter is 1.97", I found a better fit when I entered 4 fins and 1.98" diameter.

The above picture shows the fins after a CWF fill, then a filler/primer coat and sanding.

Notice that near the the root edge the fin has the filler/primer sanded down to the CWF filler underneath. This gives a stronger bond of the glue fillets.

I had to go back and re-pencil in the alignment lines.

On the right are the four fins in place. 

Note the paper towel stuffed into the rear to keep the paint out.

The 3/16" diameter x 2 1/2" long launch lug is glued onto the body tube between two fins and 10" from the bottom of the tube.

Quest/Enerjet Big Dog, #Q5010, Build Part 1, Engine Mounts

This will be a quick "highlight" build, a large four fin model using standard building techniques. 

Here's probably the tallest of the Quest Advanced Kits, it stands over 32" tall. 

This uses the 50mm tube, a little heavier walled than usual.

The fins are laser cut from hard balsa.

The instructions mention an 18" fabric parachute. My kit included a yellow 16" chute.

Here's one of the two Letramax centering rings.

This is the upper ring. I punched a small half circle to pass the doubled Kevlar line through.

Here's the 29mm engine mount in place, glued and filleted.

This is a picture from farther along in the build when the fins were glued onto the body tube and white paint applied.

The purple tube is a spacer that goes into the 29mm mount to move the 24mm engine mount farther back.

Both the 29mm and 24mm mounts are included in the kit.
 

Firecat - Goonycat!

From the Estes Model Rockets Facebook page: 

Stan Lee McKiernan posted:

“With all the Firecats being built with the Mini-Hojo,  

I thought my Gooniecat would only be appropriate to add.”

Great! Now I feel the need to build a GoonyCat!

Estes EAC Firecat #0821, Build, Finished

This could be one of my favorite designs. 

The Estes Aerospace Club got a second (and final) exclusive kit, available only to EAC members.

A great kit bash and helped Estes reduce some inventory. One of the better SPEVs.

The back end from the top,

and the bottom red side.

From one side -

It's hard to make out the small decal positions from the online instruction drawings.

Take your best guesses, there is no wrong here.

That long half-half nose cone mask is hard to get straight. 

Setting the U. S. AIRFORCE  centered on the mask line is brilliant!

This could be part of the Estes Designer Series kits. It's a beautiful design with a great back story.

Add this design to my favorite builds - 

The Dr. Zooch Saturn V, Quest FLV, Sirius 18mm Interrogator and ASP 18mm Corporal.