Fluxion, a Planetary Defense Fighter

[boatgeek]

Well played.

I admit I had to Google to find Brokk.

Nope, not taking the bait. Not that one again. I will not heat up the electrical puns, those have flowed too many times.

OK, I don't want to put you on the spot so I'll go back to welding. I'll just plug some filler material here while everyone gets in their groove.

 

[jqavins]

I admit I had to Google to find Brokk.

I had the same idea and, upon Googling it, discovered that you'd beaten me to it.

 

[BABAR]

Well played.


Nope, not taking the bait. Not that one again. I will not heat up the electrical puns, those have flowed too many times.

You saying you just conduit?

 

[John Kemker]

Please, gentlebeings! Conduct yourselves according to current standards!

 

[jqavins]

Must... Not... Join in... Electrical puns... Again!

 

[neil_w]

Must... Not... Join in... Electrical puns... Again!

Keep fighting it. Every pun thread seems to ends up with electrical puns. They’ve all been done. It’s just tedious.

 

[boatgeek]

Taking a break from puns to have an actual update, I tried a new technique for the pew pew sticks. It stems from having a can of translucent “beach glass” spray paint that I haven’t found much other use for. So I decided to do a poor man’s candy apple with primer, silver metallic, then beach glass. I like the result, which has a different character than a straight red paint. The real version will be masked for a sharp line.

 

[neil_w]

Is that supposed to look like a bloody spike? Because if so:

 

[lakeroadster]

Is that supposed to look like a bloody spike? Because if so:

It does look "Gore"geous.

Keepin' the pencil sharp... I used the pencil sharpener trick on the wooden dowel stiffener strakes on Thunk!

 

[boatgeek]

Is that supposed to look like a bloody spike? Because if so:

It wasn't supposed to be quite that gory, though I apparently have an affinity for stake-shaped rockets/rocket parts. With a little masking just at the shoulder of the cone, I'm hoping it will be kind of a lens effect. I'm thinking that the three pew pew sticks at the main fin tips will get this treatment. The other 6 will get a little conical piece that will vaguely evoke this:


Or maybe the 6 will get the candy apple red lens and the other 3 will get the cones. I'll need to mock it up when I get parts later this week.

Also, that picture shows in sharp relief how much I need to sand after priming next time.

 

[boatgeek]

Hey when do we get to see some parts go together... what do you think this is, one of *my* build threads?

Ask and ye shall receive! @DragonRocketry, erockets, and the USPS were all on the spot this weekend, so I have parts! We’ll, except for the body tube. Due to a hilarious misunderstanding, I though I had piles of BT-70. Turns out it’s BT-80. So I’ll have to go back through the pile o’ tubes again and see if there’s a stray BT-70 in there. The pods on the fin tips will be a little less than half the length shown.

 

[DragonRocketry]

Wow that got there quick.

 

[boatgeek]

Did a little cleanup sanding a rounding of the fin edges. With any luck, I'll be able to glue the winglets on tomorrow at lunchtime.

BTW, if anyone notices a very faint faceting in the curved cuts on the fins, those were in the CAD model sent to Dragon. So I blame me. [It won't really show in the end]

 

[Joshua Smith]

Of course, then I made the mistake of googling “flux”

flux​

1 of 2

noun​

ˈfləks

Synonyms of flux
1
: a flowing of fluid from the body: such as
a
: DIARRHEA
b
: DYSENTERY

2
: a continuous moving on or passing by (as of a stream)

3
: a continued flow : FLOOD


recommend avoiding the color brown in the color scheme.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flux

"You died of flux" just doesn't have the same ring to it

 

[Joshua Smith]

Please, gentlebeings! Conduct yourselves according to current standards!

For which state? LOL

 

[BABAR]

Who do you think I am? Thor?

You will be if you hit your thumb with that hammer.

 

[jqavins]

BTW, if anyone notices a very faint faceting in the curved cuts on the fins, those were in the CAD model sent to Dragon. So I blame me. [It won't really show in the end]

I had to look very close to see it. By the time you've sanded the char off, I expect it'll all be gone.

 

[boatgeek]

More progress over the weekend and tonight. I’ve sharpened all of the pew pew chute snaggers and cut them to length. The T fins are glued on, as are the outer pods. Still need to decide where to put the last greebles (see pictures below) I have 6 total of the cone things, so I can put them high on the outboard sticks, low on outboard, or high on center. Opinions on which you like are welcome, though no guarantees that I’ll follow them.





Before gluing these on, I’ll trim the center ones so that they’re more flush with the T fin and do a bunch of painting.

 

[jqavins]

High and outside.

 

[neil_w]

Those are really nice looking assemblies, and don’t really resemble any other rocket I can think of.

High and outside.

I think I agree.

 

[mbeels]

I slightly lean towards low and on the outside..... But what would two on the middle look like?

 

[boatgeek]

Those are really nice looking assemblies, and don’t really resemble any other rocket I can think of.

I think I agree.

Coming from you that means a lot! Thank you!

 

[BABAR]

. Opinions on which you like are welcome, though no guarantees that I’ll follow them.

View attachment 579551

View attachment 579552

Before gluing these on, I’ll trim the center ones so that they’re more flush with the T fin and do a bunch of painting.

As usual, none of the above.

high and on all three. Can you make three more?

 

[boatgeek]

A brain the size of a planet and they have me cutting fin slots. Typical humans. And I still have a terrible pain in all of the diodes in my left arm.

On the plus side, we have a full stack.



I’m going to take a break for a few weeks for TARC nationals and a few other family things. Back soon!

I’m hoping that first flight will be at the Tri-Cities Rocketeers launch on July 8. Failing that, likely at TCR Sod Blaster Labor Day weekend. If I don’t make that it’s going to be October or November.

 

[mjennings]

Looking down right hoopy!

 

[Hobie1dog]

I hope you get to launch it soon.

 

[neil_w]

Have you figured out a paint scheme yet, other then the bloody spikes?

 

[boatgeek]

Have you figured out a paint scheme yet, other then the bloody spikes?

It'll probably be mostly silver metallic, likely with green and black accents. I need to test-drive a few options for the pew-pew sticks, including trying to get a similar effect with a sharpie instead of the beach glass paint. I'd like a brighter color, and I could do green, blue, or red pretty easily. I'm not sure if the clear coat will make the sharpie ink run though.

 

[jqavins]

Yes, it will.

OK, I guess I should qualify that, in that it may depend on the brands of marker and clear coat, but in my one experience it did. I had a Quest Force 5 and some of the black banding decals were a little short. I filled the gaps with a marker, it might even have been Sharpie brand. Then I sprayed clear a day or two later, and that was Rusto 2X. And it took the marker ink right off.

 

[lakeroadster]

I'm not sure if the clear coat will make the sharpie ink run though.

I used a red Sharpie (real deal name brand Sharpie) to crudely write THUNK on my finless rocket, then clear coated it with Rustoleum American Accents 2X Ultra Cover Semi-Gloss Clear. No drips, no runs, no errors.

I used 3 light coats, about 10 minutes between each coat. And I always put the paint can in a "Big Guzzler" cup and fill it with 120F hot water, then let it heat soak for 10 minutes before spraying.