Low Power Krakens

rbelknap · Sep 17, 2012

I started helping the boys with thier "Baby Krakens" this weekend. The intention was to get them to a point where the first coat of primer could be done when I got started painting my King Kraken. That didn't happen, but it's mainly because I ran out (ok, misplaced - I looked for it all over) my 1/4" masking tape, and the LHS is closed on Sundays. Also - I ran out of primer.

This will become the build thread, once I get a chance to go through the pictures.

(Yes, Layne - they boys are building them - mostly. I ended up doing the boring sanding bits, and the not so boring tube-fin cutting bits.)

rbelknap · Sep 17, 2012

One quick gotcha about the Destructions:

Step 18 - (dealing with the MMT)
"...Glue a centering ring _” from each end of the now crying motor tube. ..."

That underscore should read 3/4". I verified this by opening the doc version of the destructions that came on my PemTech Mystery CD. The PDF conversion seems to have munged that glyph, and I think my printed destructions came fromt the PDF.

chadrog · Sep 17, 2012

Thought you said there was going to be pictures - Let's see those kids' rockets!

rbelknap · Sep 18, 2012

chadrog said:
Thought you said there was going to be pictures - Let's see those kids' rockets!

OKAY, OKAY! Give a me sec, will ya?

I got the 8-year-old sand the tubes a few weeks ago, when I was sanding the tubes for my king kraken. This weekend, we started filling the spirals. (He did 2 tubes, I did 2 tubes.)

After I did all the "boring sanding parts", I had the 4-year old help mark up the tubes destined to be fins.

When I tried explaining how I was going to make the cut lines (with some card-stock as a flexible straight edge) I got a confused look. By the time I had the camera out to capture it, I got "Duckface"

rbelknap · Sep 18, 2012

I guess the "sanding parts" aren't so boring after all.

The 4-year-old gave it a shot, but all to soon, the job was left to me.

Sanding is boring, but I find it somewhat therapeutic. Also, one of our nose cones had a void at the top - it needed to be sanded down and rounded off.

Next up, Squidly canards! (Actually, I skipped over something - steely-eyed rocket folks may be able to spot it in that last picture.)

rbelknap · Sep 18, 2012

(Actually, I skipped over something - steely-eyed rocket folks may be able to spot it in that last picture.)

Did you see the tube-fins in the background? They're all cut and have thier spirals filled in. I cut the fins while the boys watched classic cartoons on Netflix. ("Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends", if I remember correctly, which is why the little one changed his shirt.)

Then the 4-year-old got a chance to fill spirals. (He only did the easily accessible parts of 2 fins and then wanted to go watch more Spider-Man.)

Through the magic of the internet (and dad doing the boring sanding parts again) all 8 fins are ready for the next bit.

Thin CA on the edges to harden them and prevent delamination. I used q-tips as applicators this time. (Why I didn't do that with the KK, I don't know.)

chadrog · Sep 19, 2012

Looking great, keep up the good work! It's a great idea to do as much of the "dirty work" as you can for the kids, it really helps keep them interested.

Pem Tech · Sep 19, 2012

OK, now I believe the children are actually building them, and you aren't hiding in a back room secretly hoarding the Krakens.

rbelknap · Sep 19, 2012

Pem Tech said:
OK, now I believe the children are actually building them, and you aren't hiding in a back room secretly hoarding the Krakens.

You doubted me? I'm hurt.

rbelknap · Sep 19, 2012

More is done, and needs to be documented. I spent last night helping cub scouts build quest rockets. (Novias, Sprints, and Totally Tubulars, oh my!)

rbelknap · Sep 23, 2012

We slathered the nose cones with wood filler.

Then sanded them smooth.

Moulding and Trim Glue is added to make fillets on the canards.
(Also, it looks like there might be more sanding in my future...)

I helped the 4-year-old assemble his MMT. The paper tubes were starting to delaminate, so more CA went on the ends. Maybe normal wood glue might have been a better choice in this case?

rbelknap · Sep 23, 2012

Meanwhile...

the 8-year-old moved on to another kind of rocket building.

rbelknap · Sep 23, 2012

All masked off in preparation for painting. (At some point...) Just wait until you see the color schemes the boys have dreamed up.

I think I'm going to need to buy more tape...

rbelknap · Oct 15, 2012

4-year-old:
Metallic Gold nose cone
Metallic Orange Body
Metallic Red Outer Tube fins
White inner tube fins
(I had to reel him in a bit. At first, he wanted each tube fin a different color combo. It's going to end up looking kind of like his "Fire Wizard" minus the flame pattern color transitions.)
----
8-year-old:
Metallic Blue nose cone
Metallic Gold body
Metallic Gold outer tube fins
Metallic Lime Ice green inner tube fins.
(I think that's what he decided on, I'll have to double check.)

I shot the inner fins with color in between rounds of paint on my kraken. I probably should have primered them like I said I was going to. They look kind of bad right now.

rbelknap · Oct 16, 2012

Of course, now that the 8-year-old has gotten a look at the color-shifting effect on the King Kraken, I wonder if I can convince him to changes his color scheme...

rbelknap · Oct 21, 2012

Yeah, he wants to use the mirage paint. Now I hope I have enough color-coat to do it.

I masked off the tube fins on the 8-year-old's kraken. And I shot primer on his fins, both body tubes and both nose cones.

Now I just need to get the boys motivated to finish. (and find time to (help them) paint.)

rbelknap · Nov 14, 2012

I wonder if these will help motivate the boys:

Mark from Stickershock whipped these up for me. I guess it's time to explain the names.

When my oldest was in diapers, he used to love to squirm and roll around when it came time to get a clean diaper on, which made the process difficult. I made the remark one day that it was like trying to put a diaper on a squid. Well squid + kiddo = Squiddo. The nick-name kinda stuck.

When the youngest came along, he was even worse with the wiggling and rolling at changing time. He was also bigger than his older brother was at that age. Well, if the older one was a squid, then the youngest must have been a little kraken. (The nickname didn't stick, but I still think of him that way from time to time.)

Fast forward a couple of years, you'd find me getting back into rocketry as a BAR. One day, I was poking around on the Apogee website watching the educational videos, picking up basic construction techniques and taking a look at the world beyond Estes. I saw the King Kraken, and the lpr Krakens for sale. I instantly thought they would be fun rockets to build with/for my boys, especially with their nicknames. I wasn't quite ready to commit to mid/high power yet, but I knew that one day I would be building them.

Alas, by the time I WAS ready to pick a KK up, they were listed as out of stock on the Apogee website. But, thanks to the nice folks here on TRF - I was able to get in touch with PemTech and find out if it would be possible to get a KK from him directly. He very graciously agreed to put a KK kit together even though his business was on hiatus, and I also ordered 2 LPR krakens at the same time. He made me promise to do build threads on them.

Anyway - the LPR krakens have custom vinyl lettering waiting for them, if I can get the boys to spend some time on them. I've been tempted to just finish the Krakens off myself, but I really want the boys involved in these builds as much as possible. I think the upcoming Thanksgiving break would be a good time to get these finished.

Pem Tech · Nov 14, 2012

Love the decals!!!

rbelknap said:
I wonder if these will help motivate the boys:

View attachment 104297

Mark from Stickershock whipped these up for me. I guess it's time to explain the names.

When my oldest was in diapers, he used to love to squirm and roll around when it came time to get a clean diaper on, which made the process difficult. I made the remark one day that it was like trying to put a diaper on a squid. Well squid + kiddo = Squiddo. The nick-name kinda stuck.

When the youngest came along, he was even worse with the wiggling and rolling at changing time. He was also bigger than his older brother was at that age. Well, if the older one was a squid, then the youngest must have been a little kraken. (The nickname didn't stick, but I still think of him that way from time to time.)

Fast forward a couple of years, you'd find me getting back into rocketry as a BAR. One day, I was poking around on the Apogee website watching the educational videos, picking up basic construction techniques and taking a look at the world beyond Estes. I saw the King Kraken, and the lpr Krakens for sale. I instantly thought they would be fun rockets to build with/for my boys, especially with their nicknames. I wasn't quite ready to commit to mid/high power yet, but I knew that one day I would be building them.

Alas, by the time I WAS ready to pick a KK up, they were listed as out of stock on the Apogee website. But, thanks to the nice folks here on TRF - I was able to get in touch with PemTech and find out if it would be possible to get a KK from him directly. He very graciously agreed to put a KK kit together even though his business was on hiatus, and I also ordered 2 LPR krakens at the same time. He made me promise to do build threads on them.

Anyway - the LPR krakens have custom vinyl lettering waiting for them, if I can get the boys to spend some time on them. I've been tempted to just finish the Krakens off myself, but I really want the boys involved in these builds as much as possible. I think the upcoming Thanksgiving break would be a good time to get these finished.

Barracuda · Nov 15, 2012

They looks great!Man I miss my kids..I still got 'em there just 28 and 33:grin:

rbelknap · Dec 7, 2012

Man, I really gotta get my boys motivated to finish these. We did no work on them over thanksgiving break.

sodmeister · Dec 9, 2012

I have to say ,this is a most enjoyable build thread ,pretty funny at times and looking at the youngster working away on the kit is worth a million bucks !!

You are indeed a good father and teacher ,great job :handshake:

Cheers

Paul T

rheil · Dec 9, 2012

sodmeister said:
I have to say ,this is a most enjoyable build thread ,pretty funny at times and looking at the youngster working away on the kit is worth a million bucks !!

You are indeed a good father and teacher ,great job :handshake:

I'll second that - keep up the great work with your kids and thanks for sharing with, and inspiring, all of us!

rbelknap · Dec 9, 2012

Great, now I've REALLY got to get the boys to finish them.

sodmeister said:
I have to say ,this is a most enjoyable build thread ,pretty funny at times and looking at the youngster working away on the kit is worth a million bucks !!

You are indeed a good father and teacher ,great job :handshake:

Cheers

Paul T

rheil said:
I'll second that - keep up the great work with your kids and thanks for sharing with, and inspiring, all of us!

rbelknap · Jan 27, 2014

After more than a year, the low power Krakens are on track to be completed.

The boys really want to fly them at next weekend's launch, so over the last couple of days, we got parachutes and other motor mount assembled, the nose weights added, and got the fins glued on. I got them painted yesterday as well. I have to see if they need one more coat of paint or not.

Still to do: install the motor mounts and attach the recovery system.

The color schemes have been altered/ simplified as well. Both rockets will now be Duplicolor Mirage (red/blue) with the 5-year-old's interior tube fins white, and the 9-year-old's interior tube fins lime ice. No pictures of the continued construction, but I'll post some finished photos once the paint has cured and decals are on.

Zeroignite · Jan 27, 2014

What kind of engines do LPR Krakens run?

How much does one kit of Mirage paint cover? I've been thinking of trying Ice for a Fliskit Corona.

Any tips for good paint on the inside of fin tubes like that?

rbelknap · Jan 27, 2014

Zeroignite said:
What kind of engines do LPR Krakens run?

How much does one kit of Mirage paint cover? I've been thinking of trying Ice for a Fliskit Corona.

Any tips for good paint on the inside of fin tubes like that?

Motor mounts are 24mm. Recommended motors: C11, D12, E9, D15, E15

I ended up buying 2 kits of mirage paint to cover my KingKraken. I mostly needed the second can of color coat to get the effect as vibrant as I wanted, even then I had a bit left over. I have plenty of the base and top coats left. That being said, one kit seems to have been plenty to paint 2 of the low power krakens, which would be about the same as one Coronoa, I think.

Details on painting/masking the inside of the tubes can be found on my king kraken build thread. Same idea, just larger scale...

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showt...rtification)-Build-Thread&p=396698#post396698
https://www.rocketryforum.com/showt...rtification)-Build-Thread&p=403891#post403891

Basically I painted the tube interiors before attaching the fins to the rocket and spent a lot of time masking them before painting the rest of the rocket.

Layne has a slightly different masking method outlined in his kit instructions, which you can find on the pembertontechnologies.com website.

Zeroignite · Jan 27, 2014

Excellent, thank you so much.

Can the King Kraken support L2 motors? It's a damn sexy piece of kit, and it'd be nice to use the same airframe for L1 and L2

rbelknap · Jan 27, 2014

Zeroignite said:
Excellent, thank you so much.

Can the King Kraken support L2 motors? It's a damn sexy piece of kit, and it'd be nice to use the same airframe for L1 and L2

I'm sure it could, you might want to beef up the tube fin connection points. There are a couple of different ideas on how to do so on the forums. everything from adding some rivets to beefing up the fillets with wooden dowels/bamboo skewers... I didn't do any of that on mine and it took an H just fine.

blueapplepaste · Jan 31, 2014

Great thread! I love the kraken and a small LPR one looks great.

rbelknap · Jan 31, 2014

Decals and FutureShine clear-coats were applied last night and touched up this morning. (We really should have glued the motor mounts in first, that's going to have to wait for tonight.)

I'll take on-the-pad photos at the launch Saturday, and post them here.

Low Power Krakens

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