Semroc Trident Build Thread

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Incongruent

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How To Trash a Semroc Trident
in easy steps plus pretty pictures.


Pictures usually only cover finished products and
not the steps to that stage. (you know, the actually
important stuff)
 
First, cut open the bag and dump all the parts onto the table. Play earthquake simulator so that you only have to fill seven or eight nose cones instead of all nine.

Take the safety sheet and and put it into a safe place for future use.

Pack rest of the stuff back up.



Oh, and a disclaimer: These steps are done with blatant disregard to the instructions.

IMG_2789.jpg
 
I wanted a Trident sooooo bad when I was a kid, but never got one. I've thought about an upscale several times, but haven't gotten around to it. I'll be watching your build with keen interest.
 
A member of my club has an original Trident. If they haven't sold it yet, for the right price...

If you're interested and they're okay with me reselling it.

I think it was $25.
 
First, Incongruent -- I have a regular Trident. They are such beautiful rockets, I hope you take the time to give it your best shot!

qquake2, upscales are challenging, if you want to build one exactly "to scale". This upscale has been a really long work in progress. Nine custom nose cones is crazy. I had BMS do some of them way back, when they made custom cones to your exacting specs. But they did not have the profiles I needed for a number of the cones. The project halted for many years, since I didn't have a great way to make any cones, other than a friends' metal lathe, which was not ideal. But now I have a wood lathe and turn my own. I hope I can finish this before I'm too old to work in my shop!

The three ducting tubes are actually shorter than needed. I just put the parts on a table to get a picture taken a few months ago. I have couplers and more tubing to extend them. Body tube is some I got from NCR years ago for $1 per tube -- mis-sized, so no parts for them. It is around 2.3", not standard. So no centering rings or couplers that I could modify, and no nose cones. But the nose cones all need to be exact upscaled of the original, so it didn't really matter. I have a couple more I need to do before I have everything I need.

Looking at the picture, I have the nose cones on the upper body tube reversed. The forward cone is actually shorter than the rear cone on that tube (50K and 50Y on the original).

110224.jpg
 
Assemble the parachute.

How?

I'm glad I asked in your place. Here are the directions.


Cut open the bag with the parachute supplies. Make sure to cut it below the press-seal or it won't open. Dump out the contents. You get a plastic tablecloth sheet, a weird plasticy thing, and folded paper with more folded paper inside it. Open the folded paper and take out the other folded paper. You'll also find a wad of 4 strands of unwoven cloth. This is to wipe up bloodstains later, keep it handy and don't take it apart. Now go back to the second folded sheet. It has pictures and words and serves no purpose whatsoever. Put it with the safety sheet in the safe place.

Next, take the first folded sheet. It has sticky backed plastic strips. Use these to fashion bandages by placing a wad of cotton in the center and sticking them back on the slick backing. You can get cotton by cutting chunks from your shirt, but don't use yourself as a cutting mat.

Now take the little plastic thing. Those are templates to trace hole protectors. Semroc includes 8 so if you mess up you still have a chance. Get yourself some Tyvek sheet from the nearest unguarded (that's important!) house construction site, it's the plastic stuff covering the building. Use the templates to trace out eight patterns, then cut them carefully with an knife. If you slip, use the wad of cloth to wipe up the blood. Put a bandage in the wound.

Semroc made some errors with the parachute kit. For one. they forgot to add tape for the parachute holes. Cut some (eight) yourself and place the reinforcement with the flat side on the middle. Fold them over the corners on the chute and poke holes where there's a hole in the Tyvek.

Semroc also forgot to add shroudlines. Don't worry — get yourself some sturdy string and cut some yourself. If you followed that that too literally and cut some "yourself", then use the cloth to wipe up the blood and apply a bandage.

Finally, tie the shroudlines to the holes and dance around the room pulling the parachute behind you.





Read: I assembled the parachute per directions.
 
The Trident has always been one of the "must have" futurestic designs from back in the Day. Due to a break-in that destroyed most of my original fleet I never got the chance to fly my original Trident.

Several years back I decided to downscale the Trident to Micor Maxx power. While a bit more involved then the original I have to say I'm quite pleased with the micro maxx powered model... so much so I scrapped plans to rebuild a standard size Trident.

MM 321lp01d-sm_MM Trident-III 1st flt 3 pic_09-16-06.jpg

MM 321Lp04b-sm_MM Trident 4th flt Lift-off_06-21-08.jpg

MM 321a01_MM Trident-T3_09-13-06.jpg
 
Last edited:
Incongruent,

If you can't get the original for $25, please get it and resell to me.
 
Assemble the parachute.

How?

I'm glad I asked in your place. Here are the directions.



Cut open the bag with the parachute supplies. Make sure to cut it below the press-seal or it won't open. Dump out the contents. You get a plastic tablecloth sheet, a weird plasticy thing, and folded paper with more folded paper inside it. Open the folded paper and take out the other folded paper. You'll also find a wad of 4 strands of unwoven cloth. This is to wipe up bloodstains later, keep it handy and don't take it apart. Now go back to the second folded sheet. It has pictures and words and serves no purpose whatsoever. Put it with the safety sheet in the safe place.

Next, take the first folded sheet. It has sticky backed plastic strips. Use these to fashion bandages by placing a wad of cotton in the center and sticking them back on the slick backing. You can get cotton by cutting chunks from your shirt, but don't use yourself as a cutting mat.

Now take the little plastic thing. Those are templates to trace hole protectors. Semroc includes 8 so if you mess up you still have a chance. Get yourself some Tyvek sheet from the nearest unguarded (that's important!) house construction site, it's the plastic stuff covering the building. Use the templates to trace out eight patterns, then cut them carefully with an knife. If you slip, use the wad of cloth to wipe up the blood. Put a bandage in the wound.

Semroc made some errors with the parachute kit. For one. they forgot to add tape for the parachute holes. Cut some (eight) yourself and place the reinforcement with the flat side on the middle. Fold them over the corners on the chute and poke holes where there's a hole in the Tyvek.

Semroc also forgot to add shroudlines. Don't worry — get yourself some sturdy string and cut some yourself. If you followed that that too literally and cut some "yourself", then use the cloth to wipe up the blood and apply a bandage.

Finally, tie the shroudlines to the holes and dance around the room pulling the parachute behind you.






Read: I assembled the parachute per directions.
Too funny!!!
 
Too funny!!!

Thanks.

Whew. I was afraid you might be upset by that post.

It's a well designed kit (and the materials are good as well), but being the owner of a very small tar and feather buisness, I refuse to follow! Also I don't trust myself doing some of the steps properly.
 
Now for the motor mount.

The parts:
Semroc includes a thick walled engine mount tube, which was a pleasant surprise. However, they made up for this initial joy by including a damaged tube- there was a small tear in it as if some clown had dropped an x-acto on it at the Semroc factory. (No offense intended) This can be repaired by putting toothpaste in the area and allowing it to dry.

There is also an engine hook. It turns out that Legos aren't the worst thing one can step on that's lying around on the floor. That honor goes to land mines, but engine hooks are close following.

The engine block is extra long for that much needed tail weight, but in order to provide proper ducting action you might consider using an 18mm motor with the engine block knocked out instead. Don't worry about skywriting, I think stability can be purchased separately but Semroc doesn't have it listed so it's probably out of stock.

Semroc also includes a sheet of 6 pop-out wedding rings, because you're gonna need all of them and more. Well, you might not. But yours truly may. It's always good to know that the rocketry manufacturers have your romantic interests in mind, however fruitless they may be. You may want to consider CAing them to your fingertip, so you can get them back for reuse.

It is, however, unfortunate that amid all these thoughtful and considerate gifts, Semroc forgot the four centering rings that create the ridges on the motor tube. Don't worry, they're easy to cut out. Hopefully you still have the first aid kit from the previous step. You can cut them with pliers and a ripsaw if you're blind to faults, but for the best results, I recommend using many light passes with sharpened pencil. You'll get there.



This goes together as usual: cut slit for engine hook, insert engine hook, push engine block in through rear, apply glue to engine block's destination, find out motor doesn't fit anymore, cut off tab, end up friction fitting. Then glue on four centering rings. Use the cover card as a reference, it doesn't matter where they go though since the model will end up in the kindling bucket anyways. I mean, it'll end up stuck in a tree or dangling from a power line. Then wrap making tape around where the engine hook goes into the body tube until it matches the inner diameter of the 24mm tube.




It's quite difficult to come up with bad things to say. Next post I'll post what I did, but I'm too tired now and have some barbed wire to make. Don't ask unless you're curious about it, because if you do ask, Google AdChoices will likely hammer you with "Barbed Wire Choker" ads, should they exist. Also, for those not forced to spend about 8 hours a day with fashion obsessed middle schoolers, a choker is a piece of jewelry that people wrap around their necks. I don't know why either.




Attached is a picture of my modified engine mount inside the other piece. Not glued yet, as per instructions (I followed them to the gist).

IMG_2795.jpg
 
I built a Trident when I was at the height of my 1st rocket building career. It was a hard kit and was was really proud of how nice it was turning out. Until I painted it. I don't remember exactly what happened, (it was the 70's!) but I think the paint reacted with the glue or something and the fillets all swelled up. I was so bummed out that all my hard work was for naught I quit building for quite a while and then my heart was never really in it again.

It and the Interceptor though are still the two classic kits of my childhood. (Ok, and the Mars Lander.)

Good luck with yours,


Tony
 
Ok veterans of the Trident... What kit do you next want to see Incongruent try to tackle? I think a Venus Probe might be fun to see him try. Or a Mars Snooper
 
Ok veterans of the Trident... What kit do you next want to see Incongruent try to tackle? I think a Venus Probe might be fun to see him try. Or a Mars Snooper

Whatever I can get cheap at the club meetings.
 
The name reminds me of something...

If three quarters of a captured army is killed as punishment, are they decimated? Why?
 
The name reminds me of something...

If three quarters of a captured army is killed as punishment, are they decimated? Why?

No. Because decimate comes from latin for 1/10th. They used to kill off 1/10th of an army as punishment.
 
d8/b* two-stage kitbash. If someone foolishly agrees to do and document ; and buys one of the kits, I'll send them the other.

If they weren't crazy to agree, they certainly would be before finishing!
 
d8/b* two-stage kitbash. If someone foolishly agrees to do and document ; and buys one of the kits, I'll send them the other.

If they weren't crazy to agree, they certainly would be before finishing!

Which rocket do you refer to by b*?

If you send both, I'm in.
 
I've built both...no, just no...

Ohhhh, c'mon now. The Blackstar isn't so bad. Definitely an endurance build though.


Its only taken me ......1.5 months to get to the first coat of paint? (assuming I started building when I started my thread, its hard to remember)
Occasionally taking a break to fix flight damage on other rockets.
 
Ahhhh! The Trident, what fun it is keeping those ducting slots lined up while glue/epoxy sets. Built one 35+ yrs ago(long gone). Built a clone, an upscale(lotsa repairs but keeps on flyin) & bought parts from Semroc to clone a Hawks Hobby version(It was my understanding that Semroc supplied HH with parts).
 
FYI, I flew my SEMROC Trident yesterday. It was the best flight and recovery of the day (very strong winds - lost one rocket in trees), landing about 50 feet from the pad.
 
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