L3 Winter Build Thread - 3/4 Scale PAC-3 Patriot

[mccordmw]

Tonight, I masked off areas for the first layer of second colors. I use butcher paper to wrap the tube with an even, circular lline. I use a silver wine marker to draw the line around the tube that's set by the butcher paper. After that, slide the paper down and put painter's tape on the line. Once I'm done painting, isopropanol cleans off the wine marker line with no traces. Works great! Here are the results so far.



After this layer cures for a day, I'll mask off the top red part and add a white band. If I'm feeling ambitious, I might make the fins black. Jury's still out on that one. Maybe I'll add black trapezoids.

The final part will be putting down US Chemicals 2K high gloss clear coat. Wonderful stuff, but use PPE if you use that.

 

[Nytrunner]

Do you have time to let it cure a 2nd day? just to make sure all is good in the hood before masking over it?

 

[mccordmw]

Do you have time to let it cure a 2nd day? just to make sure all is good in the hood before masking over it?

That would require patience.

 

[mccordmw]

All put together and painted. Next up are the stickers from Stickershock and the 2k clear coat.

 

[OverTheTop]

Careful when disassembling that you don't ding your ceiling with the big rocket. Been there done that.

 

[mccordmw]

Careful when disassembling that you don't ding your ceiling with the big rocket. Been there done that.

I already did!!!

 

[Tonimus]

Damn fine looking rocket.

 

[Nick@JET]

What a great picture jeez that is a monster! Can't wait to see that fly at MWP

 

[Bat-mite]

Man, I gotta get me a 15-footer now.

 

[mccordmw]

Man, I gotta get me a 15-footer now.

Go for it!

 

[ECayemberg]

Mark,

That looks stellar!!! Midwest Power! So I get to see it in person....nice!

Can't wait. Awesome job!

 

[djs]

Careful when disassembling that you don't ding your ceiling with the big rocket. Been there done that.

Don't you mean "ding your rocket with the ceiling"?

 

[mccordmw]

Don't you mean "ding your rocket with the ceiling"?

The aluminum tip made a nice mark.

 

[djs]

The aluminum tip made a nice mark.

But the rocket's ok right? Tell us the rocket is ok!!!!

Will be nice to see this at MWP this year.. should be a sweet flight.

 

[mccordmw]

But the rocket's ok right? Tell us the rocket is ok!!!!

Will be nice to see this at MWP this year.. should be a sweet flight.

The rocket is a brick. My 10yo knocked over the booster section with payload bay and it fell on to an end table. The corner of the table got cracked and a picture frame broke. I couldn't find a mark where the rocket impacted the edge of the table.

 

[OverTheTop]

Man, I gotta get me a 15-footer now.

Diameter or height?

 

[jd2cylman]

Man, I gotta get me a 15-footer now.

Go for it!

Diameter or height?

Well, 15' diameter and 6" tall would be an awesome saucer... :wink:

 

[Nick@JET]

Well, 15' diameter and 6" tall would be an awesome saucer... :wink:

Thought you and saucers didn't get along ?

 

[Nytrunner]

You realize the only viable and awesome way of storing this will be to hang it from one of those ceiling beams in your family room right?

 

[jd2cylman]

Thought you and saucers didn't get along ?

We have an uneasy relationship... I tend to keep my distance. :wink:

 

[mccordmw]

Did some extra layers and added black fins and a radar band as shown in the actual model. Also put on my Stickershock vinyl, 2k gloss clear coat, and buffing/waxing. All done. Just ground testing and launching to do. Rotated shots to show all the great work Mark at Stickershock did.

 

[OverTheTop]

She does look nice all tarted up and with makeup on

You'd have to be happy with that.

 

[UhClem]

She does look nice all tarted up and with makeup on

You'd have to be happy with that.

So long as you don't care about accuracy.

The section that says "propulsion section" actually doesn't have a rocket motor. It has a blast tube ( an extended nozzle throat) and motors for the control fins along with batteries. A better name would be control section. The supposed guidance section is in fact the rocket motor. The PAC3 doesn't have an armament section being a "hit to kill" kind of missile. It does have a "lethality enhancer" but that isn't where it is located.

I posted a nice diagram showing lots of details for the PAC3 around here some time ago. The new PAC3 MSE in front of the motor is identical to the PAC3.

 

[mccordmw]

MEh. I like how it looks. It also doesn't have a transition piece like the real thing. The stability strakes don't have a trailing beveled angled edge like the real thing. The real thing also doesn't have all those markings on it or a company logo. I'm also not perfectly 3/4 scale, but somewhat close. I look at it and it makes me proud of the work I put into it. That's all that matters.

 

[mccordmw]

Final weights are in. I was guessing the painting would add about 3 lbs. It added a couple more than I anticipated. So with all the laundry in, weights are:

No motor: 42.4 lbs
Pad weight (Loki M1969): 58.1 lbs
Avg. TTW: 7.6:1
Initial TTW: 9.1:1

I think I'm all in the green on the specs.

 

[Nytrunner]

MEh. I like how it looks. It also doesn't have a transition piece like the real thing. The stability strakes don't have a trailing beveled angled edge like the real thing. The real thing also doesn't have all those markings on it or a company logo. I'm also not perfectly 3/4 scale, but somewhat close. I look at it and it makes me proud of the work I put into it. That's all that matters.

Absafragginlutely. You do you And build the rocket that comes from your mind with inspiration from something real! There are 40 other scalers out there that can go ana.....OCD over every mincy detail. (Did I tell you I actually got hissed at for the paint job on my L1 Patriot?) You've put your time and effort into analysis and fabrication and Will have a great cert! There can be any number of true X-scale PAC-3 MSEs out there, but there will only be ONE 3/4 scale PAC-3 Patriot Winter (spring and summer) L3 rocket built by Mccordmw!


What's your estimated altitude on the M1969? (good year, moon landing and all.....)

 

[Bat-mite]

Can't wait for the cert flight! Good luck!

 

[mccordmw]

What's your estimated altitude on the M1969? (good year, moon landing and all.....)

Looking at 6100' at mach 0.65 on the M1969 for the cert. If it flies perfectly, the largest motor I'll drop in this is a Loki N3800. That sims to 9000' at mach 1.0.

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

Good luck finding a case for that...

 

[mccordmw]

Good luck finding a case for that...

Got the propellant already. I'm getting the hardware shipped just after Airfest.