What are you working on?

Hey everyone,

Thought I'd throw out a thread to see what you all are working on, and what you think of it.
Currently, I am building a Astron Elliptic II, I started it this morning and I'm nearly finished with it. The kit has less than 30 parts and the majority go into the engine mounts. Be careful though, it's pretty easy to make however the small parts can make it difficult (at least for me with big fingers) to assemble. The components are of good quality, but do need to be modified a bit. For instance, the Estes Green adapter rings did need to be sanded in order to fit on the engine mount tube(s). The components also fit TIGHT, if you build this, definitely dry fit the components before you glue them in. The instructions for installing the upper stage engine mount look quite intimidating at first, but while working along and you realize that you wont be able to simply slide the assembly in, then they make sense. As a first for me, this is my first stage rocket, and the first one that the fins have needed to be rounded on, but it has been easy to make. If I can ever find the darn cable to my camera, I'll try to post a few pics, and a flight report when I get some A10-0T engines for the upper stage.

I do have a question, this rocket has a streamer recovery, and in the instructions, it says to add a piece of tape around the shock cord. Call me a skeptic if you'd like, but I was wondering if there's a method that is more secure to attach the streamer?

Thanks for listening (well, reading) and for any info, look forward to see what you all are working on

Enjoy!

skybuster said:

Thought I'd throw out a thread to see what you all are working on, and what you think of it.

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Hey there. As in some other posts in here have dug up the rocket collection from a stack of plastic bins in the back room. Full of Estes and Quest kits in varying percentages of progress as well as some freelance and kitbashed models in similar states of completion.

Plenty of choices for things to make progress on. Several of Estes' kits from the Ansari X-Prize series. A couple old Quest lifting bodies of dubious flight stability. That Estes swing-wing thing. A little Quest tube-fin job. Estes Mercury Redstone. A Big Daddy.

Some are stalled wanting the proper grain and hardness of balsa for fins. Some are stalled wanting Kevlar string and elastic to substitute for kit rubber band shock cords. Some are stalled waiting for spray painting weather. One freelance design is waiting a 60 sized nose cone; but I kind of want something unique for a sci-fi transport. Maybe sort of along the lines of 2001's Orion's nose with cockpit windscreen?

August and September money might be available to buy balsa and that Kevlar string.

In the meantime there are plenty of options for rocket work to poke along at.

As far as the "what you think of it" part, eh, the brain just isn't doing that right now beyond looking at the kits with self-adhesive decals and thinking that said brain gets along much better with waterslide from decades of familiarity in doing trains and plastic models.

It came today, she is going to teach me to love again! oint:

I am finishing my glider, finishing my Defender, and starting on my four inch diameter rocket.

I'm about halfway into a mean machine build, no plans to do anything drastic with it.
I've got a Solar Flare that needs the payload section finished, and then just paint.
I'm in varying stages of planning 3 Optimas. (a 2 stage, a cluster, and a 29mm).

And I may just pickup an Executioner here soon.

Several Nosecone moulds, Base line conversion for Mizz Rhonda, 3 new 29mm Rockets, 1 new 38mm, 2 new 54mm Rockets, Plus my L3.

To dang much!

Eric Foster

Just finished a downscaled Blue Bird Zero. Making a new booster stage for my Der Big Green Max (lost the old booster).

After returning from vacation, my first major build will be a Fliskits Mystic:



Can't wait to get started!

Sanded an FSI Viking 3 clone that is now ready for a final primer coat.
Finished the gloss white of a BT-80 Wizard. Purple starts tomorrow.
Final fillets on an FSI Viking 5 clone. Primer starts tomorrow.
Finished painting an Estes Skybolt clone and printed the decal which should go on tomorrow.
Final sanding on a Centuri Python Fighter clone.

I need to find a new build, preferably a Dr. Zooch. I should chill it a bit actually. I think I've built seven or eight rockets in the past five weeks. What I need to do is go launch them more!

I'm finishing up my Estes Big Daddy, dubbed S.L.U.F. (Short Little Ugly Fella)

Working on an estes Magician. Nothing too special but its been fun. I farked up the balsa transition a little bit but I think that I'll survive.

Looking forward to using my Fin Alignment Guide I got - I wanted one of these when I was a wee lad doing rockets the first time. I suspect that this will make the fins MUCH straighter than I can typically do on my own.

One thing that I don't like about the Magician is the clear payload tube. Its not big enough to stuff anything cool into that (at least that you would want to see). I might end up painting it silver or some other color just to spice things up. I suppose that an altimeter might fit in there pretty easily. I have an order from valuerockets.com coming so that might be incentive to get an altimeter....

pick1e said:

Oh yea, and my keychain cams came today

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NICE! I am waiting on mine. I am getting concerned that I might not ever see them going on week #3 since being shipped.....

jsargevt said:

NICE! I am waiting on mine. I am getting concerned that I might not ever see them going on week #3 since being shipped.....

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Nah, they typically take a while. Worth the wait from my experience.

jsargevt said:

Working on an estes Magician. Nothing too special but its been fun. I farked up the balsa transition a little bit but I think that I'll survive.

Looking forward to using my Fin Alignment Guide I got - I wanted one of these when I was a wee lad doing rockets the first time. I suspect that this will make the fins MUCH straighter than I can typically do on my own.

One thing that I don't like about the Magician is the clear payload tube. Its not big enough to stuff anything cool into that (at least that you would want to see). I might end up painting it silver or some other color just to spice things up. I suppose that an altimeter might fit in there pretty easily. I have an order from valuerockets.com coming so that might be incentive to get an altimeter....

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Finished a Magician not long ago. The payload bay is perfect for launching those collectable LEGO mini-figs. Frankenstein enjoyed his flight at our club launch a few weeks ago.

Working on a Estes Photon Disruptor (classic series) now. A lovely bunch of fins...big ones..small ones..some the size of your head (not really).

Right now, building Helicopter Duration models for NARAM and the US Team flyoffs the weekend before.

Got 12 rotor blades done (for 4 models), now to "just" do everything else. At least the balsa sanding is done.... for these anyway.

- George Gassaway

6" Ultimate DarkStar (almost ready for paint) just need to lay some external fillets.

Fishhead said:

Sanded an FSI Viking 3 clone that is now ready for a final primer coat.

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Maybe yours will get painted before my 4-year old one.

Fishhead said:

Final fillets on an FSI Viking 5 clone. Primer starts tomorrow.

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Almost done with a Megatron. The Viking V is next.

Also I'm almost done with an SSRS Lasor 114 and I have started building a Lasor 134. When those are done, I'll turn my attention to cloning the Lasor 95.

jsargevt said:

One thing that I don't like about the Magician is the clear payload tube. Its not big enough to stuff anything cool into that (at least that you would want to see). I might end up painting it silver or some other color just to spice things up. I suppose that an altimeter might fit in there pretty easily. I have an order from valuerockets.com coming so that might be incentive to get an altimeter....

Click to expand...

LEDs, LEDs...

I have parts and plans for a Sandia Labs Doorknob-2. It's going to be a BT-60 based, gap-staged, aft-vented scale bird.

Just add time and ambition.

MarkII said:

LEDs, LEDs...

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Hey...never thought of that. Now I have a reason to keep it clear. Thanks!

I wonder which reload (white/black/blue) looks better at dusk!

Attaching fins to my LOC Onyx. Might as well as I've had the silly thing on my workbench since last October!

In the same vein (non tubefin), I'll be starting in on my October Skies 2010 Commemorative by Loc. Thinking about making it dual deploy just for fun.

Sent from my mobile phone.

MarkII said:

Maybe yours will get painted before my 4-year old one.

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Definitely in the next day or so. I'm planning to take both to NARAM, and I'm toying with the idea of doing the bodies to a 2 & 4, picking up a cone at the field on Saturday, then finishing the builds to fly on Thursday. Time will tell. I want to finish the 5 first.

jsargevt said:

Hey...never thought of that. Now I have a reason to keep it clear. Thanks!

I wonder which reload (white/black/blue) looks better at dusk!

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Too bad there's no 24mm Redline. That is one incredibly intense red flame! I would guess Blue Thunder for night launches. In the dark, Black Jack won't do you any good! Also you might not want to have a lot of smoke that might obscure things, so White Lightning might not be such a good choice, either.

Speaking of night launches, if you happen to have a saucer or a cube with a 38mm mount and you have a 38/120 case, you might want to consider launching it on a G69N Warp-9 end-burner at one. The burn will be slow enough that you'll actually get to see the unbelievably bright orange flame that this propellant produces, the use of a saucer-style rocket will keep it relatively low with no recovery drift, and the reload will not create much smoke, either. And finally there is no way to adequately convey the sound that this reload makes, but the words "hellish scream" gets you part of the way there. I have launched these during the day, but I would love to see one at night!

Just waiting for the weather to dry out so that I can paint the 3x upscale mosquito. I got the inspiration from Solomoriah's Mo' Skeeter, and happened to have an extra Baby Bertha kit. First rear ejection rocket that I have done.

-Estes Saturn V
-PoleCat 5.5" Pershing II
-AIM-9M Sidewinder 3" BT Scratch build ,on hold at this time...got too consumed by this build :y:
-ARCAS ,4" BT ,scale as scale gets ,plans underway ,boat tail made

Need one more on the table.....might do my Quest Minotaur for fun !



Paul T

Nearly finished my Estes Interceptor (the bird that's hopefully going to race fred22's), have a Sunward Screamer about half-finished, and I am going to be starting work on my Flis Richter Recker this week hopefully.

Once my custom decals from stickershock arrive, I will also begin my Super DX 3 build.

sodmeister said:

-Estes Saturn V
-PoleCat 5.5" Pershing II
-AIM-9M Sidewinder 3" BT Scratch build ,on hold at this time...got too consumed by this build :y:
-ARCAS ,4" BT ,scale as scale gets ,plans underway ,boat tail made

Need one more on the table.....might do my Quest Minotaur for fun !

Paul T

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Hey Paul, you really know how to set a nice table! Am curious how the Arcus boat tail was made / fabricated - looks like.a fun project!

Kenny
'

skybuster said:

(Snip)

The components are of good quality, but do need to be modified a bit. For instance, the Estes Green adapter rings did need to be sanded in order to fit on the engine mount tube(s). The components also fit TIGHT, if you build this, definitely dry fit the components before you glue them in. The instructions for installing the upper stage engine mount look quite intimidating at first, but while working along and you realize that you wont be able to simply slide the assembly in, then they make sense. As a first for me, this is my first stage rocket, and the first one that the fins have needed to be rounded on, but it has been easy to make. If I can ever find the darn cable to my camera, I'll try to post a few pics, and a flight report when I get some A10-0T engines for the upper stage.

Click to expand...

I peeled the inside of the centering rings to get them to fit on the motor tube. I hope that you use the A10-0T motors in the booster instead of the upper stage. I would try it with a A10-0T in the booster and a ¼A3-3T or ½A3-4T in the upper stage for your first two-stage flight.

skybuster said:

I do have a question, this rocket has a streamer recovery, and in the instructions, it says to add a piece of tape around the shock cord. Call me a skeptic if you'd like, but I was wondering if there's a method that is more secure to attach the streamer?

(Snip)

Click to expand...

Estes has used that method to attach streamers to shock cords since 1961. Actually, it works quite well. You could try using a stick on loose-leaf hole protector and a short length of carpet thread or cotton kite twine to attach to the nose cone.

I'm working on a Big Bertha, with 24mm motor mount that will accomodate Ds and Es. Also an ejection baffle. I'm still trying to decide what paint scheme to use. After that, I also have an Elliptic II in the queue.

This past weekend I started building a K and S Rockets 29mm Patriot (almost ready for painting) and a Giant Leap Talon 2 (also 29mm and ready to receive the fins). Both are really solid kits. Still dragging on in various stages are:

Estes Black Brant II
Estes EPM-010
Estes Gemini DC
Estes Long Tom
Estes Maxi Alpha 3
Estes Mini Honest John
Estes Ricochet
Estes Star Stryker
LOC Precision IRIS Mini
Quest Flat Cat
Quest Space Shuttle Intrepid
Quest X-15
Fliskits Teeny Triskelion
Leading Edge Micro Patriot
Leading Edge Micro Starlight