Estes Sizzler (2127) Redshift

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Screaminhelo

Shade Tree Rocket Surgeon
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So my head wasn't on straight the first time, so I figured that I would re-start the build thread with an accurate title. Rather than being an upscale, this build will be a 24mm build of the Sizzler.

I'll try to do a decent job of documenting the build as I go but don't expect anything on my bench to get built fast.

Thanks already to K-Tesh for catching a couple of errors already, hence the corrected thread title. He also pointed out that the NC should be a PNC-60RL. I haven't updated the OR file yet.

The .ork file is attached and all comments are welcome.

I am looking at adjusting the length of the inner tube and/or the motor tube but it seems like a good idea to leave the inner tube as is for strength on landing.

Estes Sizzler (2127)_MOD60v1.ork
 
I got the tubes cut the other day during lunch then things got a little busy for a few days. Since this build will be using mostly off the shelf parts, the only thing that I have to fabricate from scratch is the inner tube bulkhead. This was the motivation that I needed to finally take a stab at building a circle cutting jig for my band saw.

There is not too much to it, no specialized materials at all
-12" square of 1/2" oak veneer plywood
-1/2"x 3" oak hobby wood
-7/8" nylon furniture glide

I won't go into details unless someone is interested but here are a few photos to give an idea of the process. There are some drawbacks to this design in general and of my execution specifically but it does get the job done.
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Maybe I can get some fins cut in the next day or two so I can be done with construction before the weekend.
 
Got a little bit done today. Not too much to post but trying to have a daily post is incentive to get a little done each day.

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This is the inner tube. It probably isn't necessary but I decided to make an eye for a replaceable shock cord. The eye is made from .041" stainless wire. The untwisted ends wrap around the tube and are sandwiched between two fiber centering rings and secured with JB Weld for a little more strength than the 15 min epoxy that I have on hand.

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Nothing too exciting here, just the top of the motor tube. The lower end will get a similar shock cord mount as the inner tube.

Thanks for looking. Hopefully, I'll be able to show off fins ready for paper tomorrow while I psych myself up to cut my first ever fin slots.
 
I told you guys at the beginning that I go slow but documenting this build has ensured that I get a little done each day.

Today, I finished the motor tube (sorry no pics). I really just had to sort through a little goof. I had planned on sandwiching a wire loop between two centering rings. Problem is, I epoxied the rings in place before the wire. I ended up working through it and got the wire where I wanted it but it took a little finagling to get it settled in place and epoxied in place.

Next up were the fins. The 3/32 sheet from Balsa Machining Service was great to work with! I have only used kit and hobby store balsa before so this was a real treat. I figure on shaping a papering tomorrow.
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Got some slots cut and they turned out just about perfect!

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I laid out the slots using the marking guide from OR and a scrap of balsa from the fins. I simply marked one set of lines and then used the balsa scrap to establish the offset for a second set of fin lines.

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I have seen several methods for cutting the slots. I didn't really want to use nothing more than my angle for a cutting guide but I kind of wanted to try it too. I laid tape on my layout lines, being careful to get it on the inside edge. I made the first cut using the straight edge and the second using just the tape for a guide and finished the rest that way. I found that I naturally made lighter cuts without the straight edge and they were actually straighter as a result.

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And here is the final result. Since I had put the tape on the inside edge of my layout lines, I was expecting to do some fitting for the fins to fit just right. What I ended up with were Goldilocks slots; not too tight, not too loose but just right! I will probably never achieve this on the first cut ever again but cutting fin slots is no longer a daunting task to me.

I'm in the process of papering the fins right now, I'll get them posted when they are finished.
 
Work has stopped for the time being. It's ready for primer bit that will.have to wait a few days.
 
I have managed to get some primer on. It has been a busy couple of weeks but it is getting there slowly. Next up will be a coat (or two if I burn through while sanding) of white primer.
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The real challenge is yet to come. I plan on painting the markings. The REAR EJECT legend at the tail pipe may not happen but I am leaning toward a metalic/pearl combo for this one but staying close to the original colors. I am planning on using the decals generated through OR to make masks.
 

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I'm looking forward to seeing this... make sure to video it for the launch!

This part may take a whIle to get done. I've never actually tried doing anything with the OR artwork and i also have to find just the right colors, a bright metalic yellow may be hard to come by at a reasonable price. Rest assured that it will get finished, just not in record time.

I am also prepping an Estes V2 for my boy to build. He really likes the look of the rocket and he likes to assemble things but the fine work is not exactly his cup of tea. I trimmed the fins to scale and papered them, also prepped the boattail and MMT tube for a baffle. It is just about ready for him to slap together.
 
...it does get the job done...
View attachment 339601
It does get the job done, and pretty easy to sand out. To get the edge a little more even at the end of the cut, that center point nail does not need to be much taller than the thickness of the material, and the band saw guide could be lowered quite a bit. If you can't get a good hold of the work piece with the guide lower, you could make the blank larger, if you can live with more scrap, hopefully you won't get as much blade walking with the support closer to the table.
 
It does get the job done, and pretty easy to sand out. To get the edge a little more even at the end of the cut, that center point nail does not need to be much taller than the thickness of the material, and the band saw guide could be lowered quite a bit. If you can't get a good hold of the work piece with the guide lower, you could make the blank larger, if you can live with more scrap, hopefully you won't get as much blade walking with the support closer to the table.

What you are suggesting is what I was planning to duplicate but I had to back up and punt, there were a couple of things that I didn't think all the way through, so the long pivot was a compromise for the moment and required me to keep the guide high. I am also having trouble getting the rear guide wheel close enough to the back of the 1/4" blade, which is compounding the problems created by the tall pivot pin. I probably just need to get in there and clean it out.
 
Not much to report, just a coat of white that is getting a long cure before sanding. I won't bore you guys with a pic of that.

Next up will be color but that may take a bit. I found some pearl colors that I like but they are Createx Wicked Colors. I have played with these before but I had very mediocre results, the paint never cured hard. I don't blame the paint, I can think of any number of things that I could have done that would lead to this. Does anyone out there have experience with Createx Wicked Colors? I'll be doing some experimenting for a bit before I commit this build to color.
 
Since I want to use metalics/pearls on this thing, the first thing to do was to get a good base. I had a fresh can of Rusto gloss white so I went with that as a base. I am wishing that I had held out and picked up a can of white primer but I made the bed. I got a nice 1000 grit finish to prepare for Createx Wicked Colors pearl white. If you look closely, you may see where I sanded through to gray primer. I had originally planned to spray the pearl over a solid white base but I decided to leave the gray to get an idea of how this stuff covers.
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It covered like I expected, the pearl needs to have an even base color but I am pleased with the results over solid white. I apologize for the lighting here, there is a definite pink hue to the finish here but it is really more of a gold/silver in person.
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For those that are interested, I used a Badger 150 with the large tip. I was spraying at about 20 psi and initially mixed the paint according to the ratios on the Createx website and then thinned with Createx 4012 reducer until it flowed well.
 
Holy cow, it has been a minute since had a chance to do much of anything with this thing!! Sometimes life happens but I have been able to acquire the paints that I wanted to use.

I am looking forward to work more with the Createx paints. The pearl white went on nicely. I did have some tip dry but that is to be expected with a "water based" paint system (don't use water to thin this stuff). The nose will be gold pearl over opaque yellow and I will be using pearl blue and pearl black for the other colors. There is definitely a method to using these paints but if you follow the manufacturer's recommendations, you should be able to complete a multi-color paint job in one day less a clear coat. That is part of the reason for the delay, I want to put this to the test. Once I have a day where I can reasonably expect to mix and shoot 6 (yes, 6) colors, I'll let y'all know how it works out. Based on how things went with the white, there is hope. I'll try to document the process as I go for those who are interested.
 
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