Build thread: 5.3:1 sport scale Super Deluxe #2 Skywriter XL Premium Pro Max - Limited Edition

That would be easier than what I'll be doing. I am by far most nervous about the nose cone, and I basically can't even start on it for quite a while.

Start with a suitably sized block of balsa. Tilt your table saw blade (you have a table saw, tight?) to make angled rip cuts to create the hexagonal cross section matching the dimensions of the main body. Mount the hex block on your lathe (you have a lathe, right?) to create the point; that's Nytrunner's giant pencil sharpener. Then turn the shoulder onto the other end.

What you have described is probably the most “correct” way to do it. I, however, possess none of said tools and will be using a different approach, which *should* work ok I hope.

This wasn’t an earlier attempt, was it???



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Looks like the prototype was used for crash testing. I'd say that the analysis will conclude that Max-Q was reached where the rubber meets the road.

mbeels said:

Looks like the prototype was used for crash testing. I'd say that the analysis will conclude that Max-Q was reached where the rubber meets the road.

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I dont know. The rubber end looks okay but some one has a lead foot...... they really got the lead out...

THAT... is an EX-pencil

neil_w said:

THAT... is an EX-pencil

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doesn't look like a "ready to fly" pencil to me.

BABAR said:

doesn't look like a "ready to fly" pencil to me.

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Well its pretty obvious its a kit......

neil_w said:

THAT... is an EX-pencil

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So Tripoli launches only?


Sorry about the highjack.... The build is looking great!

FERRULE ASSEMBLY, PART 4

Time to pinkify the eraser. Mise en place:


That is a 79 cent bottle of Craft Smart paint from Michael's. Nothing but the best!

What followed were approximately four coats of paint, with sanding in between. The paint seems fairly hard. By the time I was finished, brush strokes were pretty minimal and I'd say it's pretty eraser-like.



I haven't the slightest idea how this paint would handle clear-coating with Future or Krylon UV-resistant clear. In any case, the ferrule assembly will not be receiving a clear coat so it doesn't matter here. But I'm always wondering how (or if) I can incorporate more of these odor-free paints into my routine. This is the sort of thing I could do in my basement without getting evicted.

Being fairly flat (this particular bottle is labeled "Satin") it does pick up dirt, but hey it's a pencil eraser to that just adds to the realism.

Boy, that came out well. How was that paint to sand? Did you wet sand, or dry sand?

I'm also interested in using more brush on acrylics when possible, especially with colder weather approaching, I'd like to be able to work inside.

Looks nice. The satin finish is excellent and the color is absolutely spot on.

That little bit of paint on the wood: do you plan to cover that with the metal tape? Scrape it off?

mbeels said:

Boy, that came out well. How was that paint to sand? Did you wet sand, or dry sand?

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I dry sanded. It felt pretty hard, took some effort. My trouble was that I kept sanding through one particular spot, which is why I ended up with four coats.

The test piece I did in the past, which was a flat piece of balsa filled with CWF, came out better and with less effort than this crazy thing.

In general, getting best results out of paints like this definitely will take some practice and experimenting. And again I have no idea how it'll take to clear-coating, or its durability. But I guess airbrush paints are often water-based acrylics, and lots of folks seem to have no issues there....

Wish I knew more about paint, that's for sure.

jqavins said:

That little bit of paint on the wood: do you plan to cover that with the metal tape? Scrape it off?

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There was one spot where there was a blob that I trimmed off with a knife, but otherwise it'll be covered. I wanted the paint to at least be on the vertical edge, so there will be no bare wood between the metal and the pink (hard to control where exactly the edge of the tape lands.)

FERRULE ASSEMBLY, PART 5:

Last part is to wrap the ferrule with foil tape. It is done in 3 parts, first the two ridgy parts on each end, then an easier piece in the middle.

Each piece is done approximately the same way. First the piece is gently wrapped around, taking as much care as possible to get it into the correct position. For the two end pieces, that meant leaving just a tiny overlap at the end to wrap around.

Next wrap the edge down.

Then secure the other edge. The piece is large enough so that there will be a bit of overlap with the center piece, ensuring no gaps.

And finally, work around the grooves with a cylindrical tool. I started with an Xacto knife handle, then finished with a screwdriver shaft. Need to work *slowly* to avoid slips (I still slipped a few times).

Here's the first piece, finished:

Repeat for the second piece...

And finish up with the center piece:


The ferrule assembly is now finished. It looks as good as I could have hoped for. It is not possible to get the foil tape to lie perfectly flat but it is good enough. Perhaps Monokote would have worked better, along with a heat gun. I guess I'll never know.

Oh, there is one more small task: attach a centering ring to the far end of the stuffer tube. I did that, but no pics.

Build will resume as soon as I get my parts order in, probably next month.

And that is the pièce de résistance.

That came out beautifully.

WOW! That is fantastic.

That really came out great Neil!

By the way, I think you oughta call this thing "Ticonderoga". Seems like every yellow no. 2 pencil I ever had was a Dixon Ticonderoga...

Mugs914 said:

That really came out great Neil!

By the way, I think you oughta call this thing "Ticonderoga". Seems like every yellow no. 2 pencil I ever had was a Dixon Ticonderoga...

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Thanks!

The Skywriter name is in homage to the Estes #2 Skywriter, and also due to the fact that the ferrule is not a precise representation of any real-world pencil that I've found. I would have had a hard time properly recreating the ferrule on the Dixon Ticonderoga, both in terms of the colors and the center ridges:


Yeah I looked at a lot of pencil pictures before I started this.

The ferrule don't look like they'd have been hard. A special tool could be made to impress the ridges, which would not be so easy. You made the right call.

Found someone at work who's gonna attempt to cut my fins for me with a scroll saw. Fingers crossed...

One of the tricks to cutting plexiglass type products (plastics included) is to not stop moving the material during the cut. The material will get hot while cutting and if you stop moving it will weld together and your blade can become very stuck...

-Bob

Oh, and use tape to help prevent chipping.

-Bob

Thanks for the tips.

Bruiser said:

Oh, and use tape to help prevent chipping.

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Tape in addition to the protective film?

Hoping this thing doesn't sky write!

Looks awesome.

Bat-mite said:

Hoping this thing doesn't sky write!

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If it does I can just claim it is intentional!

Just for fun. Only thing I really can’t get right in OR is the nose.

This is looking good and moving fast! You're really getting the lead out!

It’s definitely sharper than the Estes Crayons!