BT-55 Snarky-ish Build

I put some pieces of balsa on the BT with Gorilla Brand CA, then sanded them down quite a bit.

These will allow me to tack on the scoop more precisely, and they will be hidden in there where you can't see them. They are not even a millimeter thick, so adding weight is not to be worried about.

Five Stars Here.

Seems to me that you could paint the inside of the scoop (including the main body tube, but mask the glue joint). Then you could use a piece of paper cut to fit inside, and maybe just some post it notes to finish the masking before you paint the remainder of the exterior.

IMHO a red interior of the scoop would be pretty cool, and reminiscent of parts (namely the internal color of landing gear doors/airbrakes) of some model fighters that I've built over the years (as well as the F-111s I worked on).

[EDIT] In just looking at the actual kit, perhaps a black interior on the body tube side of the scoop would be called for. One thing that you could do is slip in pieces of paper that are painted red or black, and see what you like the best, then make your decision based on that.

Thanks K'!!!

Yeah, I'm leaning toward the red, white and blue like the snarky, but looking at some of the model kits I'll be stealing my decal sheet from has me also liking a olive drab or camo scheme.
Then, there are also the target drones that are red and orange, and those are pretty sweet too, plus they really "Pop" with the bright color and all.
Either way, I have a feeling that I'm going to probably build a few different rockets of this style.
I'm already eyeballing my BT-60 and BT-80 tubes and parts...:wink:

I figure once I can build this style of rocket to fly safely, then it opens the doors to possibly building an RCRBG.
A 29mm BT-80 size with a ducted fan would be pretty cool someday.

I got the Scoop tacked/mounted to the tube with Super Thin CA.

Dear Goodness that was stressful!!!!!

I think this will work. I'm actually quite surprised at how terrifically strong and tight the bond is, so I won't be needing to add a fillet before glassing. I did take my time making sure that the surfaces were prepped properly to absorb the CA, but it took better than I could have hoped for.

Glad that part is over, and glad I used those balsa strips for initial tack alignment points.



Fuselage weight before glassing, 28g.

It is plenty strong enough, so I'll just give it one wrap of .5oz cloth. Should only add a few grams after it is sanded down. Maybe not even that much.

Looking great Top! The balsa strips are genius!

I am setting my sights on doing a Firefly one day. I have a link to a paper model that could serve as a pattern but there is still much to figure out and learn until then.

Check e-mail.

Thanks Bill!

Just glad to help you get your build back on brother!

Fins and Wings, CHECK!

As tempting as it is to paper them and forego glassing, that actually adds more weight than .75oz. glass cloth does, so I'll be patient and wait to get set back up for glassing before I do anything else to them.

I got 1 side of the fins/wings glassed today. They are on my granite "Surface Plate" under heavy books to cure overnight, then I will probably do the other side tomorrow.

TopRamen said:

I put some pieces of balsa on the BT with Gorilla Brand CA, then sanded them down quite a bit.

These will allow me to tack on the scoop more precisely, and they will be hidden in there where you can't see them. They are not even a millimeter thick, so adding weight is not to be worried about.

View attachment 283456

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Good idea

And.??????????????
Just stumbled on to this thread surfing.

Too many builds at once for me into resource allocation mode, and this one requires about 1.5-1.75 oz. of 20minute epoxy to get finished up, so it is in a box right now, but the Teflon covered couplers are in the BT, the template is cut for the cloth, and when I do get around to it, it'll be an afternoon build. Also need a retainer still.

I have 7 or 8 half finished birds like this one, all parts ready to go.
I don't do a thread for everything, but there are so many rockets, and so little time!!!

I sometimes feel like the Burgess Meredith character, Henry Bemis, in The Twighlight Zone, "Time Enough At Last", in that all I want to do is build rockets, but life and stuff is always distracting me. Even other rockets distract me.

What type of resin/epoxy do you use to wet out your cloth?
In general what type do people use?

keredrof said:

What type of resin/epoxy do you use to wet out your cloth?
In general what type do people use?

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Most people who do large layups use laminating resin, like Aeropoxy laminating resin (they also make a structural version) or West Systems with the slow hardener. It's low viscosity and slow curing, with nearly an hour of actual working time.

West systems epoxy and resin is good stuff

TopRamen said:

Too many builds at once for me into resource allocation mode, and this one requires about 1.5-1.75 oz. of 20minute epoxy to get finished up, so it is in a box right now, but the Teflon covered couplers are in the BT, the template is cut for the cloth, and when I do get around to it, it'll be an afternoon build. Also need a retainer still.

I have 7 or 8 half finished birds like this one, all parts ready to go.
I don't do a thread for everything, but there are so many rockets, and so little time!!!

I sometimes feel like the Burgess Meredith character, Henry Bemis, in The Twighlight Zone, "Time Enough At Last", in that all I want to do is build rockets, but life and stuff is always distracting me. Even other rockets distract me.

Click to expand...

I hear ya. I have one rocket going but other hobbies that require my time. Then there's the road cone collection that always needs to be updated and added to. Collecting them late at night has proven difficult.:roll:

TopRamen said:

Too many builds at once for me into resource allocation mode, and this one requires about 1.5-1.75 oz. of 20minute epoxy to get finished up, so it is in a box right now, but the Teflon covered couplers are in the BT, the template is cut for the cloth, and when I do get around to it, it'll be an afternoon build. Also need a retainer still.

I have 7 or 8 half finished birds like this one, all parts ready to go.
I don't do a thread for everything, but there are so many rockets, and so little time!!!

I sometimes feel like the Burgess Meredith character, Henry Bemis, in The Twighlight Zone, "Time Enough At Last", in that all I want to do is build rockets, but life and stuff is always distracting me. Even other rockets distract me.

Click to expand...

It's not fair! There was -time- now :-(

keredrof said:

What type of resin/epoxy do you use to wet out your cloth?
In general what type do people use?

Click to expand...

I don't wet out my cloth at this scale. It would not be maneuverable if I did. I evenly coat the part to which the cloth is going to be applied, then gently position the cloth and press it on to wet/saturate it in place. When I get a high spot where there is a little too much epoxy and you cannot see the weave pattern, I leave it alone until it starts to set up, then run hair dryer on that spot for a few seconds at a time til' it softens and melts into the surrounding cloth. Afterward, any high spots I may have missed can be sanded without fear of ruining the strength of the cloth, as strength at this scale is not critical to performance. This model will fly a low velocity, even on composite motors.
I glass because I enjoy the process of working with it, appreciate the added durability, and it makes the model so much easier to assemble and finish.
I use Bob Smith 20 minute with good results, and it comes in small quantities applicable to the scale I'm working at.
"Most People" only use glass on HPR stuff, so they use larger quantities and thusly it is economical and efficient for them to use Aerospace Grade Epoxies that come in gallon containers with pumps for accurate metering out.
Someday I'll have room and funds for a set up like that, but my entire house is 650 sqft. so I cannot justify the expense nor the space to properly store that much epoxy at once. My work area is about 7ft.X4ft. of my livingroom.

That's funny. I live in an apartment and my work space is soon to be the corner of the room I share with my wife. My half of the closet tends to have less clothes and more rocketry stuff.
I wonder if mid power would need glass on estes tubes.
Looks like a fun process and your small scale version seems smart to do.

keredrof said:

That's funny. I live in an apartment and my work space is soon to be the corner of the room I share with my wife. My half of the closet tends to have less clothes and more rocketry stuff.
I wonder if mid power would need glass on estes tubes.
Looks like a fun process and your small scale version seems smart to do.

Click to expand...

It probably does not NEED it, but the process is enjoyable and so relaxing.