Big Battle Axe

chadrog said:

Way cool! what's the powerplant going to be?

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Likely first flight will be on a J340 Metalstorm.

dixontj93060 said:

Likely first flight will be on a J340 Metalstorm.

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Sounds entirely appropriate for the theme. All you need now is to be wearing one of these when you walk it out to the pad for its maiden flight...

Maybe I'll have to invest in some armor :wink:

Right now I'm at the candy cane stage and it is like CHINESE TORTURE! I do so many fiberglass layups, I forgot just how much I hate filling spirals!!! Just shoot me now :kill:

Looking awesome. The last bluetube I did I thought " those don't look deep, I'll just fill them with primer". Yeeeeea. I won't admitt how long that took. Picked up some 4" after seeing your post about the deal. Still trying to decide exactly what to do with it.

Can't wait to see yours in paint.

DizWolf, yes, spirals are the bane of my existence. No matter how many layers of fill, I still see them

Now that I have finished the spirals, I'm working on the final veil layer for the fins. Idea is to both reinforce the edge on the blades and make it easier to fill the FG finholes.

Earlier in this thread I mentioned having seen a similarly themed rocket at Snow Ranch. Well, this Saturday said rocket was on the Snow Ranch range. I mentioned your Battle Axe project and asked the owner to pose for a photo.

The photo of the "Blade-O-Death" and owner is attached.

o1d_dude said:

Earlier in this thread I mentioned having seen a similarly themed rocket at Snow Ranch. Well, this Saturday said rocket was on the Snow Ranch range. I mentioned your Battle Axe project and asked the owner to pose for a photo.

The photo of the "Blade-O-Death" and owner is attached.

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Wow! His looks more wicked than mine! Comparatively mine is gonna be much more subtle/tame.

GNarlEY!!! I LIKE IT!!!!

Yeah, been spending time on my Blackhawk 29 two-stage build but haven't forgotten about this rocket. Finished the tip-to-tip veil layer and am doing just a bit of touch up on fin edges and aft end (trimming and epoxy). Should be moving to filler soon.

Spent some time last night on the graphics and finally came up with something I like. Again, a much more traditional look than the black/red/yellow design above. I'll reveal the graphics as it is completed. Oh, and also settled on a name, Axe To Grind.

Still working with Mark at Stickershock on the decals but moving on now to final shaping and filling. First up is literally sharpening the blades. The file/rasp works well on the blade edges removing extra fiberglass and epoxy to get a nice flat surface.



Then light "sharpening" of the blade edges with 150 grit sandpaper to get the right shape, but leave the fiberglass veil layer in place.



Then on to filling. Really fairly smooth and fill was minimal.



Now setting aside overnight to cure. The above uses my typical Super-Fil, but I must say, I just did my first test of a new 2-part epoxy filler and so far I'm impressed. It is from my favorite epoxy company, System Three and it is called SilverTip QuickFair. Nice and light, but still seems to have lots of hold. Best thing, dries in 3 hours to speed up the fill/sand process. Attached is a pic of a my first test, a repair of a pesky nosecone--has a reddish/tan look typical of phenolic microspheres versus the light blue SuperFil. I'll let you know how it works out.

Moving a bit slow on this one as I'm somewhat distracted by my BH29 2-stage build. First level sanding complete now. Forecast is for a nice day, mid-40s but windy. I might try to get a coat of Filler-Primer on it. Stickershock decals on the way.

Yeah! Decals from Stickershock!

Has any more progress been made on this?

Yea..waiting for primer pics..op:

JStitz said:

Yea..waiting for primer pics..op:

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Yeah, me too. Unfortunately it is winter and my wife has banned all indoor painting. And it seems like any warm day is too windy. Hope to get it done in March before Thunderstruck.

Almost embarrassing to post as I have put this off busy with other builds, but today I finally got primer on this one. Not a perfect day, but bearable and a Friday so I was able to carve out some time. Actually got primer on six of the seven builds (actually one repair) I have in progress so that's pretty good. Still tons of sanding, filler, primer, etc., but shooting to get it done for Thunderstruck.

Super nice day so it called for a full recovery prep and ground test. First the drogue charge:

[YOUTUBE]URJU2aY4GkM[/YOUTUBE]

And then the main:

[YOUTUBE]nMdpK0dWqtc[/YOUTUBE]

Well, OK, it's done and thus will fly at Thunderstruck. Taking a look at a few of the snapshots I think it will be clear I was pursuing a bit of realism in my interpretation of a medieval ceremonial battle axe. First a typical view as if you had it racked ready to fly.



Next looking down at the array of blades. Note the name of the rocket, err battle axe, Axe to Grind, etched in each blade.



Then a look up the wood grained handle. Actually you would never want to have this view if you were in a battle



The shaft end and head were finished in satin black to simulate a leather wrapping (as if to hold the blade heads on for instance) and then highlighted with a Celtic bronze-leaf inlay. (Sorry for this picture--some dust/crud just blew up/around as I was taking the shot and it landed on the nosecone, err shaft end).



I may have gone a little overboard with the Dixon coat of arms, but hey, personalizes it a bit.



A closer look at one of the blades.



And then the part that started it all, the Slimline bell retainer, and my needing to find something to do with it. Looks like a nice ornamental addition to the ceremonial axe, huh.




I have to say thanks to Mark at Stickershock for putting up with me when ordering this vinyl.

Also cannot forget the old Rockethead Rockets from which this upscale came from.

Truly Magnificent Sir Dixon.

Now off to battle! :horse:

bobkrech said:

Truly Magnificent Sir Dixon.

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Thx Bob!

Beautiful!!! cannot wait to see her fly. Any prediction as to what day you will fly it?

Eat said:

Beautiful!!! cannot wait to see her fly. Any prediction as to what day you will fly it?

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Depends on the weather, but likely on Sunday as I believe Saturday will be filled with drag race activities.

Outstanding work!! Good job man!!

azgreg said:

Outstanding work!! Good job man!!

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Cool finish! The woodgrain made me think of Pirate's Booty by Rocketflite, an equally cool rocket.

Truly nifty!

How did you do the woodgraining?

There would be several levels of irony curving into Pythonesque satire in being killed by a rocket shaped like a medieval battleaxe.

nealkas said:

Truly nifty!

How did you do the woodgraining?

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The woodgrain is self-stick vinyl shelf liner from Home Depot. One large piece was applied along the length of the rocket and then cut with an Exacto as required between body sections and to expose holes.

Neat rocket, Tim! Looking forward to seeing it in person (and in flight) this weekend.

-Eric-

Whoa! That thing looks terrific. Nice job.

Love the wood grain wrap!