APRO Lander Build Thread

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I'm really glad you decided to do this build now because without having it as a reference I'd probably have no chance of completing mine successfully. Y'all are going to get some good entertainment from my build, which has some, ah, "interesting differences", which may or may not include the use of banana pudding as a structural element. I'm hoping "looks like crap compared to Gary's" is not one of the differences, because it is looking really clean so far. Definitely sets a high bar for me to shoot for.

I'm kind of surprised how rarely I see folks building other's scratch designs. This one really caught my fancy so I'm doing it. Maybe I'll start a trend. :)
 
I'm really glad you decided to do this build now because without having it as a reference I'd probably have no chance of completing mine successfully.

I'm kind of surprised how rarely I see folks building other's scratch designs. This one really caught my fancy so I'm doing it. Maybe I'll start a trend. :)

Aw, you can pull it off. You sound like an experienced builder to me.

FWIW, this isn't the first time someone wanted to build one of my designs. I was quite befuddled when I was asked for the initial plans in a build thread I did 3 years ago. It was an oddrock from hell! Never found out if the guy ever flew it, but nonetheless, he had to build one. It's about 79 postings, but an interesting read.

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?58007-U-F-T-Y-E-S
 
WOW! A week already? Geez!

Of course, with an ‘out of the box’ design as this rocket is, there’s going to be some areas where your real craftsmanship has to intervene. Such as where the parts are joined. Gaps between the shrouds and such had to be doctored. As you can see, Bondo was the filler of choice. The 6” tranny joint was probably the area of most concern here, and all I did was coat the joint section heavily with CA and barrel sanded it smooth with the Dremel. Bondo yet to come for areas not seen in the pic.

Both lugs are now installed as well. But that didn’t go without a hitch either. Although I painstakingly used the alignment rod, I still had tight areas after the glue dried. This is where having some homemade sanding rods really show their worth. Since the problem was on the inside, it really didn’t matter if I over sanded those areas because they are hidden. Just as long as the 2 lugs are aligned properly and secure, there’s shouldn’t be any issues. Now, the 1/4 “rod slips in like it’s supposed to. Also, I thought I might be able to repurpose the struts from the old lander but they’re too short. The BT-80 section is longer this time around.

Careful attention to the fin muscles and a great deal of sanding Bondo gets me to this point. I thought about filling the gaps between the fins and muscles at the top of the fin, (a bit hard to see) but I think not doing so, gives the fins a separate component look, as if the fins had room to retract, or adjust upon landing. I used the 3 piece muscle template because there were already variances in the construction, and even those proved to be inaccurate. I wound up custom cutting the lengths and made the top rounded piece bigger than it was supposed to be. Otherwise it would have been too small. You can also see the prepped glue lines on the forward tube where the strakes go.

100_1343.jpg 100_1346.jpg
 
Once I got the strakes on and installed the dowel struts, I started filling and sanding all the remaining nit-pick areas that were haunting me and this seemed to go on forever. And like a good boy, I’ll spare you the sanding details that followed. SO…after a couple weeks of hobby shop derailing, I finally got to the primer stage. At least I’m getting somewhere with it now.

100_1379.jpg 100_1386.jpg
 
Rusto 2X Ultra Cover. I have a couple of cans. I honestly don't see much difference between the Rusto Auto Primer and this stuff except that the 2X is darker. I'll give it a flat white base once the weather allows for painting again. The humidity has been out the window for days now and will be through the weekend. It's likely, that I won't have this finished in time for the launch. Too bad too. There's always a bunch of designer types at NSL and I'm certain it would have caught a lot of attention. That's OK though. I still have an arsenal of rockets I can fly.
 
Rusto 2X Ultra Cover. I have a couple of cans. I honestly don't see much difference between the Rusto Auto Primer and this stuff except that the 2X is darker. I'll give it a flat white base once the weather allows for painting again. The humidity has been out the window for days now and will be through the weekend. It's likely, that I won't have this finished in time for the launch. Too bad too. There's always a bunch of designer types at NSL and I'm certain it would have caught a lot of attention. That's OK though. I still have an arsenal of rockets I can fly.
HA HA HA , You know me Gary, I never had an issue bringing a primer gray bird to a launch.
Do you remember Big "D" (dlazarus6660)? Ole Dan used to bust on me all the time at the CMASS launches about me primer gray birds.
I miss him...:( Hes a great person and FUNNY TOO!
 
HA HA HA , You know me Gary, I never had an issue bringing a primer gray bird to a launch.
Do you remember Big "D" (dlazarus6660)? 'snip' I miss him...:(

Not that it's an issue with me, but I prefer mine painted because, folks don't take pics of gray primer finishes. It'll be ready for the next Camden launch though. I miss Dan too SD.
 
I have a confession to make. After the primer dried and I was about to sand, I noticed I had forgot to F&F the fins :y: Sooooo, I had to prep those for filling, all the while snapping off a strut here and there......I’m not sure why those weren’t glued very well, but I have reattached some of them multiple times from this point. Finally got those fixed and the fins sanded down, then I had to wait for Mother Nature to give me a break and finally got the primer on again. No buggers to patch up, which really surprised me. And since the humidity got down to 44% today, I laid down the flat white base coat. I can hardly believe I’m finally to this point. I really don't remember having this much to sand last time around because there was a BUNCH! I can tell by the primer and base coats, that this finish should look a whole lot better than the last one.

100_1546.jpg
 
I got as far as getting the silver paint on. Then launch dates got in the way and trying to get other builds ready. Besides, since the last post on this, I still hadn't settled on any decor. I do now, have something that I'll be using if I ever get around to it. Just needs some red & black paint and vinyl applications. I'll get a rendering posted soon.
 
Nifty. Please post some photos here when the real deal is finished.

What's your final weight and where is the CG? (Yes I'm full of questions today)
 
I don't know, and I don't know. If I get upstairs this evening, I'll try to remember to get that info for you, but since it's an already proven design, I didn't bother finding the CG.
 
5.7 ounces without the laundry, motor and finishing details. CG is noted in the pic.

View attachment 301874

Ah good, in OR my calculated CG (minus the same items as yours) comes out pretty close to that (slightly in front, actually) so my heavily altered internals don't seem to have pushed CG back much or at all. We'll see where it ends up when the model is completed, but for now this gives me a bit of comfort. Thanks for checking.
 
I figure by now, many of you may have thought I gave up on this build. A lot of things got in the way plus, I dreaded the grueling masking job it would take. Initially, I thought I could brush paint the fins red and trim out the black with little masking, but that red just didn’t cut it over the silver like I had hoped. So, after a reeeeealy long time, I finally spent an entire evening masking this thing up and sanding the surface down on the red so I could shoot some flat white over it. That’s what you see in the pic. Hopefully I didn’t have any “sneak-in’s”creeping onto my nice silver. Of course, with my shoddy masking skills, it’s likely it did. I should have done this before I applied the red. I wouldn’t be doing double duty here. My next red application is coming out of the rattle can instead of the Testor’s bottle. Once the red is on and set, there’s very little black I feel certain will brush on easily and finally I can get the vinyl applications on. I’m finally on a roll again.

23.JPG
 
I probably should have waited to snap a pic in the daylight. For some reason, this model isn't very camera friendly indoors. I took multiple shots in different lighting and places, but no luck. I'm probably fussing over nothing but I was hoping to have a decent shot to post. Oh well. It's finished. The procrastination is over. All it needs is a shock cord and it'll REALLY be done.

I opted to loose some of the additional roll bars in the center for a last minute decision that sorta blew my skirt up. It's hard to see on the rocket so I'm posting the art work as well. Thank you all for your patience and comps along the way. I can indeed say, this thread took way too long to finish.

Happy flying......OH.....Neil, any time dood. Where's yours?

24.jpg Marvin Porthole Final.jpg
 
It might have taken a long time, but man look at the result!
 
Even though this is my second one, it was still a PIA to build. This design will test your craftsmanship for sure.

Hmmmm....Now why do you suppose that is?


Would it have anything to do with the fact that your designs are more than three fins attached to a single diameter air frame, topped with a commercially available nose cone???
 
Spiffy! Congrats on reaching the finish line. The Marvin porthole is an awesome touch.

Mine is sitting patiently, glaring at me from it's spot on the workbench, waiting for a suitable painting opportunity (along with my upscale Quinstar). So far I have had none, zero, and none coming up any time soon. Every day on the forecast is either cold or humid or both. :bang:
 
Hmmmm....Now why do you suppose that is?

Would it have anything to do with the fact that your designs are more than three fins attached to a single diameter air frame, topped with a commercially available nose cone???

Yeah I know. Like most of them are. But this one is "my level 5". Granted, the last PIA's I built were the Argus Transport and Freighter. And that's been quite a long time ago. Funny, I thought Protovamp was going to be one of these 'hard jobs', but it's just going together really different than most.

Spiffy! Congrats on reaching the finish line. The Marvin porthole is an awesome touch.

Mine is sitting patiently, glaring at me from it's spot on the workbench, waiting for a suitable painting opportunity (along with my upscale Quinstar). So far I have had none, zero, and none coming up any time soon. Every day on the forecast is either cold or humid or both. :bang:

Marvin had to give up the Maggot. I didn't mind building him something new.

LAWD....weather! We finally got our last freeze almost 2 weeks ago after a 2 week summer tease job Mother Nature laid on us. Damn near killed everything blooming. SC peaches are going to be expensive as hell or imported. We're having our share of ups and downs with warm, humidity and the likes also. Lotta rain bouncing around too. Have to plan when I can paint anymore. All that's done outside.
 
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