PS II Inspired Black Brant V

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Nose Cone Mods Revisited

In post 4 I went over the modifications I did to the nose cone. One of those mods was to make it one inch longer to match the nose cone in the Black Brant VB drawing in post one. Bobby Hamill posted a picture of a Black Brant VB in post 7 that had U.S. markings on it. Down around post 14 I decided to switch it up and model that rocket and that's why I am revisiting the nose cone. After a lot of careful measurements and a few print outs I determined that this rocket used a shorter nose cone than the rocket I was modelling at first. It turned out that I needed the nose cone back to the original length.

I almost left it alone but that just wouldn't be right :) First I removed the one inch of body tube from the shoulder. I started with my x-acto knife but then I stabbed my index finger pretty deep. After I got that cleaned and bandaged I switched over to a single edge razor blade followed by some 120 emery cloth. It came out pretty well, but now I had a shoulder that was 3.5 inches long. I trimmed it to 2.5 inches with my razor saw.

Next was to install the removable bulkhead. Earlier today I had epoxied the 3 t-nuts in the ring so I just needed to epoxy the ring into the nose cone. I placed a bead of epoxy inside the lip of the shoulder and pushed the ring in about 3/16ths of an inch and stood it up to allow the epoxy to settle into a nice fillet. A few hours later I added a fillet of epoxy on the bottom side of the ring. Here is what I have now.
Nose Cone Trim.jpg


I need to find a small u-bolt to install in the bulkhead that screws to the ring and the nose cone will be done.

-Bob
 
Thank you!

I found most of the hardware I needed at Lowes yesterday so I decided to start with the upper rail button. I bought a weld nut that had three holes in it so I drilled three more and epoxied it to the inside of the tube. Most of the installations I've seen show the threaded portion coming thru the wall but it was pretty long and would not slide into the rail button so I turned it inward. I also bent the flange to match the contour of the tube.
Weld Nut.jpg


I was going to install the baffle/coupler next and join the two tubes together but then I thought it's be easier to add the fins first so that is what I am working on now.
Fin Jigged.jpg

That's going to be it for a few days.

Cheers,
-Bob
 
Been doing a little work. The upper body tube is just slid over the ejection baffle/coupler for now. I think I will primer the bottom and fix whatever is revealed after the prime before I join the upper tube. At 52 inches tall, this is my largest rocket yet.

Body Tubes Joined.jpg

-Bob
 
I can't believe it my last work on this rocket was in January. Doesn't seem that long ago but you know how they say time flies when you are having fun :) Besides the whole Covid thing and all that entails I had shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff back in May and then I had surgery on my intestines in October. I'm finally starting to feel good enough to get back to work on this rocket.

So it's the part of the build that gives most builders the most problems and that is paint. I have decided to use lacquer on this one because of the detail I want it to have. Wrinkled or orange peeled Rustoleum just won't do. I sprayed the bottom half with primer which showed some areas to address. I've taken care of them and sprayed on a second coat. It looks good now and I'll add on some rivet and bolt details to it next.

Part of the problem is picking out the colors, especially on a scale build. I am working off a black and white photo so I have looked at every color phot I could dredge up and some renderings and have decided on a color scheme that could be accurate. It's the best I can do. I just need to find some spray paint that looks like a dark magnesium color and another that looks like bare aluminum that are not metallic. I have found a color that looks like anodized aluminum. Thankfully anodized aluminum has a broad spectrum from a light gold to darker brown.

I am building up one of the payload areas with primer right now. Once I am happy with it I will glue the upper body tube to the lower and primer the whole thing.

Not much to take pictures of right now but soon there will be :)

-Bob
 
I promised pictures soon so here you go.

First I did some detailing on the fin can. Wouldn't be right without fasteners
FIn Can Details.jpg


From there I went on to build the telemetry antennas. I'm not totally sure if there should be two because I only have one picture of the of the rocket I am modelling but there is a line drawing in a booklet put out by Bristol Aerospace that has a diagram of a Black Brant V nose cone/payload section and it shows them on both sides so that is what I am going with :)
Telemetry Antennas.jpg


I also just finished attaching the lower body tube to the upper at the baffle/coupler assy. I used some epoxy on this one because alignment was critical and I didn't want to take the chance of it locking up in the wrong position. Now I have a 42.5 inch rocket to work on. I hope to get some primer on the upper tube and the seam sometime this weekend.

-Bob
 
I have it all in primer now and after one more light sanding it'll be time to spray some color. Just figuring our how I want to do it. In the meantime maybe you all can help me figure out this lettering. My eyes aren't so good even with my bifocals :)

Black Brant US Tail.jpg

It looks like:

STORAGE AND FIRING
I can't make out second line but it does not look like TEMPERATURE to me
something +125 F

Thanks for looking,
-Bob
 
From Alway's Rockets of the World:
STORAGE AND FIRING
TEMPERATURE
+10*F TO +125*F
(Sub degree sign for the asterisk, my keyboard doesn't have scientific notation)
 
Well that must be it then. I just don't see the "emp" in the second word no matter how I squint and look sideways :)

Thanks, kuririn

-Bob
 
Well that must be it then. I just don't see the "emp" in the second word no matter how I squint and look sideways :)

Thanks, kuririn

-Bob
I know what you mean... to me it looks something like "THERMOCYCLING"... When I look at it carefully, and write down exactly what I think I see, I got "TICKMOLATUTING"

but really, was the dress blue or gold?
 
I think that lettering is going to be a decal. Might have to pick Neil's brain for a refresher on making decals. Gonna need some declas for the payload area as well. Haven't decided if the "UNITED STATES" on the side will be a decal or if I'll stencil and paint it on. I'll probably make the stencil and decide after I see how that comes out of the Cricut machine.

I sprayed white on it yesterday afternoon. It was a can of Dupli-color perfect match in universal white I had purchased three hours earlier. It started spitting a little right away but it looked like it was laying down so I continued. I used about half a can putting two coats on decided to quit there. When I looked at it this morning this is what I saw:
Fin Splatter.jpg

You can see the dots where it was "spit on" mainly because they are more opaque than the surrounding area but they are pretty flat. I went ahead and did a light sanding and I am going to spray the rocket again mainly to get an even cover coat. This is what it looks like now with the payload area taped off:
First Coat White.jpg

I'll spray the white after work and let it set overnight. Tonight I'll have to decide what to spray next. The red on the body or black on the payload area...

-Bob
 
From Alway's Rockets of the World:
STORAGE AND FIRING
TEMPERATURE
+10*F TO +125*F
(Sub degree sign for the asterisk, my keyboard doesn't have scientific notation)

I agree, but my "calibrated eyeball" is seeing -10*F, rather than +10*F, based on the photo.

I didn't check ROTW, though.

Dave F.
 
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I have more than white down now. One nice thing about lacquers is they dry pretty quick. I still wait a day before I tape over the paint though mostly because my schedule dictates it.

I was able to get a lot done because I had a painting session on Saturday and another on Sunday. I was hoping to get the red sprayed on the body but that requires some intricate masking and I just didn't have enough time to do it right so I sprayed another section of the payload area.

The area that is black is just a base coat for the real color. I also need to get the red sprayed; that will really "wake up" the paint scheme. Oh, and I still need to paint the nose cone white. I keep forgetting about it.

We should be having a launch this Saturday but I don't think this one will be ready for flight by then. I have some other rockets that have not flown yet I can take out.

Anyway, here's the pic :)

Payload Paint Mostly Done.jpg

-Bob
 
I ended up narrowing it down to the Black Brant rockets and after looking at the documentation available I was very attracted to the Black Brant VIII. It is a Black Brant Vc sitting on top of a Nike booster as depicted in Peter Alway's drawing

It's nice to see Peter's data shared on the Forum. It's a great help to Scale Modelers, everywhere !

Dave F.
 
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It is a great help to modelers everywhere. I think I had included the drawing before there was a bit of a blow up about posting his drawings but it seemed that he did not have an issues with it as long as he was given credit for his work. Peter Alway has been known to post his drawings in different threads to help a rocketeer occasionally. His work is a great treasure to scale modelers for sure.

-Bob
 
I'm working on a Black Brant V from PSII tubing, too. I'm going to do the variant with the vacuum nozzle extension you see in some photos.
 
Charles,

Not sure of what you mean by the vacuum tube extension but I'll look forward to your build thread. I've followed your two stage builds based on PSII parts and kits and enjoyed them immensely.

Someday I hope to build the Black Brant VIII I showed at the beginning of this thread as a two stage. I'm just not there yet. I launched my first composite motor last club launch and just bought my first reloadable composite motor on Black Friday so I'm getting there :)

-Bob
 
It is a great help to modelers everywhere. I think I had included the drawing before there was a bit of a blow up about posting his drawings but it seemed that he did not have an issues with it as long as he was given credit for his work. Peter Alway has been known to post his drawings in different threads to help a rocketeer occasionally. His work is a great treasure to scale modelers for sure.

-Bob

Bob,

There appears to be a resurgence of interest in building Scale Rockets, both in Model Rocketry & HPR.

Unfortunately, the 4th edition of "Rockets of the World" ( ROTW ) is no longer in print and all of the previous online vendors no longer have any copies. There have been rumors, for quite some time, that a 5th Edition may be coming, at some point in the future . . . I certainly hope so !

For anyone looking for a personal copy of Peter Alway's book, this website may be helpful in your search ( be prepared for "Sticker Shock" ).

https://www.bookfinder.com/search/?ac=sl&st=sl&ref=bf_s2_a7_t1_8&qi=ppYgoE4W2TJCV50mrtvWxP2FH5s_1497963026_1:39:12&bq=author%3Dpeter%2520alway%26title%3Drockets%2520of%2520the%2520world

Dave F.
 
Charles,

Not sure of what you mean by the vacuum tube extension but I'll look forward to your build thread. I've followed your two stage builds based on PSII parts and kits and enjoyed them immensely.

Encyclopedia Astronautix lists this BB9 variation: https://www.astronautix.com/b/blackbrantixmod2.html
It only lists one flight, but if you look at photos and drawings, the configuration appears multiple times in BB9-12 rockets. The usual picture of 'NASA Sounding Rockets' usually has it. I can't find the best photo I recall - but here's one that shows the nozzle extension. If you zoom in, you can see a gold adapter flaring out from the Terrier interstage to a white/silver cone connecting to the black brant at the root of the fins. I first became aware of vacuum nozzle extensions for solid rocket motors when tracking down info on the TATER (Talos Terrier Recruit). In the same way that the Vacuum Merlin on the Falcon second stage has a big nozzle to better match impedance between motor and space (nozzles are just momentum antennae, right?) some high flying sounding rocket motors do the same. I've also read comments in BB flight reports that the BBV has issues with fin damage from plume impingement, and I bet a nozzle extension would help with that.

IRVE-2_launch_on_Black_Brant_IX.jpg

I'm glad you've liked my threads. I'm gathering pieces to fill in some blanks. With a handful of nosecones and interstages, I can make a ridiculous number of sounding rockets. I plan on getting pictures, even if I don't fly them all. I finally decided to downscale the BBV from 3.25" to 3" and the nozzle/fincan down to BT80. That makes using my current Terrier Interstage easier and really cuts down on weight. I can 3D print a sleeve to make the diameter really right for scale - but it's heavy, and I'm running out of motor options and $$ for potential three stage flights.
 
You have eagle eye! I have probably seen it a hundred times and never really noticed that it wasn't a regular interstage coupler.

-Bob
 
I guess I am just a sport scale guy but I'm ok with that :) I'm already ocd enough with what's "acceptable" to me. If I stepped up to museum scale I'd never get a rocket finished, lol!

Got the red on. I still need to paint the true color on the area that is black right now. Hobby Lobby has been out of the color I want but I swung by at lunch and they just got a big shipment in on the modeling aisles so I'll check tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed. Here's where she is at now:

Red Body Painted.jpg

I am starting to think about the decals and am trying to figure out how to draw up the decal for the screw heads. Started a thread over in Techniques about that.

-Bob
 
And I linked to this from said decal thread. I'm glad I did; this is a nice build.

What's the eventual color of the black area?

I would love to build a fleet like Charles has of many sounding rocket boosters, sustainers, and interstage couplers to mix and match for lots of configurations. One could even fly combinations that have never been put together in the real things. Reading your thread has me thinking on that again. (The minor obsession started with converting a Quest Terrier-Orion kit to fly as the two stage it's supposed to be. That build ran into a problem when I discovered a major design flaw, and if I ever do the fleet it will be at a larger scale.)
 
I would love to build a fleet like Charles has of many sounding rocket boosters, sustainers, and interstage couplers to mix and match for lots of configurations. One could even fly combinations that have never been put together in the real things. Reading your thread has me thinking on that again. (The minor obsession started with converting a Quest Terrier-Orion kit to fly as the two stage it's supposed to be. That build ran into a problem when I discovered a major design flaw, and if I ever do the fleet it will be at a larger scale.)

When I started proposing whimsical combinations over on YORF, someone posted old proposals that included those very combinations.

I just looked over my list, and while I've got tubing coming for an Oriole, itlooks like I've got supplies on hand for a reasonable Orion, too. <sigh>
I really wasn't planning on doing a Peregrin, though.

1608151540119.png
 
The eventual color is going to be a medium gray metallic. I have been waiting for Hobby Lobby to get in a can of Testor's Extreme Lacquer Graphite but it's been two weeks now and they just got in a truck yesterday. I am either going to have to order it from Amazon and the cost will go from 4 dollars to over 12 or buy a can of Duplicolor Perfect Match car paint for 10 dollars. I like the Testor's because it sprays great, has good coverage and it's a smaller can but it doesn't matter if you can't get it. Off to the parts store tonight :)

I've built a few sounding rockets and I already have a Black Brant 5 that I built from a Rocketarium kit. I just wanted something bigger and this will be my biggest rocket yet.

-Bob
 
My BT55-60 Apache taught me that I wanted to be a bit bigger than BT60. I never claim to be more than sport scale.
The only tube I make is the 3.44 inch. But if the Estes Mercury Atlas is re-issued, there might be a new source for it.
 
I had intended to build a bunch of rockets at 1/10th scale but it turned out that some were just too small and some just too big.. It turns out I don't like smaller than BT-60 sizes or larger than mid-power size.

I love two stage rockets and one day I will build either a Nike-Nike, a Nike-Black Brant, or a two stage Doorknob. The first two are drawn in OR and I have the kits for the Doorknob. Even have a Apogee simple timer just standing by.

I found my paint after work so I swung back by and sprayed the black area. Pics to come tomorrow :)

-Bob
 
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