Estes Mini Honest John - Build

Couldn't wait to get my hands on one of these kits, I enjoy the scale models. The kit is great with laser cut fins, and a super nice nose cone. The other thing is it flies on mini engines which is always fun. The fins have been tapered, and all of the fillets are done. Only thing left to do is install the launch lug, and seal/fill the fins. Then of course priming.....sanding.....priming....sanding.

The only issue I have with the entire kit is the decal that goes on the body says US Military, instead of saying US Army. But I think we all can agree thats an easy fix. Great Job Big E!

First Post.

Looks great!

Is nose cone weight required? I tried to launch a mini-Honest John last weekend and after about 20 feet it went sideways and corkscrewed around and then into the ground.

It was rather windy ~7-8mph.

All of the other launches went great, Alpha III, Baby Bertha, Viking, Swift 220. Just unsure as to why the Honest John went crazy on me!

What motor did you use in your Estes Mini Honest John model? A picture of your model would be nice as well

John Boren
Estes R&D

txmike said:

First Post.

Looks great!

Is nose cone weight required? I tried to launch a mini-Honest John last weekend and after about 20 feet it went sideways and corkscrewed around and then into the ground.

It was rather windy ~7-8mph.

All of the other launches went great, Alpha III, Baby Bertha, Viking, Swift 220. Just unsure as to why the Honest John went crazy on me!

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Welcome to the forum Mike.

Just checked the instructions and no nose weight is specified. I was sort of wondering about it. I'll put it into Rocksim and see what it tells me.

I flew mine on a A10-3T and it boosted straight to about 150' then did a sky dance. The parachute deployed before it reached the ground and it was recovered undamaged. It either needs nose weight or to be built using M30 fins.

John

I note that the mini Honest John is more accurate to scale than the BT-55 Honest John of the 80's.

The BT-55 Honest John had two main compromises to stability; the body tube was probably two to three caliber longer (closer to the M31 length than the M50 length), and the fins were at least 50% bigger, maybe close to 75%.

Therefore, I wouldn't be surprised if the mini is skirting on the edge of stability.

JumpJet said:

What motor did you use in your Estes Mini Honest John model? A picture of your model would be nice as well

John Boren
Estes R&D

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I used a A3-4T motor (only mini size I have). Pictures are attached. Embarrassing paint quality on my part -- but I did not want to put forth the effort on a glass finish.

Actually the fins and body tube length should be scale. I've flown the heck of that model and never had any trouble with it. Please fly it again on the same motor an see what happens.


John Boren

JumpJet said:

Actually the fins and body tube length should be scale. I've flown the heck of that model and never had any trouble with it. Please fly it again on the same motor an see what happens.


John Boren

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Yes, you are correct. I apologize. I must've rounded up the tube length to 7" instead of 6.5".

Where should the CG be on a stable mini Honest John? I will be upgrading mine to 18mm MM so it will definitely need nose weight.

With a A10-3T motor in a model made from a kit the balance point is 1 -13/16" back from the nose cone\body tube joint or 4 -11/16" up from the rear of the model. The body tube is 6.5" long. This is where this model balances and it flies just fine.


John Boren

Excellent info. I have one of those coming as we/I spreak.

JumpJet said:

With a A10-3T motor in a model made from a kit the balance point is 1 -13/16" back from the nose cone\body tube joint or 4 -11/16" up from the rear of the model. The body tube is 6.5" long. This is where this model balances and it flies just fine.


John Boren

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Thanks, John. Its great to have you on the forums providing info from Estes.

The only issue I have with the entire kit is the decal that goes on the body says US Military, instead of saying US Army. But I think we all can agree thats an easy fix. Great Job Big E!

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This does seem strange ? Everyting else about it seems to be "scale-like" yet the decal was changed to be totally different ?

John was there a specific reason for this that you can share ?

We were told we couldn't use US ARMY, US NAVY, US Airforce, US Marines on any new product. This may change again in the near future.

John Boren

JumpJet said:

We were told we couldn't use US ARMY, US NAVY, US Airforce, US Marines on any new product. This may change again in the near future.

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What about "Seal Team 6"?:wink:

I completed the Mini Honest John, and I'm happy with the results. I used Krylon Flat OD with a top coat of Krylon Clear Matte after the decals were applied. I think it's another great offering from Estes, and I can't wait to fly it. Final weight rtf is 1.0oz, should go good using a A10-3T.

I used one of Estes new 6" chutes, I thought the included 12" is really to big for this model. One thing, I wish Estes would include is a better picture for decal layout. You really have to guess with their kits.

This is another I'd like to put in the gallery if I may.

JAL3 said:

This is another I'd like to put in the gallery if I may.

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Sure! thanks

Wow that looks great!

Beveled leading fin edges look good too.

Well done John!

Wow, nice clean work!
The background clear on those decals look almost invisible.
Great bevel on the fins too.
Thanks for sharing the pics.

In regards to the "U.S. MILITARY" decal, it could be cut and pasted to say "U.S. AR / M / Y". (The slashes are the cuts)
All the letters are there.

That looks fantastic. My kit arrived a few days ago, and now I know what it should look like.

hcmbanjo said:

Wow, nice clean work!
The background clear on those decals look almost invisible.
Great bevel on the fins too.
Thanks for sharing the pics.

In regards to the "U.S. MILITARY" decal, it could be cut and pasted to say "U.S. AR / M / Y". (The slashes are the cuts)
All the letters are there.

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Thanks Chris.

I thought about changing the decal like you said. But I thought I would stick with the US Military decal since everyone would ask why.

Wow, that came out really good! I like it, makes me want to go out and grab one of these kits. Hobby Lobby has them and it is 40% off coupon time of the month .

By the way, what are you using to fill the fins and what are you putting on the body tube that is that greyish color? I have been using Carpenters Wood Filler a bit watered down but am always open to alternative methods.

That really turned out nice John ,very nice indeed

The Honest John is in my top 5 favorite rockets/missiles,such a great looking piece of equipment.


Paul T

sodmeister said:

That really turned out nice John ,very nice indeed

The Honest John is in my top 5 favorite rockets/missiles,such a great looking piece of equipment.


Paul T

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I agree with Paul. It will look great inflight as well
Cheers
fred

sodmeister said:

That really turned out nice John ,very nice indeed

The Honest John is in my top 5 favorite rockets/missiles,such a great looking piece of equipment.


Paul T

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Thanks Paul, I agree the Honest John is an awesome looking piece of equipment.

I bought one of these kits as part of my 'rocketry in a bag' initiative. I am surprised that it doesn't need nose weight though. Question for those who are smarter about these rockets...could a Honest John be built using this nose cone?

FC

Picked one up from Hobby Lobby. Planning to shape the fins but the metric measurements seem 10x too high. I noticed this for my lack of a ruler capable of 1/32" increments. May apply "U.S. ARMY" in vinyl lettering. An overall acryllic olive green paint scheme. Will also add a bit of clay to the nose cone as suggested.
May build a second in the test missile paint scheme as per Peter Alway's Fourteen Army Missiles of The Cold War book.