Finished another 29mm Minimum Diameter

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Nathan

Nathan

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I just finished this 29mm MD. I built one several months ago but didn't put much effort into it because I figured that I would probably lose it pretty quickly. After several flights I still had it so I decided to build another 29mm MD and do a nicer job this time. This one has a Blue Tube airframe. This silver paint is lacquer and the rest is enamel, and the whole thing has three coats of clear enamel.

md29b1.jpg

md29b2.jpg

md29b3.jpg

md29b4.jpg

md29b5.jpg

md29b6.jpg
 
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Looks good.. have already bought some blue tube for a similar build.

What kind of nosecone ?

Kenny
 
Nathan said:
I just finished this 29mm MD. I built one several months ago but didn't put much effort into it because I figured that I would probably lose it pretty quickly. After several flights I still had it so I decided to build another 29mm MD and do a nicer job this time. This one has a Blue Tube airframe. This silver paint is lacquer and the rest is enamel, and the whole thing has three coats of clear enamel.
Click to expand...

Very nice. I must admit, I'm a bit envious of your painting and finishing skills. That rocket looks fast just sitting there. Thanks for sharing.
 
That looks great.

BTW thanks for the thread you did on your Magg and the process you go thru to make them look so great. I'm going to give it a try and if my results are only half as good as yours, I think I'll be very happy.
 
Amazing, as usual, Nathan! You do realize its probability of recovery is inversely proportional to the quality of the finish, right? With this one, it could disappear even before it's flown :y:
 
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Really nice looking rocket! Is that nosecone a shockwave from Apogee or one of the glass cones that Apogee is now producing?
 
It's one of the fiberglass nose cones that is produced by Apogee. Its nicely made but $17 seems like a lot for a 29mm nose cone.
 
Not particularly, that is about average or slightly lower than average if it is really made out of fiberglass. Might have to get one from there myself...
 
Nice job dude!! Wow.... I guess you'd better start praying to Rodney the Rocket God :eyeroll: to get it back after the first flight...
 
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VonMises said:
Lol, I know your secret, but I'm not telling.

Nice job...again. Really like those invasion stripes.

I was just about to ask what became of that blue tube.
Click to expand...

This was my first successful attempt at using lacquer on a large area of the rocket. I used lacquer for the silver because from my experience metallic lacquers look better than metallic enamels. The only problem that I had with the lacquer is that it doesn't hide problems nearly as well as enamel. Enamel makes nice thick wet coats that dry slowly and hide minor flaws. Lacquer makes very thin coats that dry to the touch in minutes and show every flaw. So there is some slightly imperfect texture that shows through the silver lacquer in a few spots. I think the solution is probably to do a 4th primer coat when I am going to use lacquer.

Speaking of Blue Tube, I have a 4" diameter Blue Tube and for Christmas I will be getting a 4" ebay and a Raven altimeter. So this winter I will be attempting my first dual deploy build. But before that, my next build will be a highly modified LOC Onyx with 1/4" TTW fins and a 38mm motor mount.
 
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Fins are 1/8" plywood soaked with CA. I also drilled a row of small holes under the fins to give the epoxy a better mechanical grip on the tube.
 
Nathan said:
I've never tried using G10 but if these fins shred at mach 1 I may try that on my next minimum diameter rocket. Either that or I need to learn how to work with fiberglass. My strategy was to make the fins so smooth that the air doesn't have anything to grab on to.
Click to expand...

How do you align your fins? A "carpenters eye"?
 
majordude said:
How do you align your fins? A "carpenters eye"?
Click to expand...

I have a sheet of paper with fin lines drawn using a protractor, and I use that to mark fin locations on the tube. Then I just glue the fins on as straight as I can. I've gotten better at it over time. What I have more trouble with is cutting slots for TTW fins on a scratch build, which I do with a Dremel tool. The last one I did like that (the rocket in my avatar pic) was a bit sloppy but the gaps got hidden under the fillets so you can't tell.
 
I'm bringing 6 rockets including both of my 29mm minimum diameter rockets. I plan to fly the purple one on a G80 on Friday (sims at mach 1.1). I might fly this new one on an F motor. Don't want to lose it on the first day.

Glenn and I were there most of the day helping set up for Red Glare.
 
First flight will be a small F. I have a few F26 Econojets in my motor box so probably one of those. After that nothing bigger than a G motor.
 

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