Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 11, Decals

When you draw up home print decals, there are always changes to be made when you first transfer them onto the model. On the right is the second, final decal drawing.

The Girder/Truss decals fit fine. I added an extra set to the sheet.

On the first try, the bar and dot fin decals were drawn only facing one way! I went back and corrected things so they will  properly mirror each other on facing fins.

The black lines on the lower right were too long going around the BT-50 tube. Those were shortened to 3 1/4".

The rectangles on the bottom are probably too close together. I used them anyway. Clones are close, but never exactly like the original.

If you'd like to build a Solar Sailer II, the decals and fin patterns are available to Patreon supporters.

Email me at oddlrockets@bellsouth.net and ask for the Solar Sailer II PDF.

I was surprised the black ink looks pretty dark. Home print black decals aren't usually this opaque when set down over white paint.

You'll have to cut the girder decals close to the black print. There isn't much space around the sides with the decal in place.

I used a piece of masking tape to show me where the center line was. This helps with the visual spacing of the two decals.

Here's both sides of the girder decals.

The original kit would have you cut the boxes into three separate pieces of two, three and two. These were shown spaced out wider than I applied them.

I set the boxes down as one long decal. Center the three box group under the center space on the girder decals.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 10, An Easy Mask

This is an easy mask, welcomed after the last Space Shuttle paint.

A single line 3 3/4" above the low end of the upper tube.

A tube wrap mask is hard to line up. I used a wrap of paper and slid it down to the 3 3/4" pencil mark. This gave me a straight line to set the Scotch tape mask around.

The upper paper guide was removed.

The upper body is to be painted gloss Red.

Brown masking tape held down a wrap of a plastic bag over the mid body.

A Subway sandwich shop bag was an easy complete fit over the lower end fins and engine mount.

On the left, the brown masking tape and plastic bag is removed. You can see how rough a brown masking line is.

On the right, the Scotch tape mask has been removed leaving a clean color separation.

I like to leave the nose cone out about 1/16". This allows some paint below the nose cone lip edge and covers the inside tip end of the body tube.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 9, Tri-Fold Mount TIPS

Sure, I could have tied a Kevlar line, but it would have been very long to reach through the long body! I've brought up tri-fold mounts before - This post is really for those who might not know the inside tips.

   

I cut the mount out of 65 lb. stock, much stronger than the typical 20 lb. instruction sheet print.

Mark a pencil line at an angle down the middle area. The trick to a FLAT Mount is not laying the shock cord directly over itself when folding over the paper.

Set a light line of glue down the pencil line.

Set the shock cord onto the glue and let dry.

Lay a thin skin of glue over just the top section of the mount. Notice the reflection showing how little glue is used. Be sure you have complete coverage over all the first section - from side to side and top to bottom.

Fold, press and burnish over the entire section. If you applied a thin "skin" of glue on the upper section it doesn't take long to dry.

Repeat with the thin film of glue on the middle section. 

Fold over and burnish.

Notice the impression of the shock cord folded over in a "V". The completed mount will end up flatter than if the two thicknesses of elastic were right on top of each other. 

On the right - In the soft heel of my hand, I'm rolling a (inside body tube) curve before the mount sets up.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 8, Overall White Paint

The model is ready for an overall spray of gloss white.

That first coat shows all the little things that need to be cleaned up.

At the forward tip of the lower fins, the fillets had a pinhole. This was filled with more yellow glue applied with a toothpick. Excess glue was wiped off with a Q-tip. 

A line of pinhole pockets were along some of the truss fillets. More filling with yellow glue.

The exposed face of the centering rings was smooth, but there was a gap around the inner edge of the BT-50.

I used some thinned wood filler followed by 400 grit sanding.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 7, Gluing In The Central Tube & The Gusset Fins

The low end with the motor mount is slid into the shorter BT-50 tube.

Glue is sneaked in under the upper centering before it is slid in. I used the end of a Q-tip with the cotton removed.

When you've got a good ring of glue around the inside of the tube, slide in the upper ring.

I used the side of my straightedge to be sure the ring face was even with the edge of the BT-50. 

I set the lower ring down farther than the instructions suggested. With the lower ring 1/4" from the bottom I could add fillets easily. Here again is a Q-tip stick applying and smoothing out the inside glue fillet.

The three middle position Gussets are centered between the lower fin positions.

I folded the marking guide between the gusset positions. The folds were lined up directly over the lower fins. 

The gusset positions were marked with pencil.

The top picture shows the filler/primer scraped off down the gusset glue line.

The gusset end sits against the centering ring step.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 6, Dowel Trim & Truss Sizing

I used a single edge razor blade to cut the dowel overhang. 

Note it was cut a bit long so I could sand even with the root edge of the small forward fin.

Here's one of the three finished fins, ready to be glued onto the lower BT-50 tube.

While the online truss detail fins were the correct length, I cut mine out a little high.

The pencil lines show where the cut should be, down the middle of the printed border lines.  

Here's how my truss fins fit initially - too high when set into the BT-50 tube "step".

The inset picture shows how much was sanded off the bottom root edge to lower the height.

The top piece is the sanded, lower height fin. The fin underneath shows the height before sanding.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 5, Dowels & Small Fin Fitting

The fin marking guides from the Jim Z website fit!

The 1/8" diameter x 18" long dowel was cut into three sections, 5 1/4" long.

The dowels are shown here after they got a shot of filler/primer and sanding with 400 grit.

There isn't much grain in a dowel, but they will be smoother if filler/primer is used. Look close, there is some gray primer left in the fine grain after sanding.

 

The instructions say to glue the down end even with the trailing edge of the fin. 

I prefer to glue it on with a small overhang, then sand it even with the fin edge.

The picture on the right shows how small and narrow the glue bead on the fin is. If the dowel ended up not on center, I can cut through If needed. The instructions suggest using the folded instructions under the fin as a spacer to center the dowel on the outside edge. I used my fingers to feel for the center position, running them down the dowel joint as shown on the left side photo.

 

When lined up the small forward fin on a straightedge, there was a gap.

On the right, the fit is better after some block sanding on the high spots.