Tools - The Essentials, The Hobby Knife, Part 1

We're going back to basics to show some of my favorite rocket building tools.
There are PLENTY of variants available. These are my favorites, the "Go-Tos" if you will.
Who knows, you might save some money by avoiding the purchase of useless accessories. I'd rather save money on building supplies to buy kits and engines.

First up -
THE HOBBY KNIFE!

Some say this one knife and blade is the only choice!

The standard hobby knife is the X-Acto #1 handle and #11 blade.

You can buy a full case of handles and blades, but in the end this is the one you'll return to.

#11 blades can get expensive!
Five new blades for $3.00 or 60 cents each!
They do get cheaper when you buy in 100 piece bulk packs.
But, less expensive than that . . . 





You don't have to buy X-Acto branded blades -
This 100 pack of Excel blades is available online: CLICK HERE
$20.00 for 100 blades or $.20 each!

There are more cheaper choices.
Chinese made #11 size blades are out there but don't always fit the #11 handle. I've had mixed results with the blades from China.

Semroc Andromeda Build, Part 16, Checking Out The Decals

Here's the water slide decals and the chrome wrap.
The chrome wrap is interesting, Randy Boadway told me the black stripes were laser burnt into the Mylar.

These are real "old school" screen printed decals. Notice the clear coat border around the decal ink in the light reflection. It's not an overall clear coat.







This makes the decals easier to handle. You can cut them a little larger - the only image that will transfer is the clear coat area and inked image underneath.

The Metallic black spray paint has got a slight textured surface. I did a test transfer using the Semroc logo. It seemed to adhere okay, I did have to roll over the decal skin with a damp Q-tip to work out the air.
NOTE: These decals will stick better to a smoother, gloss surface. There wasn't any "silvering" like you could see when placing a water-slide decal on a flat finished paint surface. But - it did take more time to get the decal surface to "seat " on the metallic paint.

Semroc Andromeda Build, Part 15, Mask & Paint

The interior of the engine tubes were hand painted earlier with fluorescent orange acrylic.
The interior color isn't very smooth, next time I'd probably spray the fluorescent orange. These were capped over with masking tape to keep out the black paint. The bottom tape "cap" is before trimming with scissors. The upper tape has been roughly cut to the edges of the round tube end.

Here's a closeup of the radiator rings with the metallic paint applied.
The reflections of all the metal specks don't allow all the rough spots and glue blobs to show as much.





One of the rear "sail fins".
This metallic paint shows off best in direct sunlight.

The areas that will get decals will be polished with rubbing compound to smooth the surface and help decal adhesion. Decals stick pretty well to this paint, but there is a slight texture to the finish.

Semroc Andromeda Build, Part 14, Decals and Paint Choices

Back to finish up the Semroc Andromeda - 

I had assembled the Semroc Andromeda earlier on the blog. I was waiting on the decals, I understand Semroc had some delays finding a vendor to make them, silk screened-old style. These decals have some white ink on them, they will go on over black paint.
The black stripes on the metallic tube wrap aren't printed, they are laser burned!

I assembled this one to produce the line drawings for the Semroc kit instructions. I didn't really put in as much time as normal, filling and smoothing the glue fillets.

I'd spray on some black, then sand glue boogers. I had difficulty smoothing out the tight areas between those centering rings outside the tube.

I had to do some camouflage. Gloss paint will show every little dip and rough surface.
I can't spray the model flat black, decals won't stick to matte finishes. I did the next best thing.

TIP: I've had great luck with the Rustoleum Metallic paints in the past. While it isn't a real shiny gloss finish, decals have adhered pretty well before. The little metallic speck reflections will cover the imperfections.

Estes Boosted Bertha #001946 Build, Finished

There you go - A great variation on a classic design!
This one went back to Estes, I've already seen a posted picture of it at NARAM - 61.

This will be a popular kit for Estes, made even better with the new screw-on engine retainers.

Estes Boosted Bertha #001946 Build, Part 11, Decals

GOTCHA: The checkerboard decals were too wide to fit between fins. One of the squares had to be cut off.

Check twice before setting down the white fin tip decals.


The angle has to match the shape of the tapered fins.
See the second picture below before setting these decals. 

You can roll the outside edge around the rounded leading edge.
The decal on the other side should match up and continue the white all the way around the outside edge.
In the picture below, look at the inside trailing edge of the orange fin, there is no white rolled around the inside trailing edge. That flat edge remains orange. 

GOTCHA: I tried to match the orange paint color to the face card picture. The fin tip decals ended up a lighter orange over the white paint on the fins. This is a moot point. I sent Estes a note. Every paint manufacturer has a slightly different orange paint shade.








The upper checkerboard almost matched up! This joint was on the back side (launch lug side) of the model and won't be noticed.

Estes Boosted Bertha #001946 Build, Part 10, Engine Retainers and Shock Cord Mount

Here's the Boosted Bertha before decals.
Orange overall, one white fin on the booster, one white fin on the second stage.

That seam fill at the joint of the booster centering ring and body tube came out well, it's not noticeable.

The new 18mm retainer ring was glued on with the Beacon Fabi-Tac glue.

Here's the second 18mm engine retainer in the sustainer or second stage.







You are usually told to glue the tri-fold shock cord mount far enough inside the tube to clear the nose cone shoulder.
The Boosted Bertha instructions say to glue it 2" in.

TIP: Measure and mark the shock cord at 2". Use that mark as a "depth gauge" against the tube top end before pressing the glued mount into the body tube.