Sorry, no posts for a few days -

 I've got more Odd'l Rockets kit orders than I can handle right now -

Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Finished

This is one of those kits that comes alive when the decals are applied. A winning visual combination - Big graphics in three colors.

The top of the wings - 

The bottom of the wings with the landing gear doors.

The top and bottom views of the nose - 

I don't know what these red rectangles are but they fill some space! Many kits don't supply many decals on the underside.

Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Part 18, Decals

The upper wing decals - 

Set the black rectangles down first.

The red/black stripes should fit close but not over the leading and trailing edges of the wing. The rear of the decal almost matches the curve of the trailing edge.

Notice how the long window decal is cut out at the front end to clear the canards (finlets).

Before you set the decal down - 

Be sure the canards are in line with the wing. VERY IMPORTANT!

The nose cone is slid all the way in, against the end of the body tube.

Set the decal down, it will overlap the nose cone / body tube end.

After the decal dries, cut at the body tube / nose cone joint.

Here's the underside of the body and nose cone.

Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Part 17, Adding The Second "Finlet"

I drew a pencil line for the second finlet by sighting down the nose cone tip.

This seemed iffy, I matched the straight angle by matching the knife angle to the finlet in the nose cone.

Removing the finlet you can see the slot that was crushed into the balsa. It's actually pretty clean, a tight fit.

The second finlet is pressed into it's slot.

I was lucky - the alignment is good.

After adjusting the height of the finlets, there was a small gap at the bottom of one slot.

A wedge of balsa was cut and pressed into the void. The edges of the finlets should be rounded.

Here's the two nose cones (balsa above the 3D print) compared side by side. If the balsa cone were filled and painted I doubt you could tell the difference. The basswood finlets are a little thicker.

They are the same length, there is a little photo distortion.

Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Part 16, Making a "Finlet" Nose Cone

If you don't have a plastic PNC-50S nose cone (with the finlets) You can make one using a BNC-50Y balsa nose cone and some 1/16" thick basswood.

When researching this build, I checked the old Vashon Sandpiper instructions. To see them, CLICK HERE

The balsa nose cone gets a slot cut, and the tapered canard root edge is pushed into the slot. 

I thought this would be iffy, but I had an extra BNC-50Y nose cone to experiment with.

The finlets (or canards) pattern is on the PDF available to Patreon subscribers.

The Vashon kit used balsa, but I'd recommend using stiffer basswood.

Cut out the pattern and trace onto 1/16" thick basswood.

The distance behind the trailing edge of the finlet to the shoulder lip is just under 1 3/4".

Mark a straight line with pencil the length of the root edge.

Mark the depth of the exposed root edge on the finlet.

Using a sanding block, sand a sharp taper to the inset tab.

Cut a slit about the depth of the inset tab. There is no need to cut and remove balsa.

Cut another slit on both sides, just to the side of the first slit. Side by side, the three slits are about 1/32" in width.

You should be able to press in the tapered tab up the root edge pencil line.

Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Part 15, Decals Ready For Patreon Members

The Aries SST decals are available to Patreon supporters.

You can request the decals at: oddlrockets@bellsouth.net

There are usually extras on my decal sheets. These are for soak time and transfer testing. Extras also fill out the sheet.

On the second PDF are the fin patterns and shrouds. The shrouds are marked for a better, closer trim if you decide to round the leading and trailing edges of the wings.

Another PDF, just released is the Estes BT-50 based Sandpiper. The Air Force logos have white decal underlay patterns.

This is a double decal sheet.

A second page holds the fin templates and shrouds.

If you are a Patreon subscriber, ask for the Estes Sandpiper PDF through: oddlrockets@bellsouth.net

If you don't have access to a 3D printer -  in an upcoming post -

I'll show how to make the "finned" nose cone using a balsa cone and thin basswood (or ply).

Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Part 14, Moving The Launch Lug

On the flipside (underside) - 

Pencil mark the lug line, the ends just inside the 2 3/8" lug length.

Using a straightedge, cut some very shallow lines just into the paint.

Scrape off the paint, it will chip off between the scribed lines.

The same launch lug was glued on to the scraped area.

With the lug in the right place, 

now I can sleep at night!

Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Part 13, Moving The Launch Lug

I got the launch lug placement wrong! 

I'm usually on top of these things, but for whatever reason the launch lug was glued on the top when it should have gone on the underside. 

    

I didn't glue fillet the lug, so the removal was fairly easy.

The glue that was left was sanded off using 400 grit.

Mask off the area just around the glue sanded area.

Notice the edges of the masking tape are raised so the sprayed paint will feather in instead of having a sharp edge.

Carefully spray just the open area -

After the paint dries, light sanding follows. Another coat may follow if the surface isn't smooth.

Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Part 12, White Paint

Assembly is complete except for the parachute and shock cord ties.

Time for paint! Note the dowel/engine casing painting wand locked in the engine mount. I tend to leave this handle in through much of the build, paint and decal placement. It's easier to hold and not as risky for fingerprints.

This shows some of the spots where the sanding has removed glue blobs. The intake fillet also had some high spots. 

I've been using Ace Premium Enamel (Ace Hardware brand) spray paint for a while now. Shoot when humidity is low, around 2:30 in the afternoon. 

The Ace paint dries to the touch in about an hour, recoat within an hour or after 48 hours.

After one hour I was able to handle the model and do the initial undercoat sanding shown above.

Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Part 11, Gluing On Launch Lug & Rudders

I no longer waste time with glue fillets on the sides of launch lugs. That glue line was straightened and the width narrowed by pinching your thumb and index finger together. 

Run your finger "V" down the lug making a straight, narrow glue line. 

Carefully place the lug with the glue on the pencil line, 1 3/4" from the rear of the main body tube.

Here's the rudders glued onto the wing tips.

Assembly is finished, ready for white undercoats.

Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Part 10, Fitting The Rudders To The Wing

Stack the rudder assemblies to be sure the glued angles are consistent.

If they don't line up, apply a little warmth with the low setting on a heat gun and gently bend at the glue joint to match the other rudder assembly. 

On the outside (visual) seam,

Drag some CWF down the joint and immediately smooth and remove excess with a fingertip.

Sand after the CWF dries.

The outside side seam is sanded flat for a stronger glue joint against the edge of the wing.

Use a sanding block but don't go any wider the the 3/32" thickness of the wing.

Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Part 9, Sanding The Rudder Edge Angle

The root edges of the rudder fins have to be sanded at an angle.

Mark the flat root edges shading with the side of a soft pencil.

The picture on the right shows the angle sand about halfway through. The pencil shading gives a better contrast so you can sand the line evenly.

I'd recommend using a sanding block, like the Estes Ultimate Sanding Bar. To reach a 3/4" dihedral height, the sanding angle is not very steep. 

On the right, you can see what's left of the pencil line. Sand until the pencil shading is gone - no further.

With a weight on one side of the rudder assembly,

Raise the other outside edge to 3/4".

Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Part 8, Engine Mount & Re-gluing A Wing

The Kevlar, elastic and heat shrink wrap are pushed down and through the engine mount for gluing into the main body tube.

With the Kevlar line, shock cord and heat shrink tube out the back of the engine mount - 

To get the lines out the top, I made a hook out of a coat hanger. Slide it into the top, hook the wire on the shock cord and pull through the front of the tube.

 

After the glue set up on the wings I double checked the alignment. It was off, enough that one wing was cut off and repositioned.

Be sure to cut into the glue, not into the tube when removing a fin.

The engine ribs are glued 3/8" from the root edge.

I cut a strip of tape, 3/8" wide to use as an alignment line.

The picture shows a dry fit, no glue yet.

Note the rear of the rib, it overhangs the rounded trailing edge. The back end of the rib was sanded back, just to the start of the rounded edge.

Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Part 7, Engine Shrouds

A comment by Naoto K. has proved true!

Those round leading and trailing edges cause the engine shrouds to overhang the balsa.

With the front of the shroud pulled back a little from the rounded edge, the rear of the cardstock overhangs the trailing edge.

I tried the fit of the shrouds over the middle rib.

The rib height is good, at 3/8" away from the root edge, it's just a hair off center.

I trimmed back the back side of the shroud to better fit at the rounded trailing edges.

The rounded wing trailing edge also required trimming back the middle rib.

There was some surface cracks at the sharp folds. The thicker the cardstock, the more likely the folds can start to break up.

I brushed on a thin coat of white glue, keeping the glue on the fold, not down the sides.

After the glue dries, some light sanding can smooth some of it out.

Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Part 6, Engine Shrouds

I wanted to make the shrouds out of something a little thicker than the regular 110 lb. cardstock. I had some thin posterboard for years, it's about time to use it! It's also shinier on one side - perfect!

The templates were printed on cardstock, the posterboard would be too thick to run through the printer. Shrouds were traced onto the the posterboard with a sharp pencil. Fold lines were added.

Emboss the folds before cutting out the shroud.

I always use a un-serrated butter knife tip and a metal straightedge. 

Gently coax the folds little by little to keep the the edge clean. I did get some slight breaking of the paper fibers. More on this in the next post.

The fold was worked in over my aluminum angle, rubbing the line with a burnisher.

The right and left engine shrouds, almost ready for assembly.

There will be some adjustments when fitting to the model.

Estes Aries SST, #1927, Build, Part 5, Fin Grain Filling

The balsa pieces and launch lug were first filled with CWF and sanded to surface using 400 grit.

All pieces were taped down to cardboard for some spraying with filler/primer.

While the filler/primer was still wet, you can see the remaining balsa grain that should disappear after sanding.

I still had a few small spots where the grain was deep.

Some CWF was pressed on using a finger.

The pic on the right side shows the same wing after sanding to surface. The balsa is filled and sealed.