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It is on my list, and a friends, plus an extra nose cone for each of us. I decided to give the credit card a rest until February 1 though .. forgot I charged about $1000 worth of car insurance payments. I've been paying the balance monthly, but these $1000+ "extravaganzas" are straining my rocketry funds!

Will be anxious to hear reviews on kit, and the opinion of the nose cone, especially.
 
I got one! :D In the build queue..Just don't know how long til it takes it's place on the table :) It's a cool lookin rocket and the parts look great thru the bag ..
 
I'm building one now. It's a great build :) I like the way the fuselage is assembled and the used of imaginative design. The nosecone is treated like a separate kit with it's own instructions and everything :)
Cheers
Fred
 
Lee Reep said:
Will be anxious to hear reviews on kit, and the opinion of the nose cone, especially.
Click to expand...

I haven't started mine yet, though if memory serves, the nose cone wasn't quite what I expected. I was hoping it was one-piece, but instead is two halves on separate vacu-form sheets, so you have to cut them out, line them up and bond.

Having also done this with the Atlantis side pods, I backed off plans to jump on it, as I struggle a bit trying to hide those nasty seams you get from mating two vacu-form cutouts.

You'll have to work if you want a truly awesome nose.
 
I finished mine and the instructions and the build went great....except for the NC. I do NOT blame the kit...I blame my own inexperience in working with vacu-formed materials. I botched it pretty bad. I'm gonna order another cone and try again.

To all that are thinking about buying this kit...DO IT! It's a great kit and will teach you a new skill. Just take your time!:D
 
I've got one and have already built 2 of the command capsule nose cone kits- one with some slight mods to make it a tail cone. Some of the best directions for working with vacform that I've come across, and that includes some very nice plane kits.

Definitely a winner.
 
I'll be proceeding with caution on the nose cone. A few years back I got so disgusted with the vacuformed fins on the Estes Maxi Honest John that I shredded them off the rocket with a rasp. (I'm sure the dogs and cat hid when I screamed about these *&!&@@ fins!)

This is the year I plan to add built-up fins back onto the HJ.

Anyway, I hope to see build pictures from someone before too long. Show us your skills!
 
Here's some photos of the capsules I've been working on. Still all white so not a bunch of detail.

kj

long.jpg

short.jpg

reartop.jpg

rearbottom.jpg
 
Lee Reep said:
I'll be proceeding with caution on the nose cone. A few years back I got so disgusted with the vacuformed fins on the Estes Maxi Honest John that I shredded them off the rocket with a rasp. (I'm sure the dogs and cat hid when I screamed about these *&!&@@ fins!)

This is the year I plan to add built-up fins back onto the HJ.

Anyway, I hope to see build pictures from someone before too long. Show us your skills!
Click to expand...

I've seen some of your work on the board and I am sure the capsule will be very well done indeed :) My experiance with these parts comes from the estes maxi hojo and the saturn V. I love both :) Mind you my finishes are not in the same league as most around here but they fly okay and look great at 100 feet after launch :D
Cheers
Fred
 
What fred said ... on your unique design.

(And fred, thanks for your nice comments.)

Will be interested in seeing how things progress.

And be sure to post some more pictures of the front end -- methinks I'll only be using the it for a nose cone to start with ... maybe. :)
 
Had a nice big box waiting for me when I got home today. Yeah baby!!
 
Just finished building the nosecone. Its really neat. Like someone else said it has a Space 1999 eagle feel.
Cheers
Fred
 
Well, I went ahead and built it. As has been previously mentioned, the build is pretty easy itself, the nose cone needs to be taken slow and with care. I do have pictures I'll post later. For those yet to attempt the NC a word of caution: DO NOT USE as much tube type cement as suggested. And LET IT DRY for at least 24 hrs or more. I used the recommended amount of tube type cement and handled it only after about 15 min resulting in me deforming that area with my grubby paws. What I have done since is to fill not only that area but also all along the seam with some watered down Elmers filler. It seems to have made a nice somewhat smooth transition between the 2 pieces. It's all filled and sanded and ready for primer.
 
I used medium CA for the tube/plastic joint on mine. Mainly because while I have lots of liquid plastic cement, I didn't have any tube stuff around when I was building.

Haven't gotten much further on my rocket that uses the command cones than the pics above, trying to figure out a good fin setup.

kj

kelltym88 said:
Well, I went ahead and built it. As has been previously mentioned, the build is pretty easy itself, the nose cone needs to be taken slow and with care. I do have pictures I'll post later. For those yet to attempt the NC a word of caution: DO NOT USE as much tube type cement as suggested. And LET IT DRY for at least 24 hrs or more. I used the recommended amount of tube type cement and handled it only after about 15 min resulting in me deforming that area with my grubby paws. What I have done since is to fill not only that area but also all along the seam with some watered down Elmers filler. It seems to have made a nice somewhat smooth transition between the 2 pieces. It's all filled and sanded and ready for primer.
Click to expand...
 
It's finished!! Sorry, I didn't have alot of "during the build" pics. anyway, here's the finished product, with my crazy son Kole helping me out...

Picture 003a.jpg

Picture 004a.jpg

Picture 005a.jpg

Picture 006a.jpg
 
Great job :) I am sure you will enjoy flying it :)
Cheers
Fred
 
Now, as for the kit itself. This was a fantastic kit to build. I think it was priced just right. You get alot with this kit. The nose cone was challenging, but really not that hard to do. My advice on the nose cone: TAKE YOUR TIME!! I rushed it a little and had to fill and sand and fill and sand. Really no gotchas. Can't wait to fly it. OK everybody, go buy one. Forgot to mention, very high quality parts through out.
 

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