What kind of builder are you?

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CQBArms

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IN the last few days I've sort of run down a couple different ways of building for some small kits.

First was the type of building I did as a kid. Just get the thing together so I can launch it type of build. Lots of "crazY" glue, a quick blast of paint, and let it "dry in the sky" mentality.

Now I'm starting to pace myself a bit more, slowing down and taking the time to actually sand the fins, do some of that sealing on them. I have actually let the paint dry over night before I added another coat.

I am moving to a methodical (and more natural feeling) way fo building. I sand, measure sand, true, mark, measure, pretreat, measure some more, and attach fins. I've go so far as try and build a jig on center with a laser to line up my fins ( I had most of the equipment anyway). But with this has come the desire to experiment. On the one hand I like building something to "spec" of the package. The color scheme, decal placement...trying to make it look as "factory" as possible. On the other hand I also have a desire to go nuts with the pin strip masking, print my own decals, and even hire some tagger on the streeet to mark up my rockets.

What do you do? How do you approach a build.
 
Well........ I too am in the process of developing the slower and surer mentality. Thus far I have attacked most LPR's with a two day attitude (except my Venus Probe). If it isn't done in a max of two days I'm taking too long. Anything that will potentially have HPR motors or any type of scaling I take every meticulous second recomended by the instructions and buiild everything strong and highly detailed. Good luck to you!
 
The first time around, when I was a kid...
I started by slapping them together and going. Some of the first ones never saw paint.
Then, as I got older I took more time. Some of it was simply from getting older; but some was probably that I had been doing it longer than others in my area, so felt peer pressure to make 'em nice. The harder they were, the more I tried to make them just right. As a result, some, like my Centuri SST Shuttle, never got finished.

Now...
While all are better than the ones I made as a kid, I still vary my efforts some according to the rocket. The nicer, better, more expensive or complicated rockets get more attention. The cheaper, simpler, more ordinary ones get built OK, but that's about it.
If it's a scratch-built, or a clone, I seem to put more care into them.
If it's a clone of something I screwed up as a kid, I notice that I try extra hard.
 
Weeks to months of careful design and crafting for scratch.
A couple weeks for "nice looking" kits, possibly more if I really want it to look cool.

I tend to have more than one project running at once: one in design phase, one or two in building, and one in finishing.

I tend to be more careful with MPR >1lb kits, and a *lot* of care and craftsmanship in original scratch designs.

I also work with my kids on kits. They don't have as much patience, so the end product is usually not as nifty (but still nice) and the effort is spread out among many more, tinier time chunks.

G
 
slow and steady. It seems like the smaller they are, the more time they take to finish... go figure...

I always build a model like it's going in for a photo shoot, craft it carefully, fill spirals and grain, prime, sand, prime, paint... whether I go with stock colors depends... if it's scale, of course. If it's not, chances are, it will change in appearance from the package (unless the package is really cool ;) )
 
With three kids (and they all have their own activities and schedules), and being signed up to be responsible for other stuff (PTA, church, yada yada), and with stuff on the cars and the house breaking faster than I can get around to fixin' it, it's usually kinda tough to squeeze in build time

Those water-based glues?.....they have PLENTY of time to dry at the rate I build
 
Originally posted by geof
Weeks to months of careful design and crafting for scratch.
A couple weeks for "nice looking" kits, possibly more if I really want it to look cool.

I tend to have more than one project running at once: one in design phase, one or two in building, and one in finishing.

G

That describes me pretty well, too! ;)
 
I don't know if my building methods are "lazy" or "patient" or "careless" or "meticulous."

It kinda depends on what I'm building.

I always seal the fins, always take care to align them, but don't always shape/sand the edges.

I always paint and finish, and try to do well, but I never fill body spirals. I've never flown a model "naked."

I used to build mod rocs with slow-set CA, which still gives a very quick build. I've since switched to almost exclusively using Elmer's ProBond wood glue, even for high power rockets (where the materials make sense, that is.)

It's hard to say today where this puts me in relation to how long it takes me to build a rocket. That's mostly because I've now built so many that I'm much more proficient than I was 3 years ago when I was a "new" B.A.R.

That said, I can build (that is, glue all the parts together and complete the construction process) on your run-of-the-mill 4" high powered rocket with TTW fins in about a days time, if I'm not trying to do 10 other things at the same time (except while glue dries enough to proceed to the next step, that is.) Less for a mod roc. The time involved to seal the fins and paint and finish is another story.
 
I build mostly midpower and modrocs.and have developed a method that works for me

First thing I do before even looking at the instructions is sand and fill all the tubes and cone(s). I keep a squirt bottle of thinned FNF on the work table at all times.I use bondo spot putty for plastic parts.
I also paper laminate the fins at this time if needed.
I call it the pre-construction phase..

When attaching fins, I initially tack them with medium CA.
I use Titebond III for wood and paper joints and fillets.
I smooth fillets and joints with the Fill n' finish mix.

once the rocket is built there is little work to do before painting.because everything is already filled, sanded and smooth.

I use west system for everthing needing epoxy. again I keep a couple squirt bottles of it on the work bench for small tasks.
and simply use different fillers depending on the application.

all of my rockets are primed ,sanded and painted white.
so the only spraycans I have are, primer and krylon white.
because all the colors and designs are done with the airbrush.

thats basically it, almost like an assembly line..lol
 
Once you have a big pile of rockets you can launch the need for a building frenzy decreases. I try to get something new built for each monthly launch if I can. However I always seem to spend more time reading and talking about rockets then I actually do building them! :D
 
here's a fatboy under construction, I didn't fill the spirals because they were almost non-existant.( I used a different tube)
 
I build mostly Low Power ModRocs and paper rockets.

The paper rockets are great because there is no sealing, filling, sanding, or painting involved. Just a clear coat to seal the ink when I'm done.

They usually take longer for the constuction part than regular model rockets but way less time for finishing.

For the rest, most of them look good from 10 ft. or further. I don't bother with filling spirals on tubes. I do fill and seal balsa fins and nosecones but I'm not a fanatic. If a little grain shows, oh well.

I will sand the seams on plastic nose cones and if it's really bad, I'll use some Squadron putty on them.

I always paint and decal my models before flying.

I use Elmer's Glue All for almost everything. I always buy enough for the next year when the back to school sale has them for 20 cents a bottle.

The Epoxy that I have is the small tubes and is only half gone. The price sticker on it is from a store that went out of business more than 10 years ago.

I almost never use CA because the fumes bother me.

I always have 4 or 5 projects going at the same time.
 
Things I don't like:

Balsa grain and tube spirals. I'll take the time to cover fins with paper and use a filler and primer for other balsa surfaces.

Sloppy paint. I prime, sand, and use an airbrush or detail gun. I'll clear coat, too, and polish when necessary.

Misaligned parts. I use a jig to help me set up those. I also take the time to shape the fins exactly to equal dimension and generally sand in a good airfoil.


That said, I do like to work as fast as possible on other steps. I use CA glues and fast epoxy where applicable. Not because I think I need the strength (white/yellow glue is proven to be more than adequate in that department), but because I can mount and fillet a 4 fin rocket, ready to paint, in just minutes.

I use paints that can be recoated in a few minutes (especially with a tiny bit of help from a hair dryer.)

So, I guess I'd surmize my style as detail oriented, but doing it as quickly as I can.
 
Originally posted by terryg
Once you have a big pile of rockets you can launch the need for a building frenzy decreases.

Ya know, that's a good point.
Although when I returned to rocketry, I wanted to build everything I saw, that slowed when I had a few to fly.
Once I had some to fly, construction stalled.

I had a couple of bad days, and lost a couple, which wiped out half the fleet. Construction sped up.

I now have several completed, and near completed, so construction is slowing again.
Good thing, because I'm starting some that will require some meticulous work. Maybe I'd better build some more "general purpose flyers" first, to get ahead.
 
Normally I'll wake up, say "lets work on something today"

Clean up the mess from whatever I did last time.

Then I'll wanna start, but I wont be able to find the little black wrench for my dremmel.

So then I give up.
 
I do all LPR and I am now attempting some clones and scratch builds. I go by the that looks not bad school of thought. I sand smooth but dont get to wrapped up on balsa finishing and i never fill body tube spirals. I admire those that do but I have my doubts if i ever will. I find with modest effort the pictures turn out okay. I love launch pictures of photos and not the static ones. maybe that comes from my mediorcre fiinishing jobs :)
Cheers
fred
 
I have a lot of vision but limited skills. I take my time, and kits come out fairly decent structurally. Scratch builds are a little rougher, mostly due to a complete lack of woodworking ability. But I get by. When it comes to finishing, it's hit or miss. I've gotten to where I can fill fins pretty well, but I'm still an awful sander. I always have hills, dips, and holes. I guess painting is all right, but sometimes funny looking because of poor finishing underneath.

I don't have much time and that's part of the problem, I suppose. I like to fly a lot more than build, so building is just a necessary evil. But I use the right adhesives, all the standard mods to improve kits, and finish them well enough so it doesn't just look like it's slapped together and painted.
 
I'm quite meticulous with hpr, but lpr is always done in 3 days or less unless I am trying to significantly modify a kit.
 
Originally posted by stymye
First thing I do before even looking at the instructions is sand and fill all the tubes and cone(s). I keep a squirt bottle of thinned FNF on the work table at all times.

That squirt bottle is a great idea. I waste so much FNF (and time) mixing batches in dixie cups as needed. Would this be like a mustard bottle (with a hole at the end of a conical nozzle) or a spray bottle like my grandmother uses to mist her potted ferns?

I, too, do all the spiral filling, balsa sealing, and sanding before I start attaching parts. It seems like a lot of extra work to try doing it after the fins are glued on.

Geof
 
Haste alway makes waste regardless of the endevor:

Micro to LMR's: Can take weeks, or months. Some Scale models and PMC's almost a year from conception to completed project..several even longer, I have one Scale subject model that is still incomplete and unflyable after nearly a decade...sometime the PLAN does NOT come together:D
Actually the smaller the model the longer the detailing....
Finishing; as in every trade ALWAYS takes the longest:D
 
Originally posted by stymye

I keep a squirt bottle of thinned FNF on the work table .


Thanks stymye

Your 'mustard bottle' was my second great revelation in modeling!

:)
 
I would say I'm a "functional builder".

High performance models get a lot of attention and detail.

My regular test birds are built structurally and aerodynamically sound (to eyeball precision), but will probably fly with a minimalist, yet tasteful, Fill'n'Finish decor. ;)

I do fill spirals and defects and make surfaces smooth, but if its not NEEDED for a flight, I usually won't spend the time on it.
 
Since I've gotten less and less build time in the past months, I've begun to get a lot more careful when I build. I spent about 4 weeks on my Overdrive. That is mainly because I had to cut and paper 2 more sets of fins than I should (Hey, it was a learning experience!), but after the 6th coat of primer it's starting to look pretty darned good except for the launch lug fillets. Too little space didn't allow me to smooth them... Globs of glue. I actually spent the time to redo the fins after I screwed them up the right way instead of just slapping them on, which was a big step!

In case you're curious...

Fin set 1 (laser cut): coated with CA, but improper sanding caused valleys.
Fin set 2 (hand cut): Coated with paper but sanded incorrectly, causing curved root edges
Fin set 3 (hand cut): Papered, coated with CA, sanded with a sanding block, and B-E-A-utiful!

But there's also the fact that I forgot to CA one fin before attaching it, which is probably gonna mean another 3 coats of primer when I get decent weather (unlikely till spring).
 
I build them for strenth, not good looks. Most of my rockets look horrible. But they're strong. I overbuild everything.
 
I always set different objectives for future builds. Up to now most things are overbuilt and look like they need a better finish. This is because it's our first year at rocketry. Mostly we've concerned ourselves with basic building technics and getting the main concepts down.

The next wave of building, we'll try to become better with finishes and not except the previous years' standards. That's the natural progression I think.

Most of our scratches (LPR and MPR), have taken us about 1 to 4 hours to build, not including drying or setting times.

We use all types of materials. Some conventional and some just a little different. Like calendar vinyl for body tubes instead of rolled paper, and coroplast for fins instead of balsa. Hot glue instead of epoxy, photo paper nose cones instead of plastic or wood.

It's more important to build a $2 or $3 rocket and make during these small projects, rather than later on when things may matter a bit more.

At the moment, building with my kids is more important than making perfect scratchbuilts. For me, it's about doing this together and enjoying the time with them and progressing the hobby to greater heights. (pardon the pun)
 
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