Estes SLV Build

[BSNW]

I have a plan.....

Last night I had some time so I thought I would seal up some of the Balsa. I ALSO wanted to see how some of the tiny-tough to reach spots will paint with a good-soft art brush. After last night I think I have my plan on painting.

1) Seal with BIN and then sand everything smooth. Sand out all the nooks and crannies etc.
2) Spray with white primer/flat spray paint
3) GENTLY brush in any areas that the spray did not get (with the same white primer....sprayed into a cup and then brushed on) .
4) SAND.....sand....and then.....sand.
5) Spray with white gloss topcoat.
6) When dry, gently brush in the tiny areas and nooks with gloss white (sprayed into another cup and brushed on).

NOTE: I can either brush in the nooks and crannies PRIOR to final topcoat OR I can do it after I spray the final topcoat. I will decide when I do my first spray of white primer. Any thoughts on this from you guys?

I have brushed on spay paint before during/after repairs. It really does blend in well if you use a very good brush and don't mess with it or over brush. As you can see from the photos below, I have to do a LOT of sanding of the BIN sealer before I do anything else!

Andrew

 

[BSNW]

So here is the brushed on BIN....I know at this point it looks like crap with all the brush marks etc. but trust me....it sands down beautifully. Its also not like sanding a tough oil or acrylic...it sands easily an glass smooth. I like to build it on so I have plenty of millage to sand down. I also found out that all the tough areas will be easy to get to with my art brushes. Painting this may not be as bad as I thought.....but i may be speaking too soon. I know sanding all this will be tough and a little tedious....but this is what modelers like! Correct? HA! Also notice the raised wood fibers when I put the BIN on. I like how this all gets super dry/hard so when I sand it....it is glass smooth. When it comes to finish work...."You got to crack a few eggs before you make an omelet" NOTE: I do see the nose cones on the boosters will need more coats of BIN or some more heavy duty filler to fill in those large holes!

 

[GlenP]

I was thinking the shellac based sealer will fill the end grain on those balsa cones really well, may take a few coats but it builds up pretty well.

 

[tlainhart]

Great build thread - learning a bunch of things here.

And thanks to @JumpJet for an excellent kit (assuming it was John). I really enjoyed the mini-heli and the Conquest as well - SLV is on deck.

 

[BSNW]

After long last, I had some time to work on the SLV. I also just realized I did not take some photos of the priming. Oh well I will describe it.....it was white....all white....HA! Anyway I did brush on a THIN coat of BIN. I then sanded the whole thing. Talk about nooks and crannies.....Geez. I even glued a small piece of sand paper around a tiny dowel in order to get into the nooks around the boosters. I was time consuming and I needed proper light to be able to see anything in that see of white. After a good rub down with a tack cloth I sprayed it with flat white paint...this was my primary primer. I used a lot.

SO..one thing I found out that is that I should not underestimate the power of the spray to get everywhere. I was surprised to see that all those tiny nooks and out of the way spaces somehow got paint misted into them and everything turned out pretty good. As it is now, I wont have to brush in any white. I let that sit for about a week and last night I put on the top coat of gloss white. I think it turned out okay. There are areas...that show things I did not see prior. Oh well. It is totally good enough for fun. Besides, once the decals go on it will look like a fun model rocket. Below are some photos...

 

[BSNW]

Once the white cures a little I will spray the top of the payload with the tan/gold. I will be using a tan color I already have. It is close enough and I am not going out to get a can of paint I will use once and have it sit on the shelf until I toss it or give it away. The color I do have is indeed close and I will live with it. I will also be making minor changes to the paint scheme. To be honest I kind of like the booster nozzles the way they are. This sounds like I am chickening out from painting them...but that is not true. Yes they would be a pain in the A#!!....BUT I also think they look better totally white. Also I will be painting the interior of the booster tube black so there will be some tiny accent. I also don't care for the upper transition to be blue...Instead, I will blend it to the tan of the payload. I have not decided if I will try and do the nose tip in black. I like Testors Model Master brush on Acrylic (Hobby Lobby). It lays out with no brush marks. I put it on any part of a rocket that gets scraped during recovery. Things like fin tips, nose tips and top body tube bands. This way if there is a scratch I simply touch up with an art brush. I HATE painting rockets and this prevents me from doing touch-ups or repaints. In fact I am kind of known for almost all my rockets having this functional paint scheme....I don't care....I like it. Below is an example of what I am talking about (Mad-Cow 4" Big Fizz/Alpha). Notice that the black is brushed on....(and it really looks sprayed on...no kidding). The other rocket is my 5.5" scratch built "Earth Wind and Fire". Even on my big ones the black Acrylic really comes in handy...after a rough landing.

so these are areas where there are flight scratches/and repairs. I can repair them without spray paint.....Anyway I digress..BUT!!!.....I wont be putting the black tips on the SVL fins...(gasp). This whole side musing was from thinking about doing the black on the SLV nosecone....train of consciousness kind of thing.....sorry!

 

[BSNW]

This weekend I will be doing decals and paint accents on the booster section. More later.
Andrew

 

[Bat-mite]

Very nice!

 

[Tobor]

Me likie

 

[BSNW]

So when I started this rocket kit I thought there was no way i wold get it done before NARAM (July27th). I guess I was wrong. It did take some time....which I like. But I guess "she" is ready for a parachute, motor and a launch pad on a favorable day. For this one I am really thinking of just going with the E12. Can someone let me know if those motors are now safe? If not I may even go with a 24mm reload like an F12 (kind of soft for this one I think) or maybe an E15. I really want it to get going and go straight. Having not launched this rocket yet I would still say it is a great kit to build. You can really take your time and get into this. If you want to cluster it....Estes has done all the work for you (hint). The next one I build WILL be a cluster. Also you can see I did not change or deviate from the card art too much. Just little stuff.....

ANYWAY....I digress.....Below are the final....all done....pre-flight...photo-formalities. I have several I would like to share as I SUCK at taking photos and the good ones I did manage to get, took me forever to get...so I am going to post them....even if I am overdoing it a bit. SORRY!

 

[BSNW]

Here are some up close photos...

 

[neil_w]

Looks gorgeous, definitely makes me want to build one (I say this about every nicely-finished rocket I see ).

I can't say if the E12s are "safe" now; I won't touch them personally because there are alternatives. I love the single-use E15s, and they will indeed get it going. If you want it to really jump, then the E30 is available as well. Remember the AT SU E20 and E15 are the same thing these days.

 

[BSNW]

One last word on Ace Hardware's Premium spray paint. A number of things about this product, I still say as a past/somewhat present(on weekends) professional painter of about 20 years, I can say this is the best rattle can spray paint you can purchase. I really "stressed" it on this kit. I painted in high humidity and it did not dull out like a lacquer, I did up to three "wet on wet" top coats (right after tack) with no wrinkling or checking. It also lays out like glass. If you shake the snot out of it and warm it up (the can) in hot tap water it sprays beautifully. the tip on those cans are top drawer. It misted the paint and on this and other rockets, it got into all the nooks and tucked away spaces. The tip orifice must be very very small...so the chances of drips and sags are greatly reduced. So when you warm up the paint this tip works even better (more pressure). I will say this....it dries fast like a lacquer but hold finish and is resistant to humidity-dulling like an enamel. Its simply the best stuff I have worked with. I used their flat white for my primer. I also sometimes use gloss whit for the primer....let it dry...then sand it down with 400,then topcoat with gloss.

Andrew

 

[BSNW]

Looks gorgeous, definitely makes me want to build one (I say this about every nicely-finished rocket I see ).

I can't say if the E12s are "safe" now; I won't touch them personally because there are alternatives. I love the single-use E15s, and they will indeed get it going. If you want it to really jump, then the E30 is available as well. Remember the AT SU E20 and E15 are the same thing these days.

Thank you Neil! I think I will take your advice and go for the E15. I like the idea of the E12, but have seen to many "issues". Not to dump on that motor, but I saw a poor guy come to a launch with a BEAUTIFUL - never flown...Black Star Voyager. It went into re-kit mode when they pushed the button. I felt horrible for him...

I am a tad afraid of wrinkling the body tube if I put an E30 in it. I am looking for more of a "slow" lift off.

Andrew

 

[BSNW]

One more thing....
I think I may have an insight into why I like this rocket so much. The decals....Is it me?...or do they look a tad 70's...ish? Dont get me wrong! I LOVE it. But I got to say when I put the decals on the fins...I was reminded of Evil Knievel! I think this rocket could be put into a 1976 Estes catalog.....and that is a GOOD thing for a lot of us! HA HA HA. Anyway....I like all the bold decals and bright colors...my inner 10-15 year old was in full mode. What a good time, good build....loaded with memories (of the 1970's)...Now if I can only get my paper rout money so I can run down the hobby shop and get a pack of "mighty D Engines!".
Andrew

 

[neil_w]

Not to dump on that motor, but I saw a poor guy come to a launch with a BEAUTIFUL - never flown...Black Star Voyager. It went into re-kit mode when they pushed the button. I felt horrible for him...

I am a tad afraid of wrinkling the body tube if I put an E30 in it. I am looking for more of a "slow" lift off.

I don't think you need to worry about the tube, but certainly if you're looking for a slow*er* liftoff, then the E15 is the way to go.

 

[Bruiser]

Very nice. That's a rocket to be proud of!

-Bob

 

[GlenP]

I am happy if I can finish a kit that looks almost as good as the face card artwork. You have surpassed the quality of a face card picture with this build.

I flew a mean machine on a D12 and an E12, the E12 was a much higher and more impressive nearly out of sight flight. That one can drift quite a bit in a breeze, though.

 

[BSNW]

Glen-
Wow man...thank you for the compliment. Please know the finished product does have a few things that did not show up on the photos! I found out how easy it is to dent/ding balsa nose cones while sanding. I also found out that little bumps/or sags in tight areas show up real well when gloss paint is put on! I am still happy with how it turned out. Thanks for your kind words.

I really hope Estes makes more "real world" looking rockets. With all the stuff going on with the commercial space race with Space-X and Blue Origin and the other 10 or so companies out there; there is great inspiration for making "the real world" looking kits.

I know this may be pure heresy to a lot of you folks....but as beautiful as they are....I am plain tired of looking at Saturn V's, Saturn 1B's and Mercury Redstones. ULA, JAXA, Orbital ATK, Etc. and other space agencies make beautiful rockets doing the modern space work and I would love to see kits inspired by these designs. What do you all think?

 

[kuririn]

Nice looking build. Totally agree on making newer models instead of 50+ year old birds. Have a scratch Ariane V in the build pile. No reason an SLS, Falcon 9 or Heavy, New Glenn or Shepherd, and others can't be produced by Estes. Shoot, SLS/Orion will be going to the moon in a couple of years if things work out. I think there's a market for something larger than ant scale.

 

[gldknght]

ANYWAY....I digress.....Below are the final....all done....pre-flight...photo-formalities. I have several I would like to share as I SUCK at taking photos and the good ones I did manage to get, took me forever to get...so I am going to post them....even if I am overdoing it a bit. SORRY!

When a rocket comes out looking as good as yours does, there is no such thing as over-doing it with the photos.

Awesome job!

 

[GlenP]

Estes did release several models of the various X-Prize contestant entries a while back, those are getting harder to find now. Not sure how good sellers they were at the time, but were very cool kits. I agree, it would be fantastic if there would be an Estes SLS kit on the shelves at hobby stores before NASA launches the first Artemis missions, in the fashion of a kit that only Estes can produce. (I know I keep repeating myself in posts about that here, but I am hoping it will eventually get heard by the right people...)

 

[BSNW]

Thank you gldknght and kuririn...all of you, for your kind comments. I am glad folks like it. I hope Estes is encouraged to build more like it.
Andrew

 

[BSNW]

Hey All
I just got packs of E12's from Hobby Lobby on clearance.....looks like I may roll the dice on these any try them in the SLV......unless you guys talk me off the ledge. They were SO CHEAP! I could not help MYSELF! Thoughts?
Andrew

 

[kuririn]

Any motor can CATO, but the big problem was with the Estes E9 motors. Less so with the E12s.

 

[GlenP]

Not sure how big the chute is, you don’t want to break a fin on landing on that heavy rocket, but if they sized it a little big, like on the mean machine, wait for the wind to die down, it will drift. Might come down too fast for landing if you reef it or cut a spill hole.

If you built it strong, might be okay with a spill hole.

 

[kuririn]

JLCRs are your best friend.

 

[BSNW]

JLCRs are your best friend.

I totally agree, but I do not think it will fit in the BT55. I have decided that the maiden flight will be at NARAM. Anyone going? I have flown at that venue....and i can say it is a really nice place to launch. I have launched small stuff up to a K motor there. LOTS of mowed grass to walk on! Anyway I digress.....It will be an E12-4 and I will put a big an 18" or a thin mill 24" i dont mind walking...I hate repairing broken fins.
Andrew

 

[BEC]

Nope, JLCR won't fit the SLV. I should bring mine to NARAM. I've been wondering what I'd sport fly. I think the last time it flew, actually, was at NARAM last year.....

 

[NAR72053]

Hi Andrew. Very nice build on the SLV. I have one in my stash and you have motivated me to move it up on the build list. I particularly appreciate your tip concerning Ace Premium spray paint. I bought a couple cans and tried some of the white on an old Estes Firebird kit I am finishing. Very nice paint. It is very controllable and lays out nicely. I applied per the instructions using multiple thin coats waiting only a minute between coats. Very pleased with the results. I threw away all of my other brands of spray paint. They were all much more fussy in their application demands.

Mel Gray