Which Chrome Paint? None Of These! Part 1

Back story - 

I found an original Citation Quasar (in the box!) for a friend.

This was his favorite rocket - I thought it would make a good gift.

The kit arrived and was a great shape except for the "chrome" nose cone and fin unit. I thought at first these might be newer orange Alpha fins and nose cone that had been spray painted chrome by the seller.

Apparently over time, that chrome finish gets dull and mottled.

Why not find a good chrome paint and brighten the fins and nose cone. 

I've read on forums how some had problems with chrome paint when painting a model like the Mercury Atlas. It may look okay at first, but any handling dulls the finish.

I watched some YouTube videos where many different Chrome spray paints were tested side by side. I bought and tried the top three.

Some of the test sprays were done on plastic spoons. I had some black plastic spoons. Many say to use a black undercoat when spraying metallics.

First up was Krylon Premium Metallic, Original Chrome. The cap was painted chrome - I wish the test spoons turned out with that same reflective sheen! They didn't! 

Dull, no better than some Silver or Aluminum spray paints.

I've had some great results with Duplicolor paints. I always use their FP101 Filler/Primer.

 

Well - it was a better chrome than the Krylon,

Not a mirror finish by any stretch.

More tomorrow . . . 

Goofing Up A Build - MRN, June, 1964

Steve Riegel posted on the NAR Facebook page:

"When I was a kid in the 80s, I recall reading a parody article (maybe older than the 80s?) from the POV of a newb who made every classic blunder a he rushed through building his first kit. There was a specific line about using scissors to cut out the balsa fins since it left a nice, splintery edge for gluing.

If anyone has a copy of that article, I would love to get one for the classes I teach. Thanks."

Edit: Found it, Model Rocket News, June 1964. Copy available on JimZ's site.

I remember this article from a "Best Of the MRN" collection you could buy from Estes.

How many of you used too much glue thinking: "My rocket will be stronger than everybody's!"

Always remember: "That's their way of selling more stuff."

Read on . . . it's a good laugh!

Estes Blackhawk #2053 Build, Finished

Well, it still looks cool! All black - no decals.

Cardstock has it's own build concerns but at least you don't have to fill balsa grain.

Here's the view from the back. You can see some white inside where the black spray didn't reach.

Mentioned before, cutting all the vent tubes was difficult. I wonder if younger builders gave up on the build because of the tough tube cuts.

The white Centuri version with the rear eject was the easier way to go. 

And. the other kit from the Buck Rogers series. On the left is the Draconian Marauder, just about the same length.

The Draconian Marauder was not a great flyer. Very heavy and draggy.

Estes Blackhawk #2053 Build, Part 17, A Fix & Decals?

Directly opposite the knife tip you could see a corner of a fin split.

Set some glue on the knife blade and work it into the split cardstock.
 

Pinch the split together with tweezers until the glue sets.

You can use the tweezers to reform and get rid of any crease lines. 

The parachute assembly is standard. 

A longer elastic shock cord was substituted for the short rubber cord.

The tri-fold shock cord mount was glued 1 1/2" below the top of the tube, 1/2" farther down than the instructions recommended.

I was worried about the age of the decals so I gave them a coat of decal film. 

The decal film goes on with visible brush strokes but is smooth after it dries.

This time around, the decal film didn't help at all.

The first decal easily broke up! Why bother with the rest of them, this wasn't a good sign.

So for now, I've got a black rocket.

Estes Blackhawk #2053 Build, Part 16, Black Paint

There is no reason to do white undercoats on a model that is going to be painted an overall black.

Here's the model before paint. All fillets are done and surfaces are as smooth as I can make them.

The first light coats of gloss black showed some ridges around the fillets. Fine 400 grit sandpaper smoothed them out before the next coat.

On the right - 

It's difficult to get paint into all the nooks and crannies in the profile engine vanes.

On an overall black model you can use a wide point Sharpie to darken up the edges that may not have got a full black coverage.

After the second coat I still had some minor smooth sanding around the canopy and flat fin surfaces.

The final black coat will be heavier. The trick to a good gloss finish is to spray more than the initial coats but not enough to cause drips.

Estes Blackhawk #2053 Build, Part 15, Landing Skid & Parachute

Here's the display support.

I didn't have all the dowels that should have been in the kit bag so I used a piece of Bamboo skewer. It is close to 1/8" diameter.

The inset picture shows how it slides into the launch lug for support while on the display shelf.

For whatever reason I sprayed the support before  realizing I left off two dowels. Reinforcement is needed so the cardstock won't bend at that narrow point in the middle.

The old Centuri instructions say to use a toothpick. Two toothpicks were cut to size and the paint was scraped down the line where they were glued on.

More black paint and done!

Over the years the kit tape disks had lost their adhesion. I substituted some plastic Avery tape disks.

The original shroud lines were used on the solid black kit parachute.

Estes Blackhawk #2053 Build, Part 14, More Small Fins

The next large fins are glued at a 45 degree angle to the previous glued fins. 

Do your best to center them and check back a few times before the glue sets and locks them in place.

I found with the smaller engine "profile" fins easier to glue in place as follows:

Don't set glue on the root edge of the smaller fins. Apply a narrow glue line to the inside root edge of the previously set larger fins. (Left side picture) 

Set the small engine fin in that still wet glue line in the root edge. 

Here's how it all looks before the black paint is applied.