Mini Tri Pak #0866

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kind of hard to see in a photo. The glossy may need another thick coat to get a more smooth shiny finish. I like how the semi-gloss is pretty easy to control, that is my go-to finish for most cardstock rockets, it worked well on the Star Wars droids in the other thread. I really like the matte finish on that S.C.R.A.M., for most military themed rockets I think that it looks just right. I have a few other recent builds I need to clear coat now that the weather is improving, and the flowers are beginning to bloom in the rocket garden.
 
Nicely done. I see that your full size PDFs for this tri-pak as well as the Space Station Aquarius and the SRW Nike smoke are up on The Rocketry Blog. Thanks for sharing with everyone, Glen.
 
I have a handful of others, mostly mini-engine 13mm downscale clones, that I plan to send him to post on his blog. I need to clean up the Explorer Aquarius template, I don't really make good glue tabs, I hate re-tracing those, and that nose cone has lots of transitions and glue tabs. That cone requires you to make the top half, then cut out a hole for the window, then put it together with the bottom half. That one is actually an 18mm downscale from the original 24mm. I hope folks enjoy building them. My favorite was the Bob Harrington Satellite Interceptor, that one got me hooked.
 
It says "Mint in box" but decals that have been sitting in a plastic bag or box for decades probably are not serviceable. So scratch those. And with the plans available for free with dimensions and templates, all you need to do is order parts, or pull them from your parts stash. If the decal scans are decent then home printed decals can be done. So that tri-pak could probably be cloned for far less than the current bid of $30. Who knows what it will finally sell for.
On the other hand, if this was bought as a vintage collectible investment, that's a whole nother story. You have to know your stuff, or it's a crap shoot.
 
Yeah, that kit is fairly easy to clone with readily available parts. I am not really a collector, I like to build and fly. Another Estes kit with some of the similar decal artwork is the Starliner. I might try to clone that one. Has similar decals for the cockpit/windows as the Star Seeker and is from around the same vintage.

 
Needs a 13mm engine mount/short through tube, I will probably put a baffle in it also and make an engine hook from the wiper blade metal strip.

Still thinking about papering balsa for these fins, rather than laminating several layers of cardstock, undecided at this point, I might try both to see what looks better.

Body, Nose, Fins only (missing 13mm tube, centering rings, and launch lug)
View attachment EstesStarlinerFins.pdf
View attachment EstesStarlinerBody.pdf

UPDATE: 13mm engine mount tube and boattail
View attachment EstesStarlinerEngineMount.pdf
 
Body and nose. Printed up the fin sheet. Next to the Star Seeker for reference.

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I modified the nose cone a little, will update the template later.
 
Still need to do some sanding to get the vertical tails vertical in the slots in the horizontal stabilizer. First dry-fit mock up of fins. Next, need to make a 4" 13mm engine mount tube and a few centering rings. Cut the body notch for the wing/fins and install the engine mount with one side of the centering rings sanded flat. I am not making this up, that is in the Estes instructions.

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I might put the engine mount slightly aft of the body tube end and add a boat tail.
 
final clean up of fins. I covered the edges with a veneer of cardstock 1/16" strips to cover up the balsa edges. One lower fin remaining, to show the difference. Will hide a launch lug in one of the air scoops.

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That Deep Space Transport just looks too heavy and draggy to work as a mini downscale clone, unless the main body tube is min dia for 13mm engine mount maybe. Not sure if I want to try that one and have it end up too heavy to fly on an A10-4T. I guess that's what they make OpenRocket for, when the mind sim is marginal at best and you need a more exact answer.
 
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