Kestral modifications

I'm in build/repair/modify mode since we cannot fly here. Attached is a picture of a scratch-bult I call the Kestral. It is Estes BT-80 with plastic nose cone. It startyed life as a 4FANC, then after a crash, I tore off fins and added wings and forward swept vertical stabs to make it look like some sort of futuristic fighter. The nose cone originally had trim MonoKote cut out to resemble a cockpit. I've grafted the cockpit off an F-29 stealth onto it. The scoop on the bottom is the tip of the nose of an X-Wing fighter. Various other parts from the X-Wing plastic model are grafted onto the back of the rocket (engine pieces, nozzles) plus some strip styrene add-ons.

It has been repainted olive drab, and will get some airbrushed camo highlights once my paint booth gets ducted out of the basement.

I found JB Weld really great to bond the plastic canopy to the Estes cone. This was a fairly rigid cone, and not the soft blow molded type.

Early pic of nose cone during graft and subsequent filling/priming. The tip of the cone was filled with epoxy, and then ground down at an angle before adding the scoop.

Very nice! You should enter it in the next Descon.

Another shot -- showing the X-Wing parts at the back. This rocket has a 29mm mount, and has flown on G33s and G64s about 10-12 times over the past few years.

Just in for a retrofit and overhaul ...

No attachment appeared with the last post...

File size was too big...

The it posted my reply anyway while I was editing the pic (at least that's my version, and I sticking to it).

Anyway, here goes again.

Fantastic looking rocket.

I love your filets

What does this fly on?

sandman

Lee,

Dang excellent pics bro!!! You have some sweet looking rockets; can't wait to see the finished camo job.


Carl

You guys that have too much time on your hands are giving me a major case of the green monster. And I thought Tulanko was bad....

Anyway, in the first pic of the Kestral, there appears to be something else that looks rather interesting hanging nose down in the top right corner of the picture. It appears to be in gray primer. Curious minds want to know....

That Kestral looks really neat.

from sandman:

Fantastic looking rocket.

I love your filets

What does this fly on?

sandman

Thanks -- lots of filling/priming/refilling! Motor mount is 29mm -- I've flown this a bunch on G33 and G64 reloads. I crqacked a fin last year, so it's been getting fixes, plus nose cone mods, plus new paint.

from KenParker:
You guys that have too much time on your hands are giving me a major case of the green monster. And I thought Tulanko was bad....

Anyway, in the first pic of the Kestral, there appears to be something else that looks rather interesting hanging nose down in the top right corner of the picture. It appears to be in gray primer. Curious minds want to know....


I agree about too much time on my hands ... I spend half my time looking for work, and the rest in "rocket room therapy" (visits to the shop)! I'll shoot a few detail pics of the "gray primered rocket" (called Antares -- one pic attached). That one has lots of custom work, almost all of it in balsa. Turned nozzles, nacelles, canopy on nose cone, canards, etc. I'm working on a tailcone that kinda looks like a engine nozzle. Experimenting with styrene add-ons. Styrene bonds really well to a smooth primered surface with thin CA (scoop by vertical stabs was CA'd on after primer coat).

Wow... Antares looks like its doing five lights just sitting on the table in primer.

Can I pickem' or what?

It looks great, Lee. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for all the positive comments. Since this one has been sitting around about as long as the Saturn V at the back of the table, I'm really committed now to finishing it.

I took pics, but sitting in the camera in the basement. And I gotta get going for a Father's Day celebration at the in-laws. Will post later.

Lee,

Gotta give you credit...there just aren't enough rockets out there with canopys.

I've been looking at your pic of the antares and I think I like the grey...maybe silver grey or charcol or...Oh, never mind, you pick the color.

I'll build my own and paint it the color I want.

By the way, love the OT...one of my fave rockets.

sandman

sandman,

I agree about the gray color -- I've seen it sitting around primered so long, it seems like the natural choice for final color!

I'm think of doing several shades of gray with airbrush -- maybe light and dark ghost gray.

I'm getting close to being done with the Orbital Transport. This project has been a fun trip down Nostalgia Lane.