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Thanks for the contest. My entry - https://www.launchlabrocketry.com/shop/p/estesstarorbiterproseries9716

Thanks!

Mercury Redstone Build - FINISHED! Been busy working on the Saturn V to hopefully have it ready for July 20th launch, but had some free time today to finish this Redstone build. This was the final clear cloating. Afterwards I installed the shock cord and chute and it was done. While...

They have little slots running down the center. I think those are to allow a bit more "grab" for the glue.

Lugnut - yeah, the fact that they used the thick cardstock for that instead of balsa/basswood was a head-scratcher for me - I have an image of the rocket landing a bit hard and the edge fins just breaking off due to the paper. But it should be an easy fix if that happens, just do what you did...

Don't mind at all. Yeah, the Launch Escape System (LES) tower is a royal pain. It looks really cool when done, but it takes a lot out of you. When doing the fins I also had concerns about them moving once the weight was on them and finding them the next morning totally screwed up. So I used...

Thanks Tom! Good luck on your build.

Thanks Bob!

Decals done! The process was not too bad except for the wrap. I hate wraps. Always have and always will. The MR8 decals were relatively easy - had to line up the bottom edge within the black band as it is on the original rocket. The black band in the middle, also easy. Lining up the United...

Udid9iv99, Yes! I have to agree. I mean the Lynx I did was also considered a level 3 and it is nothing compared to this build. Just doing the tower on this was more work and more difficult than doing the whole Lynx. This should probably be considered a level 4. But then the latest Saturn V...

Here it is masked for the roll pattern painting. This was a royal pain and took probably 2 hours. And even with all of this prep, there was still some bleed through which would have to be touched up. After the initial pattern painting, I then had to mask and paint the 1/8" black band that...

Thanks! Yes, I will launch it. Maybe just once, but it will see the sky.

I airbrushed it with Golden HiFlow Carbon Black acrylic. It doesn't specifically say what the sheen is, but if I had to guess I would say it came out maybe semi-gloss. I am in the process of masking the fins for painting (a job in itself) and will use the same black for that. However, after...

Body primed, sanded, primed, and sanded. White color coat added. Second coat added. Oh crap, a tiny bug decided to commit suicide on the tube while drying. Lightly sand bug out and add third coat. No bugs this time. Close-up of fins/fillets. Now I just have to find the time to do all...

So, first you need to use Plastruct Plastic Weld (or something similar to it) as regular plastic model cement just won't do. For the capsule, the instructions have you glue one section to the base then add the others. That won't work. You need to put all 3 on the base first without gluing...

While I was working on the fins/body I was also working on the tower and capsule. I used Plastruct Plastic Weld to put the pieces together. It took a bit of work to get the tower and capsule together nicely, but the Plastic Weld helped immensely - much better than if I were to use plastic...

Work done on the rocket tube. Motor mount installed and lines drawn. Fins attached. Another angle. One thing I realized after the fact was that I installed the motor mount slightly forward in the tube as I wasn't happy with the way it fit flush. Also, I wanted to reinforce it with a...

Thank you!

Thanks!

Fins done. Here they are after filling, sanding, priming, sanding, re-filling, sanding, priming, and sanding. Dang, that's a lot of work. And here they are after assembling and filleted. Also present are the "hold-downs" and launch lugs with stand-offs.