First scale scratch build, the Astrobee D

sodmeister · Sep 22, 2012

Beautiful Jim ,absolutely beautiful !! The rocket is taking shape nicely ,and I do like the fact you are adding some super detail ,great touch.The aluminum launch shoes you made are really going to make the look as will the screws in the payload bay........I LIKE IT !!

Paul t

cjp · Sep 22, 2012

Jim, I have to agree with Paul t,what a beautiful rocket!Congrats on them asking you to display this amazing looking build.You have made us all VERY PROUD to have you as a friend and fellow rocket builder.Can't wait to see the finished product.

qquake2k · Sep 22, 2012

sodmeister said:
Beautiful Jim ,absolutely beautiful !! The rocket is taking shape nicely ,and I do like the fact you are adding some super detail ,great touch.The aluminum launch shoes you made are really going to make the look as will the screws in the payload bay........I LIKE IT !!

Paul t

cjp said:
Jim, I have to agree with Paul t,what a beautiful rocket!Congrats on them asking you to display this amazing looking build.You have made us all VERY PROUD to have you as a friend and fellow rocket builder.Can't wait to see the finished product.

Wow, that's certainly high praise, coming from you guys. But I'm not even in the same league when it comes to scale builds. Lets wait and reserve judgement until after paint. LOL

qquake2k · Sep 22, 2012

Got the fin slots cut and the fins epoxied on.

sodmeister · Sep 22, 2012

You just had to say PAINT didn`t you ? Are trying to temp and anger the paint gods or something ?

I myself had a small flying aphid problem the other day.Seems they like lacquer in white AND red .........white being their favorite 3:1 :eyeroll:

Take care Jim

Paul t

qquake2k · Sep 22, 2012

sodmeister said:
You just had to say PAINT didn`t you ? Are trying to temp and anger the paint gods or something ?

I myself had a small flying aphid problem the other day.Seems they like lacquer in white AND red .........white being their favorite 3:1 :eyeroll:

Take care Jim

Paul t

Well Paul, paint has to come into play sooner or later. The paint gods know it as well as I do. All I can do is hope I catch them on a good day. I've found that flying bugs prefer white, and spiders prefer black. Stupid bugs.

chadrog · Sep 22, 2012

Looking great Captain! Love the detail, wish I had the patience for something like that.

qquake2k · Sep 23, 2012

chadrog said:
Looking great Captain! Love the detail, wish I had the patience for something like that.

You guys are going to make me blush. What I'm doing is really not that big a deal. It doesn't require patience or skill so much as power tools. But thank you for the compliments.

qquake2k · Sep 23, 2012

Man, there's a lot of surface area on those fins!

qquake2k · Sep 23, 2012

I finally ordered some forged eyebolts from McMaster-Carr. Regular eyebolts probably would have been okay on this, but these are too cool not to use on this cool rocket! (I know, I'm weird.)

I got one of the eyebolts attached to the baffle plate, and the baffle epoxied into the coupler. I use 1/2" nylon spacers to push the baffle into the coupler and make sure it's level.

qquake2k · Sep 23, 2012

After the first epoxy had set, I put a fillet around the face of the baffle in the coupler. I used a second forged eyebolt in the forward bulkhead. With a star washer and nylon locknut, I didn't think I'd need to coat the nut with epoxy. Then I got my bulkhead tools ready: a long 3/8" dowel, a 17" long piece of ABS plastic pipe, and epoxy. The dowel is marked at 17", so I can apply epoxy inside the body tube at the correct depth. Then the plastic pipe pushes the bulkhead into the body tube to the correct position, and keeps it level. I've found that the epoxy doesn't stick to the pipe.

qquake2k · Sep 23, 2012

I always make sure I put a lot of epoxy inside the body tube for the bulkhead. Then I use a smaller 1/4" dowel to smear the epoxy around edge of the bulkhead before it sets. And finally, I got the external fin fillets applied last night.

qquake2k · Sep 23, 2012

Got my signature messy internal fillets applied. Using the 1/2" nylon spacers and a 3" square wood block, I got the aft centering ring epoxied in. And finally applied epoxy fillets to the outside of the aft ring and motor mount tube.

qquake2k · Sep 23, 2012

Using a homemade 3" drum sander, I sanded radii in the decorative launch lugs. I also got the coupler epoxied into the fin can.

qquake2k · Sep 23, 2012

And got the lugs epoxied to the body tubes.

qquake2k · Sep 23, 2012

Got the rail buttons installed.

qquake2k · Sep 23, 2012

I must say, the screws on the payload section alone give it a sounding rocket look. The lugs look too big and clunky to me, but believe it or not, they're half scale. I have drawings with dimensions. I'm pretty happy overall. But tomorrow (gasp!) the painting begins.

gdjsky01 · Sep 23, 2012

Captain that is just the coolest thing! Well done!!! Accolades abound! Long live the Captain!!! Whooo hooo!!!

Ahem... sorry I got carried away. Anyway great job!
:wave:
:cheers:

qquake2k · Sep 24, 2012

gdjsky01 said:
Captain that is just the coolest thing! Well done!!! Accolades abound! Long live the Captain!!! Whooo hooo!!!

Ahem... sorry I got carried away. Anyway great job!
:wave:

Oh stop it, Jeff! I appreciate the compliments, but it's nowhere near the level of craftsmanship I see on here.

qquake2k · Sep 25, 2012

Started the paint yesterday. Got the fins sealed and sanded, and the primer applied. Originally, I was going to paint the payload section and nose cone separately. But apparently enough CA seeped in through the screw holes to glue the nose cone to the payload section. Oh well, a little more masking in my future.

qquake2k · Sep 25, 2012

There was a spot of epoxy on one of the fins, that I didn't see until it was primered. I sanded it and repainted it, but it was still noticeable. When I sanded it the second time, the primer started to gum up. So I'll sand it more this afternoon, after the primer has had more time to cure.

qquake2k · Sep 25, 2012

I've seen photos of several different color schemes on the original Astrobee-D. I've decided to go with a khaki nose cone, dark gray payload section, light gray fins, and gold launch lugs.

qquake2k · Sep 26, 2012

I had to scrape the lumps of primer off with a knife, but I finally got the spot on the fin smooth. I re-primered it, and sprayed the gloss white on the body tube. That's Lexi in the background, wondering why stupid humans spend so much time on things you can't eat.

qquake2k · Sep 26, 2012

Got the dark gray painted on the payload section, and the gloss white on the upper body tube.

chadrog · Sep 26, 2012

Looking good! I'm already jealous - outdoor painting season is pretty much over in my neighborhood.

qquake2k · Sep 26, 2012

It's coming along. Looks better with some paint on it. No major paint mishaps so far, knock on wood. I went ahead and painted the tip of the nose cone red. Hopefully I can mask it, since it will taper down below the masking tape. That's my theory, anyway.

qquake2k · Sep 26, 2012

chadrog said:
Looking good! I'm already jealous - outdoor painting season is pretty much over in my neighborhood.

I would gladly trade you our outdoor painting season for your rocket launching season!

chadrog · Sep 26, 2012

qquake2k said:
I would gladly trade you our outdoor painting season for your rocket launching season!

Oh yeah, forgot about your situation with that.:blush: On the other hand, I think you'd even consider trading painting for a root canal!

qquake2k · Sep 26, 2012

chadrog said:
Oh yeah, forgot about your situation with that.:blush: On the other hand, I think you'd even consider trading painting for a root canal!

Well, after my last root canal, I think I'd choose paint...

Serpico · Sep 26, 2012

This is an awesome build thread. The attention to detail, and the craftsmanship. Fantastic.

She is looking really nice - I can't wait to see this fly!!

First scale scratch build, the Astrobee D

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