My first MMX kit.

[jeffk813]

I've dabbled in MMX a tiny bit, having bought a bunch of Quest silos a while back and though they were a novelty, I hadn't really done much with them. I joined the Yahoo group a few years ago, but got distracted and never really paid a whole lot of attention to it or to MMX in general. Recently, my interest began to pique and I saw that there were actual kits and parts available for these neat little buggers.

So I ordered a bunch of MMX "classic" kits from Leading Edge rocketry. Since I'm by myself today, I chose to spend my Father's Day building their "Explorer" which is an almost-clone of one of my all-time favorite rockets, the Estes Asteroid Explorer. I say an "almost-clone" because they've left off the landing "feet" from the model. Not sure why, but it just doesn't look right to me without them. I decided to take some of the leftover basswood from the excellent laser cut fin sheet and make the missing feet.

Cut them out and drilled them through with a pin vise and glued them on. Not an exact match, since the originals were built up from four pieces each, but close enough for me. I'd imagine the extra drag they will produce will negatively affect the performance, but I don't care if it gets to 100 feet.

All in all, I'm impressed with these kits, although I tried to use CA for the fin/leg assembly and ended up just going back to wood glue. With the small amount necessary for this tiny rocket, there's no real advantage for me as it sets up very fast, yet doesn't bond the parts to my fingers.

I've already got the scalable vector decal in my collection, having redrawn it for my 1x clone, so I'll be painting it to match the original. Here's a pic so far... almost done but the nosecone is still being filled and sanded. Went old school and got my buzz on today with some Sig Sealer....

[JPVegh]

Very nice work there on a really cool design. I can't wait to see it fully dressed.

[MarkII]

It's nice to finally see a build thread for one of these Leading Edge kits.

[Micromeister]

What size body tube are these leading edge kits based on?
Guess I'm gonna have to take a look at the leading edge line LOL didn't even know they were offering MMX models.

[jeffk813]

The website lists the OD of the rocket at .544" which would make it roughly BT-5 sized. (.541?)

[Micromeister]

The website lists the OD of the rocket at .544" which would make it roughly BT-5 sized. (.541?)

Thanks Jeff:
Exactly BT-5 LOL! BT-5 dimensions are .544" OD, .518" ID with .013" wall.
Are all Leading Edge kits based on BT-5? that puts them on the Heavier & draggy size for MMX building. Keep your build as light as possible and don't add to much with filler and paint. Try if you can to keep the model under 10grams. At that it will be an OK flying model. Still kind of low but easy to track

[jeffk813]

I'll have to check when I get home, but they all looked the same. I picked up their versions of the Der Red Max, Goblin, Asteroid Explorer, and Big Bertha (I should have got the Scrambler too but didn't...).

This one is the most complex of their classics offerings and therefore likely the heaviest which is why they may have left the "feet" off, but it just wasn't the same without them. The others are smaller and lighter and should fly much better. I'll do build threads on those as I get to them if anyone's interested. Projected altitude on this one is 100'. If it hits half that, I'll be happy. My wife thinks it's too cool to fly and that I should build it for the shelf, but that's not my style.

I did use sanding sealer on the nosecone, since it's balsa, but the fins are basswood and I just gave them each a CA wash and light sanding. The gray of the rocket itself will likely just be primer, with the black upper portion not adding too much weight from paint, decals and a clear topcoat and then it's time to hit the scales!

[JPVegh]

What size body tube are these leading edge kits based on?
Guess I'm gonna have to take a look at the leading edge line LOL didn't even know they were offering MMX models.

Wow! I'm really surprised you didn't know about these. I think most of their micros are based on T-4 with a few T-5 models. I think they are all downscales of classic designs.

[jeffk813]

A bit more information I learned while prepping decals for my small "fleet" of kits... The "Explorer" model is the only one based on the BT-5 tube. The others are all smaller in diameter, based on the BT-4 tubes.

I was printing out some decals for the rockets and rather than waste a whole sheet, I made a multi-decal sheet with decals for three of the four kits. Prior to printing them on the decal paper I printed them on plain paper to check fit. Lucky I did, because while the Asteroid Explorer decals fit, the others were too big.

A quick adjustment and I've got a bunch of decals that actually fit the rockets they're made for.

If all goes well with the application and I don't ruin any, I'll have two extra sets of Asteroid Explorer decals and a bunch (maybe 5 sets) of micro-sized Goblin decals if anyone else is building these kits and wants a set. Eventually I'll break out the ALPS printer and do the micro Der Red Max decals and I'll have extra sets of those too.

I also realized I'm out of gloss black paint, so I'll be painting in the next few days. The Explorer is in primer right now. More pics as the build nears completion if anyone is interested. I'll also offer my thoughts on this kit if there is interest.

[Micromeister]

A bit more information I learned while prepping decals for my small "fleet" of kits... The "Explorer" model is the only one based on the BT-5 tube. The others are all smaller in diameter, based on the BT-4 tubes.

I was printing out some decals for the rockets and rather than waste a whole sheet, I made a multi-decal sheet with decals for three of the four kits. Prior to printing them on the decal paper I printed them on plain paper to check fit. Lucky I did, because while the Asteroid Explorer decals fit, the others were too big.

A quick adjustment and I've got a bunch of decals that actually fit the rockets they're made for.

If all goes well with the application and I don't ruin any, I'll have two extra sets of Asteroid Explorer decals and a bunch (maybe 5 sets) of micro-sized Goblin decals if anyone else is building these kits and wants a set. Eventually I'll break out the ALPS printer and do the micro Der Red Max decals and I'll have extra sets of those too.

I also realized I'm out of gloss black paint, so I'll be painting in the next few days. The Explorer is in primer right now. More pics as the build nears completion if anyone is interested. I'll also offer my thoughts on this kit if there is interest.

Now I remember why I don't have any Leading Edge kits....I've already Scratch built most of what they offer LOL!
T4 is a bit better choice for micros. Try T3 were you can, still plenty of detailing possible with a bit less frontal drag.

[jeffk813]

Okay, the base color is on and the top is painted with a coat of Gloss black Rustoleum Painter's Touch. I've chosen to leave the gray primer exposed for the bottom of the rocket and once the black is cured, I will hit the whole rocket with Clear acrylic to shine it up and give the decals a nice shiny surface to adhere to, then a final topcoat to seal them on.

Trying to keep it as light as possible while still making the finish look nice. I didn't round the fins as I normally but I did CA and sand them smooth, and I didn't fill the tube spirals either, but I'm not too concerned about that. The spirals are visible, but not too bad and since I chose to seal the nosecone and put the feet on, I needed to save as much weight as I could in other places.

The decals are ready to go and I triple-checked my spelling of "Asteroid Explorer" just to be safe

[Mr. Larry]

It looks awsome! Let us know how it flies. I'm always curious if you can see the deployment of the streamer. My favorite part of flying rockets is being able to watch them go up and hit their peak and come down safely. It doesn't do much for me if they go out of site.


Larry

[Micromeister]

Larry:
Just about any BT-4 or BT-5 size model will be easily followable through the entire flight, including deployment at apogee.
These larger body models are also a good deal easier to catch with the camera.