Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 2, Parts

The second Solar Sailer II (Kit # 2044) was about 10" shorter than the first version.

I used heavy walled BT-50 for the 12.7" long top and 6.5" bottom tubes.

The central BT-20 tube is 18" long. The long BT-20 holds the engine and extends all the way into the upper BT-50 tube.

I did add another 20/50 centering ring on the lower end engine mount. I also used a 18mm engine block, not part of the Estes kit.

A 15" chrome Mylar parachute.

1/16" thick balsa stock, 1/8" diameter dowels and two 1.25" long launch lugs.  

Decal print in black ink.

Elastic shock cord not shown.

Parts of interest:

I found a BNC-50J nose cone from BMS in the spare parts drawer. (Hang onto those extra parts!)

That dowel is glued in the pre-drilled hole in the nose cone shoulder. A screw eye is set into a hole drilled in the dowel - A very strong attachment.

The extra 20/50 centering ring.

The Solar Sailer II kit had a 18" chrome Mylar parachute, printed with red details. I'll be using a 15" chute.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 1, Drawing Up Templates & Decals

There are templates and decals on the oldrocketplanss.com  website: CLICK HERE 

But, there is no size reference to check your finished prints.

So, this leads to some detective work.

The lower BT-50 tube is 6.5" long. The low end of the fin is glued 3/4" from the back end of the tube. The front end of the dowel is even with the front of the tube. That leaves the assembled lower fin root edge at 5.75" long.

The online drawing was adjusted and double checked to be 5.75" long.

The online decals didn't have sharp edges. There was light blue background from the decal sheet.

Home print decals on a white painted body don't always work. Black printer ink isn't a full opaque black. Black decals sometimes end up looking a very dark gray.

I looked through a hundred online fonts but couldn't find an exact match for the Solar Sailer II logo decal. One font called Arista was close. I made some adjustments to the lower case "e". 

This shows the first decal drawing. Adjustments were made after transferring some decals onto the model.

The templates and decal PDFs are available to Patreon supporters. 

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

PARTS LIST: Note the Estes kits didn't include an engine block

BT-20  18” long

BT-50  12.7” long

BT-50   6.5” long

BNC-50J   Nose Cone

1/16" thick Balsa stock

1/8” Dowel    18” long

(2) Two 1/8” x 1.25” Launch Lugs 

(4) Four 20/50 Centering Rings

2.75” long Engine Hook

Parachute pack 18” diameter

36" long elastic Shock Cord

(Add) 18mm Engine Block

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Background

Picture to the left is from the Jerry Fortin website. To visit: CLICK HERE

The first Solar Sailer Kit #1297 - The introduction in the 1978 catalog:

"Simulates one of the newest, most sophisticated space concepts for the 1980s, and like the Space Shuttle Enterprise, Estes engineers have it flying long before NASA does. Developed for low cost, long duration, deep space missions the real vehicle will use sunlight pressure to push it away from Earth at speeds up to 35,000 mph. Our model features printed balsa fins, quick-release engine mount and realistic decals simulating solar panels and girder construction. Truly spectacular recovery with giant 24" solar sail chute.

The first Solar Sailer kit was 39" tall and had a 24"?? diameter chrome Mylar parachute!

A 24" chute seems too large and would be hard to pack in the 1" diameter, BT-50 upper tube.

The lower fins are split, the leading edges joined by a diagonal dowel.

The three lower fins were glued on 2 3/4" from the rear, on the later kit they were only 3/4" from the low end of the tube. In the first #1297 kit, the front fin triangle went over the end of the BT-50 and down onto the central BT-20 tube. There were more dowel details in the earlier kit.

To see the 1978 kit #1297 instructions: CLICK HERE 

Decals cover the sides of central gusset fins giving it a simulated girder look.

The 1991 - 1993 second reissued kit (#2044) was called the Solar Sailer II. It was 10" shorter with an 18" printed chrome Mylar parachute.

The thing I don't understand is the use of 1/16" thick balsa fins. You usually only see 1/16" thick balsa on the earliest, smaller kits. The lower fins have a 1/8" diameter dowel along the leading edge so they will be well reinforced.

The clone build starts tomorrow -

Estes Space Shuttle Columbia Build #1385, Finished

(Why did I type 2023?)

It's a good representation of the Space Shuttle.

I was happy with the top wing gray wing masks. 

The face card shows the gray as more of a blue-gray color. The mid-gray paint I picked matched the gray in the decals.

The OMS pods certainly look better than the Centuri "profile" fins did.

I know - the underside is just black! 

The tiles on the bottom of the real Shuttle are a mottled gray. 

To see the Centuri Shuttle instructions, go to the Meatball Rocketry website: CLICK HERE

Both versions had their high and low points.

I wish the back end had a removeable display nozzle plate like the Centuri kit. The Centuri Shuttle re-used the nozzles from their Quasar kit.

The Estes Kit used balsa for the wing and rudder. Centuri used thick die-cut cardstock and peel and stick decals.

Both versions used the triangular rudder cardstock piece.

I don't think this nose cone was used in any other Estes kit.

The canopy in the Estes version was molded in. The Centuri kit had a vacu-formed piece that was glued onto the molded nose cone.

Estes Space Shuttle Columbia Build #1385, Part 22, More Decals & Chute

The canopy decal is difficult to set around the molded contours. The decals are old and really didn't want to adhere around some of the edges.

Initially, I didn't know how to place the Shuttle hatch door decal. I pulled out my old Dr. Zooch Shuttle for a angle reference.

After the canopy dried, I tried some Micro Sol to lessen the folds in the decal. It worked to an extent but there were still raised folds.

I ended up slicing the raised areas and brushed Future underneath before folding back down the edges. 

I mentioned earlier about some parachute ink sticking to the decals.

I didn't want to scrape the red ink off before transferring the decals. I wanted to keep the clear coat strong while placing the decals on the model.

After the decals were in place and had dried for a day, light scraping with a sharp blade removed the ink. Scrape lightly - you want to remove the red blotches, not the original print of the decal.

The 18" parachute seems large to me. I'll add a snap swivel and probably go with a 15" chute.

TIP: On the left I'm tying some no-tangle shroud lines. The center of the shroud lines get a small overhand loop knot. A separate piece of string goes through the loops and ties the three parachute lines together.

The entire process is shown: CLICK HERE

TIP: The parachute was joined to the shock cord a few inches away from the nose cone. This prevents the nose cone from swinging in and out of the shroud lines after ejection, preventing tangles.

Estes Space Shuttle Columbia Build #1385, Part 21, Decals

The decals are old!

I had already cut one decal and some name decals off the sheet when I realized I'd better scan them. 

I took a picture with a ruler reference then scanned the sheet just to be safe. 

If they don't transfer easily, I may have to redraw the decals.

In the kit bag, the plastic parachute was resting against the decal sheet. There was no protective sheet over the decals. Small bits of red ink were transferred from the chute and will be removed after placing on the model. 

The kit decals give you five different Shuttle names. You get to pick your choice. The extra decals gave me some soak and transfer "test" decals. I'll be using the Columbia name so I temporarily transferred the Challenger name. The soak time was longer than normal, but slid off the backing sheet without a problem.

On the iffy older decals - 

I didn't want to take chances. The long, narrow body side decal was cut in two and will be transferred in two pieces.

Here's how the long decals were positioned, the right and left sides.

Estes Space Shuttle Columbia Build #1385, Part 20, Trim Decal Flaking & Nose Cone Mask Fix

After trimming, the edge of the gray trim decal lifted a bit. Normally you can brush on a bit of Future and that will tack down the lift.

I dipped a Q-tip and rolled it over the edge knowing some would seep into the lifted area.

I lightly pressed down the edge and some of the gray paint chipped off leaving some white from the decal sheet.

Well, it was worth a try!

I ended up pulling up the gray trim decal leaving the entire bottom of the wing black. I won't be doing another full model mask on this one. It's a semi-scale model now with semi-scale paint.

There was a piece of clear tape that overlapped a mask line on the side of the nose cone.

A marked tape strip was set down. Black paint was sprayed in a cup and the touch up brushed over.







Here's the bottom showing some of the completed masks and touchups.

Perfect? No - This was a difficult multi-layered mask.