Dyna Soar YF-12 build or how I almost screwed the pooch

[SteveNeill]

So this is a story of how and professional model maker-builder can make a colossal mistake being over confident and a total boob at the same time.

I just built one of Frank’s Dyna Soar Aurora Clipper. It was a total breeze and a great build. So I get Frank’s wonderful and sexy YF-12. It arrived promptly, well packed and a well designed kit just like the Clipper.

So I start building and the first blunder moment occurs connecting the body tubes. I put the foam safe CA as recommended slide on the forward tube over the coupler and it stops within a quarter of an inch of the join. It won’t move. I am screwed I thought.

I don’t know why the CA went off so quickly as foam safe takes forever it seems to set up especially without accelerator.

What to do? So I cut through the coupler, flat sand lever to the tubes and place another tube inside and join. That worked. Not bad. I saved it. I think.

But…I’m sailing along and start to mount the engine mount and tube when I realize there’s a lot of body tube sticking out that shouldn’t be there. Then I look up and a streak runs through my gut. In all the confusion I had joined it facing the wrong way. I mean the arrows met but I had mounted the body tube on the wing backwards. The rail guides were in the wrong position. Not only that the CG would be off and the nose about 2 inches too short.

Now I’m really pissed. What to do? I looked at it and said to myself cut the section off the tail and move it to the nose. I did and it worked.

Now I have to move the rail guides. So I unscrewed the forward guide and move it to the correct position aft. To get inside to re-screw I cut a hatch (the real YF-12 had plenty right?).

All that worked and I don’t think I added too much weight.

So this shows you how you can be a total boob screw up and still end up with a nice looking model if you just keep your head and apply all the over confidence and experience you have from years of modeling. Right?

Read the directions once and then read them again is the moral to this story. Everyone screws up at one time or another.

And Frank I was thinking of adding paper filets from the main body tube to the wings. Any reason why not? I bet there is.

I laid in a test piece just for looks.

 

[SteveNeill]

Tomorrow servos go in and it gets painted and decaled.

 

[burkefj]

On my other kits there's a slot at the rear for the tail so it's obvious which end is the back, not so on this kit. On most I usually marked the rear end but I might not have remembered to do it. I have updated the instructions in two different places to make it clear that the tube with the rail buttons attached should be toward the rear of the model. It's not for the rail button location so much as the front of the tube having enough length to allow the nose cone shoulder to seat fully, otherwise you could swap ends and it probably wouldn't matter much....Glad you were able to salvage it, I too have had those moments and just want to trash it, but then an hour later I come up with some way to fix it.

For inserting T nuts in cramped places, I use a 1/4" spruce stick with a short nail in one end sticking up about 1/8" crossways, I sit the rail button on the nail and it holds the rail button in place, I can then stick it in to the tube and out through the hole from the inside, and once I start the screw in, I can remove the stick.

I like to avoid weight, and I wasn't sure how to do paper fillets on foam without making a mess and how to blend them in at the front, and in the end once you spray it flat black you won't really notice anyway, but if you can get it to work share what you did.

 

[SteveNeill]

Thanks Frank it was a learning experience to be sure but I'm super glad how well it frames up in the end even if you do screw up.

 

[SteveNeill]

She turned out great. Thanks Frank for a great kit!

I airbrushed it with Nova artist acrylic black. The reason to show you the white is so you can read the name. I just thinned it a bit with water and it covered easily.

 

[burkefj]

That looks super! how well does that acrylic stick to the phone cuz the model Master is okay but if you ever tape over it it pulls off the depron pretty easily. I really need to get into airbrushing cuz there's so many other options for colors and you waste less and it's so much cheaper, and then I could do weathering and things like that... It must have dried pretty quickly to be able to do the decals that soon.

 

[SteveNeill]

It does Frank. And it sicks pretty well. Even when I tried to reposition one of the decals it didn't pull off much. Best to de-tac the tape it your going to try that. It's water base. No fumes and no mask. Dries in minutes. Very opaque too. Get a airbrush. I have several but the cheap old Paasche is my favorite. Easy to clean and it doesn't clog to easily. When it does it's easy to clean. https://www.dickblick.com/products/...XCBWtAG5LhXvnLRL29FQroQRwGSN1SMMaAtLnEALw_wcB

 

[OverTheTop]

What a beauty!!! Very nice.

 

[burkefj]

It really warms the heart to see something that I designed, kitted, and put some of my soul into be built by someone else and turn out looking exactly like I envisioned, if not better.

 

[SteveNeill]

It really warms the heart to see something that I designed, kitted, and put some of my soul into be built by someone else and turn out looking exactly like I envisioned, if not better.

Thanks Frank.

 

[BABAR]

That came out great! Hope it flies as well as it looks!

 

[SteveNeill]

Some real goodness came in the mail to brighten my day! Thanks Frank.

 

[aerostadt]

That is cool! That is the first AT 24 mm case I've seen with "Dyna Soar Rocketry" marked on it.

 

[burkefj]

This was my first order of 100 cases, they took a long time to get them made, so they offered to mark them for free for me, I have a few left, the next order I placed this year, they wanted $1.75 per case to have them engraved so I skipped it. Collectors items!

Frank

That is cool! That is the first AT 24 mm case I've seen with "Dyna Soar Rocketry" marked on it.

 

[SteveNeill]

Thanks Frank!