Estes Galactic Taxi #1914 Finished

This was fun - except for the decals!
The first print of the online scan couldn't be used. The print art was fuzzy.
On the second print, cold temperatures prevented the clear coats from going on smooth. On a few of the decals, small specs of the print dissolved in the soak water. If they fit, I'll usually print two full sets and some extras on one sheet. I ended up using the extra decals to get two finished models.
The added black in the decals helps define the final look.
The picture on the lower left was taken before I added the orange decals to the bottom of the wing.
With the card stock wing fairings the model profile is out of the ordinary.
This should be a good small field flyer using an A8-3 or A6-4.

Estes Galactic Taxi #1914, Part 12, Ends and Edges

The underside of the model is too plain - just yellow! It needed a second color.





I had some extra decals (I always print more than needed for occasions like this) and added the orange trim to the bottom of the wings. It's just enough to give the underside some interest.

The top picture is the top side of the rocket, the inset picture is the bottom view with added decals.


The shock cord was attached to the Kevlar.
The elastic is tied to the screw eye with a Duncan Uni-Knot.

The 12" parachute snap swivel is joined to the elastic on a overhand loop knot 1/3 the way down from the nose cone tie.
If you are new to the blog - Why tie the parachute 1/3 the way down the shock cord and not to the base of the nose cone?
This stops the nose cone from swinging in and out of the shroud lines during recovery and prevents tangles.

Estes Galactic Taxi #1914 Build Part 11, Nozzle Trim

The back end of the fairings didn't get paint on the inside corners.
Some of the same yellow used on the body was sprayed into a small cup. I went back with a brush and  hit all the light areas.





The nozzle was also yellow. I wanted to add a bit more trim.
I pulled out the old roll of Contact blackboard material. It's an adhesive backed flat black vinyl.





A strip was cut and rolled around the exposed engine tube.
TIP: Lift the engine hook and start the trim strip under the hook. After rolling around the tube, the end of the wrap was pressed under the engine hook hiding the joint seam.
Once in place, the engine hook pressure will keep the ends stuck down.

Estes Galactic Taxi #1914 Build Part 10, Yellow Paint and Decals

The model gets an coat of bright yellow.
That's it! All yellow, no masking.

I always shoot the inside areas that might not get full paint coverage first. Then shoot the entire model overall yellow.




I printed up the decal scan that was on oldrocketplans.com. That print is on the left, the new version is on the right.

I wasn't happy with how they printed up. The scan picked some yellowing and that showed up on the home print decal.
Some of the edges were blurred so I did a re-draw.

The decals were green and orange! A green canopy window?
I did add some black to the mix, just a little.
It's not an exact match, but who cares?





Here's a closeup, the first print on the left, the new print on the right.
On the left you can see some of the slight scan discoloration. I was concerned the border areas wouldn't be clear.
Again, not exact but the transfers will be cleaner.

Estes Galactic Taxi #1914 Build Part 9, Cleaning Up The Undercoat

When the white undercoat dried I could see the glue fillets when held up to the light.
These would show after the yellow color coats. All the shiny glue fillets got a light sanding with 400 grit.
Any fuzzies on the card stock were also lightly sanded.

There were still glue blobs on the fillet areas. This shows how it looked after sanding.
The whole model got another white undercoat to even out the white.

There are lots of nooks on this model. Some areas didn't get full coverage of the white undercoat.
Rather than re-spraying (and adding more weight -)
I sprayed some white in a small mixing cup. A Q-tip was dipped in the paint and a bit of excess wiped off. The paint was rolled on by spinning the Q-tip between my fingers.

Estes Galactic Taxi #1914 Build Part 8, Trim and Antenna

There may have been some different shaped toothpicks in the original kit. I've never seen flat, curved toothpicks. I'll use the rounded ones I already have.

The toothpicks were cut a little long so when glued on the end could overhang the back of the "post".





The overhang was sanded even matching the angled cut of the post.

The instruction illustrations didn't really match the shape of the kit fins.

The launch lug was glued even with the front end of the low fin.

I was afraid this might happen.
Sometimes when you redraw from a sketchy scan, slight changes can effect the fit.

Here the front end of the fairing is too long leaving a gap at the leading edge of the wing fin. I'll have to redraw and print new fairings.

Estes Galactic Taxi #1914 Build Part 7, Primer and Sanding

The balsa pieces were filled with CWF and sanded smooth.
Here they were taped to cardboard for a shot of primer/filler.

Shoot one side and let dry.
You can flip them over and stick them down to the same piece of tape to spray the other side.

Here's the body tube and nose cone after the primer/filler was sanded to surface. You can see where the primer/filler is left in the seams and small recesses left after the CWF filler.

The fin positions are marked.
The primer filler will be scraped off where any gluing will be done.

Estes Galactic Taxi #1914 Build Part 6, Forming Cardstock

To pre-emboss the folds in card stock I use the back side of a single edge razor blade. The rolled over metal is tight and rounded.

Tape over the blade side with a few wraps of masking tape.
TIP: Set the back embossing side of the blade down on the dotted line first. Then slide the ruler up to the blade. This will compensate for the thickness of the embossing tool.

The backside of a Sharpie pen was used to make a sharp fold over the already embossed lines.






The fairing support pieces are scored first.
Start the fold over the side of your straightedge (upper right).
Finish and sharpen the fold with the Sharpie barrel.

The canopy looks pretty strange before scoring and folding to shape.
While the glue dries, the tabs are held down with long tweezers.
You need very little glue on card stock shrouds or canopy tabs.

Estes Galactic Taxi #1914 Build Part 5, Engine Mount Fitting

Both ends of the main tube got a wipe of medium CA glue.

After it dried the hardened ends got a light sanding with 400 grit.






The kit instructions have you glue in the mount so both tubes are even. On a 20/50 mount this doesn't allow enough space for engine hook movement without pressing against the outside tube. (On left)

I decided to let the mount tube extend 1/4" beyond the end of the main tube for more hook flexibility. (see inset picture)

Estes Galactic Taxi #1914 Build Part 4, Engine Mount

Anytime you get the black Letramax centering rings be sure to wipe down the laser burnt sides. Otherwise the black ash will get on everything it touches.

Two 20/50 rings were laminated together to form a single thicker ring.

Slide the rings down the engine mount tube for perfect alignment while they dry. Be sure they aren't glued to the tube - yet.

The rings were slotted for an easier fit over the engine hook.

The Kevlar got a small loop knot and was slipped under the upper bend of the engine hook before the upper ring was glued in place.
This is the way many Semroc kit engine mounts are assembled.

The top end of the mount also got an engine block.
Here's the finished mount.

Estes Galactic Taxi #1914 Build Part 3, Fins

I didn't have any 3/32" balsa so I glued up some scraps to make a full sheet.
Two of these pieces were leftover sides from some Estes kit laser cut fin sheets.

After the glue dried the new flat sheet was sanded flat with a block.

The low "Ventral" fin grain surprised me. That extension on the lower left looked too easy to break off. I cut a separate piece with the grain going in a better direction.

Here's all the fins cut out.
Some strange shapes here.

The instruction drawings of the fins aren't accurately drawn.
Pay very close attention to the leading edges, they are the only edges that are rounded.
The fins are confusing to glue on correctly. It helps that some leading edges are rounded for forward positioning reference.

Estes Galactic Taxi #1914 Build Part 2, Parts

All the parts were assembled from my spare parts stash. I didn't buy anything new.
The only new parts will be the printed card stock and decal sheets.

Above you can see the new drawn fin pattern, shroud and canopy printed on 110 lb. card stock.
The balsa fin stock should be 3/32" thick. The sheet I found turned out to be 1/8" thick. Presently I don't have any 3/32" balsa. More on that later.

The kit used the 1/4" thick green 20/50 centering rings. I couldn't find those but had plenty of the BMS Letramax rings. These will be laminated to make two complete rings.
The red 12" chute was one of the transition parachutes Estes included in kits while the print ink problem was worked out.

The body tube I used is BT-50H or heavy walled BT-50 tubing. I hate regular thickness BT-50 tubing, it's just too weak and prone to crimping.
While the kit used a plastic blow molded nose cone I substituted a balsa Alpha style nose cone. The lip was wide enough to evenly cover the outside diameter of the thicker BT-50H tube.

Here's a test fit of the original online fin fairing around the BT-50H tube. This is not my redrawn pieces.
Before forming the fold line was scored. It's difficult to fold a sharp tip like this. It's a little easier creasing it over a straightedge.

With the rear former glued in place the fairing sits neatly around the BT-50H tube.

Estes Galactic Taxi #1914 Build Part 1, Background

Here's a rare one produced from 1983 - 84.
I thought it would be different because of the card stock fin fairings. That rear canopy is another feature.
For a while Estes had a few models with card stock flared ends like the Delta Wedge, #1931.



After looking over the instructions on oldrocketplans.com, I came up with these parts and measurements. To see the instructions, CLICK HERE

PARTS LIST:
1  Engine Mount Tube (type BT-20J) 2 3/4" long
1  Engine Hook (type EH-2)  2 3/4" long
2  Centering Rings (type AR-2050)     thick style
1  Body Tube (type BT-50B, heavy)  10.25" long
1  Set Balsa Fins 3/32" thick
1  Launch Lug  (type LL-2A)
3  Flat Tapered Toothpicks
1  Cardstock Details          110 lb. Cardstock
1  Nose Cone (type PNC-50KA)  2.75"? Long
1  Shock Cord
1  12" Parachute, Shroud Lines, Set Tape Disks
1  Decal

The card stock fairings and canopy were roughly hand drawn.
I used these to test their size, there was no reference measurement.
This is a picture of the printed stock, I set a ruler beside it.

The formed pieces seemed to be the right size. I did redraw them, The online pattern shown at the right had a very rough, thick line.
The online decals looked pretty clean and could probably be printed as is.