Don't You Hate It When This Happens?

You'd think after all the years I've been masking models and baseboards, I wouldn't see this happen!

Don't you hate when a rip starts and you have to toss a few inches of tape?

Laser Cut Guitar Bracing

How did we ever get by before laser cut fins? 

I once thought laser cut parts only applied to rocket and wooden ship kits.

 

The picture shows the internal bracing of a new design guitar.

Fancy guitar inlays cavities (cutting a well-fitting recess) were once "gouged" out using a Dremel and a dental bit. Lasers now cut the ebony or rosewood fingerboards for inlays.

From a Martin guitar Facebook post:

Where legendary Martin tone and innovation meet. The new GPCE Inception features skeletonized scalloped bracing and sonic channels inside the body for increased resonance and superior tone. Go behind the design with the Martin team to learn more: CLICK HERE

Fillers Results, Part 2

The final results were somewhat predictable with a few surprises.

After light sanding the "fillers" all pieces got a white undercoat and light sanding. This was followed up by gloss red enamel.

   

On the left is the sprayed raw balsa, no sealer or filler.

The paint soaked in and dried with a dull flat finish. The balsa grain is very obvious.

On the right is the wood glue coat balsa. 

The grain is still evident, not filled. But - 

The wood glue did "seal" the wood. The paint didn't soak into the wood and dried to a decent gloss sheen. 

On the left side is the CWF filled balsa. There is still some grain and the pores are raised slightly. The final gloss is not as shiny as the wood glue test piece above.

On the right is the piece hit with filler/primer only. There is still some slight grain seen. The filler/primer does seal the wood and the gloss red is a little shinier than the wood glue coated piece.

 

The clear winner is this final piece using one coat of CWF and sanding, followed by filler/primer and sanding. 

The CWF fills 80% of the wood grain. A single follow up spraying of filler/primer and sanding fills any remaining grain.

This test piece is the smoothest with the best gloss.

This is how I normally fill balsa pieces. It's a simple two step process. One brushed coat of CWF and sanding, one spray of filler/primer and sanding.  

Everyone has their own methods, do what works for you. I doubt I will change, I've used and developed my practice of CWF and F/P for years now.

Fillers Results, Part 1

On occasion I see a forum post where a newbie recommends his method for filling balsa.

Some use white or wood glue claiming it fills the balsa. Others have used the Brodak sanding sealers.

In the late 1960s Estes recommended Sanding Sealer. Centuri said to use Balsa Fillercoat. I used sanding sealer and occasionally balsa fillercoat. You can't find sanding sealer in hobby shops anymore. If you do find it, the cost seems prohibitive. Pactra and Midwest has discontinued their sanding sealers and balsa fillercoats. Brodak sealer seems to be out of production.

I've read about CA )Super Glues being used to seal and fill balsa grain. I've yet to use CA for this. I tend to fill the balsa wood grain off the model. A CA fill would seal the root edges preventing wood glue from soaking into the balsa, compromising the glue bond.

When I got back into the hobby in 2009, sanding sealer was difficult to find. Elmer's Fill N' Finish (now named Carpenter's Wood Filler or CWF) was the talk of the forums. I adopted this filler on my rocket builds. 

In these two posts I took some scrap balsa and tried various methods to seal and fill balsa grain. This is not a complete test, I've not included the Brodak, Erockets sealer or CA methods. Papering fins is a discussion for another day. 

     

Five pieces of balsa were tested. I tried to pick out wood pieces that had some consistent density and grain depth. After filling, all pieces will get white undercoats and a final red color.

The first piece (not shown here) will be raw balsa, no filler. 

The second piece (not shown here) got a coat of wood glue and light sanding.

Third piece was raw balsa piece that only got one spray of Duplicolor Filler/Primer. After it dried it got a light sanding with 400 grit.

The fourth piece (not shown here) got one coat of brushed, thinned CWF and sanding.

This fifth balsa piece got a coat of thinned CWF and sanding.

This was followed by a spray of filler/primer and sanding.

Old Estes Postcards

If you were a Rocketeer in the late 1960s and early 1970s, you'll recognize these postcards.

In the barn at my Grandparents ranch, my Sister found a large metal drum full of my old comic books. These postcards were in with the comics.

In total, I counted 39 postcards. Five or more of each, only one of the Estes building.

I had entered the Design Of The Month a few times. Some cards were personalized. In addition to this postcard, I did get other letter correspondence from Avona O'Leary. She must have been responsible for all the last names that started with a "M".

I thought I had a real Bill Simon autograph. I had three of these. After comparing the signatures, I could see they were printed.

Sometimes a postcard was included with an order. You could also send a note and ask for a complete set. I must have done that a few times.

Estes Great Goblin, #9724 Build, Part 26, Tying It Up & Finished

The shock cord was tied to the nose cone base with a square knot. The SC tail was pushed into the hole in the shoulder base. This keeps the shock cord end out of the way when sliding the nose cone into the body tube.

The loop knots in the shroud lines were tied to the base of the nose cone using a Kevlar line.

Here's the finished build.

The Goblin name and Bat decals are on both sides of the fin to the left in the picture.

The 3s are on opposite sides of the middle fin.

The Goblin character decal are on both sides of the far right side fin.

A close up look at the fins -

From the single black fin side.

From the rear with the retainer ring in place.

The LONG nose cone.

Each build took approximately 12 1/2 hours.

That includes construction, filling balsa and body tube seams, finishing and decals. The total time doesn't include waiting for the paint to dry.

Estes Great Goblin, #9724 Build, Part 25, Decals

The original Goblin kit had the fin decal baselines parallel to the table top. This new kit pictures have the fin decals more parallel to the trailing edge of the fin.

Now, the "3" decal is set like a regular number 3. The original instructions had you set the "3" decal on it's side.

To see the original instructions and decal placement, go to Jim Z's: CLICK HERE

Some of these water slide decals are large. Rub some water on the body tube or fins before transferring the decals. The extra beads of water under the decal allows for easier positioning.

    

TIP: While it might be tempting to start with a big decal - Always start with a smaller decal. There are two ESTES logos. One can be used as a "test" to find the soaking time and to see how it slides off the backing.  If you mess up one of the tests, you still have that second decal to use on the model.

I don't usually apply logos on my personal builds. 

But, I'm placing these decals like the illustration on the box.

Before placing the black band that wraps around the body tube - 

You should place the ESTES decal. The black band is spaced and wrapped on above that. As with all decals, plan ahead for proper placement.

 

I like to put the ends seam towards the back in line with the launch lugs. Sometimes a kit wrap-around decal isn't long enough and the ends might not meet.

No problems here, there is about a 3/16" overlap.

Before soaking the decal, I dry fitted and found the right height for the wrap. A piece of masking tape was placed on the tube (not on the decal) for a height reference.

TIP: When cutting out crazy shaped decals, try not to make any sharp inside angles. Round all corners, sharp inside cuts invite tears. While instructions may say: "Cut close to the image", you don't have to cut inside every nook and cranny. 

After blotting out the bubbles with a soft cloth, I use a cotton swab to roll out any remaining bubbles. Work from the center out to the edges.

The Bat and GOBLIN decals are separate on the decal sheet. This might make visual centering difficult. 

Start with the GOBLIN decal first. 

I found 1" above the trailing edge to be good spacing.

In this upscale kit, the bat is set a little to the right of the left side of the word Goblin.