"Friendship 7" 50th Anniversary Dr. Zooch Mercury Atlas build...

[luke strawwalker]

Well, we're about 6 weeks out from the 50th anniversary of John Glenn's historic launch of the Friendship 7, America's first manned orbital mission. SO, what better way to relive the glory days of the space program than to commemorate that achievement with the build of a Mercury Atlas 6 stack, of the Mercury Spacecraft #13 and the Atlas 109-D booster...

Dr. Zooch is releasing a 50th Anniversary addition, so what a perfect time to build one!

So, let's take a look at what you get...

Here's the box art...

Here's the inventory of the parts...

A BT-60 main Atlas body tube, a T-50 spacecraft adapter tube, a T-20 motor mount tube, a T-5 tube (for the booster engine bells/sockets for the Flamefins), a T-3 tube (for the Flamefins themselves), a balsa weighted conical transition (upper end of the LOX tank of the Atlas), balsa nosecone (core of the Friendship 7 capsule), a baggie with 4 small centering rings (for the Flamefins), three fiberboard 20/60 centering rings (two notched), a sheet of corrugated mylar (for the Atlas booster section corrugations), kitbag with the tower parts, a couple sheets of balsa fin stock, a wood dowel, trash bag chute, kitbag with screw-eye and recovery parts, sticky rings, chute string, bulletproof thread recovery cord, humorous instructions, and a printed cardstock wrap sheet.

More later!
OL JR

[sodmeister]

I personally look forward to another of your exellent builds !

I love watching ,learning and seeing how others tackle their kits.

And besides ,you post plenty of pictures during the walk.



Sincerely

Paul T

[hornet driver]

Look forward to seeing some more of your work--always impressed !! Seems from the background you already have a deap rooted intrest in the Atlas.

[NJRick]

Luke....I can't wait to see your build of this rocket...you always do such a great job!!! I got this rocket as a Christmas present from my kids....it looks like another great Dr. Zooch kit!!

[NJRick]

Luke....in your picture of the parts...is that your Saturn 5 custom build in the background? that is going to be sweet too when you get her completed!

I am working on Wes's Skylab Saturn 5 right now...I was really pleased with his Saturn 5 kit...once you add the cable tunnels and ullage motors etc....it just really comes to life. I tried your suggestion of using an epoxy on the F-1 engines....came out OK, but not great....I had never worked with an epoxy before and I think I was using too much of the putty....but it was really a great suggestion to use that to make the turbine exhaust. the F-1's really look neat on the kit!

Can't wait to see your Atlas Mercury!

[luke strawwalker]

Luke....in your picture of the parts...is that your Saturn 5 custom build in the background? that is going to be sweet too when you get her completed!

I am working on Wes's Skylab Saturn 5 right now...I was really pleased with his Saturn 5 kit...once you add the cable tunnels and ullage motors etc....it just really comes to life. I tried your suggestion of using an epoxy on the F-1 engines....came out OK, but not great....I had never worked with an epoxy before and I think I was using too much of the putty....but it was really a great suggestion to use that to make the turbine exhaust. the F-1's really look neat on the kit!

Can't wait to see your Atlas Mercury!

Thanks Rick and for the kind words everybody... I appreciate it!

Yes, that's my scratchie BT-80 Saturn V, with the BT-60 "Saturn I-F" standing beside it... I got to the fins, got tangled up with Rocksim, then mulling over motor choices/arrangements (cluster) and then real life sorta sidetracked me and I haven't worked on it in a couple months... Hope to get back on it fairly soon... Those little paper F-1 engines are calling to me! LOL

This looks like it'll be a fun kit. The details really make ALL the Zooch kits come alive... really ANY rocket... I didn't plan to dive as deep into the details on my scratch Saturn as I did, then when I started looking at the various models on the web, and looking at the NARTS Saturn V blueprints I have, I started thinking "I can add that-- that would be cool" and just went kinda nuts with it... kinda fun actually-- I see why rivet counters become rivet counters... LOL

The Mercury capsule on this one is the same size as the one on the "Freedom 7" Mercury Redstone (the BT-50 version, not to be confused with the regular BT-60 sized Dr. Zooch Mercury Redstone). I've built one before and the hardest part was the tower, which I expect to be only slightly easier this time (if I'm lucky). But it comes out looking pretty sweet.

The Atlas itself is, of course, based on the BT-60 tube, so the build is identical to the Dr. Zooch Atlas-Agena... only sans the Agena...

More tomorrow...

Later! OL JR

PS. I've got the Zooch Skylab too, just haven't gotten around to building it yet...

[luke strawwalker]

Look forward to seeing some more of your work--always impressed !! Seems from the background you already have a deap rooted intrest in the Atlas.

The Atlas is, IMHO, probably THE coolest rocket ever built. The balloon tank design was just absolutely brilliant, and the stage-and-a-half concept as well... I think basically it was ahead of its time. It's really a shame that the idea never was carried on with newer vehicles... after Atlas II that was the end of the balloon tanks (well, except for Centaur, and even those are only 'semi-balloon' tanks anymore IIRC-- maybe more properly called "semi-rigid").

I mean, the Saturn V and IB were powerful, and Titan III and IV were neat, and shuttle was interesting, but Atlas... well, it's just plain cool...

Later! OL JR

[luke strawwalker]

SO, lets get down to this build...

We start off by modifying the notched centering rings. Cut the ring mod guides from the wrap sheet very carefully with a sharp hobby knife. These get glued with white glue to the notched centering rings, aligned very carefully, and set aside to dry. Later we'll notch the centering rings using a sharp hobby knife, according to the instructions. These notches will hold the "booster engine spoof tubes".

Next, we cut some "poly-coated Popielium" string off the parachute shroud line bundle according to the instructions. These bits of string get glued to the ends of the engine spoof tubes. The spoof tubes themselves are from the BT-5 tube in the kit, which you have to cut in half. I applied a tiny daub of white glue to the end of the string and the end of the tube, and then clamped the end of the thread about 3/32 inch up from the bottom edge of the tube with smooth-jawed hemostat clamps. Set these aside to dry.

Once the thread is securely glued to the end of the tubes, I applied a decent layer of white glue to the bottom 3/8 inch of each tube, and then carefully wrap the string around the tube, with about 3/32 inch (little less than 1/16) between each wrap-- these are the engine bell "hat bands" which strengthen the outboard booster engine nozzles on the real Atlas. I apply a little more white glue on top, and then going around the nozzle the same direction I wound the string, rub the glue into the string and onto the tube, securing everything in place. If the wraps aren't evenly spaced, go ahead and space them evenly now, using a fingernail or the back of the hobby knife blade-- the more evenly spaced and smooth they are, the better the rocket will look later on. You'll probably have to hold the end of the string down for a few seconds until the glue tacks up a bit to keep it laying flat and the hatbands wound tightly around the "nozzle" (tube). Once you're satisfied and everything's pretty well tacked itself in place, set them aside to dry.

Next, we glue the two notched centering rings to the BT-20 motor tube. Put a vertical line down the tube with your angle (or doorjamb method if you're still doing it that way-- and for pity's sake, get some cheap aluminum angle at the hardware store next time you're in there! LOL). The centering rings have a small "index notch" you cut in the back of the ring according to the ring mod guides you glued over the ring... (of course by this time you should also have carefully cut out the two 'half moons' on either side of each ring-- if you haven't done that, do it now before gluing the rings up!). One ring is marked "upper" and the other "lower"... they go on basically with the "upper" notched ring in the middle, and the "lower" one on bottom. CAREFULLY align the "index notches" (centered between the large "half moon" notches next to the motor tube) with the reference line you drew on the motor tube. The rings have to be indexed as close to perfectly as possible with this line, or the rocket will roll in flight later on, since the motor spoof tube alignment is determined by the half moon notches in the rings, and the Flamefins go into the engine spoof tubes for flight-- and the spoof tubes are aligned to the motor tube by the rings, and you want everything parallel and aligned. Glue the rings on with a dab of white glue, and once you're comfortable that everything is aligned properly, fillet the rings with more white glue.

Next, the spoof tubes are glued on. I actually jumped steps a bit and went ahead and installed the motor hook first per the instructions. Cut the reinforcement band, glue it in place with white glue, install the motor hook, put a drop of CA on the upper end/tube slit to harden the motor tube a bit, wrap tape around the motor hook, and then glue in the motor block in the front of the tube ahead of the motor hook. Check the alignment and fit of the spoof tubes in the centering ring "half moon" notches, and do a little fine sanding or filing to get a good fit... I found that I had to widen the notches slightly on mine, and sanded the front notch on one side and the back ring notch on the other side to correct for a tiny misalignment in the rings... To check the alignment, hold the spoof tube in the half moon notches with one finger, and while looking past the tubes at a fairly dark background, carefully roll the motor tube to bring the visible edges of the spoof tube and the motor tube together... the spoof tube edge should completely "eclipse" or hide the edge of the motor tube... any misalignment will be visible as a small wedge-shaped bit of the motor tube still visible. A tiny bit of sanding is all that's usually needed to bring everything into virtually perfect alignment if you got the centering rings "keyed" to the reference line on the motor tube correctly. Once you're satisfied with the fit, go ahead and glue the spoof tubes to the rings, using white glue, and the fillet them. They are supposed to overhang the back of the rear centering ring by 9/16 inch, but I gave them a little bit more, because looking at the Atlas-Agena I did last year, I think they look a little better a bit further aft (and I remember from the Atlas-Agena having to fiddle with the upper end of the spoof tubes a bit because they were hitting the insides of the fairings when it was time to glue them on).

Fillet everything and set it aside to dry.

More Later! OL JR

[RocketT.Coyote]

Also have the Mercury Atlas kit. The Skylab flies well btw.

[Rocketbuilder]

Cool! Looks really good. I do need to get me one of those Dr. Zooch kits sometime soon.

Oh and:

The Atlas is, IMHO, probably THE coolest rocket ever built.

Ahem, no.

[luke strawwalker]

Cool! Looks really good. I do need to get me one of those Dr. Zooch kits sometime soon.

Oh and:

Ahem, no.

Saturn I IS cool, but the COOLEST?? Meh, agree to disagree... it's ALL good...

Later! OL JR

[gldknght]

Here's the inventory of the parts...

A BT-60 main Atlas body tube, a T-50 spacecraft adapter tube, a T-20 motor mount tube, a T-5 tube (for the booster engine bells/sockets for the Flamefins), a T-3 tube (for the Flamefins themselves), a balsa weighted conical transition (upper end of the LOX tank of the Atlas), balsa nosecone (core of the Friendship 7 capsule), a baggie with 4 small centering rings (for the Flamefins), three fiberboard 20/60 centering rings (two notched), a sheet of corrugated mylar (for the Atlas booster section corrugations), kitbag with the tower parts, a couple sheets of balsa fin stock, a wood dowel, trash bag chute, kitbag with screw-eye and recovery parts, sticky rings, chute string, bulletproof thread recovery cord, humorous instructions, and a printed cardstock wrap sheet.

More later!
OL JR

Were those egg cartons included in the kit? You didn't mention them in the inventory, so am assuming you bought them separately? What do you use them for?

[luke strawwalker]

Were those egg cartons included in the kit? You didn't mention them in the inventory, so am assuming you bought them separately? What do you use them for?

No egg cartons are included in the kit... Dr. Zooch doesn't eat THAT many omelettes, and I doubt he's much of a fan of quiche... LOL

No, I grab those from the kitchen as soon as the wife's emptied them out and tosses them in the trash can... so long as they don't have a broken egg in them and egg goo...

They are EXTREMELY handy little "work racks" to have on the workbench... when inverted, the egg cups make a very handy "body tube holders" that you can set the body tube in the 'valley' between the egg cups to hold it steady in a given position, like when gluing up various details, or launch lugs, to keep them upright. Also great for holding regular rockets while the fins dry... just overhang the fins past the end of the egg carton.

Slit the egg cups right down the middle with a sharp hobby knife, perpendicular to the long axis of the egg carton, about halfway through the depth of the egg cup, and they make VERY handy "clamps" for holding fins while you apply the first layer of glue and let it harden up for double glue joints... the tubes can sit in the valley of the egg carton in most cases, overhanging the end while the glue dries on the tube fin lines for double-glue joints... works like a champ!

The lids, when cut off the egg cup part, makes handy-dandy "parts trays" that can hold small detail parts or bits that tend to roll away or get lost while you're working on them... they also have room for mixing epoxy (when you need it) and/or paint... the uncut egg cups also work well for this, as you can mix most paints (make sure they don't eat foam first!) in the cups and dip your brush right into the egg cup to apply the paint... I even whittled the little foam "riser" sticking up from the inside of the lid into a little cradle to hold the Mercury capsule and tower while I did detail work on it (like cutting, applying, gluing up the hair-thin wires on the tower legs).

Just about the handiest things since sliced bread... Got the idea from a club buddy of mine, Dave Montgomery, who's been a terrific modeler for decades!

Later! OL JR

PS. I also used one of these egg cups cut off a carton for the aft dome on the hydrogen tank of the External Tank on the Dr. Zooch "Return to Flight" Space Shuttle I did a few years ago... The rounded foam egg cup with the flat center makes a PERFECT rounded tank dome... especially when you "harden it up" with a few coats of yellow wood glue brushed on it to seal it off from harsh paint thinners in spray paint and protect it from engine heat... Works like a champ! http://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?p=16277

[luke strawwalker]

Cross-posted this over at the nasaspaceflight.com forum...

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/ind...2851#msg852851

LOTS of EXCELLENT work over there to look at!

Later! OL JR