Cloning the Estes Starship Vega: Rose colored memories

[Marc_G]

Ready for filler primer:



The blue is masking tape around the shoulder of the NC. The nose cone was sealed with CA (thin), lightly sanded, slathered in CWF, then sanded with a progression of sanding sponges from 180 (lightly!), 220 (most of the material came off here), and finally 320.

I'll wait for a day when I can adequately shoot my Rustoleum grey auto filler primer. I'll do a light coat to see where the areas that need further prep work are. Most of the light coat will be removed.

Marc

[Marc_G]

I noticed that SEMROC has released the Starship Vega as a kit. Go SEMROC!
Most of my parts came from SEMROC so it's almost like I bought the kit... plus decals from Gordy, of course.

This week, we had a few warm days so I sprayed filler primer on the Vega. I used my trusty Rustoleum auto filler primer:



This was not a heavy coat and was really more to see where areas of further attention will be:







The tube spirals are the biggest issue, as well as where fillets meet fins and body tubes. I didn't pre-fill the spirals, as for me doing so on a small tube like a BT-50 is more of a recipe for disaster than anything else. Generally, several coats of filler primer, sanded in between coats, fills the small spiral gaps you see in the above pics.

I haven't had time to sand down the filler primer as I'm working on a beveling jig project at the same time, and have begun work on a Blue Bird Zero (who's fins will use the beveller).

As you may have noticed from the news, the weather in the midwest has taken a turn for the worse so it will be a few days before I can spray my next coat of filler primer. I'll try to remember to get pics of the sanding done in between coats.

Marc

[FastCargo]

I noticed that SEMROC has released the Starship Vega as a kit. Go SEMROC!

I just noticed that myself yesterday as your thread had inspired me....coolness!

Also, the FSI Black Brant II clone I had built uses a very similar NC....so I think a 24mm upscale (2") is in my future...the OR I had run on it shows it to be potentially a great small field flyer.

Plus, I have an idea to make the 'shock legs' functional....

FC

[Marc_G]

Plus, I have an idea to make the 'shock legs' functional....

FC

I thought of doing it. I've got some springs I think would work, but in the end on a small model like this the extra weight involved wasn't worth it. If I upscale this thing, I'll spring-load the legs.

[Marc_G]

She's been out in the garage for two weeks, awaiting sanding, more primer, more sanding, and so on.

Yesterday I finally got a chance to sand down the filler primer. Because of the attention I had previously given to the fins and such, all I had to do was sand down the filler primer coat and was rewarded with a pretty smooth surface. I was originally planning to obsess about this one, but while sanding down I nearly messed it up. The time in the warm, relatively humid garage (Indiana temps in the 70s, lately) softened the glue a bit and I knocked the canard fins out of true. Basically the glue just got elastic instead of stiff. I nudged them back and decided enough was enough.

I sprayed white Valspar primer on the model, barely attaining reasonable coverage before the can ran out of primer.

I have been using water based acrylic paints all winter, and enjoying it, but for this model I decided to go back to white Rustoleum lacquer.

Note: Rusto lacquer goes on top of Valspar white primer just fine anywhere from 10 minutes to 10 months after the primer is dry to the touch. Never had this combo crinkle, so I pushed forward.

It was pretty comical. I got a nice result, but there I am holding the can of paint, thinking how weird it is since I've gotten used to my airbrush.

After shaking and shaking, I begin spraying. Nearly instantly paint floods out from a leak between the spray cap and the little nipple on the can. My hand gets coated in paint and it's dripping all over the driveway. I run to the grass hoping not to drip the paint on my tennis shoes.

The leak sealed itself, and I was able to successfully finish spraying. Let it dry overnight, then after 24 hours did some dry sanding with 320 grit. Just a light pass. This took off some rough spots remaining.

Then another coat. It's not terribly high gloss, due I think to excessive humidity tonight (71 F, 65% RH), but that's fine. The paint is smooth enough for good decal adhesion, and the gloss will really come from the clear coat I'll put on it later.





Next up will be decals. I've got some from Excelsior. They are about a year and a half old, since I ordered them long ago. I may put a light coat of clear on them first to improve workability.

Marc

[JPVegh]

She's looking realy good, bringing back some memories, thanks.

[hornet driver]

Outstanding ! Just plain OUTSTANDING !!

[Marc_G]

I will document some things about the motor mount and shock cord anchor another day, but this evening in my last few waking moments I wanted to unveil the decals.

If the clothes make the man, it must certainly be true that the Decals make the Starship.

A year and a half ago I ordered them from Gordy at Excelsior. In exchange for some paltry sum I quickly had a full page of beautiful decals, including several extras in case I goofed, and an amazing "foil wrap" which I have no idea how he produced. It's really shiny, like aluminum foil, on which has been printed the black grid. But it's a decal. Amazing!

Over time I've learned how to handle waterslide decals with fewer issues than before. This is how I do it now (subject to change without notice):

0. Don't apply over a matte surface. USe a gloss coat (either gloss pigment or clear gloss on top of a matte pigment) to avoid silvering.

1. At least the night before decal application, I hit the decal sheet (s) with Valspar High Gloss Clear Lacquer. One nice spray, pointing downward on a sheet held horizontally to cardboard by tape so it doesn't blow away and land on leaves or something. Note, I DO NOT go for a full glossy spray coverage. I used to do that, but when cutting out the decals, sometimes the clear would separate from the decal surface trapping air in there. Just go for a fine scale pebbly surface. This is just enough:





2. Use sharp hobby knife and scissors to cut up the decals, BEING VERY CAREFUL NOT TO SCRATCH THE PRINTED SURFACE. The pebbly gloss coat helps amazingly with this. I use a metal ruler with a cork backing which is fabulous, and also a smooth piece of angle aluminum to guide the knife. The only real caution about ALPS-printed decals is the ink can be scraped off, and I've found black seems to be particularly sensitive. Again, coating like I do makes them much easier to work with.

3. About a year ago there were several pointed arguments about additives to warm water for surface tension effects -- add drop of dish soap? add some Future to improve bond? My answer, which works for me: NO. Warmish hot tapwater, only. Since I went to plain water my decals seem to stick tighter in that they are less likely, once dry, to come off if I touch em the wrong way. Note, other folks find the soap addition works great, and more power to that way, it's just not how I do it at the moment.

4. The gloss lacquer makes the decals much much less likely to flip under itself or do other annoying and hard to correct stuff. They handle great! But careful, they are not actually stronger. You can still screw 'em up!

5. After I get them in position I blot by pressing with an ever so slightly dampish paper towel. Pressing on fixes the glue better.

6. When the water cools, get fresh warm water. But it's not critical in my experience.

[Marc_G]

So I spent about two hours putting on the decals.

There were extras, as I mentioned, and there were also some black ones that looked to be shaped like the leading edge flat surfaces of the main fins. Didn't use those. Here she is after the decals dried for a day:







Here are some detail pictures to give a sense of the crispness of the decals:





I just noticed I should probably paint the landing struts a different color, probably aluminum. I have some. I hate to break out the paint after getting the decals on, but I believe I can do it safely. Wish me luck.

Then clear coat and she'll be done. I'll try to describe what I did with motor mount and shock cord tomorrow.

Marc

[JPVegh]

Really nice man. Really nice.

[T-Rex]

Fantastic job! My hat's off to you!

[Marc_G]

I'll try to describe what I did with motor mount and shock cord tomorrow.

Marc

I must have been REALLY tired last night. Motor mount already described. What I was thinking of talking about is actually part of my Blue Bird Zero build. No thread yet for that!

[foamy]

Most excellent. A really nice build Marc.

Do you think you could get away with hand brushing the landing struts?

[bradycros]

Your efforts paid off! Looks very well made.

[HammerZ2008]

You said that silver wrap is a decal, printed waterslide decal? I want to know more about it.

[Marc_G]

Most excellent. A really nice build Marc.

Do you think you could get away with hand brushing the landing struts?

My experience with the aluminum paint is it wont look good brushed. Gonna need to spray.

[Marc_G]

You said that silver wrap is a decal, printed waterslide decal? I want to know more about it.

Yes, it's a waterside decal with a foil-looking surface and black grid lines. Maybe just special silver ALPS ink, not sure. Check with Gordy at Excelsior. It's exquisite.

[Marc_G]

That's better.

I used a trashbag with tiny holes in it, and stuck the landing struts through the holes. A little masking tape held things in place.

Couple squirts of Lustrekote aluminum colored lacquer paint. Let dry a few minutes. Lather rinse repeat. I think I put on three coats total over half an hour. Done.

Here are some pics:





If you think you see a partial fingerprint on the side of the left hand foot pad, <makes Jedi mind trick hand motion> It's just a coincidence.

And because the foil wrap waterslide decal generated so much interest, here's a closeup without flash so you can see how it shines in reflected light.



I'll PM Gordy and see if he cares to comment on how it was made. I just stand in awe of his work.

Marc

PS: I've got some cleanup to do around the base of the nosecone; the masking I used there didn't come off cleanly. Then it's clear coat time. I'll wait for a low humidity day. It will be Valspar high-gloss lacquer. Fog. Let dry. Fog. Let dry. and so on.

Marc

[sandman]

Unfortunately the printers I have that are capable of just that are currently on there way to Japan to be fixed.

Wait about a month.

[Marc_G]

Eventually I got a day with minimal humidity (<50% RH, at about 65 degrees F).

I laid on two misty gloss coats all around, which gave the rocket a slightly pebbly gloss surface and blended nicely with the pebbly surface of the decals which had previously been coated with the gloss. Each coat dried for about 15 mins before applying the next. For Valspar high gloss lacquer, this is enough time that you can handle the piece if you want to following these misty coats. It flashes off fast under these conditions.

Then I gave what I would call a medium coat. Not a heavy drippy coat at all. The medium coat melted into the prior coats and you could see the thing geling. Beautiful.

Here it is about an hour later:











As you can see it gleams nicely and is slick as glass. I may put a protective coat of Future over it, though it won't make it any more glossy (it's already maxed out!). Add a parachute, wadding, and motor, and off she goes!

I will finish this thread with launch pics/video once I get a chance to put her in the air.

Marc

[bradycros]

I like what I see, well done! I'll need to put this one on my 'to do' list!

[Marc_G]

Thanks!

I'm considering doing an upscale this summer. I'm hoping the QModeling folks are able to relaunch their operation; I'd buy one of their 1.4X upscales in a heartbeat.

There's also something to be said for doing it on my own... it's not really a complicated job. At least, it's not so bad as long as Gordy gets his printer back in working order so I can get some kick-@$$ special foil decals.

I'm pleased with how it came out except for the fin out-of-alignment thing during the primer-sanding phase. It has settled back MOSTLY in aligment but it used to be perfect; now it's a couple of degrees off.

I also created something of a chip near the base of the nosecone; pulling off tape that was CAed on by mistake gave me some grief. I'll touch it up though.

Mostly, it is the way I wanted it to be and it was a fun build. For those looking at the SEMROC clone, I say full speed ahead! It's a great build.

Marc

[sandman]

Thanks!

I'm considering doing an upscale this summer. I'm hoping the QModeling folks are able to relaunch their operation; I'd buy one of their 1.4X upscales in a heartbeat.

There's also something to be said for doing it on my own... it's not really a complicated job. At least, it's not so bad as long as Gordy gets his printer back in working order so I can get some kick-@$$ special foil decals.

I'm pleased with how it came out except for the fin out-of-alignment thing during the primer-sanding phase. It has settled back MOSTLY in aligment but it used to be perfect; now it's a couple of degrees off.

I also created something of a chip near the base of the nosecone; pulling off tape that was CAed on by mistake gave me some grief. I'll touch it up though.

Mostly, it is the way I wanted it to be and it was a fun build. For those looking at the SEMROC clone, I say full speed ahead! It's a great build.

Marc

I do have another printer capable of printing chrome foil, but it's an older MD-5000 model I haven't tried it yet.

I can also print the wrap on chrome Mylar paper.

[T-Rex]

Very Nice!!

I wrecked (probably beyond repair) my QModeling version yesterday when the chute stuck in the body tube. (My fault, I tried to stuff a 36" replacement in there. Just isn't enough room) When you build yours, I highly recommend papering the balsa main fins, and using decal setting solutions....

[Marc_G]

OUCH!

But I bet you can repair her! Don't give up.

Marc

[Marc_G]

Hi folks,

Did some launching at the park today. Among the fleet I took was my Starship Vega.

On first attempt, it bound on the launch rod. No idea why. After all was over, it lifted right off with my hand with no special force.

Reloaded her, and tried again. She took off and had a great flight and safe landing. I think the chute didn't open all the way but the ground was soft.

Here are some pics:




I am having some video issues with my new camera, but will post it eventually.

Marc

[Marc_G]

It's pretty poor video but better than nothing!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPIaG_1WUwM