Estes Apollo 11 Saturn V Build Thread

I'm finally getting around to building this. Initial pictures to come in a bit. I haven't started construction. I'd like some input first. Some quick searching of the forum didn't yield much specific to the Saturn V.

What should I be aware of that the instructions may not cover?

Should I upgrade the motor mount to 29mm?

Should I replace the stock parachutes with nylon ones?

Thanks.

The interstage wrap has some raised lines that are there to help with masking off. There is a raised line for the edge of the tape wherever you need one. It's not obvious at first.

Definitely upgrade to a 29mm.

Don't put too much glue on the edges of the centering rings, or you'll pull in the body tube and you'll see the ring on the outside.

I did a lot of posts building the Estes Saturn V on my building blog.
You've got to scroll back to the beginning of the build, 71 posts on the Estes kit alone. There are some posts about other Saturn V builds.

https://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com/search/label/Saturn V

Good luck on your build and take it slow!

I followed hcmbanjos blog when I built both my Estes Sat V and the Dr Zooch Sat V. Tons of great photos and tips. I'll be following it again when I build the new release this summer.

In the beginning there were only parts...

The build is on a minor hold while I find my drawing compass. I plan on using the existing motor mount centering rings but make the hole 29mm; that's where the compass comes in.

1. Draw a secant line anywhere on the circle
2. Bisect secant line with compass to find center
3. Use right triangle and draw a line perpendicular to the secant line at its center
4. Repeat 1-3 somewhere else on the circle
5. Intersection of lines parallel to secant lines gives you the center
6. Draw a new 29mm circle with a compass from the found center

hcmbanjo said:

I did a lot of posts building the Estes Saturn V on my building blog.
You've got to scroll back to the beginning of the build, 71 posts on the Estes kit alone. There are some posts about other Saturn V builds.

https://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com/search/label/Saturn V

Good luck on your build and take it slow!

Click to expand...

Here's a list of links to all of Chris's Estes Saturn V posts (mostly) in order:

https://www.rocketreviews.com/saturn-v-8133.html

-- Roger

Set your compass to roughly 3/4 the diameter.
set the tip of the compass on the edge of the CR - draw an arc
set the tip at about the opposite edge of the CR - draw another arc
Draw a line through the two intersections

Repeat roughly perpendicular and the intersection of the 2 lines is the center.

I did this, cut out the new hole and sanded to accept a 29mm motor mount tube:



Then I remembered I have CTI 24mm reload hardware in both 1 and 3 grain, haven't yet used it. :bang:

I think I'm going to put the 1 ring I altered back to 24mm with some scrap card stock similar to what comprises the rings.

The 6grain CTI 24mm motors are pretty wicked too.

I fixed the hole I cut, glad I only did 1 ring. I got the motor mount assembled. Nothing tricky here, simply follow the instructions. I did not install the engine retainer hook, so I can use larger 24mm engines.



Here's it glued in the main body tube:

Here are the transition assemblies:

Stage 3:

The centering rings were a little flimsy; consequently, they were fickle to get seated mostly flush with the tube, but I managed. I used a slightly heavier piece of nylon cord I had for the loop, insted of that Estes supplied.



To glue the center knockout of the centering ring into the tube of "stage 3," I decided to first insert it, apply glue then use spare a piece of body tube to push it in place. This knockout need a bit if sanding and slicing with the x-acto to fit. The long tube was too tight a fit; the tube and rings required a bit if sanding.



You probably can't tell from the photo, but the card stock transition hangs every so slightly over the edge of the tube. It was happenstance, but I glad it's that way, my cutout of the transition didn't have to be perfect. When the glue is dry, I can take a sharp x-acto blade and trim it off without having potential flat spots or gaps that require filling and sanding.



The LEM went together the same as stage 3, without the knockout getting glued back in. For whatever reason, the parts fit better than "stage 3."

Cut, trim, glue...

Testors plastic cement in the red, metal tube for gluing. I used a little masking tape just to make sure they didn't separate for some reason.



I used the mounting plate to make sure the spacing is correct while the cement set.



5 bells:



I'm going to paint the bells and mounting plate before glue up. Testors gunmetal for the bells and something white for the mounting plate.

I'll be watching this thread... op:

There is only the slightest evidence the the glue shrinking on the main tube from the motor mount; you've really got to be looking for it. No pictures for it, no point really. We'll see what it looks like after an initial priming.

The bells are painted and drying, no primer just a good once over with Testors gun metal and a small brush. If you put it on thick enough and spread it evenly, it will self level and leave no brush strokes. I'm dreading priming and sanding the body wraps.

As it turns out, the tiny little overlap of the transitions I mentioned line up near perfectly with the OD of the tube it slides into. Pictures later. :clap:

Here are the painted engine nozzles:



Here's the "stage 3" transition:




I cut and sanded the wraps for a good fit with uniform edges. I masked off the sections of the transition I didn't want the spray adhesive (3m 77) to cover, leaving exposed areas for all 3 wraps. I sprayed the exposed areas with adhesive and waited about 2 minutes before laying down the first wrap. I started with the upper most wrap and went down. The adhesive was just forgiving enough that I could carefully pull up the wrap and reposition if it didn't quite line up. The conical wrap has the "largest" gap where the ends meet, but hopefully after and little paint and filler it will go unnoticed. After I was satisfied with the placement I used a little pieces of tape to make sure the ends don't lift. Then I took off all the other masking tape.

The card stock ring you see is to keep some pressure on the bottom, as some small sections of the lower edges had slight bubbles I couldn't push out or peel up and reapply.

Follow the instructions for marking the body tube. Again, I masked the areas I didn't want adhesive over spray. Then I removed the masking tape, so as not to glue it to the tube. I taped the ends to prevent lifting.



I painted the base plate for the engines flat white, forgot the matte clear coat. Here are the engine bells getting glued to the base plate:

Vacuum formed plastic is the devil...

I cut and glued the fins together (pictures later). I followed the instructions to do so. I used Testors liquid cement to bond the two halves. To make sure the halves were properly aligned here's what I did:

1. Tear 2 small pieces of masking tape to fold over the rood and leading edges of the fin
2. Place about half the tape on the fin surface with a flap left to fold over onto the other half
2. Align all the corners of the fin halves (not your cut-out margin, but the corners left after final trimming).
3. Hold the halves aligned and fold the root edge tape over the root edge and onto the face of the other half.
4. Open your aligned halves like a book
5. Apply liquid cement
6. Carefully close the "book" for proper alignment
7. Hold for about 20 seconds
8. Place second piece of tape over leading edge

Have I mentioned how vacuum formed plastic is the devil?

I sanded down the excess plastic edges of the fins. I started with very aggressive 60 grit sandpaper. Then when it very close to the actual fin, I switched to 220 grit. Some of the pressure of sanding caused some of the glue joints to pop open. I reglued them.



I'm thinking of filling and sanding the fins before I adhere them to the body, that way I can build up a nice flat, consistent root edge. Since there will be Bondo involved, I'll use a little epoxy instead of plastic cement.

test the Bondo on a scrap. YOu don't want to find out the hard way that it attacks the styrene

El Phantasmo said:

Have I mentioned how vacuum formed plastic is the devil?

I sanded down the excess plastic edges of the fins. I started with very aggressive 60 grit sandpaper. Then when it very close to the actual fin, I switched to 220 grit. Some of the pressure of sanding caused some of the glue joints to pop open. I reglued them.

I'm thinking of filling and sanding the fins before I adhere them to the body, that way I can build up a nice flat, consistent root edge. Since there will be Bondo involved, I'll use a little epoxy instead of plastic cement.

Click to expand...

Fill that gap with medium CA treated with CA accelerator, then sand it immediately.

Trust me on this, as I'm the twisted soul who actually likes working with vacform plastic.

James