Vagabond building - My first buid thread! Now Video enhanced!

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Aero B

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I appreciate the build thread encouragement I received in my other post about buying the Vagabond kit, so...OK....HERE GOES!
Started on it yesterday.
Can't wait to fly this one!


NIP.... that didn't last long...
Vagabond 1.jpg




First off I built the baffle since I had never tried one.
I thought it would be nice since the Vagabond body comes in two sections with the coupler.
Cut three disks out of birch ply.
I decided to use 8 holes top and bottom with overlapping half moon disks in the middle.
All the ply pieces are spaced evenly in the assembly.
Vagabond 3 2.jpg




Ply disks epoxied into the coupler.
Vagabond 3.jpg




I made a "U" shaped piece from Music wire. I drilled holed and ran it through the entire assembly.
Vagabond 4.jpg




At the bottom of the coupler the legs of the "U" were bent over at 90°.
I put carbon fiber above and below the bends and soaked with epoxy.
Vagabond 5.jpg




More to come....
 
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Got the fin parts glued together and the root edge sanded.
The balsa for the fins is real strong.
One of the best pieces of balsa I have ever found in a rocket kit. Thanks Estes!
Love laser cut material!

Vagabond 6.jpg



The motor mount was assembled using epoxy.
Went together quick.

Vagabond 7.jpg

Vagabond 8.jpg


Been looking since yesterday for my new bottle of Titebond. Finally found it.

The longer body tube has two areas that are slightly wrinkled.
Looks like something was placed on top of the kit bag.
Not bad enough to cause any issues.

May not get to work on it for a day or two.

Hope I doing the build thread right!
 
Got the fins sanded.

Vagabond 11.jpg



I am waiting on the new body tube from Estes that's being sent out to replace the wrinkled one.
I love the customer service!
 
New parts came in today.
Thanks you Mike and the Estes team!

Dug out the epoxy and set the fins.

Vagabond 14.jpg

Vagabond 15.jpg

Vagabond 16.jpg


I think I am going to like this one.......
Even my wife likes it. :D

Vagabond 17.jpg
 
Just picked up one of these last week, how ever I don't think mine is going to look like the vagabond when I'm done with it...we'll see. Curious about it's flight charactaristics.

A rookie question here about the baffles. I take it the purpose for them is to eliminate the wadding?
 
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A rookie question here about the baffles. I take it the purpose for them is to eliminate the wadding?

That is my understanding. This is the first rocket for me with a baffle. I searched the forum and read several threads on them. A lot of the flyers still use a bit of wadding just in case.
 
That is my understanding. This is the first rocket for me with a baffle. I searched the forum and read several threads on them. A lot of the flyers still use a bit of wadding just in case.

The rocket is looking good, you'll love flying it.

Yes I put baffles in everything down to BT-50 and never bother with wadding.
 
I have the fin fillets finished.
The motor/engine/propulsion unit mount is epoxied in.

Vagabond 18.jpg



The baffle is glued in at the top of the main BT, and the upper BT ends have been soaked with CA.

Vagabond 19.jpg
 
Finally got some more work done the past couple of days.
Had an idea on the nose section to hold the cone to the body tube.

I put three vertical lines around the body tube spaced the same as the fins.
Marked a line 3/4" inch down from the edge of the tube.
Vagabond Nose 1.jpg

Drilled holes on each mark with a 4-40 thread tap drill.
Pulled out the nose cone and tapped the plastic with a 4-40 tapping tool.
Enlarged the holes in the body tube to clear 4-40 screws.
Vagabond Nose 2.jpg

Put the nose cone into the BT and screwed in three 4-40 nylon screws .
Vagabond Nose 3.jpg


Finished nose section.
I wanted screws to hold it together in case I ever needed to remove the nose cone from the BT.
I think tree 4-40 nylon screws will hold it OK, and it makes the rocket look more "Technical". :)
I will most likely place a tiny bit of silicone on each screw to keep them in place.
Vagabond Nose 4.jpg
 
Mounted the lugs on the main BT and trimmed the ends to a taper.
Ran some fillets on them with Titebond Molding and Trim glue.
The fillets looked a bit small so I am going to add more glue.
Vagabond 20.jpg


Assembled the parts to see how it looks.
Stock Vagabond chute.
About 7 feet of braided Kevlar.
Vagabond 21.jpg


Vagabond 22.jpg


Vagabond 23.jpg


Well, it looks like it is time to paint!
With our lovely Ohio Valley weather, it may be a few days before I can spray it.
 
Pulled mine out and was looking it over to nite. I had the same idea, using the coupler as a baffle. I'm really liking this baffle system, especially for these long and large diameter rockets. Used my first baffle in my Hulk rocket, which hasen't seen flight yet, and seriously thinking of putting one in my Atlas. I was looking over the instructions which call for the short tube to be used at the bottom but a switch and baffle system seems the right way to go.

I was seriously considering altering this kit but have since decided to go with it as is. I sure wish I could find balsa wood, the quality of what is in this kit, in the hobby stores.

Looking forward to some flight video's
 
Well, a small break in the weather and I got the primer on.
Snowing now and I can only spray outside.


Vagabond 24.jpg
 
Well, a small break in the weather and I got the primer on.
Snowing now and I can only spray outside.

Dude, I'm up in Dayton, OH, and it's pushing 20-odd degrees. Are you experiencing some kind of bizarre heat wave down there?
 
Just a side-note... I've found lacquers including Rustoleum gray auto filler primer spray fine down to about 25 degrees F, as long as humidity is low (becomes less of an issue the colder you go). Just warm up the paint can in some hot water first.

Enamels, not so much.
 
Dude, I'm up in Dayton, OH, and it's pushing 20-odd degrees. Are you experiencing some kind of bizarre heat wave down there?

It was about 45° outside a few days ago. Got the primer sprayed on while I had the chance.




Just a side-note... I've found lacquers including Rustoleum gray auto filler primer spray fine down to about 25 degrees F, as long as humidity is low (becomes less of an issue the colder you go). Just warm up the paint can in some hot water first.
Enamels, not so much.

I was using Rustoleum auto gray. Worked pretty well.


27° and snowing now.
 
Hey everyone!
Talk about a fight!
Sprayed the white on and it didnt cover very well. It looked like spraying watercolor on the tube.
After about 8 coats with some sanding it looked pretty good.
Sprayed the green metalflake on and it went stupid.
It literally bubbled up.There were bubbles popping up all over.
I let it cure for a few days and then sanded most of the green off.
Shot it again yesterday with more thin coats and it came out fine.

Remember kids...Don't mix paint brands without prior testing! :no:

Anyway, I think it looks pretty good now.
Decals Next!


Vagabond F.jpg
 
Decals on!

I'm calling it finished. :)
The Metalflake Emerald Green on the bottom is DARK.

I would like to thank those who took the time to follow my simple build.
Thanks for the comments and suggestion, too!

When it flies I will get some pics and video.

Vagabond .jpg
 
Looks great. But here's a warning: Betcha can't build just one. This model tends to get people building several. One stock. Another with a baffle and zipperless design. Another with an altimiter bay...

In my case I've built them in lots of scales.

Marc
 
Sprayed the green metalflake on and it went stupid.
It literally bubbled up.There were bubbles popping up all over.

Well it turned out well, anyway.

Any chance the green metalflake was a lacquer paint? You can put enamel over lacquer but not lacquer over enamel. You may already be aware of that, just tossing it out there ;)
 
Decals on!

I'm calling it finished. :)
The Metalflake Emerald Green on the bottom is DARK.

I would like to thank those who took the time to follow my simple build.
Thanks for the comments and suggestion, too!

When it flies I will get some pics and video.

View attachment 112261

That's a sweet looking rocket & the paint job looks awesome :) I really like the design of the fins - might have to order myself one!!

Thanks for sharing the build!

Krusty
 
Turned out very nice
icon14.png
 
Looks great. But here's a warning: Betcha can't build just one. This model tends to get people building several. One stock. Another with a baffle and zipperless design. Another with an altimiter bay...

In my case I've built them in lots of scales.

Marc
Oh, I understand....Granddaughter thought she needed a rocket......So, since I had fins and parts of another Vagabond, I picked up the other parts I needed and built #2. It is pink and "Prowler Purple". She loves it! The next generation is started...5 4 3 2 1 :D
Vagabond pair.jpg


Well it turned out well, anyway.
Any chance the green metalflake was a lacquer paint? You can put enamel over lacquer but not lacquer over enamel. You may already be aware of that, just tossing it out there ;)
Thanks, pick1e!
Nope, it was Testors enamel.
Could have been the weather, moon phase, tides, astronomical sign, bad Mexican food,....who knows? I think it was weather.
Going to do some paint testing.

That's a sweet looking rocket & the paint job looks awesome :) I really like the design of the fins - might have to order myself one!!

Thanks for sharing the build!

Krusty
Thanks, Krusty! I love the dark green metal-flake.
Won't be the last. Going to do a build thread on my L1 rocket soon. LOC IV


Turned out very nice
icon14.png
Thank you, Leo!

Here you can see the dark colors a little better.
Vagabond fin colors.jpg
 
Hey everyone!
Talk about a fight!
Sprayed the white on and it didnt cover very well. It looked like spraying watercolor on the tube.
After about 8 coats with some sanding it looked pretty good.
Sprayed the green metalflake on and it went stupid.
It literally bubbled up.There were bubbles popping up all over.
I let it cure for a few days and then sanded most of the green off.
Shot it again yesterday with more thin coats and it came out fine.

Remember kids...Don't mix paint brands without prior testing! :no:

Anyway, I think it looks pretty good now.
Decals Next!

I feel your pain, brother!
 
:D

Finally got to do some rocket flying!

Flew the vagabond for the first time Sunday. It didn't like the D12-5 too much. I think a D12-3 would be better.
It was on its way down and picking up speed when the ejection went off.
I think I will make an 18" nylon chute foe it and add a few feet to the Kevlar line.
It looked GOOD though!
Have a look at the video........
VAGABOND VIDEO
 
Looked like a nice flight! How heavy is your Vagabond? I launched mine on a D12-5 with the stock chute, and had no problems. Mine is zipperless with a baffle, and 1/8" plywood fins.

[YOUTUBE]frEOSM0lVoQ[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]cRgiUZms6Qo[/YOUTUBE]
 
Looked like a nice flight! How heavy is your Vagabond? I launched mine on a D12-5 with the stock chute, and had no problems. Mine is zipperless with a baffle, and 1/8" plywood fins.



It weighs 151g without motor.
 
Great looking build,really like the green.I built mine with a baffle and zipperless design.scratch built rocket 004.jpgscratch built rocket 006.jpg
 
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