Estes Green Eggs #7301, Finished

The bottom end is clean - no decals or additional trim.

The large center logo name is a sticker on clear stock.

Handle it using a clean knife blade and wash your hands. Your fingers can leave prints and discoloration  that will be seen under the clear layer.

Like mentioned in some Quest builds - dip a plastic sticker in water before placing it on the body tube. It also helps to wet the body tube where the sticker will be placed.

Wetting the sticker lets you lift and reposition it before burnishing it down. I never get it right on the first try. 

Work out any water bubbles with a soft paper towel. You can also use a damp Q-tip to work out water from under the surface.

Here's a side by side view of two Green Eggs models. 

The Green Eggs is on on the left and the original Scrambler décor on the right. 

The two builds are the same height, there is just some camera distortion.

Estes Green Eggs #7301, Finding The Right Paint

Earlier this year I built one of the new Estes Green Eggs egg lofter. 

But - I painted and decaled it in the old Estes Scrambler decor, #701-K-37. 

To see that build: CLICK HERE

That re-drawn decal sheet is available to Patreon subscribers for home printing. Email me at oddlrockets@bellsouth.net and ask for the Scrambler decal PDF. 

The newer Estes Green Eggs design looks like the old Scrambler - well, it's about the same size and the fins are the same shape.

The two builds shown below were done for the Estes Education Department.

The nose cone and (exposed) coupler ring is sprayed with yellow paint.

These two plastic parts had the adapter shoulders masked off. The wrinkled surface is the masking tape.

 

I'm using more of the Ace Premium Spray Enamel now, but they didn't have the shade of green I needed.

The face card picture showed a light green. I found some Rusto 2X Spring Green at Home Depot.

Notice the coupler shoulders show up as a slightly darker green when slid into the clear green payload tube. 

On my build, the green above the yellow coupler band has the Spring Green sprayed onto the outside of the payload tube. The paint sticks fine without roughing up the plastic tube.

It was a simple Scotch Tape mask, tall enough to cover the coupler shoulders inside the tube.

Two of the fins were also sprayed Spring Green.

TIP: Sometimes the Sharpie marked Scotch Tape masks can leave a gray rub mark.

This is easily removed with a damp Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Sponge.

Estes Green Eggs, #7301 Finished

If you've been in the hobby for a while, you'll recognize the look of the old Scrambler.
This is a big model, should get a good ride with 24mm D and composite E engines.
EDIT: I didn't mention, another recommended engine (carrying an egg) is the C11-3.
The upper picture shows the model before doing a double layer decals to get the colors more opaque.

Estes Green Eggs, #7301 Build, Part 10, Decal Wrap Fit

Earlier I re-drew the Estes Scrambler (BT-60) decals to fit the larger diameter body tube of the Green Eggs model (BT-65).

Corrections were made and the Scrambler decal is available to Patreon members. Email me at oddlrockets@bellsouth.net

and ask for the Scrambler Decal PDF.

Note there are two sets of art. The reasoning is explained below to the side of the third picture.

Placement of the wrap decal was dependent on the height of the original balsa adapter on the Scrambler rocket.
Old catalogs shows the TA-6065 to only be 1/2" tall.

Here's the wrap decal placement.
I set it about 1/2" below the body tube separation point, the height of the original balsa adapter

Note the black ink in the decal isn't as dark as the black paint on the green payload tube. This is typical of home print decals when set over white paint. Over darker colors (even a yellow base) the black decals look darker.

On the decal PDF are two sets of all decals including two of the wrap/roll. 

TIP: To get to an opaque "black", you can sometimes do a double layer of decals. Decals are thin enough. Home print decals are always a compromise.

Estes Green Eggs, #7301 Build, Part 9, Color Choices & Payload Mask

Here's the original 3 engine cluster Scrambler from the 1974 Estes catalog. It was designated kit #K-37.
Overall white body, one white fin, one orange, one black.
The nose cone is also orange.

Notice the black areas in the payload section. I would assume these were black sponge disks to cushion the payload. Foam disks were included in the Shrike kit.
The nose cone shoulder and adapter shoulder areas are also black. I'll mask and paint the clear green payload section black like the picture shows.

The Green Eggs kit will capture the feel of the old Scrambler even with the clear green payload tube.

The coupler/adapter has a raised ring in the center. The adapter is molded yellow with the nose cone.
Interesting with a good coat of white paint it still shows some yellow. The yellow nose cones in my Odd'l Rockets F-104 and F-15 kits have yellow plastic nose cones. If you don't prime and cover the yellow, some of it could show through after the paint dries.
This isn't a problem with the nose cone, the yellow plastic is a good color under the final orange paint.

The payload tube mask is on the left.
Clear Scotch tape masks the initial line, masking tape and paper wrap covers the middle.

On the right is the mask after the tape is pulled.
If you've never tried a Scotch tape mask before, the smooth clear payload tube will give some very sharp color separation lines.

Estes Green Eggs, #7301 Build, Part 8, Decal Draw

The Green Eggs design does remind me of the old Estes Scrambler, especially the shape of the fins.
I'm not a fan of the sticker decals, I'd rather draw up some old style but clean Scrambler decals.
The Scrambler decals were whimsical with some relevant egg related puns, like the later Red Max decals. Goofy decals are fun, sometimes the designers might have been pushing their luck!

As always, getting the wrap decals to match up at the seam are the trickiest ones to draw.

PST-65R is 1.796" diameter.
To get the circumference, multiply by Pi
1.796" X 3.14 = 5.639" circumference

The paper strip wrapped around the body tube measured out at 5.65". That's as close a reading as I could get using my engineer's scale.

The old Scrambler decal wrap does overlap at the start/finish point. 5.65" width should be close going around the BT-65 tube.
Why did I do two wrap decals? One is a bit longer than the other. If the first one doesn't fit, maybe the second one will. When you draw up tube wrap decals, chances are the first draft will need some size tweaks.
I didn't draw up every little decal from the original kit. All the catalog pictures only use the large cracked egg with the Scrambler name and large roll wrap. To use all the little decals could make a congested looking rocket.

The decals are available as a home print PDF for members of Patreon. Email me at: oddlrockets@bellsouth.net and ask for the Scrambler Decal PDF.

Estes Green Eggs, #7301 Build, Part 7, Fin Gluing & NC Seam Fill

The fin tab width felt tight in the pre-cut slots.

I made the slots a bit wider with a flat diamond file.

The instructions show a lot of glue along the root edge. Right below the letter "G" and above the tab a line of glue is indicated.





On the right is how I applied the glue, not as shown in the instructions. 

The glue is on the root edges, not on the flat face of the fin. Fillets will take care of the reinforcement along the sides after the root edge glue dries.

The plastic nose cone mold seams were sanded down. There was still a dip that would show after paint was applied. You can see it on the left. There were seam dips on both sides.

A bead of medium CA glue was set in the low area. It is thin and will run! Set up the nose cone horizontally so the bead can't form into a drip. Apply only to one side at a time, allow plenty of time to dry, maybe 1/2 hour per side.
After it is totally dry, sand the bead with 220 grit, followed by 400 grit sandpaper.

Estes Green Eggs, #7301 Build, Part 6, Fill & Shock Cord Mount

The body tube had a few inches of "secondary seam". This was depressed even more with a pencil point to give the CWF something more to grab onto.

More CWF and some more sanding.








The TTW tab and root edges were masked off before getting a shot of filler/primer. This keeps the balsa unsealed for a better glue bond.







The picture on the left shows the tape mask and the bare balsa root edge and tab.

On the right is the before and after sanding with 400 grit. You can see just a bit of the filler/primer left in what grain remains after a single pass of CWF.

I'm not a big fan of tri-fold mounts. I went with the Centuri style using a piece of body tube. I pulled something close to the 1.8" diameter from the spare parts drawer and cut a crescent wedge. 

The shock cord is tied on and the mount glued into the top of the tube allowing room for the adapter shoulder.

This style of shock cord mount mount works well on larger diameter tubes where the parachute has room to eject without catching.

TIP: If you leave an open "slot" area where the shock cord goes under the tube segment, you could slide a replacement shock cord through the slot if needed later on.

Estes Green Eggs, #7301 Build, Part 5, Fin Shaping & L. Lug Placement

The instructions show rounding the leading edge of the fin.
I like to use my sanding block for the initial shaping. The block prevents the corners from being rounded off.
After the block is used, a piece of 400 grit is used to take down any high spots.

On the right I'm checking for an even shape of the leading edge. 

I did follow the centering ring positions before gluing. The notch going over the black retaining ring seemed about 1/32" high. I cut and lowered the notch to fit. This was done before the gussets (shown earlier) were added.

On the right is another dry fit of the engine mount and fin. With the engine mount tube even with the end of the body tube, the trailing edge of the fins weren't even with the body tube edge.

I had to sand and raise the low end of the fin tab to get the fin a bit lower. Not a big deal, TTW fins sometimes need some adjustments. This was a pre-production kit so some adjustments may have been made before mass production.

The instructions say: "Make a mark in the middle of any two fin slots." I've been centering launch lugs for years, I like to build a bit more precise.

A strip of paper was wrapped and the fin slots marked. Fold the paper, mark the center. Tape the marked strip back on the tube and mark the center point for the launch lug placment.

Estes Green Eggs, #7301 Build, Part 4, Nose Cone & Coupler

The instructions say to use a hobby knife to "cut the nose cone into two sections." I found the plastic thick and ended up using my old razor saw.







The rough sawn edge ends up rougher than a blade cut. The edges were sanded with 220, then 400 grit.

The eyelet was also very thick. It took a few small punches with the knife tip to pop it out.

The adapter has a great fit in the body tube.

But - the fit into the green payload tube was pretty loose! The instructions say to add some tape wraps to tighten things up.

Estes Green Eggs, #7301 Build, Part 3, Engine Mount Reinforcement

Occasionally I see a forum post where a builder will upgrade the centering rings to plywood. These kit supplied card stock rings are certainly strong enough for 24mm engines.
For those interested, I'll show how to make a much stronger engine mount using what was included in the kit.

I wrapped a copy paper strip around the engine mount tube. The overlap was marked.
The strip was folded into even thirds, the folds were marked with pencil.

The strip is re-wrapped around the tube. You must be sure the marked lines won't be in the way of the TTW fin tabs.
I set the first line just to the right side of the engine hook. This will place all the gusset lines to the sides of the fin tabs.

There is plenty of extra balsa on the fin sheet to make the three gussets.
Cut a wide piece with the grain running vertically. Sand to a tight slip fit between the rings. (shown above right)

Mark the gusset width a bit wide. (Bottom left) You'll sand off the excess afterwards.
A shallow notch is cut to fit over the black retainer band.

Glue the gussets into place. Sand off the excess gusset width little by little. Check the fit in the body tube as you are sanding.

Before adding and fitting the gussets, my centering rings were a loose fit in the body tube. After sanding them to size, the fit is much better and the mount will feel much stronger.

Estes Green Eggs, #7301 Build, Part 2, Engine Mount

This was a pre-production kit so some changes may have been made. I had to make some adjustments for the fin tabs to fit over the black engine hook retaining ring.

I find it interesting how glue fillets are illustrated in the instructions. They don't mention smoothing out (and removing excess glue from) the fillets.

The BT-50 engine tube was marked at 1/2", 1" and 2 1/4" from the rear.

TIP: Use the black retaining ring to extend the pencil marks all the way around the tube.

TIP: Use the retainer ring against the back of the centering rings to make sure the ring is glued on straight.
Set the black ring up to the back of the white centering ring. Apply a glue fillet on the other side and smooth out the glue with a fingertip.
Don't glue the black ring in place.
Let the fillet set, then slide the black ring away from the back of the centering ring.
Apply a glue fillet to the back of the centering ring.

Use the same technique on the forward ring.
Slide up to the white ring and check for straight contact all the way around.
Apply a fillet to the other side and let dry. Slide the black ring away from the ring and apply a glue fillet to the ring/tube joint on the back.

The engine block is simply slid in from the top dry. Apply a fillet around the top joint.

Estes Green Eggs, #7301 Build, Part 1, Parts

This is 3F/NC rocket a little like the old Estes Scrambler Egg Lofter.

The original Scrambler was BT-60 based with a three engine cluster. Now with 24mm D engines, a cluster isn't necessary to give an egg a good ride.

This rocket has an overall BT-65, 1.8" diameter body. There is no reducer from the main body to the clear payload like the Scrambler. The Scrambler had a BT-60 lower body, a balsa adapter joined up the BT-65 sized (1.796") clear payload tube. 

This nose cone and coupler are also used in the Olympus model sold through Hobby Lobby.

The parts of interest:
The new plastic nose cone and attached coupler.
The light green clear payload section
The "Green Eggs" sticker
Three fins laser cut on 3/32" balsa. These are close in shape to the old Scrambler fins.




I'm not a big fan of stickers. New decals will be drawn up.
Hey older modelers - In this build, paint colors and home print decals will be in the original Scrambler decor! To see the first Estes Scrambler egg lofter: CLICK HERE