MrGneissGuy
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- Jul 27, 2010
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You ever go to your work area to start a build with every intention of taking a bunch of pictures along the way for a build thread, and then the build ends up going so smoothly and quickly that before you know it, youre pretty much done and havent taken any pictures?
Well, with that in mind, here is my build thread of the New Way Sky Spike. Since I dont have but two pictures, Ill try to make it up with more description in the narrative and hopefully it wont be too boring.
For those not familiar with them, NewWay makes square rockets and they are a lot of fun to watch at launches. This one is designed to resemble an old iron spike.
First, Ive seen several NewWay rockets finished and launched at our club launches. Ive seen some of the parts and components that go into the kits at our club meetings (hes a member of our club). But this is the first kit I purchased and built. As you can see from the first picture, there is quite a bit in the packaging, including a few things I didnt expect to see. In addition to the parts of the rocket, the kit includes a swivel for the parachute, an applicator for applying glue inside the body tube when installing the motor mount assembly, a small card stock ruler, and a couple different sheets of sandpaper and an emery board for finishing. The parachute is not assembled, but the shroud lines are pre-cut to length and theres even a diagram showing how to tie the recommended knot for attaching the shroud lines. I especially liked that as Im not very knot knowledgeable.
For those looking for a perfectly smooth finish, there will be some needed work as the body tube spirals are going to be tough. Because of how the square tubes are manufactured, there is actually some overlap area as the spirals. Personally, while I do try to fill spirals and such, Ive never been overly concerned about things being perfect so Im not terribly bothered by this. I did apply lightweight spackle down the sides of the body tube and sanded it down lightly, which looks like it will actually do a pretty good job on this. I also used the spackle on the nose cone.
As I mentioned, the build went quickly. All of the components fit very well and I really didnt have to do any extra sanding on the centering squares or anything to get them to fit. Other than the centering pieces being squares instead of rings, it was a typical motor mount assembly with Kevlar tied around it as part of the recovery system. It was also a pretty standard motor mount installation, a little glue inside the body tube, install the mount so that the clip is flush with the aft end of the body tube. Apply a light fillet at the joint in the aft end.
This was followed by mounting the launch lug (also square) and while all that dried, I cut out, rolled, and glued the shroud, which was pre-marked on card stock. Then I slid the shroud onto the body tube (from the aft end), a little higher up the tube than where it would eventually be to give room to work on the next step. A support ring for the shroud was glued near the bottom of the body tube, then I slid the shroud back down into place with the bottom over the ring and applied glue to the joints.
A short bit of time was then spent installing the eye screw and nose weights on the nose, and sanding the shoulder for the correct fit in the body tube, and that was it. I was done and hadnt taken any pictures. So I just snapped a picture of the completed spike and I went ahead and tied the shroud lines to the parachute so it is ready as well.
I have some hammered bronze left over from my retro Harbinger build, and plan to use that on this. I may also add some sparse ultra light splashes of black and a reddish orange color to give it a bit of an oxidized/weathered look. Ill try to do better about taking pictures during the painting process.
Well, with that in mind, here is my build thread of the New Way Sky Spike. Since I dont have but two pictures, Ill try to make it up with more description in the narrative and hopefully it wont be too boring.
For those not familiar with them, NewWay makes square rockets and they are a lot of fun to watch at launches. This one is designed to resemble an old iron spike.
First, Ive seen several NewWay rockets finished and launched at our club launches. Ive seen some of the parts and components that go into the kits at our club meetings (hes a member of our club). But this is the first kit I purchased and built. As you can see from the first picture, there is quite a bit in the packaging, including a few things I didnt expect to see. In addition to the parts of the rocket, the kit includes a swivel for the parachute, an applicator for applying glue inside the body tube when installing the motor mount assembly, a small card stock ruler, and a couple different sheets of sandpaper and an emery board for finishing. The parachute is not assembled, but the shroud lines are pre-cut to length and theres even a diagram showing how to tie the recommended knot for attaching the shroud lines. I especially liked that as Im not very knot knowledgeable.
For those looking for a perfectly smooth finish, there will be some needed work as the body tube spirals are going to be tough. Because of how the square tubes are manufactured, there is actually some overlap area as the spirals. Personally, while I do try to fill spirals and such, Ive never been overly concerned about things being perfect so Im not terribly bothered by this. I did apply lightweight spackle down the sides of the body tube and sanded it down lightly, which looks like it will actually do a pretty good job on this. I also used the spackle on the nose cone.
As I mentioned, the build went quickly. All of the components fit very well and I really didnt have to do any extra sanding on the centering squares or anything to get them to fit. Other than the centering pieces being squares instead of rings, it was a typical motor mount assembly with Kevlar tied around it as part of the recovery system. It was also a pretty standard motor mount installation, a little glue inside the body tube, install the mount so that the clip is flush with the aft end of the body tube. Apply a light fillet at the joint in the aft end.
This was followed by mounting the launch lug (also square) and while all that dried, I cut out, rolled, and glued the shroud, which was pre-marked on card stock. Then I slid the shroud onto the body tube (from the aft end), a little higher up the tube than where it would eventually be to give room to work on the next step. A support ring for the shroud was glued near the bottom of the body tube, then I slid the shroud back down into place with the bottom over the ring and applied glue to the joints.
A short bit of time was then spent installing the eye screw and nose weights on the nose, and sanding the shoulder for the correct fit in the body tube, and that was it. I was done and hadnt taken any pictures. So I just snapped a picture of the completed spike and I went ahead and tied the shroud lines to the parachute so it is ready as well.
I have some hammered bronze left over from my retro Harbinger build, and plan to use that on this. I may also add some sparse ultra light splashes of black and a reddish orange color to give it a bit of an oxidized/weathered look. Ill try to do better about taking pictures during the painting process.
