lakeroadster
When in doubt... build hell-for-stout!
mmmmm... cookieYou get the cookie!
Nothing cryptic or weird going on here, just trying to come up with any sort of lettering to put on the rockets. Have been using the same scheme for a while now.
Build Thread: Nibiru Interceptor
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I very much look forward to the Denebulan Armored Missile rolling out in 2025!You get the cookie!
Nothing cryptic or weird going on here, just trying to come up with any sort of lettering to put on the rockets. Have been using the same scheme for a while now.
Also hope to see something with -99 on it!
Decals, pa--- good God is there no end to the decals?
Hey man, if I had to suffer then *you* have to suffer.
The original ring decals were just blocks of orange... until I realized that individually placing 9 of them (in precise position) was crazy. So I redesigned so they would be connected, and ended up with a design that required paint matching (again). This time though, I was smart and I made sure the paint matched part was not going to directly touch the paint, which is where the mismatch would be most visible. Here's what I ended up with (arrows point to the paint-match part).
And here is the result. For this purpose, the match is more than good enough, although it's just a bit dark.
Side:
Bottom:
Whatever you do, don't click on either of these so you can see a giant close-up of my crappy paint job.
25 down, only 4 more to go. Only one more post about decals to come!
Hey man, if I had to suffer then *you* have to suffer.
The original ring decals were just blocks of orange... until I realized that individually placing 9 of them (in precise position) was crazy. So I redesigned so they would be connected, and ended up with a design that required paint matching (again). This time though, I was smart and I made sure the paint matched part was not going to directly touch the paint, which is where the mismatch would be most visible. Here's what I ended up with (arrows point to the paint-match part).
And here is the result. For this purpose, the match is more than good enough, although it's just a bit dark.
Side:
Bottom:
Whatever you do, don't click on either of these so you can see a giant close-up of my crappy paint job.
25 down, only 4 more to go. Only one more post about decals to come!
Ring Slot Gap Fix (?)
We take a break from decals for this little fix. I had previously done thin CA fillets in all places where the ring joined another component, and *thought* I had filled all the gaps. I was wrong, as I found out when I laid down some touch-up paint over the seam. This one was particularly bothersome:
You can see the paint sitting in the seam (below the surface of the pod tube), except for the gap in the middle which goes all the way through.
So I figured I'd fillet with some medium CA and then touch up again. Here it is after the medium CA, before paint:
Two observations:
1) I used way too much CA, and it's messy. I was having trouble controlling how much was dispensing from the Loctite CA bottle I was using. Need to get another bottle of SuperGold+ ASAP; nozzle is much finer.
2) Although the second picture is a bit fuzzy, it is still an accurate representation of how it looks in real life. Which is to say, the diffraction of the CA fillet almost completely hides the gap, somehow. And so I probably won't both painting over it; at this point I feel like any further touches are more likely to make it worse than better.
We take a break from decals for this little fix. I had previously done thin CA fillets in all places where the ring joined another component, and *thought* I had filled all the gaps. I was wrong, as I found out when I laid down some touch-up paint over the seam. This one was particularly bothersome:
You can see the paint sitting in the seam (below the surface of the pod tube), except for the gap in the middle which goes all the way through.
So I figured I'd fillet with some medium CA and then touch up again. Here it is after the medium CA, before paint:
Two observations:
1) I used way too much CA, and it's messy. I was having trouble controlling how much was dispensing from the Loctite CA bottle I was using. Need to get another bottle of SuperGold+ ASAP; nozzle is much finer.
2) Although the second picture is a bit fuzzy, it is still an accurate representation of how it looks in real life. Which is to say, the diffraction of the CA fillet almost completely hides the gap, somehow. And so I probably won't both painting over it; at this point I feel like any further touches are more likely to make it worse than better.
Finishing the Decals, at long last
Four more decals to go, and they will go on the pods.
First, a simple wrap... so simple that I ruined the first one I tried to put on, and then immediately decided to split each one into two pieces. Fortunately, that worked out:
Two half-wraps are 100 times easier than one full-wrap. And aligning the two pieces by eye turns out to be quite easy as well.
I did each of the two pods, trying like heck to maintain the same position on each.
Finally, a decal at the front of each pod, which also turned out to be a bit of a pain because of the built-in wrap. Also, the clear-coated Koala decals were not completely enthusiastic about wrapping around such a small radius. I would be cautious about using them on very small models. Anyway:
All 27 decals on, no disasters. Future was applied to the entire rocket (well, everywhere I could reach, at least... I know for sure there are un-Futured areas inside the ring) and it unceremoniously goes into the trash can to drip and dry.
That's a straightened out hanger threaded through a spent motor with holes drilled through it, suspended across the garbage can. I have an 18mm and 24mm drilled motor for this purpose.
And that, as they say.... is in fact *not* the end of construction. One more important tidbit before beauty shots.
Four more decals to go, and they will go on the pods.
First, a simple wrap... so simple that I ruined the first one I tried to put on, and then immediately decided to split each one into two pieces. Fortunately, that worked out:
Two half-wraps are 100 times easier than one full-wrap. And aligning the two pieces by eye turns out to be quite easy as well.
I did each of the two pods, trying like heck to maintain the same position on each.
Finally, a decal at the front of each pod, which also turned out to be a bit of a pain because of the built-in wrap. Also, the clear-coated Koala decals were not completely enthusiastic about wrapping around such a small radius. I would be cautious about using them on very small models. Anyway:
All 27 decals on, no disasters. Future was applied to the entire rocket (well, everywhere I could reach, at least... I know for sure there are un-Futured areas inside the ring) and it unceremoniously goes into the trash can to drip and dry.
That's a straightened out hanger threaded through a spent motor with holes drilled through it, suspended across the garbage can. I have an 18mm and 24mm drilled motor for this purpose.
And that, as they say.... is in fact *not* the end of construction. One more important tidbit before beauty shots.
The last pieces: Pod Nozzles
The last bit of construction is the tail nozzles for the two pods. These will do double-duty: visually finish the rear of the rocket, and also reinforce the ring attachments. At least, that is what I hoped. I had a great deal of uncertainty of whether it would work out. Reminder that this is what the rear of the rocket looked like at this point:
Yuck. Let's pretty that up.
Step 1: design the nozzles
My design is fairly pedestrian, and in hindsight I could probably come up with something a bit more visually interesting, but it is what it is:
The idea is: those long extensions would fit around the ring pieces. I would fill the gaps with blue, and therefore the ends of the rings would be held securely inside the pods, and not just held in by the CA on the outer seams. Inside the pod it would be would look something like this:
Hopefully that gets the point across.
Step 2: print
I used Craftcloud, which was the cheapest I could find: $12 for 3 pieces (I always get one extra, cost permitting.)
Step 3: finish
The exterior bits get sanded smooth and brush-painted with Vallejo black, then coated with Future. Here they are sitting on a spare ring piece to dry...
And here is a close-up of the finished nozzle:
Not bad.
Step 4: Fit
The left pod piece fit in easily. The right piece was more of a struggle, due to some unforeseen factors. Suffice to say, to eventually ensure a flush fit, I needed to remove to of the prongs. The other two were shortened, probably not needed but I was initially having a great deal of trouble figuring out exactly what was preventing the piece from pushing all the way in.
Regrettably, the two prongs I had to remove were the ones that would have secured the bottom ring piece, which is the one I most wanted to strengthen. Oh well! In hindsight could have fairly easily just dabbed an epoxy filled inside the tube at the joint with the ring, but for some reason that didn't occur to me until after the rings were installed. Oh well^2! At least the rings would be very well secured in the left pod.
Step 5: Install
No pics of the process because I was working with drippy epoxy. I applied a bead along the prongs and then pushed it between them with a toothpick. This would ensure (I hope) that the ring piece will be securely encased in glue between the two prongs.
Here is the result:
Beauty shots up next.
The last bit of construction is the tail nozzles for the two pods. These will do double-duty: visually finish the rear of the rocket, and also reinforce the ring attachments. At least, that is what I hoped. I had a great deal of uncertainty of whether it would work out. Reminder that this is what the rear of the rocket looked like at this point:
Yuck. Let's pretty that up.
Step 1: design the nozzles
My design is fairly pedestrian, and in hindsight I could probably come up with something a bit more visually interesting, but it is what it is:
The idea is: those long extensions would fit around the ring pieces. I would fill the gaps with blue, and therefore the ends of the rings would be held securely inside the pods, and not just held in by the CA on the outer seams. Inside the pod it would be would look something like this:
Hopefully that gets the point across.
Step 2: print
I used Craftcloud, which was the cheapest I could find: $12 for 3 pieces (I always get one extra, cost permitting.)
Step 3: finish
The exterior bits get sanded smooth and brush-painted with Vallejo black, then coated with Future. Here they are sitting on a spare ring piece to dry...
And here is a close-up of the finished nozzle:
Not bad.
Step 4: Fit
The left pod piece fit in easily. The right piece was more of a struggle, due to some unforeseen factors. Suffice to say, to eventually ensure a flush fit, I needed to remove to of the prongs. The other two were shortened, probably not needed but I was initially having a great deal of trouble figuring out exactly what was preventing the piece from pushing all the way in.
Regrettably, the two prongs I had to remove were the ones that would have secured the bottom ring piece, which is the one I most wanted to strengthen. Oh well! In hindsight could have fairly easily just dabbed an epoxy filled inside the tube at the joint with the ring, but for some reason that didn't occur to me until after the rings were installed. Oh well^2! At least the rings would be very well secured in the left pod.
Step 5: Install
No pics of the process because I was working with drippy epoxy. I applied a bead along the prongs and then pushed it between them with a toothpick. This would ensure (I hope) that the ring piece will be securely encased in glue between the two prongs.
Here is the result:
Beauty shots up next.
lakeroadster
When in doubt... build hell-for-stout!
Witchcraft.... 
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I was thinking a small splash of that hot orange paint from your Angled Interceptor in the center of the nozzles would be snazzy, but that may be too much gilding the lily.
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Something to consider for future builds. Those tail cones not only are nice cosmetically, but if the tubes stuck back just a bit more they would be the first impact point on landing, as opposed to a fin tip. Might make for a more robust flight, especially with the tubes double secured with a ring and a wing.
Eh, given the sweep of the fins I don’t think there’s anything that particularly needs protecting here, plus I usually fly (if I ever fly at all
) on soft grass.
lakeroadster
When in doubt... build hell-for-stout!
Fin Tip? The motor sticks out past all the fins & looks to be about flush with the withcraft pod tail cones.... looks hell-for-stout to me. An excellent exercise in form follows function.
Beauty Shots
Here you go.
This was a fun build and I am generally happy with the way it came out, but I am vaguely dissatisfied by the paint job. I think the culprit is the Rusto Winter Grey... it has a greenish-bluish tint to it that proved very difficult to match with decal colors. But I already had the can and wanted to use it if possible, so there it is.
I also created this hideous abomination, which I normally wouldn't show in public, but anyone who suffered through my 6000 posts on decals deserves to have a laugh at what a bad digital artist I am.
Ugh, I wince looking at it.
Anyway, that's the build. I won't cover the shock cord and parachute installation because it's standard stuff. Thanks for following along!
Here you go.
This was a fun build and I am generally happy with the way it came out, but I am vaguely dissatisfied by the paint job. I think the culprit is the Rusto Winter Grey... it has a greenish-bluish tint to it that proved very difficult to match with decal colors. But I already had the can and wanted to use it if possible, so there it is.
I also created this hideous abomination, which I normally wouldn't show in public, but anyone who suffered through my 6000 posts on decals deserves to have a laugh at what a bad digital artist I am.
Ugh, I wince looking at it.
Anyway, that's the build. I won't cover the shock cord and parachute installation because it's standard stuff. Thanks for following along!
We stand with you, my friend, wincing right by your side.
(Next time, crib something from the internet.)
I’ll fiddle. There are tons of licensable rocket flame images, I’ll see if I can find something free that’ll work.
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can we see what it looks like with a jet black background
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Concur that forward swept fins tend to make the rocket impact on the motor casing, which at least for single use motors is generally a good thing (I know nada about reloads, so I won't speak toward that.) Nearly all my designs use this trick. Asymmetric fins can also assist in making sure that if it does come down at an angle (many people have probably seen a "balanced" chute-nose-rocket, where the descent is nose cone first and the rocket is nearly horizontal) a finless or nearly finless side of the rocket impacts first.
Rockets frequently don't fall perfectly vertically. While I believe Neil's design WILL likely fly straight, with little or no corkscrewing, I suspect it may DESCEND under chute with an angle slightly Tango Uniform (military for belly up). Depending on the degree of slant, it may impact on the dorsal fin.
I was thinking of future designs which may like the Mars Snooper have outboard tubes that likely are the impact points. Neil's cool nozzle doodads would make potentially nice structural as well as cosmetic additions to such birds.
Here's one. Better?
This is better but still terrible. Not going to waste any more time on it.
lakeroadster
When in doubt... build hell-for-stout!
Man... you are way to tough on yourself. Looks good to me Neil.
And the Nibiru Interceptor is awesome. Next time I'm near Nibiru I'm going to try to check it out.
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Thanks for taking us along for the ride, Neil! I really like/love the rocket design. If it flies half as good as it looks, it will be a complete win.
Also, as you well know, but maybe new members might not know, the forum is a better place due to your comments, suggestions, designs and build threads. Well done.
Sandy.
The flames are "OK" but everything else is just "off". The lighting on the rocket is off relative to the planet below, the colors don't contrast enough, it's just off. But fun to try.
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BRAVO! Another Fantastic build and execution!
Well Done
Well Done
Looks great neil_w. I know it is the constant question, but have you got any ideas for the first flight? BTW, I think that the grey paint looks fine from here.
Right now I have absolutely no idea when I'm going to get to a launch. It's going to be an extremely busy summer... possibly not until Fall. Yes that is a huge bummer.
I agree, it looks "fine".
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Well of course it looks funny next to a planet, it’s a DEEP space interceptor (near planet would need more wing surface area. That’s one reason the X-Wing/TIE fighter dogfight in Rogue One just above the land base looked kind of silly.)
Needs a background with stars and a few far far away galaxies.
From the manufacturer's web site, as quoted in the first post of this thread (emphasis mine):
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My bad. Still think it would look better against a dark background, but that ship has launched.
