Building the Estes Saturn V

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Gabriel315

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Hello Everyone.
In this thread I will be posting my step-by-step construction of a Estes Saturn V. I will receive it in two days and I will immediately post some photos.
Stay tuned!!!

002157_package.jpg
 
One little tid bit I picked up on before I started mine was to make 3 copies of both shrouds on 110# card stock. This is so you will always have a copy and you'll be able to make extras of both shrouds. You can then pick the ones that fit the best. Oh and I hope your vacuformed shroud wrap fits better that mine did. I've heard plenty of folks claim theirs didn't fit proper either. Chris Michielssen has a really great build blog which is a good read with excellent pics.
https://www.rocketreviews.com/saturn-v-8133.html
 
I have read Chris Michielssen instructions three times!!! They are really good and I am looking forward to print 2 more of each shrouds. Thanks for the source!!!!
 
Sorry for the delay but I haven't received the rocket yet. I hope to have it here for the next Tuesday.

See ya!!
 
Here's some more input for ya. Forget what the instructions Estes tells you about suggested glues and adhesives to build this rocket. 1st and foremost unless you have a plan to beef up the fins and fairings, don't use them. They are way too fragile. You might survive a landing or two but consider yourself lucky to make it to the 2nd launch. Better off buying the upgrade fins/fairings and nose assembly parts from Sirius Rocketry, https://www.siriusrocketry.biz/ishop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=294 The glues and adhesives Estes recommend are a waste of time. Especially where the vacuformed parts are concerned. Use epoxy for it. My wraps are coming apart at the seams because I used their suggested adhesives and glues. All the time I used to fill gaps in the seams has now become a waste of money, time and effort. It's all coming apart now. Building this bird the way Estes says to build it is a complete waste of time. Chris has some better approaches but I employ you to get the upgrades from Sirius. Oh, the tower assembly.......if you look at it wrong it will break.
 
Here's some more input for ya. Forget what the instructions Estes tells you about suggested glues and adhesives to build this rocket. 1st and foremost unless you have a plan to beef up the fins and fairings, don't use them. They are way too fragile. You might survive a landing or two but consider yourself lucky to make it to the 2nd launch. Better off buying the upgrade fins/fairings and nose assembly parts from Sirius Rocketry, https://www.siriusrocketry.biz/ishop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=294 The glues and adhesives Estes recommend are a waste of time. Especially where the vacuformed parts are concerned. Use epoxy for it. My wraps are coming apart at the seams because I used their suggested adhesives and glues. All the time I used to fill gaps in the seams has now become a waste of money, time and effort. It's all coming apart now. Building this bird the way Estes says to build it is a complete waste of time. Chris has some better approaches but I employ you to get the upgrades from Sirius. Oh, the tower assembly.......if you look at it wrong it will break.

And there are some of the reasons the 2001 kit will always be my favorite, different wraps and adhesives. I hope at some point they go back to the balsa fins and paper fairings. Otherwise I'll use the Sirius tower and fins sets.

Verna
www.vernarockets.com
 
At last!!! The package arrived today. All was in good conditions. I will start filling seams and cleaning parts tomorrow.

Here are some photos:
IMG_1181.jpgIMG_1183.jpg
 
NICE, I didnt bother filling the seams... Its quite hard to notice after painting and all the wraps.
 
Another word of advice about those plastic wraps that I learned from my most battle scarred Centuri Saturn V. There are some larger hollow details that will eventually crush or crack open after a few landings. I recommend you reenforce them from the inside with epoxy or some other filler material. I recommend this to Gary Byrum and for his build he created a "floam" mixture of epoxy and styrofoam beads to reenforce them
 
OK. Today I began by fixing any imperfection in the tubes. I sanded the top and rear edges of the tubes and then applied a thin coat of CA for extra protection.

I am only 16 years old and this is the 9th rocket I build. Please any suggestions (as the ones you gave me above) are welcomed.


IMG_1200[1].jpgIMG_1202[1].jpg
 
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The tube walls are very thin and some ring couplers doesn't fit but I will try to fix them. The wraps look a lot better than I thought. I am very happy with the kit though. Can't wait to do more!!!
 
Here are my advancements. There is nothing to highlight. All the parts fit very.

I will be using epoxy to glue the motor assembly (i think that is the name) to the tube.

Any suggestions?

IMG_1203.jpg IMG_1204.jpg
 
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My technique for applying the wraps is simple and produces excellent results without any gaps.

Cut out the wraps as best you can using a sharp razor blade and straight edge. Now put the wraps on the body tube and use some rubber bands to hold it tight in place. Adjust the seam until it is flush. You will need to put a couple of round tooth picks close and parallel to the seam to get ends of the wraps to lie down flush otherwise they will stick up a little. Now remove the wrap, and place a piece of wax paper under the seam, replace the wrap as before and glue it together using CA.
Glue it one section at a time as the rubber bands will get in the way. Hit is with some accelerator and your almost done. You can now remove the wrap from the tube and sand the top and bottom edges flush. No matter how hard you try they will always be a little out of wack if you don't use this technique.

Once the wraps are glued together this way you can put them on or remove them from the body tube at will. If you have any spare tubing I would even paint them separately as masking the entire rocket at one time is much more difficult.
 
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My technique for applying the wraps is simple and produces excellent results without any gaps.

Cut out the wraps as best you can using a sharp razor blade and straight edge. Now put the wraps on the body tube and use some rubber bands to hold it tight in place. Adjust the seam until it is flush. You will need to put a couple of round tooth picks close and parallel to the seam to get ends of the wraps to lie down flush otherwise they will stick up a little. Now remove the wrap, and place a piece of wax paper under the seam, replace the wrap as before and glue it together using CA.
Glue it one section at a time as the rubber bands will get in the way. Hit is with some accelerator and your almost done. You can now remove the wrap from the tube and sand the top and bottom edges flush. No matter how hard you try they will always be a little out of wack if you don't use this technique.

Once the wraps are glued together this way you can put them on or remove them from the body tube at will. If you have any spare tubing I would even paint them separately as masking the entire rocket at one time is much more difficult.

Thanks you!! Great technique!!! Unfortunately, I already glued the wraps in place. They went very good. The reduction wrap isn't very good but it is not noticeable.

Thanks again!!!
Gabriel
 
OK guys, these were my advancements during last week.

I worked on the third stage, filled seams, cut wraps, and prepared the third stage shroud and the L.E.M Reduction wrap.

I filled the seams with Duplicolor Filler Primer. It worked just awesome!!!

IMG_1224.jpg

I used this masking tape to delineate the seams. I really recommend it when you will fill seams with primer. it sticks very well but it is specially for delicate surfaces, however it is a little expensive. The name is Scotch Masking Tape- Delicate Surfaces.

I also prepared the entire third stage assembly with the wraps, the wood strips, etc. I don't know why but it seems that the service module is a little bigger that it should be. Do you notice it or am I crazy?

IMG_1228.jpg

I have made some mistakes but hopefully they can't be noticed easily. I am very happy how I am building the rocket despite all the mistakes I have made. I thought I would make it worse.

I also applied all the wraps to the body tube; however i haven't glued the engine mount to the inside of the tube yet!!!!!. I am waiting to receive an epoxy that I ordered to do this.

IMG_1232.jpg
This is all I have done so far

HELP:

I will not start painting yet but I am a not sure how shall I spray my rocket. I don't know how to paint too well!!! Do you know any video or guide in which I could learn how to spray paint a rocket very well?. I have painted some rockets but they don't look very well all the time and I want this one to look gorgeous.

Any suggestion or help is very welcomed.

Gabriel
 
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Scotch Tape works PERFECT, I use that and Blue Masking tape for my Saturn V...
Scotch works best when you press down the edges really well.100_3067.jpg100_3066.jpg100_3065.jpg
 
Don't use Scotch Tape like this guy does. Get some Tamiya tape from a hobby shop.

I have bought Tamiya tape to delineate the areas I need to paint but I will need normal masking tape to cover all the areas. Do you imagine covering all with tamiya tape??!!!. I have masked all my models with normal masking tape previously with no problem.
 
It looks great so far! :)
If you are masking off a large area, you can use a piece of paper with masking tape on the edges, saves time and money. The service module does look a little long, but maybe I am just crazy, too. ;) I wouldn't worry too much about it. (But, if you want to fix it [assuming that it is inaccurate] at 1/100 scale the SM should be about 1.68 inches long. If you have access to a printer, go here: https://jleslie48.com/satv20/ and print the page with the service module at 96% and assemble it. This will give you a 1/100 model of the SM to compare to the Estes model. Hope this helps! :))
For painting, follow the instructions on the can, especially the part about how far away to hold the can, and how long to wait between coats. Apply light coats, so the paint won't run.
Keep up the excellent work! Remember, so long as YOU are happy with it, it's all good. :)
 
I used the regular blue masking tape with our Estes Saturn V: It worked OK in some places, but around some of the "corrugated" wraps I didn't seal the edges well enough. Combine that with some really awful Krylon black spraypaint and my clumsy novice techniques, and you get a mess: black paint dripping under the masking tape and oozing down over all the nice white wraps. I had to mask off the black areas while still wet and do some emergency white coverup spraying (my son wanted to take it to school the next morning for a presentation on the space program). The result looks great from >20 feet away! I reassured my (5th grade) son that nobody would suspect that his father helped him with his project, that they'd just pat him on the head and say "well, at least you tried to paint it!" It must have been OK, because he keeps it on display in his room and won't let me launch it!
 
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