Apogee X-15 Build

[Doug Rocket]

I know Apogee has an amazing video and instructions for this X-15 build. But I have found a good way to glue in the fairings. Cut them out as recommended and sand them down. Then I used scotch tape to hold them in place as I Super glue them down.

 

[Doug Rocket]

So using an extender and accelerator after works perfect.

 

[Doug Rocket]

No, no cluster just building as recimmended.

 

[Doug Rocket]

But scotch tape works great to get these fairings glued in place.

 

[Doug Rocket]

Extender works great for this.

 

[Doug Rocket]

Scotch tape doing its job..

 

[Astronaut Cheeseball]

Rubber bands work also and allow the vacuum rails to line up perfect for adhering.

 

[Lord Rory Gin]

I know Apogee has an amazing video and instructions for this X-15 build. But I have found a good way to glue in the fairings. Cut them out as recommended and sand them down. Then I used scotch tape to hold them in place as I Super glue them down.

I've got a large dimple on one fairing. Its a bit smaller now after all the filler and paint but still noticeable. I wish I knew some better techniques when I was applying them. Scotch tape - now why didn't I think of that?
I papered the actual fins with self-adhesive labels for strength. The weight gain was minimal.
On the large upper/lower fins, they started out slightly convex, then became concave as the glue dried. I fixed that completely by filling 2x with CWF, sanding on a flat board, then used filler/primer. They are very nice now.
I just finished the paint job last night. It tipped over from a gust of wind during the first colour application and it picked up a lot of grit in the paint. So I sanded it down in that spot and lightly sanded the entire model before the second and touch up coats. I will wait a couple/three days before decals.

 

[Doug Rocket]

Im finding that the super glue I used is cracking under slight pressure and am now having to use a bit of epoxy to keep these fairings glued on.

 

[Astronaut Cheeseball]

Im finding that the super glue I used is cracking under slight pressure and am now having to use a bit of epoxy to keep these fairings glued on.

This was my fear when building mine. I first super glued then epoxy and cwf the seams and sanded forever to blend them with the airframe.

 

[Doug Rocket]

Rear fins finally glued on. Luckily I glued them on facing down in the correct direction. I did't realize that the downward angle is towards the downward slope in the plastic fairing....wheww. The instructions don't mention this detail but it is shown in the pictures...

 

[Doug Rocket]

BTW..I used Tamiya putty to get a smooth edge between the fairing and body tube

 

[Doug Rocket]

I realized there is a slight curve at the root tip to match the fairing taper. I accidentally sanded the right one straight and had to re-sand it in.

 

[Astronaut Cheeseball]

BTW..I used Tamiya putty to get a smooth edge between the fairing and body tube

Nice work this will make all the difference when the model is finished.

 

[Doug Rocket]

Back at it after recovering from a broken ankle...lots of grey primer and wet sanding...the once smooth added a final coat of tamiya white primer. Dry sanded with 600, then 1000 then 2000.

 

[Doug Rocket]

So after

So after I got the rocket all nice and painted I saw cracks in the plastic fairing at various spots so I had to sand various locations all over again and repaint multiple times..

 

[Doug Rocket]

I got most of the wavyness out...the right side is worse than the left.

 

[Doug Rocket]

First decal using mark fit solution..

 

[Doug Rocket]

Btw. Used behr black matte..looks great. I sed a Behr black primer prior even though this is two in one

 

[novahobbies]

I need to get this model sooner or later. It's a beauty. Challenging, but a beauty