Yet Another A.C.M.E Spitfire

Now it's been the task of looking at it; looking at the pics that FATBOY posted, and a few other ideas. Two things are for certain. #1. He said working on the launch lug pipes was difficult. AMEN! I have so many cut pieces and scraps laying around. My pipes just kept getting shorter and shorter after one bad cut here and there, or the whole thing blowing apart as I tried gluing together. #2. Working with all the rivets etc; it's my firm belief that FATBOY is a true MASTERCRAFTSMAN! Mine looks no where near as good as his and I now have a very profound appreciation for the level of work he put into his.

So a few pics. Here's one when I figured out the launch lug placement. Forgot to take one of the upper portion completed.


Since I don't like the way the rivets look when primed, and sanding them is just not going to happen; I'd mentioned earlier I was curious about glue on paint. To ensure they stuck, I cut "itsy bitsy" pieces of tape and placed them on the entire rocket, where the rivets will go prior to priming. Here's some of what that looked like:


Here's a few shots of each side as I'm preparing to prime:


After priming I used the tip of the xacto knife to remove each little piece of tape. Finally put little dabs of glue in the exposed spots and have 132 rivets in place. A LOT more to go.

Thanks Ken. Getting a little closer today. Picked up the rest of the gems from Micheals, put them on while cooking for the boys, and got it partly painted.

Looks awesome! :clap:

A few more from the evening. Still more to go. The nosecone has A.C.M.E written across it. Gluing the LLug in place and a gold whatever on the top in place. I should have done the fins better so no grains were visible. Oh well. Too late to turn back.

All done. Huge thanks to Mushtang for getting me excited about building this rocket! I appreciate the "gentle push"! Another Huge thanks to FATBOY for all the great information posted and messages! Finally to JFLIS (Jim) for creating such an amazing kit! Just too cool for words! I wrote A.C.M.E. across the nosecone, but made it slightly bigger than a picture could capture, so... and the text on my gauge, "Powered by Fliskits" is WAY to small to read. Oh well. I know they are there. Keeping track as I built it, I have 384 Large Rivets, 66 Small Rivets, and 119 Glue Rivets. Lots of work, but I'm pleased with the outcome. Again, no where near as polished as FATBOYs, but sure liked following what he had done! Anyway, here's all four sides. Now on to launch with my CubScouts on July 16th for it's maiden voyage!


A few of the details. Again not nearly as precise as FATBOYs, but I'm happy enough.

very nice Love the detailing

Dude, that looks SO cool! You did an amazing job with that!! I am really starting to get the urge to try a Steam Punk of my own, or at least rivets around the edges of the sections of a metallic painted rocket.

Well done!!

Mushtang said:

Dude, that looks SO cool! You did an amazing job with that!! I am really starting to get the urge to try a Steam Punk of my own, or at least rivets around the edges of the sections of a metallic painted rocket.

Well done!!

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Thanks my friend! You gave me the inspiration to make this one! Greatly appreciated! Only thing is, mine can't quench the thirst as yours can!

kcobbva said:

Thanks my friend! You gave me the inspiration to make this one! Greatly appreciated! Only thing is, mine can't quench the thirst as yours can!

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Only because I'll be handing you a beer before I launch mine. Come to Atlanta for a cold one.

Nice Job!

When it comes to the ACME Spitfire, all I can say is: "WANT!!!" (Several... One for the Far Side homage, one for Steam Punk, and one for the school).

Kevin...that looks AWESOME!!! well done! beautiful job!

That came out great looking! Going to have to build another

I was also thinking "rhinestone cowboy" theme... Lol

jflis said:

That came out great looking! Going to have to build another

I was also thinking "rhinestone cowboy" theme... Lol

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Thanks Jim! Now that is funny as my wife said the same thing the other evening! Rhinestone Cowboy and I couldn't get that theme out of my head after hearing that!

NJRick said:

Kevin...that looks AWESOME!!! well done! beautiful job!

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Thanks Rick!

K'Tesh said:

Nice Job!

When it comes to the ACME Spitfire, all I can say is: "WANT!!!" (Several... One for the Far Side homage, one for Steam Punk, and one for the school).

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Thanks K'Tesh! I "WANT" to see this one done up in OR with your fancy paint jobs! THAT would look awesome. If anyone can do that, it's you!

Looks FANTASTIC Kevin! Keep up the great builds!

Finally getting around to (soon, I hope!) building my Spitfire! I'm thinking I would love to try a sort of rat-rod/junkyard aesthetic. Anyone know a good rust-look paint?

Does the Spitfire require any paint at all? It seems to be at least *mostly* wrapped, but I could I seriously get away with no use of a rattle can for the entire build? If there were fin edges or launch lugs that needed color I could hand brush those. If I could go rattle-can free then that would make this a good candidate for a winter build this year...

kcobbva said:

Before I left to work, I ran down and glued the bottom ring to the outside of section 1 for the lower shroud. When I returned, I deviated slightly from the script and threw a few pieces of scrap balsa in for strength on the lower wrap.
View attachment 294038View attachment 294039

Once that was done I glued the shroud on and after it dried, trimmed it flush.
View attachment 294040View attachment 294041

Ok. So I think I said it before, but will reiterate. It is difficult, at least to me, to line up the CRs 1/2 way in each tube at the coupling spot. I'm getting there, but it's not something you just put in place and move along!
View attachment 294042View attachment 294043

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I found the bottom shroud to be the weakest point of the rocket. The fins on mine, after a while wobbled. A miffle CR, or as you did, some balsa support under the shroud should help.

The upper level CRs should be ovals, not circles (it's a geometry thing!). I found at the oblique ends, I had a gap that needed to be filled, and took a bit to get them filled.

Does look good! Might have to get me a 2nd one!!

ActingLikeAKid said:

Finally getting around to (soon, I hope!) building my Spitfire! I'm thinking I would love to try a sort of rat-rod/junkyard aesthetic. Anyone know a good rust-look paint?

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I would probably start with a base of flat red primer, and add light random blotches of reds, browns, oranges and greens. Testors makes as "rust" enamel that you could try too. Follow with dark streaks and finish with flat clear coat. Take a look rusted cars or trains for inspiration. Micromark sells a system called "Rust and Dust" that if amazing, but works best on very dark colors.

Kevin... You should be proud of your build! You did an amazing job on it! Nice work!!

neil_w said:

Does the Spitfire require any paint at all? It seems to be at least *mostly* wrapped, but I could I seriously get away with no use of a rattle can for the entire build? If there were fin edges or launch lugs that needed color I could hand brush those. If I could go rattle-can free then that would make this a good candidate for a winter build this year...

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The A.C.M.E. Spitfire kit comes naked. There are wraps that you can download, to make it look like the kit cover art, but there is SO much other potential there...

jflis said:

The A.C.M.E. Spitfire kit comes naked. There are wraps that you can download, to make it look like the kit cover art, but there is SO much other potential there...

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I agree, but my own situation would benefit greatly from being able to do it all with existing wraps and no rattle cans. What I am unclear on is if the wraps cover 100% of the rocket, or if there is still a need for spray. In case it matters, I was thinking of the ACME Deadstone wraps.

Personally, I believe the A.C.M.E is screaming for a tie dye wrap kit. I'm curious if scrapbook paper, spray adhesive and clear coat would do the trick....

Rockyt said:

Personally, I believe the A.C.M.E is screaming for a tie dye wrap kit. I'm curious if scrapbook paper, spray adhesive and clear coat would do the trick....

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Absolutely.

Rockyt said:

Personally, I believe the A.C.M.E is screaming for a tie dye wrap kit. I'm curious if scrapbook paper, spray adhesive and clear coat would do the trick....

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what a great idea!! Check out spaz stix holographic paint. That might look cool!

neil_w said:

Does the Spitfire require any paint at all? It seems to be at least *mostly* wrapped, but I could I seriously get away with no use of a rattle can for the entire build? If there were fin edges or launch lugs that needed color I could hand brush those. If I could go rattle-can free then that would make this a good candidate for a winter build this year...

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One of the better looking builders on this forum made one with wraps that looked like beer cans, and no spray paint at all.

Mushtang said:

One of the better looking builders on this forum made one with wraps that looked like beer cans, and no spray paint at all.

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yes he did!! �� I think that was "Mushtang". You did an awesome job man!

I was thinking about finishing as an homage to "The Burrow" - the Weasley residence from Harry Potter (because I'm a giant nerd) but realized that would take a TON of time and I'm dubious about the potential for success. Instead, I'm thinking I'm going to try for a rusty/primer "rat rod" sort of look.