A couple of new builds

Been working on a couple kits, a Madcow Scooter and a TLP Schimitar. First up, the Madcow Scooter. Now, I was very reluctant to slap down $40 for a relatively small, simple kit, but I have to say, the quality of Madcow's kits are TOP NOTCH!! Here is a layout of the parts:

As most of you know by now, I have a tendency to overbuild my kits, I can't explain, I just do. This was no exception. Although not necessary, I glassed the BT with a layer of 3/4 oz. cloth and after the fins were attached added a layer of 3/4 oz. t-t-t over the fins. Here's a few pics:

The blue tape was so I could remove the rear centering ring and fillet the fins from inside. Then I thought (uh- oh) I could just fill the fin can with foam. I tried to ressurrect and old can of Hilti foam I had. Big mistake, and a big mess. So I just filetted where I could and glued the rear ring in place. After t-t-t, I added epoxy with micro-filler fillets to the fins. About three coats of sanding sealer and ready for paint. Oh yea, I added ballast, or nose weight, enough to allow me to use at least my 29/180 casing. Pics:

Even with all the added steps and overbuilding, a very straightforward build, excellent parts and I can't wait to launch it on a variety of motors.



Now on to the TLP Scimitar. This is already a 24mm 2 engine cluster kit to start with, but you know me, I gotta do something else to it. So I am making this kit with interchangeable motor mounts. The 2x24mm it came with, a 3x24mm, and a 1x29mm, which, with an adapter can take my 24 RMS casing. So now I have many motor choices and combinations. Here are some pics:

As you can see, I used allthread. I simply got all the CR's together and drilled holes thru them all at the same time to make sure they were all aligned correctly. Had to sand the rings down a bit to fit. I also made a baffle. For the 29mm mount, I added insert nuts for motor retention, and on the 3x24mm added a short piece of allthread and a nut for motor retention.


Now for this kit, the tailcone is supposed to be glued into the rear of the body tube. Well obviously that won't work with interchangeable motor mounts. So I left the allthread long enough so I can insert the mmts into the rocket, add the tail cone, and then I'll fashion some brass clips to screw down over the tail cone and this will hold everything in place.

I have glassed the body tube with 2 oz. cloth and have since attached the fins and added t-t-t to those as well. I am now sanding, and sanding, and sanding, etc. There are some paper fairing thingys that are supposed to be attached, I may make them out of balsa, still mulling that over.


That's it for now. More pics as I progress.

Well the Scooter is done. I really like this kit and this company. Can't wait to fly it.

More work done on the Scimitar. Going very slowly. All the fins attached. Glassed t-t-t. Now sand, sand, sand. And, instead of using the paper patterns for the intake details, I used balsa instead. Checked the CP/CG and surprisingly no nose weight needed. I added a little anyway, just in case. Here's a few pics:

Oh yeah, fillets done too. I just need to remember to add the launch lugs.

Very nice looking builds.

What is t-t-t?

MarkH said:

Very nice looking builds.

What is t-t-t?

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Tip-to-tip. In reference to fiberglassing, and thank you.

Nice. What did you cover the Scooter's nose cone in? It has a bright shine to it in the picture.

jj94 said:

Nice. What did you cover the Scooter's nose cone in? It has a bright shine to it in the picture.

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All I did was put about 3 coats of sanding sealer, and gloss black paint. That's it. No gloss coat, no Future.

Oh that was sanding sealer? I thought it was epoxy that you covered the nose cone in (before painting).

Well the Scimitar is finished. It didn't turn out quite they way I envisioned, but it'll look good on the pad. Anyway here are some pics:

Here is it with the various motor configurations. Also put some rail buttons on as well.

It's not lite, but not real heavy. 2 E-9's should get to around 800' I'm guessing. 3 D-12's will probably get up over a 1000'. An E-28 or an F-12 should work pretty good, also an F-22 or a G-33. Of course anything bigger will do just fine. Just thinking of using motors with a longer burn and not as much thrust. A G-75 looks pretty good as well. Anyway, you get the idea, many, many possible motor combinations with just thus one rocket. Can't wait to try 'em all.

nice work on your motor mounts combo. I have one question where is cg and cp located on your Schimitar?

Jesse

The CP is just about where the 180 casing stops, and the CG is just aft of where the main fins begin, going from the top. There is almost 2 body tube diameters between them. I only added a little bit of nose weight, although I did not really need to.