The Blog Is Done!

This will be the last blog post!

Over 7,500 posts over almost 13 years! The blog will remain online until the folks at Google decide to delete it. I've been thinking about this for a while. 

Odd'l Rockets are still in production. 

I'll continue to build show models for the manufacturers. 

Odd'l Rockets kits and supplies will still be found through your favorite online vendors. Pigasus and Little Green Man kits are available again!

I ask that you do not distribute my decals, templates or carded models until I decide where they will end up. I still retain all Copyrights (ownership) of my original art and instruction sheets. Please - No kit production or copies of the PDFs. I won't tolerate someone simply "copying" and making a profit from my work.

What will I do with my build time?

I have a few wooden model ships I'd like to tackle. You think the old Estes Mercury Redstone (K-41) escape tower was tough? "Plank on bulkhead" models require plenty of patience and time. I hope to attend club launches after the Summer heat is over.

To those who supported the blog through Patreon and Paypal donations - a BIG Thank You! The donations are appreciated and always went directly towards the builds. 

I learned a lot! - I hope you picked up a few things, too. 

Thanks for reading!

Jay Jarris' Mini Honest John Kit Bashes

KITBASHING: Creation of a new model by combining elements of multiple commercial kit models.

For everybody that bought multiples of the Estes Mini Honest John when WalMart was clearing them out - Here's some ideas on how to customize all those extra kits!

 

From Jay Harris' post on Facebook - 

"They haven’t been back on sale for a while on Walmart but when they were, 

I bought a bunch at $3.13 each! The Estes Mini-Honest John. I used each kit to build something scratch unique!"

E12 Power HJ

The Estes EAC Firecat

Nike HJ Ajax

Nike HJ X

Nike HJ Concept

Nike HJ Hercules

Buck Rogers 13mm

Rockets Need To Be Round?

 Well, maybe not all rockets - 

Still a great video explaining the CP/CG relationship - CLICK HERE

Dave Combs Candy Rockets

Dave Combs posted his candy tube rockets on the 

NAR Facebook page;

"The Candy Fam

The Candy Fam can…

The Candy Fam can when we mix a little thrust

And make the sky look goooooood"

I really like the fins shaped like the candy!

Dave wrote the lyrics.

NewWay Angled Invader, Finished

The New Way kits are very well produced. The square tubes are heavy duty.

This kit is highly recommended!

White decals!

There is no other way to capture this look.

The 3D nose cone and side details are very smooth.

3D printing has come a long way!

NewWay Angled Invader, Part 16, Decals

It's tempting to apply the big tube wrap decal first.

TIP: Soak and apply a few smaller decals to get an idea of the soaking times and how they transfer.

Here's the positioning of the wing decals.

The three stripe decal positions a little different than the original and reissue Estes kit.

Before soaking the big wrap decal,

Do a dry fit to get an idea how it will sit and wrap around the square tube.

Use the white rectangles at the bottom for some help centering the large decal. 

Make the white areas equal on both sides. That should automatically center the tall line at the top.

It's a bit tricky transferring the wide back end, the decal will want to wrap over the sides before you get things centered.

As always - Wet the body tube (rub some water on a fingertip) before transferring the decal onto the rocket body. This leaves some water under the decal and allows it to slide until you get it into the correct position.

Roll any water and air bubbles from the center out using a wet brush or wet Q-tip. Constantly check the position before things set up.

The smaller winged decal goes near the front of the body tube on the right side.

The larger wing decal goes underneath the side of the wing. 

Double check the size of the decals. I initially placed the smaller decal under the wing. I caught this before it settled in. More water was set on the decal. It was lifted using the tip my knife and moved to the side of the body tube.

NewWay Angled Invader, Part 15, An Easy Mask

Look between the two launch lugs and you might notice there isn't a glue fillet on the inside joints.

These lugs are too close together to smooth out a glue fillet.

I could apply the glue with a Q-tip, but trying to get the excess glue cleaned up and out might not be worth the effort.

I like a simple mask!

At 6" from the top end of the body tube the yellow is masked off.

The lower half gets sprayed gloss black.

There are lots of nooks and crannies, the smaller rib fins can block the total coverage of the black paint. Spray the inside edges first, then do the overall black.

Here's the mask line around the square body tube.

If your surfaces are smooth, you'll get a better seal of the tape and sharp mask lines.

This is a Scotch Tape mask, I don't use the expensive Tamiya tape.

 

The edges of the pod tubes got a black edge with a Sharpie pen.