Can we save this Estes Pershing 1A?

Beautiful job James. Excellent problem solving skills on the fins and fin blocks. This is going to be a stunner when done.

Finished up with the masking of the roll patterns on the nose cone today, after which it was painted with black acrylic.




This will need to cure for a couple of days, after which we can mask the upper section of the cone and paint the orange and OD green on the lower cone.

More later,
James

Time for the next step on the nose cone painting process. First, a 10"ish-long strip of 6mm Tamiya tape is rubbed down on the workbench to reduce the aggressiveness of the adhesive, as we don't want to damage the fragile acrylic paint that we just laid down. The tape is then peeled up from the workbench and applied to the joint on the nose cone.


Next, the adhesive on a 10mm strip of Tamiya tape is knocked down using the workbench trick, after which it is applied just above the previous strip. Plastic overwrap is taped to that to protect the upper portion of the cone, and a strip of cheap blue tape is applied to protect the shoulder.

Next, Tamiya TS-31 Bright Orange spray lacquer is applied to the lower cone surface.

After this cures overnight we can mask off the section of the lower cone that will remain orange, and spray over that with OD Green lacquer.

More later,
James

Outstanding!!

Cutting down the tack on the tape is a good trick, although I have yet to see Tamiya pull up paint unless the paint quality is really not the greatest and it doesn't bond with the lower layers worth a darn (such as Testors acrylics thinned with their own brand of acrylic thinner).

Love the progress!

Time to paint the OD Green on the nose cone! The first step is to make a simple mask guide that we can tape around the cone to define the position of the orange stripe. This was done in Illustrator, and a PDF of that drawing is attached below.




Using the mask guide as (predictably) a guide, the orange stripe is masked, and the three gaps in the stripe are cut away.



With the masking in place the lower cone is sprayed with Tamiya TS-28 Olive Drab 2 spray lacquer. The first coat is fogged on very lightly, as we want to seal the edges of the tape. A heavy coat of paint at this point might possibly lead to leakage under the masking material.


Here's the sprayed cone with the masking material still in place.

More later,
James

The masking material has been removed from the upper cone.


Voila! The cone with all of the masking material removed...



We're on the home stretch now!

More later,
James

With the nose cone complete we can return our attention to the airframe tube. The same process is being used, with the orange going down first, followed by carefully measured and placed masking to protect the orange fields that should remain.

Circumferential strips of paper are used to guide the placement of the tape for the two stripes on the lower section of the tube. The lower airframe is fairly simple, as these are just simple uninterrupted stripes. The upper stripes get a little more complex, though, as they have gaps that must be cut away.

A couple of templates to guide the placement of the upper orange bits were whipped up in Illustrator.

This masking job took about two hours to complete, but the airframe is finally ready for paint. Had the fins and other surface details already been in place this would have taken much longer.


More later,
James

This is looking really good, that nose cone came out great!

With all of the masking in place we were able to spray the Tamiya OD2 lacquer onto the airframe. After everything cured for a couple of hours we removed the masking material.



With the masking material off I couldn't resist the opportunity to stack the airframe and nose cone.



The next step will be to place the decals and markings onto the airframe and nose cone, after which we can add the fins and detail parts. I still have some decisions to make in that regard, so this may take a few days.

More later,
James

Time to start placing the decals and transfers onto the model. As the decals that came with the model were shot, I created new artwork back a couple of months ago. (If you'd like too download the artwork, you can download it in this post.)

A decision has also been made to go with decals for the many "31" markings on the model, rather than using the frisket film and an airbrush as previously planned. That required the creation of a new bit of Illustrator artwork, which I have attached below. The decals were printed on an inkjet printer, then sprayed lightly with Krylon #1306 workable fixative. After the fixative dried for a couple of hours, three coats of Krylon #1305 gloss acrylic clear are sprayed onto the decal sheet. (I must give appropriate credit for this decal process, as I stole it from Jim Filler, who learned it from the late John McCoy.)

I have also decided to go with dry transfers for the white markings. The dry transfers were ordered months ago from AllOut Graphics, a Canadian firm that I can highly recommend. Each transfer can be cut from the plastic carrier sheet individually, placed on the model, and burnished into place. The plastic carrier sheet can then be peeled up and discarded.



More later,
James

This work is beyond incredible! I am really liking the attention to detail on it.

Sometimes things don't work out as well as one might have hoped. The "31" decals for the Pershing project, for instance.

Way back when I started this project I planned on painting these markings, using laser-cut frisket film masks. As the time approached to tackle the job, the process of positioning the masks, masking off the cone from overspray, prepping the airbrush, and cleaning the airbrush afterward started to seem like a complete pain in the ass. So, I whipped up some decals, knowing that they might not work out on the dark OD green areas.

After applying the first two decals this proved to be the case. The decals on a white background look fantastic, but they simply disappear on the OD green surfaces. Commercial silkscreen decals get around this problem by underlaying bright colors like red with a layer of white, but that isn't an option with inkjet decals.


Note that the "31" decal has largely vanished into the green background. That won't work, so we'll start prepping for the airbrushed markings.

More later,
James

The frisket masks were laser-cut some months ago by Mike and Nick Nowak of Galactic Manufacturing. If you need custom laser-cutting, I heartily suggest that you contact them!

Step one is to "weed" the waste from the frisket masks. A fresh #11 blade is used for this step, and was changed a couple of times through the process. Each mask needed is cut away from the rest of the sheet.

The individual masks are carefully placed on the airframe and nose cone. There are 14 "31" masks on the green portions of the nose cone and airframe, so this takes a while. The task of placement is made a bit trickier due to the fact that the mask material is clear.



Once the masks are in place some Tamiya tape is placed around the periphery of each.



Next, a plastic drape is cut and taped in place to catch any overspray from the airbrush.



We are now ready to paint!

More later,
James

Next, a thin layer of Tamiya X-2 acrylic paint is airbrushed onto each mask. Note that the frisket material can only be used with acrylic paints, as the solvents in lacquer or enamel products will melt the material. (Buy me a beer at NARAM and ask me how I know!)

Next, the white is oversprayed with Tamiya X-7 red acrylic, again applied with an airbrush.



With the paint in place we can begin removing the mask material.



And here are the finished markings!



More later,
James

The three "31" markings on the upper white portion of the nose cone can be done with the decals that we prepared earlier.


Next, we can install the "US ARMY" dry transfers to the upper airframe surface. The marking is cut away from the rest of the transfers and carefully positioned in the appropriate location. A ruler is used to make sure that the marking is parallel to the existing paint markings. Once positioned, small bits of tape can be used to hold in in place.

The transfer is then burnished into place using a broad, blunt tool. (I use the back end of an Xacto blade holder handle.) The plastic carrier film is then carefully peeled away, leaving the marking on the airframe tube. I than like to press down the marking with the soft, meaty part of my thumb.



Be aware that dry transfers look great, but are very fragile!

More later,
James

Not being a master modeler, I have questions.
You've painted the whole model and fins separate. Do you then sand off the paint where the fins will attach? If so, how do you not screw up the paint adjacent to the fins?
Hopefully, those steps will be documented in a few more posts.
Just like filling the spirals on the body tube before gluing on the fins on a LOC or Estes rocket. How does the glue work in those spots?
I've always done finishing last.
Thanks.

jd2cylman said:

Not being a master modeler, I have questions.
You've painted the whole model and fins separate. Do you then sand off the paint where the fins will attach? If so, how do you not screw up the paint adjacent to the fins?
Hopefully, those steps will be documented in a few more posts.

Click to expand...

Great questions! The fins on this model have the advantage of wide pad features that will hide any glue sins, and are also attached through the wall. Because there will be a strong mechanical attachment to the airframe tube there is no need for any unsightly glue fillets. Portions of the airframe beneath the cable raceways and the charge container will be cut away to increase glue adhesion.

It will all make sense in the next few steps.

The remainder of the dry transfers have been installed, which means that we're all done with the finishing process. The small dry transfer markings go on just like the big "US ARMY" transfers.



All that remains is the installation of the fins and detail parts, after which the model will be sprayed with a protective matte finish.

More later,
James

The cable raceways and charge container will be added to the airframe next. First, the location of each detail is carefully measured and marked on the airframe using strips of tape. Next, a strip down the middle of each location is marked and scored with a fresh #11 blade, after which the top layer of paper under the paint is exposed. This reveals the fuzzy part of the airframe tube convolute, which will help make the adhesive more effective.




Five minute epoxy is then applied along the exposed surface, and the cable raceway part held in place for a few moments. Note that no effort is made to coat the entire joint with epoxy, as that would lead to squeeze-out problems. Just a narrow strip of adhesive to join the two components is used.



The same process is used to attach the charge canister, although the cut width on the airframe tube is much narrower.


Fin attachment is next.

More later,
James

The fins were installed this morning, the final step in basic assembly! A bit of five-minute epoxy was applied to each side of the mount tab that slots into the locator tab on the airframe tube, and a tiny bit more was applied to the periphery of the fin base pad.


The fin base pad was then held in place while the epoxy cured. Any squeeze-out was quickly taken care of with a swipe of a Q-tip moistened in rubbing alcohol.


Repeat for each of the six fins, and it is time for a photo session!

More later,
James

Here's a beauty shot of the completed model...




This was a truly fun, low-pressure project, perhaps the most fun I've ever had building from a kit. Many, many thanks to my dear friend Steve Kristal ("Gus" on this forum) for the original kit. I sincerely hope that I have honored you with this humble effort!

In the very first post in this thread I set out the following goal:

"This will not be a scale obsessive, competition focused build. Adhering to the funky '70s vibe of the kit is paramount."

I can state that I have been successful in that regard. Note that no effort was made to obsess over making sure that the body tube spirals were filled, or that the balsa grain was perfect. In a sense, I wanted to build a model that 14-year-old-me would have been proud to have put together. However, I am a scale obsessive at heart, so some full-scale-gonzo behavior was unavoidable.

One more thing before I close out this build thread...

The box in which the kit was packaged has been nearby throughout this project, and a few weeks ago this artwork on the side panel popped out:



Well, alrighty then! I'll play!



Thanks,
James

Thanks for a GREAT thread James, I really enjoyed following along. Congratulations on a beautiful build!

Very nice! Do you plan to fly it?

Leo said:

Very nice! Do you plan to fly it?

Click to expand...

Thanks much! Haven't quite decided if I'm going to fly it yet, but will be sure to get video if I do.

If I do fly it, it will need launch lugs or rail buttons. Astute readers of this thread will note that neither has yet been added.

James

Great rocket!

Did you glue on the fins over the painted body tube, or did I miss some masked patches?

I think you more than saved it, it looks fantastic!

Nytrunner said:

Did you glue on the fins over the painted body tube, or did I miss some masked patches?

Click to expand...

There is a tab on each fin that inserts into a slot on the airframe tube, and that provides all of the strength for fin attachment. The pad around each fin is just cosmetic, so no effort was made to mask or sand away paint for that bond.

James

Fantastic build! Love the group shot!

This is a really cool rocket. I’ll have to add it to the list.

It came out very nice. I wish my rockets looked half as good!

-Bob