N-1 builder kit from new manufacturer

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I tried steaming one of the shrouds in the microwave oven to make it easier to curve, but I didn't think it helped much.

Get a piece of foam padding, and then use a 3/4" or 1" dowel and gently roll the shroud to the shape you need. I've used that on paper models I've built before and it works pretty well.

(Aside: this tip shamelessly stolen from Bob Harrington of the CMASS section.)
 
I'll steam a shroud only if it is from very heavy stock like on the Estes SR-71 Blackbird body pieces.
If the shroud is printed on 110 lb. stock (most are) I get great results with a dowel and the palm (heel) of my left hand.

Form the shroud by rolling a clean dowel with the card stock in the soft heel of your palm.
This method works better than dragging the card stock over the edge of a table top.
You'll just have to try it once to see how smooth the curve can be. No creases and no wrinkles.

I would add a picture but the site isn't allowing me to do so -
Here's two blog links:
https://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com/2017/12/true-modelers-rocket-kits-nasa-scout_15.html
https://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com/2011/05/estes-saturn-v-build-part-12-shrouds.html
 
So, proceeding on to instructions page 4, we find the fuel domes for the first stage (N1-ST1 FDS B lower shroud) and the second stage (N1-ST2 FDS A lower shroud). I was able to find only one CR and it was for the first stage shroud (N1-ST1 FDS A) and it fit well within the shroud. I then went out on a limb and created a new CR for the 1st stage lower shroud from what I thought was an extra CR (I may pay for this improvision later.), tracing the upper dome on the CR and cutting the excess. I then attached this new CR to the inside forward end of the lower shroud. Later I glued the CR's of these 2 shrouds together with yellow glue to make the 1st stage fuel dome.

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I decided to make a CR for the 2nd stage fuel dome upper shroud (N1-ST2 FDS B) from excess cardboard I found on one of the many CR sheets. I glued the new CR into the shroud with CA and then sanded the CR so that it would fit into the lower shroud (N1-ST2 FD SD A). This fit was not as good as the previous fuel dome. The CA joint was hard to sand and I ended up using the Dremel tool to make progress. Overall making the second stage fuel dome was harder than the first stage.

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I did not put a CR on the bottom of the fuel domes. I am wondering if CR's for those locations might be described later in the instructions when the fuel domes are attached to lower parts. The instructions describe using body filler to smooth out the joints of the two fuel domes. I will do that later.
 
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How durable are these shrouds and skirts? It looks like they'd crumch in if the thing fell over.

Nyt,
The top of the fuel domes are fairly strong, but they are just paper. The lower fuel dome shrouds are not supported by anything right now. Perhaps, centering rings will eventually go in their aft ends, but I don't know right now. Also, I believe that a central tube will go through these parts. I am not going to try to coat the inside of these shrouds with any adhesive. I don't know if that would help and it would add weight. The RocSim shows that the model will go 500' up taking 5 seconds to do so after burn-out of the D12's. I am assuming that this altitude is based on as-built. To some extent shrouds will be reinforced by external attachments such as fuel covers on the first and second stages.
 
Matt Johnson has been very helpful in answering all my questions. I was concerned that my parts list showed the Main Body Tube to be 178 mm, while mine was slightly longer (I think it was 184 mm). Matt assured me that this part was the correct length and that the joiner for reducing this tube diameter goes on the inside of the tube. I found that indeed that the tube reducing guide length matched the tube length. Following the instructions I was able to reduce the tube diameter, so it would fit over the motor mount assembly. This procedure is described in Step 8 on page 5. I glued the joint using yellow glue.

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This new tube did not quite fit over the motor mount assembly so I ran my Dremel tool around the forward CR on the motor mount assembly. After I got the new tube tube on the assembly I secured it with 5 minute epoxy. The seam is in-line with the launch lug hole.

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Also, on page 5 is Step 9. Matt assured me that the three CR's for this transfer tube are placed at 25 mm and 50 mm and the one CR is 1/2 inch from the last CR. The total length of this 16 mm diameter tube is 337 mm. The CR's fit a little bit loose. So, I tacked them in place with CA gel and accelerator and then used yellow glue.

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Going on to Step 8 on instructions page 6, I assembled the Stage One Lower Shroud. This shroud was labelled N1-St1- LB SD, which is different from what is shown in the instructions. This shroud has a marking showing one end as top. I could find many CR's that could roughly fit the top, but none that were large enough to fit the other end. As you might recall in an earlier post that I could not find a large enough CR to fit the aft end of the aft skirt. I decided to glue in CR's in both the top of the lower shroud and the aft skirt. I found that by pushing the CR into the shroud with some aluminum foil underneath that I could tack the CR into place with medium CA and accelerator. On one attempt I did not line up the launch lug marking with the CR launch lug hole for the aft skirt. Using CA remover and and an Xacto knife I was able to remove the CR and correct the mistake. I put a little bit of white glue on top of joint after tacking things in place with CA.

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After sanding the seam on the Main Body Tube of the Motor Assembly slightly, I found that sanding down the CR of the aft skirt CR with a Dremel tool would allow the CR to fit over the Tube. In particular I sanded near the launch lug hole and on the opposite side. Sliding the aft skirt down the tube, I see that I can use the aft CR of the motor mount assembly to fit the aft skirt. Actually, the Dremel tool tends to flatten out the CR cardboard, but this works.

I found that the modelers paper guide for the Cradle Mount Ring was not quite right. Matt Johnson sent me a new copy by email. He said that I had kit #20 and that he had changed printers somewhere around kit #23. Right now the paper shroud for the Cradle Mount Ring in Step 9 looks too large for the CR's that I have left. I am going to put this step on hold.
 
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I did parts of Step 9 through Step 11 on instructions pages 6 through 8 a little bit out of sequence. The first thing I did was glue in the launch lug with yellow glue. I found that some of the CR launch lug holes were a little bit too small, so I enlarged them with the Dremel tool. I then slid the Aft Skirt Shroud over the body tube. I found that the Aft Skirt Shroud did fit over the very last CR. I glued it with medium CA on the very aft CR and then with white glue around the Main Body Tube.

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After the Aft Skirt I slid the First Stage Lower Shroud over the Main Body tube. I found that the Lower Shroud over-lapped the Aft Skirt on the aft end. I used medium CA and thin CA on the aft end of the Lower shroud and used white glue around the forward Lower Shroud on the Main Body Tube. I found that I had an abundance of CR's for the Cradle Mount Ring, so instead of using just 3 rings in the instructions Step 9, I used 4 rings. The ring shroud that went around the Cradle Mount Ring was too large, so I cut it to fit the CMR. Again, a Dremel tool was used to enlarge the CMR launch lug holes. After sliding the CMR into place I glued it in place with white glue.

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Now we're getting some structure on it! Thanks Aero

Hoping it doesn't end up like this:
[video=youtube;U9fkYIrRwbo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9fkYIrRwbo[/video]

*ignore the sound effects. As one commenter put it "They sure have a lot of glassware in their rocket!"*
 
Yup, 4 launches, none of them made it to the second stage ignition. They never solved the vibration problem.

Doing good Aero. Keep it up. Go Aero...Go Aero...Go Aero.....
 
There are times when I think that building the N-1 model is almost as difficult as building the original.

This is especially truly of constructing the Upper Shroud and placing it on the Main Body Tube. I put in one smaller CR about midway in the Upper shroud and then decided that it would be best to use one full CR on the aft end. My Upper Shroud was too large on the circumference on the aft end, so I cut the shroud all the way through. Then I wrapped and overlapped it around the lower CR and glued it in-place with CA and accelerator. After additional work including the Dremel tool I finally got the Upper Shroud on the Main Body Tube. I will probably need to come back later and do some touch-up work.

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The transfer tube has 3 CR's on the aft end. All of these CR's go into the top of the Main Body Tube (MBT) with the top of the MBT sticking up a little bit past the last CR. This is so a good bond can be put on this last CR joint. There was a little bit of transfer tube sticking out below the last CR, so I cut it off. Also, I noticed that I could get a better fit of the upper CR's over the MBT joiner if I cut off a little bit of those CR's. When I put the transfer tube into the MBT I used white glue on the lower two CR's. This was a messy process and I am not sure how well it worked. For the upper transfer tube CR I used 5-minute epoxy. I wanted to make sure of a good joint to withstand the load from six D12 ejection charges and no gas leakage. Be sure to thread the shock cord through the transfer tube before gluing the transfer tube in place.

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I then attached the 1st stage Fuel Dome to the transfer tube. I had some Aves Apoxie Paste left over from another project. I put some on the 1st stage and 2nd stage Fuel Domes. I have not tried sanding these, yet, and I may need some Bondo putty after doing that.

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For Stage 2 (Step 13, page 9) I found 2 CR's and I also found 2 shrouds. The pattern printed shroud is cut into 3 sections and the middle ring is discarded. In this way the indentation creates a cradle ring that was used when the N-1 was in horizontal assembly. Actually, the alignment of the printed shrouds is described in Step 18 (page 12), but I didn't realize this until after I had placed the printed shrouds over the first shroud. In any case I used the information to line up the second stage pattern with the 1st stage pattern according to Step 18 and it looks like I'm alright. While assembling the second stage shroud and the second stage fuel dome, I realized that I really needed an aft CR for both these parts. I noticed that there were CR's on sheet 8 and sheet 9 that fit the bill, so I used those. Note that the Guide Sheets only describes the first 7 CR-sheets, so I figure anything on sheet 8 and sheet 9 can be used where needed. With the second stage shroud and fuel dome completed I placed them on the transfer tube.

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How tall is it now?

Nyt,
Right now standing on the bottom of the engine hooks to the top of the 2nd stage dome the model is about 16.25" tall, so say about 16". I found yesterday that the transfer tube is too short to extend into the 4th stage, where the parachutes will be. This morning I found tubes and couplers in my inventory that will fit. So, I think I will be able to make an extension.
 
I added about 2" additional length to the transfer tube using tubes and couplers that I had in my inventory. I put 3 CR's in the 3rd stage shroud and 2 CR's in the 4th stage. On these later stages I look for CR's on the CR-cards until I find something close. There are an abundance of CR's. Probably more than what is needed. I then dry-fit the CR's by tracing the CR's and scissors cutting or sanding with a sanding block or using the Dremel tool. The 3rd stage took 3 CR's with a CR placed at each end. The 4th stage took 2 CR's. I then slide the shrouds/stages over the transfer tube. I used epoxy and a long dowel to secure the top CR in the 4th stage and transfer tube. One end of the 4th stage was a little bit uneven so I trimmed it slightly. The 4th stage tube has a diameter that is larger than the top of the 3rd stage shroud. The feature is actually part of the real design.

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Will you be painting the first 3 stages grey, or leaving them white for the printed details?

Nyt,
The progress that I have shown on the previous posts is deceiving. Those posts complete up to Step 15 on page 10. Looking ahead there are 32 steps that go to page 34 of the instructions. Most of these steps involve fine details. It looks like the printed shrouds are used to place fine surface details for which there are parts aplenty. Case in point is Step 16 on the next page. I glued a tiny shroud ring as shown below on the LOK Shroud using thin CA, a tooth pick, and accelerator. Unfortunately, the ring did not go all the way around. Time to move on. There are more steps to go.

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Oh definitely, those details will keep you going for awhile.
Ah, so the printed patterns are Only for placing all the detail pieces? That makes some more sense.


With that in mind, When you get to the finishing aspect, are you painting the first 3 stages grey, or doing something unexpected?
 
Oh definitely, those details will keep you going for awhile.
Ah, so the printed patterns are Only for placing all the detail pieces? That makes some more sense.


With that in mind, When you get to the finishing aspect, are you painting the first 3 stages grey, or doing something unexpected?

It will be one of the standard patterns. The instructions give 4 variants on page 34. (There is also a 23-page supplement that gives close-up pictures.) It looks like N1-3L had the first two stages painted dark green (Peter Always in his Rockets of the World calls it dark green olive) and half of the 3rd stage painted green with everything else being white. I think that I would be inclined to use that color scheme since it appears in Always work. It looks like the other 3 schemes on instructions page 34 might be grey for the first two stages and then white for the rest. I would need to investigate more to be sure. Obviously, the latter scheme would be easier to paint, but there is no need to decide now.
 
An angle iron comes in handy for lining up key markings on the shrouds, although I think eye-balling might work just as well. The 3rd stage shroud has a cradle indentation ring similar to the stage 2 shroud, so it is cut into 3 pieces. To me the shrouds for the 3rd stage are definitely lop-sided. Also, I found that the 4th shroud was a little bit short on the circumference. Perhaps, I might find a way to correct these problems later. This time I put the structural parts on the stack first and then put the printed patterns on afterwards. In doing so I tacked the printed patterns in-place with CA and accelerator and then used white glue for the rest. (It might be easier to put the printed patterns on the structural part and then slide the entire part onto the stack.)

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I went on to Step 20, instructions page 14, to combine the LOK shroud and the Soyuz shroud. There were two small CR's that helped, but the Soyuz shroud is a little bit too small in diameter to match the lower LOK shroud. So, I found that I had to improvise with masking tape, spare body tubes that I had in my own inventory, and cutting a spare CR. I found that the alignment information in the supplemental overview was probably better than the information in the instructions.

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With that in mind, When you get to the finishing aspect, are you painting the first 3 stages grey, or doing something unexpected?

OK, Nyt, I finally see what you mean on page 4 of the supplemental overview. The author insists that the N1-L3 colors are Flat Battleship Grey and Matte White and not green.

The instructions for the escape tower and capsule did not make sense to me. A dowel is mentioned in the instructions, so I decided on using a 1/16" diameter wood dowel that I found in my inventory. The kit provides several 3D printed plastic towers, which is probably a good idea. I found that these plastic towers are hollow and break fairly easy. I found the easily breaking towers to being an advantage. After breaking the lower stem I was able to put it through the capsule and glue it in-place with medium (gap-filling) CA. Then I was able to hand drill a hole in top of the stem for the wooden dowel. Since the plastic is not solid, for the most part I was able to hand drill just by twisting the drill bit with my hand. On one segment I lightly used the electric drill. I had to whittle the dowel a little bit by hand to get the first ring set of nozzles on. Thereafter, everything went on easily and I secured everything in-place with medium CA. I found 2 CR's that fit well in the capsule and finally attached the assembly to the Soyuz shroud.

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So you snapped the tower in pieces and stuck a dowel through it to make it stronger.....hilariously brilliant.

They were not kidding when they said this thing takes an experienced builder!
 
OK, Nyt, I finally see what you mean on page 4 of the supplemental overview. The author insists that the N1-L3 colors are Flat Battleship Grey and Matte White and not green.

I remember reading something about the emulsion in Russian photographs making gray look olive green. Good job on the tower. The dowel should make it less prone to landing damage.
 
Instructions page 15 talks about tying the shock cord (the second length of cord in the kit) about one of the lead weights and then setting all 3 weights in the paper LOK shroud with epoxy. My 3 weights were 3.338, 2.688, and 3.104 ounces, so over 9 oz. of weight. I decided to do things my own way. I pounded one of the weights with a hammer on my concrete workshop floor until I had a piece that would fit all the way down into the Soyuz shroud. I then drilled a small starter hole with an electric drill. Then I hand twisted and used a pliers to put in a small screw eye. I also flattened the other 2 weights a little bit, so that they would fit nicely around the first weight. I then poured in 30 minute epoxy. At first I used the CR after the first epoxy pour to keep things round, while preparing the second pour. I realized that things were getting messy. So, I removed the CR and put in a BT from my own inventory. The BT is a little too small in diameter and a little too long. I will address that later. While the epoxy was hardening, a small amount leaked out through the nose cone. I caught this about an hour after pouring and I was able to trim it with an exacto knife. During this process the escape tower broke near where the wood dowel ended. I wish that I had put the dowel further down into the stem. I repaired this break with plastic cement, which took about 24 hours to dry.

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I went back and did some touching up on the aft end of the first stage upper shroud using some 1/8" width pin stripe from the local auto parts store. I tested the pin stripe and with both medium and thin CA and neither one bothered the striping. I don't know about paint. I also fixed up the nose cone coupler.

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I've started putting on the surface detail for the first stage. The instructions suggest putting some thin CA on a piece of cardboard. Instead I am using a plastic plate. Following the instructions one can lightly stab a hatch with a #11 Xacto knife and then put it in the CA and transfer to the model. I found that a tooth pick in addition to the Xacto knife is very helpful. A quick spray of accelerator tacks things in place. The seams can be put on by tacking one end in place. Under the location of a future fuel cowling is a good place to start. Then moving along a short distance, pin the seam with a toothpick, and apply thin CA along the length and tack in place. Repeat until the full circumference has been completed. A CA bottle with a narrow nozzle is helpful.

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