Sunday, August 25, 2024

Enerjet by Aerotech, Astrobee D Build, Part 19, Fin Tip Lift Fix




Like the leading edge sticker lift,

The rolled over tip of the strip was starting to lift.
This would show as a swelling on the finished model.










A drop of medium CA was set on scrap cardboard.
I dipped the tip of an old X-Acto blade into the CA.

The glue was dragged down into the open gap.






The gap was pinched between my thumb and forefinger while covered with a paper towel.

Pull up as you squeeze the sides together so the paper towel absorbs any glue that is worked out.








Here's the formed tip with the sticker swelling glued down.

This had to be done on all four fins.



4 comments:

  1. I've had one of these in my build stack that I picked up maybe ten years ago or so. What's your thoughts on replacing those with a traced paper replacement instead, bearing in mind the difference in the two materials?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Anonymous,
      You probably could use a paper replacement and that thought did cross my mind. But this is a kit build for Aerotech/Quest so I'm following directions and using kit supplied parts and stickers.

      Delete
  2. I wonder if there would've been less of an adhesion problem if the underlying paint was gloss rather than flat?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Naoto,
      That adhesion on flat finishes applies more with water slide decals. I did some testing with a scrap piece of clear (from the sticker sheet in the kit) and it didn't look foggy or "blue".

      Delete