Intake Cones Part 2, TIP

All the scoring before the actual split gives you two clean halves.

The split flat side is cleaned up a bit using a sanding block.






The cones have to fit the contour of the body tube.
I wrapped some 220 around the tube and sand back and forth in a straight line.

Here's a good fit against the main air frame tube.





How it ends up - the nose cone shoulder isn't seen inside the intake.

The intake nose cones will end up being custom made by BMS. There aren't any available nose cones in the length and shape needed for this kit application.

Intake Cones Part 1, TIP

While the paint dries on the Starship Nova, here's a little background construction on the upcoming F-104 Starfighter kit intake.

Years back I bought and assembled the Estes Astron Streak. It was an early BT-20 Mosquito. With a C6-7 you could reach altitudes of 2,0000 feet! Or so they claimed. Who knows, you'd never see it again anyway.

The Streak instructions said you could hollow out the nose cone and get an extra 20 feet altitude!
Split the nose cone and hollow it out. My nose cone split didn't end up down the middle!
On the upcoming Odd'l Rockets F-104 Starfighter kit I'll supply nose cone halves that glue inside the front of the intakes. Here's how I'll prep them for the kit.



I scored the outside of the nose cone to get a clean split, right down the middle.
The base is scored first, maybe 1/8" in.



The shoulder is next.

With my knife blade extended I continue up the side, aiming towards the center tip.



The nose cone is turned over and the 1/8" scoring ends through the tip.

Semroc (Estes) Starship Excalibur Build, Part 7, Splitting Reactor Bay Nose Cones

The BT-5 half tubes are capped by a split balsa nose cone.
Don't just drive a knife through the cone like you would split a log. Chances are on something this small the split won't end up being even.

Start by drawing a line around the nose cone bisecting it in half.

I extended my break off blade knife to get a longer straight edge.

The blade is set on the pencil line and lightly pressed into the balsa. Don't attempt to cut through, just start a shallow cut line.

Deepen the cut to about 1/8" deep all the way around the cone including the shoulder.

Now you can split the cone starting from the back slowly pushing the blade through towards the tip.
With any luck, the split will follow the straight guide cuts you've already made along the outside.







Here's the two halves ready for contouring to the BT-55.
Whew!