1st Time Viking Build

[kuririn]

Such an approach is generally practical at an LPR level, though, even if you were so inclined.

Neil, I'm guessing you meant impractical, not practical?

I’m confused about the Viking spacer tube. The motor retaining ring? I missed something.

Dyl accidentally glued the spacer tube in the motor tube. Left it in too long when gluing in the thrust ring, as we all have done.
Dyl, I commend your attention to detail. This will stand you in good stead when advancing to more complex builds.
I got this kit recently as a freebie with an order from a vendor. One day build, no spiral filling, fiber fins so no fin filling, one coat of filler primer, light sanding, one coat of paint, nose cone sprayed off the rocket, decals and done. She flew nicely on her maiden (A8-3, IIRC).

 

[neil_w]

Neil, I'm guessing you meant impractical, not practical?

Whoops, yes of course.

 

[John_lennon]

@rklapp the tube you use to put in the motor retainer ring was accidentally glued in. I misunderstood the directions being a little pre occupied with my grandson trying to explain to him the importance of measuring out the distance the tube would be inserted into the Body Tube. At the point I'd realized it had been glued in there for a day or two. It had gotten glued in pretty good too and wasn't easy to get out. I'd at a point thought the rocket was doomed so I'd already gone and bought another at the hobby shop. Luckily they had another, because I didn't want my grandson to be discouraged by the mistake nor did I want him to know that I'd went to buy a replacement. I would've gotten it to the same point for the next time he'd come to check on our progress.
I'm thinking of even letting him build the other one all on his own to start teaching him the finishing processes with the CWF spiral seam filling and sanding. He's a pretty smart 9yr old so I think he'd grasp the concept of filling and smoothing out.

Of course my 2nd day off in 2 full wks and it's raining again. My wife said it's a Nor'Easter, just my luck. So no painting on the agenda today. What's commonly used to mask off large portions of a rocket to paint a few small areas? I know I'd use tape on the edge but do people use like a thin painter's plastic to cover the areas not to be painted?

Dyl

 

[kuririn]

I know I'd use tape on the edge but do people use like a thin painter's plastic to cover the areas not to be painted?

You can use a plastic bag, like a grocery bag.
Or scrap paper, Not newspaper, it can leave smudge marks on the finish from the ink.
BTW common nomenclature is thrust ring or engine/motor block, not motor retainer ring.

 

[John_lennon]

@kuririn I really wish they never stopped giving out those shopping bags at stores they were so useful for a number of things. We'd recycle them for so many uses. My wife used to have a ton but now we have none. We can only get paper bags which often rip when you put cold items in there when the condensation begins to happen. Which I've lost whole bags of stuff in store parking lots. I'm always forgetting the reusable bags in my trunk whenever I go shopping and force to buy more or try to fumble around with my goods when I get outside to my car. Which isn't as easy as it sounds. I think a few stores still may use them so I'll be on the lookout for some. I'd hate to have to buy a huge roll of the thin painter's plastic if the bags elude me.

Thrust Ring or Engine Block/Motor Block okay I'll try to add that to my new Rocketry verbage dictionary. Lol. Thanks again.

Dyl

 

[John_lennon]

Hi all,

I was able to get the Viking masked off with a think small garbage can plastic bag that I butchered up to the rocket gods as a sacrifice. Hopefully they'll shine down upon me and bless me with a successful paint job. Once the paint has set enough to remove the bag and painters tape. Let me tell you it was no easy feat to mask off the whole rocket except the NC and 1 fin. But I told you I'd keep you in the loop and this is how she looks post paint right now. Also attached is the Green I went with again like the Yellow it's a small can of Tamiya Paris Green.

I'll shoot some pics tonight after I remove the plastic and tape so everyone can see what it looks like to this point.

 

[neil_w]

You can also just paint the nose separately. Otherwise wrap the shoulder with blue tape and leave it about 1/4” ajar. Makes masking off the BT very easy.

 

[John_lennon]

So here's what the Viking looks like today I'd say for having no experience working with spray paints to this degree, I did fairly well at the overall appearance of the rocket here's a couple photos of the progress I might try to wet sand the few areas where I had seapage. Or I might just leave it and decide to do the clear coat, decals, and clear coat processes. I see in 1 area my lines didn't meet up together. I can also see how it'd be easier to paint before assembling the rocket as to not have these areas of concern. I've got no paint to paint wish a brush. It seemed to get the 1 wing painted I ended up applying a much heavier coating when all was said and done quite possibly it would've been better to do it in two separate passes. But as I said there's a big learning curve for me on this 1st project even more than my grandson because I'm doing the filling, sanding, and painting myself. Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks,
Dyl

 

[samb]

Looks great. The next picture I’d like to see is you, your grandson, and some fire under this puppy.

 

[John_lennon]

@samb that's coming soon enough, he's on sticker duty. So next time I see him we should be able to knock it out. There's not a lot for The Viking so it should be quick. We might even fly it that day too depends on the weather and how assertive he is to get out and see it fly.

 

[John_lennon]

@neil_w I'm realizing that would've been the easier route the nose wasn't the difficult part although next time I'm leaving it detached till it's painted, definitely. I didn't want to lose valuable shock cord by cutting it off the nose I triple knotted it as well as glued the knot with white glue. It was difficult masking off the 1 fin and the BT.

Dyl

 

[neil_w]

It was difficult masking off the 1 fin and the BT.

Masking is always a pain, and generally not something I look forward to. But it's one of those things where taking care to do it well can make a huge difference in the final product.

Even a relatively simple mask like a single fin requires you to navigate around the root of the fin, which includes fillets and (in my case) rounded leading and trailing edges, which never fail to give me fits. But, like anything else, you get better at it with time.

 

[teepot]

Looks good to me. The more you paint or build the better you will get.

 

[John_lennon]

Hi all,

I had a bit of a rough winter my wife and I both caught Covid which took us out for about a month in January, we're slowly getting back to normal life. We both had some long lingering effects that we're slowly getting better from. Needless to say between being sick and our work schedules and his school schedule we haven't really got to spend much time together at all. We did enjoy a multi birthday party together with him and our daughter's birthday falling fairly close to each other. So that was nice. But no rocket building in the restaurant so, I'm still at a stand still with the Viking waiting on my grandson to apply the stickers. I wanted him to do whatever he could and really didn't want to get screamed at that I did his part. So with any luck we're getting together tomorrow for some time and would like to button that project up so we can maybe launch it on our next visit together.

I did get bored last week with a couple days off I built our next small rocket the Goblin but I didn't dry fit the motor assembly into the BT and ended up having a hard time getting the assembly up in there it now looks like this. Will this be an issue when flying? Oh well I hope not. Live and learn. I guess I'll be notching the next centering ring out on the inside to allow for the motor clip instead of cutting the whole all the way through probably causing part of the issue. Oh well live and learn I was lucky enough to receive a couple Rocketry care packages from a few wonderful members here so there's no shortage of projects. One of the boxes my grandson hasn't even had the honor of opening yet. Since the restaurant birthday party was the 1st time I saw him since Christmas. I didn't want anything to get destroyed on the dinner table. So he'll get to see what kind of goodies are in this box.

Sorry for this thread going dead for a bit but I'll try to revive it with pics of the stickers and clear coat process then the launch. I didn't realize how hard it'd be to be a rocketeer in the Northeast with the winter months really putting a hold on things especially since I don't have a dedicated workspace in a garage, basement, or heated shed. I didn't want to get too far ahead of myself with builds either because it's a we project and not a me project. I know a lot of you guys paint indoors but my wife would have a cow if she saw me setting up a paint booth in the condo. Glad to be back and be able to hopefully move forward with the longest rocket build ever post. Lol.

Thanks, Dyl

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Hi all,

I had a bit of a rough winter my wife and I both caught Covid which took us out for about a month in January, we're slowly getting back to normal life. We both had some long lingering effects that we're slowly getting better from. Needless to say between being sick and our work schedules and his school schedule we haven't really got to spend much time together at all. We did enjoy a multi birthday party together with him and our daughter's birthday falling fairly close to each other. So that was nice. But no rocket building in the restaurant so, I'm still at a stand still with the Viking waiting on my grandson to apply the stickers. I wanted him to do whatever he could and really didn't want to get screamed at that I did his part. So with any luck we're getting together tomorrow for some time and would like to button that project up so we can maybe launch it on our next visit together.

I did get bored last week with a couple days off I built our next small rocket the Goblin but I didn't dry fit the motor assembly into the BT and ended up having a hard time getting the assembly up in there it now looks like this. Will this be an issue when flying? Oh well I hope not. Live and learn. I guess I'll be notching the next centering ring out on the inside to allow for the motor clip instead of cutting the whole all the way through probably causing part of the issue. Oh well live and learn I was lucky enough to receive a couple Rocketry care packages from a few wonderful members here so there's no shortage of projects. One of the boxes my grandson hasn't even had the honor of opening yet. Since the restaurant birthday party was the 1st time I saw him since Christmas. I didn't want anything to get destroyed on the dinner table. So he'll get to see what kind of goodies are in this box.

Sorry for this thread going dead for a bit but I'll try to revive it with pics of the stickers and clear coat process then the launch. I didn't realize how hard it'd be to be a rocketeer in the Northeast with the winter months really putting a hold on things especially since I don't have a dedicated workspace in a garage, basement, or heated shed. I didn't want to get too far ahead of myself with builds either because it's a we project and not a me project. I know a lot of you guys paint indoors but my wife would have a cow if she saw me setting up a paint booth in the condo. Glad to be back and be able to hopefully move forward with the longest rocket build ever post. Lol.

Thanks, Dyl

I was wondering. Good to hear you’re all okay. You could buy spare tubing and insert over the end that’s sticking out for aesthetics. Use masking tape around the tube as a guide.

Our friend, Roger built this in his condo in Waikiki. Don’t ask me how. For some reason he doesn’t want to talk about it much.

 

[John_lennon]

I was wondering. Good to hear you’re all okay. You could buy spare tubing and insert over the end that’s sticking out for aesthetics. Use masking tape around the tube as a guide.

Our friend, Roger built this in his condo in Waikiki. Don’t ask me how. For some reason he doesn’t want to talk about it much.

Wow Ron that's amazing it looks to be some type of molded plastic for the body. That's truly an astounding build to do in your condo. My wife would send me out for bread and change the locks on me. Lol. She'd told me to buy an art desk to have somewhere to work with my grandson. It was originally in our dining room area. It was good because she had her table for her puzzles and I had mine for the rocket projects. I had to disassemble the desk for the holidays and store it so we could have company and eat in the dining room. I've since put the desk back together and she's said she no longer wants it in the dining room that I should put it on a wall in the Living Room which I know is probably making her eyes hurt every time she sees it. Due to the type of work and the work schedule I often don't find much time to build. I wish I had more energy I'm just usually tapped out by the time I walk in. I'm definitely going to try to make more time for building. My grandson loves flying them, & some parts of the building process. I'm only hoping he can start helping more as he learns the steps to the building process. Not that I've got much of a handle on things as we can see. Lol.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Wow Ron that's amazing it looks to be some type of molded plastic for the body. That's truly an astounding build to do in your condo. My wife would send me out for bread and change the locks on me. Lol. She'd told me to buy an art desk to have somewhere to work with my grandson. It was originally in our dining room area. It was good because she had her table for her puzzles and I had mine for the rocket projects. I had to disassemble the desk for the holidays and store it so we could have company and eat in the dining room. I've since put the desk back together and she's said she no longer wants it in the dining room that I should put it on a wall in the Living Room which I know is probably making her eyes hurt every time she sees it. Due to the type of work and the work schedule I often don't find much time to build. I wish I had more energy I'm just usually tapped out by the time I walk in. I'm definitely going to try to make more time for building. My grandson loves flying them, & some parts of the building process. I'm only hoping he can start helping more as he learns the steps to the building process. Not that I've got much of a handle on things as we can see. Lol.

[Insert Yoko reference here]
Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Needless to say, he lives by himself. He uses the table on the left as his spray paint booth with fan and filters.

 

[SecondRow]

Our friend, Roger built this in his condo in Waikiki. Don’t ask me how. For some reason he doesn’t want to talk about it much.

Is that a load bearing capsule?

 

[John_lennon]

Well I was finally able to have my grandson over to finish up the decals on our little Viking. Of course I cut them out and he got to apply them. It was a beautiful day and I'd been scouting out new shoot sites for easier launches without nearby trees. Here's a few pics of the finished stickers.

@teepot We sent it up as well as a few models we received in one of the generous gift boxes some time ago. We launched the Viking on an A-8-3 and it went super high twice with 2 successful launches and recoveries with no viewable damage. Attached is a short video, I really need to get a better camera woman as well as a better camera. It's hard to catch them going up. We had a great time my grandson loves launching them as fast as I can reload the recovery system and load a new motor and igniter. He's surely Trigger Happy. Lol. Thanks to the group for all the help getting this kit built by a total beginner. You were all tons of help.

Dyl

 

[John_lennon]

Here's a video of the launch. I don't know why but this was the only way it would load. It would insert into the body of the comment but it was grey, and wouldn't play correctly.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LDRZvPpgG8TCvdnW6

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

That’s the prettiest Viking I’ve ever seen. That doesn’t look like Central Park. Filming and uploading is not easy. A good videographer is essential.

 

[neil_w]

If rapid launch cadence is a goal, then have some rockets on hand that require no prep. The favorites from my fleet are the Estes Quinstar and the Odd'l Cyclone. For both, you just pop in a motor and fly. They are very fun to build but a little more involved, so maybe more for you to build than your grandson, but he can certainly help with either.

I almost always bring my Quinstar to launches. It's safe to fly in almost any conditions, and I like to have something that requires no prep.

If you build a Quinstar do it with 24 mm motor mount. Flies great on D12-0, still comes down right near the pad.

Quinstar: https://estesrockets.com/product/007241-quinstar/

Cyclone: https://jonrocket.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=534

 

[John_lennon]

@Ronz Rocketz yes I spent quite a bit of time on the finishing process since I really botched the build in the early stages. Plus I'm trying to teach my grandson about taking steps towards and end goal. Plus I had plenty of time in between seeing him. Our schedules didn't always line up. I do have what I was told was a decent digital camera so I might try that to see how the video quality will be. A videographer is what? Some type of software that allows you to process footage? My computer use has severely diminished with the use of phones and tablets so widespread. I do have a junky old laptop that's running windows 8.

@neil_w as always thanks for the recommendations. I'm sure it's just me being very inexperienced putting my recovery system back and it probably being the 10th-15th rocket engine I've ever put the igniter in. I think possibly with the issues I 1st had with engine ignition, maybe I'm super cautious about the whole process. That I perform things slower than need be. I look at those models a D-12-0 doesn't that mean there's no secondary charge to pop out a chute. How does the rocket land gracefully? If I build the Quinstar with a 24mm mount doesn't that require me to order a different motor mount with centering ring?

Thanks Dyl

 

[neil_w]

Quinstar just floats back to earth harmlessly, no recovery system needed. That’s why you can just pop in the motor and go. To build it 24mm, you just omit the inner motor mount tube, and put the hook on the outer tube. If you get to that point we can talk you through it. I should note that the Quinstar is also satisfying on a C6-0, but the D12-0 is definitely better and it still lands nice and close to the pad.

Here's a Quinstar flight on a C6-0:


Igniter insertion is actually very very simple and takes only a moment.
1) With motor upside down (nozzle up), rest the igniter in the nozzle, with the tip resting on the motor grain.
2) Fold the igniter leads down, perpendicular to the motor axis. The tip of the igniter should still be resting on the motor grain.
3) Insert plastic plug.
4) There is no step 4

This video may be helpful:

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

@Ronz Rocketz yes I spent quite a bit of time on the finishing process since I really botched the build in the early stages. Plus I'm trying to teach my grandson about taking steps towards and end goal. Plus I had plenty of time in between seeing him. Our schedules didn't always line up. I do have what I was told was a decent digital camera so I might try that to see how the video quality will be. A videographer is what? Some type of software that allows you to process footage? My computer use has severely diminished with the use of phones and tablets so widespread. I do have a junky old laptop that's running windows 8.

Videographer is the person you designate to take the footage, like one you would hire at a wedding. My younger son does a really great job of keeping the rocket in close up view. My older son, not so much. He tends to film the grass a lot. Lately, I've been doing the filming since my younger son works weekends. The software is another deep issue and sometimes a considerable source of frustration.

Quinstar just floats back to earth harmlessly, no recovery system needed. That’s why you can just pop in the motor and go. To build it 24mm, you just omit the inner motor mount tube, and put the hook on the outer tube. If you get to that point we can talk you through it. I should note that the Quinstar is also satisfying on a C6-0, but the D12-0 is definitely better and it still lands nice and close to the pad.

Here's a Quinstar flight on a C6-0:

Or a D20W also works great.

 

[neil_w]

Or a D20W also works great.

chuff... chuff... VOOM