(321_BlastOff) Wildman Red Punisher Build

woferry said:

One thing I thought was pretty neat about the semi-transparency is that you can also see the ejection charge. This is a video sequence (4 frames @ 60fps) I shot of someone else's rocket. The rocket was almost out of frame so it's a pretty low-res shot but it's something I hadn't noticed before.

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That is really really cool.

Rocket is coming out nicely..... that's gonna be a fun L1 man.

321_BlastOff said:

Received my MMT shim from Wildman today. Thanks for the fast shipping


Now on to the av-bay.
I'm going DD for sure (even though it's excessive for L1) and was planning to run everything on a Telemetrum but from my research I don't hear alot of good things about it. I want DD and GPS so now it's time to figure out what electronics to put in this bad boy.

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Looks great and I agree with Bansia and Griff. Clear coat it and call it done. As for electronics... I have an Eggfinder TRS in mine and Im real happy with it. You have your GPS tracker and DD altimeter all in one.

321_BlastOff said:

Received my kit yesterday and the build will start today. This will be my first HPR so let's hope it goes well.

First off let's start with the kit, it's a Wildman (RED) 3" Punisher (Thank you Wayco for the heads up on the red kit)



I also picked up a Aeropack 54mm P and some kevlar. The retainer is about 1.25mm bigger then the red thin tube MMT so a little play there. Also the coupler and vent band were cut together and I must say it's a ugly cut indeed but I can fix that.



Going to start working on the MMT tonight.

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That is a square cut.
if you look at the tab from the other side it is 90% through the material and just leaves that tab.
We use a reinforced fiber cutoff wheel on our saw.
It never gets dull it just gets smaller
The only way we can get rid of it is to hold both pieces of the tube, easy enough when they are both large pieces, but when you really notice the tab is on vent bands and couplers that are relatively small .
If you spin the tube as someone suggested here you have a very good chance of un-squaring the tube, we have opted against that.

Wrapping it with tape does nothing .

We did not realize it was such a problem, otherwise I would sand down each one by hand. It literally will take 5 seconds with a piece of sandpaper on a flat surface.

bill2654 said:

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Looks great and I agree with Bansia and Griff. Clear coat it and call it done. As for electronics... I have an Eggfinder TRS in mine and Im real happy with it. You have your GPS tracker and DD altimeter all in one.

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How did you mount the TRS in the PunisheR nc HEDR bay? Am toying with ways to mount without having Antenna stick out of bay lids ...and without all thread.

Dont try to hide the black crs with paint.. clear , no paint WM rocket for the win..

Kenny

KenRico said:

How did you mount the TRS in the PunisheR nc HEDR bay? Am toying with ways to mount without having Antenna stick out of bay lids ...and without all thread.

Dont try to hide the black crs with paint.. clear , no paint WM rocket for the win..

Kenny

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I substituted a wooden bulkhead for the aluminum one and I mounted my antenna on the bulkhead. Nothing has happened yet (fingers crossed) but I'm thinking of adding a drogue to keep things in line and try a lessen the chances of the shock cord messing with the antenna.

bill2654 said:

I substituted a wooden bulkhead for the aluminum one and I mounted my antenna on the bulkhead. Nothing has happened yet (fingers crossed) but I'm thinking of adding a drogue to keep things in line and try a lessen the chances of the shock cord messing with the antenna.

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Drogue highly recommended on HED deploy rockets. That thing is gonna come down fast without one.

timbucktoo said:

Drogue highly recommended on HED deploy rockets. That thing is gonna come down fast without one.

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+1 Would also prevent main deploy with the nose pointing down, which would increase chanced of shock cord damage/break as well as zippering (from what I've been told/read/heard/know).

I have many kits from Wildman, and I have had the tab on many of the kits I have ordered. It has never been an issue. I take it off with a palm sander as I am prepping/cleaning the tubes. I always sand the end regardless of the tab, just to smooth them out. It makes for a much better joining of a separation point. I have had kits from other vendors that did not have the tab, and guess what? The tube was not square. This however isn't always the case, regardless, you should always check your tubes for squareness.

WILDMANRS said:

That is a square cut.
if you look at the tab from the other side it is 90% through the material and just leaves that tab.

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Hey Tim,

Thanks for the feedback! I'm the one who mentioned checking for square, but only since the mmt tab was brought up and I wanted to provide possibly helpful advice. I have 2 Punisher kits (one purchased direct from you and another a few months later from Wildman CT) and both had mmts cut off-square. I still have the first with the retainer glued flush, but crooked (only noticed after the JB Weld dried). If you'd like to investigate, I can send it in to you (an exchange would be GREAT), but you'll have to remove the JB Weld to see (and yes, I filed off the tab til it was flush with a hand file). After that, I checked the second one and it was also off square by about 3mm on one side, so I then squared it on my band saw and used it for my finished Punisher. I noted this on CJ's Punisher build thread and someone else noted "Squaring tubes is always recommended. I spend time doing this on every build." to which I responded "I know that...now.

"

I'm not bashing the kit, I'm just noting what I've experienced and trying to help someone else if there is a possible issue before the retainer is glued on.

As a side note, of my 100+ rockets, the Punisher is my clear favorite, so big kudos to you and your company. Keep those great rockets coming! :clap:

I have never cleared bare fiberglass, can I just use automotive clear or should I use marine clear? Also from my reading I shouldn't sand it past 360 grit or so. Anyone have experience clearing bare fiberglass?

321_BlastOff said:

I have never cleared bare fiberglass, can I just use automotive clear or should I use marine clear? Also from my reading I shouldn't sand it past 360 grit or so. Anyone have experience clearing bare fiberglass?

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I did zero sanding prior to clear coating the red tube. It turned out great. Of course, a little high grit sanding would make it mirror smooth, but I'm not much of one for perfect finishes since they only ever last until the first launch anyway...
So: not necessary unless you're going for that ephemeral perfection...

Auto clear is what I used😀

321_BlastOff said:

I have never cleared bare fiberglass, can I just use automotive clear or should I use marine clear? Also from my reading I shouldn't sand it past 360 grit or so. Anyone have experience clearing bare fiberglass?

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I have clear coated one of mine. I washed it with dish soap, then wet sanded with 400 grit. anyone tried armor all or clear shoe polish on the wildman red tubing? won't be as ruby red as clear but it might look nice, it does on other colored tubing.

RKeller said:

I have clear coated one of mine. I washed it with dish soap, then wet sanded with 400 grit. anyone tried armor all or clear shoe polish on the wildman red tubing? won't be as ruby red as clear but it might look nice, it does on other colored tubing.

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Any pics of how it came out?

In my experience, clear coats simply do not adhere or age well on bare fibreglass. They chip, peel, crack, color, etc. If you want it to look good into the future, do not clear coat fibreglass.

What does work well is polishing. First, you can literally polish the glass with finer and finer grits of "sandpaper", and then move on to polishing compounds. If you can get your hands on a product called MicroMesh, the stuff is like magic. Progressive grits up to 12000 (no that is not a typo). It's made for woodworking purposes, but I've used it with very nice results on fibreglass. Yes, it requires a fair bit of hand labor, but you can get fibreglass to look like glass with it. With no finish to peel/crack/age/etc.

Also, if you go with actual polishing, you can then use any number of liquid/paste polishes every once in a while to spruce things up. Just an easy wipe on/off and buff once in a while keeps things pretty.

s6

OK I tried to make sure the vent band area of the coupler was covered evenly with epoxy and twisted it while putting it on but you can still see spots where it didn't fill it in with glue and the light and dark spots bother me sooo i'm going to paint the vent band and NC black and sand the air frame to 320 then have my buddy clear the whole thing. I haven't decided about the fins yet, I like the edges grey and the rest black but when I sand the fins im guessing the black on the sides only goes so deep before I sand through it. The fins might get painted black with the NC and AV-bay.

stealth6 said:

In my experience, clear coats simply do not adhere or age well on bare fibreglass. They chip, peel, crack, color, etc. If you want it to look good into the future, do not clear coat fibreglass.

What does work well is polishing. First, you can literally polish the glass with finer and finer grits of "sandpaper", and then move on to polishing compounds. If you can get your hands on a product called MicroMesh, the stuff is like magic. Progressive grits up to 12000 (no that is not a typo). It's made for woodworking purposes, but I've used it with very nice results on fibreglass. Yes, it requires a fair bit of hand labor, but you can get fibreglass to look like glass with it. With no finish to peel/crack/age/etc.

Also, if you go with actual polishing, you can then use any number of liquid/paste polishes every once in a while to spruce things up. Just an easy wipe on/off and buff once in a while keeps things pretty.

s6

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what kind of clears have you used on bare fiberglass? I have heard nothing but good things about Imron its used ALOT in marine.

321_BlastOff said:

what kind of clears have you used on bare fiberglass? I have heard nothing but good things about Imron its used ALOT in marine.

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I've used Future floor polish on bare fiber glass with minimal sanding and comes out great.

Looks better in sunlight, but this gives you an idea... Just used Rustoleum 2X Gloss Clear Coat. Maybe 3-5 light coats, minutes apart. Easy, peasy, done. Red is the new black.

This rocket would look awesome with some lights inside!

We clear coat (matte and gloss) fiberglass gun stocks all the time. $100 at the local Maco, no issues. Stands up to the weather, cross country field abuse as well as shipping to and from hunts and shoots. If your clear on your rocket is chipping and cracking, examine your prep and your chosen paint.

Working on the nose cone and vent band. Sear pins & vent drilled now just sand sand sand to prep it for a gloss black paint before I move on to sanding the airframe before it all receives a clear coat. I might paint the tip but can't decide on a color yet red,silver or just leave it black.

Don't forget to put vent hole in NC....it's now a payload & thus must be treated so!

blackjack2564 said:

Don't forget to put vent hole in NC....it's now a payload & thus must be treated so!

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NC is vented. Thank you very much for the great build thread, definitely helped alot.

321_BlastOff said:

NC is vented. Thank you very much for the great build thread, definitely helped alot.

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Your welcome.I always enjoy sharing build tips with other fliers.

By the way........ almost ready to start another build thread!
I'm staring at a New 4in. Punisher [75mm motor]:dark: as I type.

blackjack2564 said:

Your welcome.I always enjoy sharing build tips with other fliers.

By the way........ almost ready to start another build thread!
I'm staring at a New 4in. Punisher [75mm motor]:dark: as I type.

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I am guessing this is a Black Saturday (Wed Members) thing??

I have a feeling that we may see a few more red rockets this year from Tim & Jim. :wink:

bill2654 said:

I have a feeling that we may see a few more red rockets this year from Tim & Jim. :wink:

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Speaking of how do you like yours from Airfest ?

WILDMANRS said:

Speaking of how do you like yours from Airfest ?

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I just love it! The Punisher is a great kit on its own but with the red tube, that's a whole new level of cool. The first thing I did was assemble the av-bay and I flew it on another 3" rocket and I gotta say I had my reservations about the HED but I followed Jims instructions on his build thread, and what do ya know...it worked perfect. That is a slick system to go along with a BEAST of a rocket! I cant wait to spank the hell out of mine like ya'll did at Airfest. I just finished my fillets and now it just needs the clear cote. I hear Jim is doing a new build thread on a 4" version with a 75mm hole. :y: Can't wait to see that with a M in it! Hope your gonna do a jr also.

WILDMANRS said:

That is a square cut.

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321_BlastOff said:

I haven't decided about the fins yet, I like the edges grey and the rest black but when I sand the fins im guessing the black on the sides only goes so deep before I sand through it. The fins might get painted black with the NC and AV-bay.

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When I cleared my Darkstar, the gray edges of the fins turned black. Makes sense. (My darkstar LOVES mud, two launches, two mud baths)
I carefully masked my wildman fins for the majority of the build to avoid any marks or smudges...and was able to leave them bare.