TLP Indigo Build

[Doggonewild]

After the filler was dry, I applied CA to the seam between the MBT and tail cone. It ran around it nicely, but I used a small piece of excess aluminum cut off from my jig shield a while back to smooth out any over-runs. Just keep it moving, it won't stick. There's some things I don't like about CA, but sandability isn't one of them. I'm hoping I can now sand that joint down flush.

I applied filler to the front of the fins. I also applied thick filler to the gouge on the leading edge of the fin on the far left. I'm going to apply CA to it and see how that works on fixing it. I also made a pretty deep pen mark on that fin while making the shim for the jig. Pens don't work on CA soaked paper, use a pencil I found out.

I sanded too much off of the nose cone, I need a much gentler touch. I reapplied filler so I'm back to square one on it.

[Doggonewild]

There's the nose cone after a light sanding with 400 grit. I put a coat of CA over that, as it sands off so easily and I want to make progress, not keep sanding everything off. I hope this works, but really this is a pretty nicely formed cone and I don't think it will take much more for it to be smooth.

[sodmeister]

Just in case you are wondering my friend.......I`m watching this build....cause i loves my TLP kits !!


Please carry on ,as this is MY kind of build !!!!!!!

Sincerely


Paul T

[Doggonewild]

If she turns out a quarter as nice as one of your TLP builds, I'll be happy.

[Doggonewild]

Here's the almost finished nose cone. I think there are just a couple spots that need a 'lil more filler. The CA toughened up the filler a ton, and I used 400 grit held in my hand, sanding in all directions. I close my eyes and use my fingers to feel the uneven spots.

[Doggonewild]

I sanded for a while on the tail cone joint. I started with a 400 grit block, but it didn't take long for that to be mostly ineffective. I switched to my popsicle stick with 220 glued to it. That made pretty good progress, but it's now time to make a new one as it's worn out. Here's a picture of the progress so far, nice and solid.

Here's to show my other problem besides warped fins on my Lance. Building it stock according to the directions, there's nothing there to support the cone, and took a ton of filling. And after a couple years, there's holes where the CA flaked off. I know better now.

[Doggonewild]

Since I was making one popsandicle stick, I figured I might as well make two, 220 and 400. A more robust emery board, really. I'm beat, it's been a tough week at work. Stay tuned....

[sodmeister]

On my tailcones etc ,I use a 20 min. finish cure epoxy ,very thin ,very little weight added and it soaks into the cardstock nicely.It also sands nicely and makes the paper quite strong ,more so than just CA ,which i do use to over paint the works and re-sand.

But as you noticed ,these kits are great for experimenting with new ideas and techniques ,so to you I say ....BRAVO !

Sincerely


Paul T

[gdjsky01]

Also as hcmbanjo pointed out to me, thick CA alone works great on plastic nose cone seams.

[Doggonewild]

On my tailcones etc ,I use a 20 min. finish cure epoxy ,very thin ,very little weight added and it soaks into the cardstock nicely.It also sands nicely and makes the paper quite strong ,more so than just CA ,which i do use to over paint the works and re-sand.

But as you noticed ,these kits are great for experimenting with new ideas and techniques ,so to you I say ....BRAVO !



Sincerely


Paul T

Thank you for the bravo. I've been reading up on finishing epoxy, probably on your threads. Where do you get yours?

[Doggonewild]

Also as hcmbanjo pointed out to me, thick CA alone works great on plastic nose cone seams.

I've thought about getting some thick CA, I've never used it before. On this nose cone I missed a drip that ran along the the bottom, and it took a lot of sanding to get rid of it. You can see it on the picture on post #92, bottom right of the cone. Something not so runny would be nice at times. The filler was nice too though, it filled in a couple low spots not on the seam, and she's smooth.

[Doggonewild]

I sanded some more with my new 220 popsandicle stick on the tail cone joint. The deeper I got into the Titebond, CA, and paper joint, the more I realized I needed to break out the big artillery. A popsandicle with 150 on it, with another popsicle stick CA'ed to the back perpendicular to the main sanding block, for gription. I like to err on the side of caution with sandpaper, after learning the hard way.

My popsicle sticks are all warped, with a convex and concaved side. In this case, I glued the sandpaper to the concave side, it fits the BT-80 pretty sweet. Now I was cooking. Here's the final rough sand of the tail section.

[Doggonewild]

Another nice thing about doing a build thread, now when I forget how I did everything, I have a place I can look back at. As long as I remember I did this in a couple years

[Doggonewild]

A new, slightly thicker than latex batch of filler was mixed up and applied. My fingertips detected one other shallow spot between the seams on the nose cone, and I needed some more in a couple other places near the tip. I also applied some at the tail cone joint, and a little near the end of the tail cone as it is indented a little from the intitial CA application.

[sodmeister]

Thank you for the bravo. I've been reading up on finishing epoxy, probably on your threads. Where do you get yours?

I buy mine at the hobby shop ,usually marketed under Bob Smith Industries ,although other company labels can be applied over the bottles ,so it may not say "BSI" on it.

You can also get on line at many places.

Cheers

Paul T

[Stymye]

sub'd to the thread .. looks good so far !

[Doggonewild]

Thanks man. I'll check into it, it's nice having a brand name for a search. I doubt I can find it anywhere in town.

I buy mine at the hobby shop ,usually marketed under Bob Smith Industries ,although other company labels can be applied over the bottles ,so it may not say "BSI" on it.

You can also get on line at many places.

Cheers

Paul T

[Doggonewild]

sub'd to the thread .. looks good so far !

Thanks, I hope it keeps looking good. I've gotten past a few hurdles, but the front fins will be a challenge. I still haven't seen a final result from using my jig after paint, and I haven't spray painted anything in quite a while. This is giving me the most anxiety on this build.

[Doggonewild]

I had some 600 grit, so I tried using that to sand the filler on the cone. That worked better, and after a while letting my fingertips tell me where to sand I was satisfied. I mostly used my hand as a block, as lightly as I could in all directions.

I wiped the cone with rubbing alcohol, and still could feel a slight ridge at the joint between the filler and the plastic. I applied CA over the whole cone almost, with a different technique. I put a line of CA on some wax paper, and used my aluminum rectangle dipped in it to rub the CA over everything. I was going to take a picture of my rectangle, but I forgot. I'll post one tomorrow. Here's a picture of the cone after CA. It's almost finished I think.

I sanded the tail cone and lower body tube with 600, in a similar fashion to the nose cone. I gave some special attention to the joint with my 400 popsandicle as well. It's pretty smooth now, but have a little more work to do. That will have to come tomorrow. Here's a picture.

[Doggonewild]

Almost final sand of the nose cone. I noticed it needs a little more filler near the JB Weld joint. Otherwise it is smooooth.

My aluminum CA spreader. It still has the curve of the can, which makes it sturdy like a tape measure, and also goes around curves well. It is working great, way better than a piece of paper or cardboard.

I applied CA to the filler I sanded last night to harden it. Can't really tell in the picture, but it's shiny now. I can sand that now a little, and add the final coat of filler. There's still a couple minor low spots, and the seam. In the B&W picture the tail cone joint is invisible, so I'm trying to do that too. The whole missile looks very smooth really, those Italians can build some nice machines. And the food...

A close-up of the cone next to a cone with the hat. It comes up a little short, but I think it's a horse a piece on which one is more accurate. I weighed the cone, no weight change really. I might have done this a little different than bradycros though, I sanded some plastic away to make things smooth, but it's probably a different run of nose cones from the factory.

[Doggonewild]

The gouge sanded down carefully, and reinforced with CA. Looks pretty good and it's as strong as the balsa. I'm liking putting a few drops of CA on some wax paper and applying it with the aluminum tool. Even after a half hour the CA was still sitting in a puddle uncured, and it doesn't run all over the place when applied. I also put hopefully the last coat of filler on the nose and tail cones, but you've seen that all before. It was the thickest batch yet, as I know exactly where it needs to go. You can't make it too thick though, or it gets gloppy and doesn't spread well. I'll see how it goes tomorrow.

[Eric1]

I may have to produce Scale kits!

Doggonewild You are working too DoggoneHard!!


Peace Bro.

[Doggonewild]

I actually think I'm working the perfect amount. I'd get bored if it was any easier, the problem solving is my favorite part of building a rocket. I certainly don't have anything against a laser cut, etc. kit, I just don't buy very many.

[Doggonewild]

I lightly sanded the filler I put on the nose cone and tail cone last night with 600 held in my hand, and applied CA with my aluminum tool. I then sanded with 400 to where I was satisfied. I wipe everything down with rubbing alcohol periodically to clear the dust. The nose cone is ready for primer, I don't think I can do much more until I see it all the same color. I applied a latex-like coat of filler to the tail area, and paid closer attention to applying it to the spirals. A picture of both at this point.

I applied one last strip of CA with the end of a popsicle stick along the tail cone seam, and sanded the filler down on the whole body tube and tail cone. The tail cone is ready for primer. Two big projects are done on this rocket. Here's a close-up of the tail area.

A picture of the nose cone ready to go.

[Doggonewild]

I was going to work on my fins, but my rubber cement is old and too thick. I need to get some more.

There's not much more to do besides glue the body tubes together. I forgot to take a picture, but I marked the coupler halfway so I knew how far to slide it in. The lower body tube I had to sand to get the coupler to go in, on the upper BT it slid right in. I then applied Elmer's Glue-All to the lower body tube, and applied too much force. The coupler went all the way in! It was pretty tight to begin with, and I couldn't budge it. I got a little carried away with a pliers, but once I calmed down, I pried it away from the BT and removed the coupler. I turned the coupler around, reapplied glue, and did a more cautious insertion to my half-way line. Then I applied glue to the inside of the upper BT, put the front BT on, and rolled it back and forth until I was sure it was straight. There is a small gap on part of it, even though I sanded the ends beforehand with the coupler to back it up. I then put on some masking tape to hold things straight, and held on to the joint until it was set. I did a little damage to the lower BT with the pliers, but it's easily fixable. Here's a picture of the damage and setting glue.

[Doggonewild]

I also sanded out the fin slots with a 220 popsandicle to get rid of any residue from the whole filler process. I put the fins in and the nose cone on, and took a picture.

I'm getting there, slowly but surely.

[Doggonewild]

I set up my jig on the veneer side of my board, so I could apply a thin smooth rubbery surface to it. The piano wire broke off easily from the other side, and I glued it to the veneer. CA sheer strength is bad. I brushed a thin coat of rubber cement on the veneer where the fin would go, I waited for it to dry. I put the shim down, the fin, the 1/8" balsa clamp reinforcements, and the aluminum shield, and clamped. I'm using my damaged fin for an experimental model. Really, it's not damaged anymore, but it's the most unlike the others. I can always cut a new one if something goes wrong.

I sanded the fin exposed by the jig lightly, with a big rubber block with a fresh sheet of 400 on it. I was striving for flatness and a straight edge along the aluminum shield. I took the fin off the jig, and applied a strip of masking tape to the just sanded front bevel.

I used the block to sand flat just behind the beveled edge. I took the tape off, I was surprised I could actually feel a pronounced edge to the bevel. I am encouraged.

[Doggonewild]

I should clarify something. A buddy stopped by just as I was finishing this up, and I got distracted. I also sanded the other side of the fin, and the last picture is of that side. It only took about 10 minutes to do the whole thing.

[Doggonewild]

I turned again to that B&W photo of the real missile, and again held up the fin template to the zoomed in picture of the fins. I decided to do a straight bevel on the rear of the fins, even though I think there is something more complex going on. This will look cool (I hope), and is about as good as I can do. After drawing a few lines on my guinea pig fin, I settled on the bottom line to start the bevel. It looks very close to the picture.

I set the fin up on Jig Mk. II, the rubber cement is fine from the sanding earlier. This was quick work as I'm sanding the soft balsa on the fins now. I used my rubber block with 220 on it.

There's the rough results still on the jig.

I then had to make another shim. This time I just held the fin down on the wax paper covered board with my fingers, and folded the excess wax paper over so I wouldn't glue my fingers to it. I crept my fingers forward as I slid the rectangles of paper under the gap under the fin. This was much quicker, more accurate, and easier, and I applied CA to make the paper one unit. The completed shim.

The rough sanding complete on the rear of the fin. This is getting very fast with some practice, at least to my normal snail's pace.

[Doggonewild]

I painted the rear of the fin with latex-like filler, and filled in the pen gouge the rest of the way. The rest of the filler I mixed up went onto the front body tube. Here's a close-up of the fin placed in the slot upside-down, drying under the ceiling fan.

At work we have 400 people to feed on Mother's Day, so I doubt I'll post much for a couple days. Stay tuned...