Steve
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During the construction of my 24mm Outlander (its about 95% complete), it occurred to me that if I intended to build another one (and I do), there are more than a couple things I would do differently. I decided to jot these things down, as my mind is way too weak in the memory-retention department. Then I thought that maybe this would be useful for someone else planning to build this rocket, so I might as well post it here. Many of these items are mentioned in various reviews and discussions both here at TRF and EMRR, but I havent seen them all combined in one area - so here goes: (Ill try and keep things in somewhat the same order in which they are likely to occur in the construction).
I used BBs instead of the plastic hinge balls. This idea was shamelessly stolen from stevem, and I cant think of any good reason not to use them again.
The dowels used in the leg assemblies are cut at various angles. Not too difficult but I was more careful than I needed to be. As it turns out, the cuts dont have to be perfect. No harm done, just wasted some time.
The picture on the package shows a distinct separation between the die-cut balsa pieces and the dowel glued to its bottom. I went with wood glue for this connection, and after it dried, I was left with such an obvious string of uneven dried glue along this joint that I decided just to do my best to fill in this area with wood filler and sand the joint smooth. Maybe Ill go with CA glue next time. Anybody else have this situation?
I went with the stock paint scheme and as such I painted as I went along, as suggested in the instructions. When it came to the support struts, I was tempted to paint both sides completely, but ended up masking off the area which would be glued to the balsa leg assembly. Then I dry-fitted the pieces and lightly scored an outline around the struts. I scraped away the paint inside this area and glued the struts on the legs. I just dont want to glue anything to a painted surface.
The angles of the legs at the leg/foot connection point needed a little sanding to ensure the bottom of the leg would make good contact with the surface on the inside bottom of the foot. Either I goofed, or the template was off a little bit. I just grouped all four legs together and sanded them at the same time.
The instructions say to sand the gear-housing-cover balsa sheet smooth. I did, and I also used sanding sealer and filler. I think I should have just sanded the big triangle pieces and left the spacer pieces un-sanded. The flat sides of these pieces will not be seen, and after I assembled the gear housing covers, it appears that my sanding caused the covers to end up being just a bit too narrow. Not noticeable until it was time to attach the housing covers later on...
I used a semi-sharp hobby knife to separate the plastic pieces from each other, and its no small miracle that I avoided slicing an artery, possibly ruining my wifes new couch. I will use a Dremel and a cutting wheel next time.
As mentioned in previous posts the 2" long dowel used to line up the little holes in the centering rings is too long. This dowel can either be cut, or even omitted as long as care is taken lining up these little holes.
Since I went with a 24mm mount, I had to duplicate these little holes in my new centering rings. I used the old rings as a template and as a result, the little holes ended up so close to the big center hole that the material was beginning to tear in places. I soaked some thin CA into these places for strength, and its a good thing because it took more than a bit of forceful wiggling to get the leg hinge assembly dowels threaded up through these holes. Next time I wont make my little holes so close to the big one.
I made my glue fillets too thick on the bottom of the centering ring which butts up against the green ring on the engine mount. I discovered this when I dry-fitted the nozzle and it wouldnt seat like it should have. The nozzle fit just fine after (quite) a bit of sanding. I was a bit concerned that I might sand away the notches leaving too little space for the elastic cords but it worked ok.
I had a bit of a hard time getting my little tanks painted without blowing them over. I tried standing them on end and weighing them down with quarters, but that didnt help much. When the time came to paint the big tanks, I tried standing them up on a piece of double-sided tape, and this worked great. I flipped them over after they dried, painted the other end, and kicked myself for not thinking of this earlier.
The instructions say to paint the (big) BT before marking it. While reading a review on EMRR, I was happy to find someone else who thought this was an odd thing to do. As it turned out, the 3-3/8 mark was wrong, (for me, at least) and the large tank and launch lug lines werent crucial anyway. I probably wont bother making these marks next time.
I forgot where I read it, but someone else recommended sanding (slightly round) the root edge of the completed gear housing assemblies so as to make for a better joint with the BT. This a good idea that would have saved a headache for me had I done it ahead of time. I ended up with substantial gaps that I did my best to fill while adding my fillets.
While dry-fitting the completed gear housing to the engine mount, it occurred to me that if I applied a ring of glue to the inside of the housing as shown in the instructions, the glue would likely be scraped off by the bottom centering ring. This didnt seem like it would make for a strong joint, so I slid the un-glued housing up the mount until the top of the small BT (at the center of the housing) was just below the centering ring which it will be flush to, then applied the glue to the ring before sliding the housing the rest of the way home.
After dry-fitting my tanks (I havent glued them on yet), it is obvious that I will have to cut a notch in one of them to allow it to fit around the launch lug. I thought I screwed something up, but I felt better when I read that someone else had the same situation.
Thats about it, but for one thing thats got me wondering because I hadnt seen it mentioned anywhere before: Does it seem strange to anybody else that the two BTs are glued to the engine mount leaving a 1 wide gap between the two? I know the tanks will mostly cover up the opening, but why it would it be designed this way, I have no idea.
Anyway, hope this is helpful to anyone who took the time to read it
S..
(edited for speling)
I used BBs instead of the plastic hinge balls. This idea was shamelessly stolen from stevem, and I cant think of any good reason not to use them again.
The dowels used in the leg assemblies are cut at various angles. Not too difficult but I was more careful than I needed to be. As it turns out, the cuts dont have to be perfect. No harm done, just wasted some time.
The picture on the package shows a distinct separation between the die-cut balsa pieces and the dowel glued to its bottom. I went with wood glue for this connection, and after it dried, I was left with such an obvious string of uneven dried glue along this joint that I decided just to do my best to fill in this area with wood filler and sand the joint smooth. Maybe Ill go with CA glue next time. Anybody else have this situation?
I went with the stock paint scheme and as such I painted as I went along, as suggested in the instructions. When it came to the support struts, I was tempted to paint both sides completely, but ended up masking off the area which would be glued to the balsa leg assembly. Then I dry-fitted the pieces and lightly scored an outline around the struts. I scraped away the paint inside this area and glued the struts on the legs. I just dont want to glue anything to a painted surface.
The angles of the legs at the leg/foot connection point needed a little sanding to ensure the bottom of the leg would make good contact with the surface on the inside bottom of the foot. Either I goofed, or the template was off a little bit. I just grouped all four legs together and sanded them at the same time.
The instructions say to sand the gear-housing-cover balsa sheet smooth. I did, and I also used sanding sealer and filler. I think I should have just sanded the big triangle pieces and left the spacer pieces un-sanded. The flat sides of these pieces will not be seen, and after I assembled the gear housing covers, it appears that my sanding caused the covers to end up being just a bit too narrow. Not noticeable until it was time to attach the housing covers later on...
I used a semi-sharp hobby knife to separate the plastic pieces from each other, and its no small miracle that I avoided slicing an artery, possibly ruining my wifes new couch. I will use a Dremel and a cutting wheel next time.
As mentioned in previous posts the 2" long dowel used to line up the little holes in the centering rings is too long. This dowel can either be cut, or even omitted as long as care is taken lining up these little holes.
Since I went with a 24mm mount, I had to duplicate these little holes in my new centering rings. I used the old rings as a template and as a result, the little holes ended up so close to the big center hole that the material was beginning to tear in places. I soaked some thin CA into these places for strength, and its a good thing because it took more than a bit of forceful wiggling to get the leg hinge assembly dowels threaded up through these holes. Next time I wont make my little holes so close to the big one.
I made my glue fillets too thick on the bottom of the centering ring which butts up against the green ring on the engine mount. I discovered this when I dry-fitted the nozzle and it wouldnt seat like it should have. The nozzle fit just fine after (quite) a bit of sanding. I was a bit concerned that I might sand away the notches leaving too little space for the elastic cords but it worked ok.
I had a bit of a hard time getting my little tanks painted without blowing them over. I tried standing them on end and weighing them down with quarters, but that didnt help much. When the time came to paint the big tanks, I tried standing them up on a piece of double-sided tape, and this worked great. I flipped them over after they dried, painted the other end, and kicked myself for not thinking of this earlier.
The instructions say to paint the (big) BT before marking it. While reading a review on EMRR, I was happy to find someone else who thought this was an odd thing to do. As it turned out, the 3-3/8 mark was wrong, (for me, at least) and the large tank and launch lug lines werent crucial anyway. I probably wont bother making these marks next time.
I forgot where I read it, but someone else recommended sanding (slightly round) the root edge of the completed gear housing assemblies so as to make for a better joint with the BT. This a good idea that would have saved a headache for me had I done it ahead of time. I ended up with substantial gaps that I did my best to fill while adding my fillets.
While dry-fitting the completed gear housing to the engine mount, it occurred to me that if I applied a ring of glue to the inside of the housing as shown in the instructions, the glue would likely be scraped off by the bottom centering ring. This didnt seem like it would make for a strong joint, so I slid the un-glued housing up the mount until the top of the small BT (at the center of the housing) was just below the centering ring which it will be flush to, then applied the glue to the ring before sliding the housing the rest of the way home.
After dry-fitting my tanks (I havent glued them on yet), it is obvious that I will have to cut a notch in one of them to allow it to fit around the launch lug. I thought I screwed something up, but I felt better when I read that someone else had the same situation.
Thats about it, but for one thing thats got me wondering because I hadnt seen it mentioned anywhere before: Does it seem strange to anybody else that the two BTs are glued to the engine mount leaving a 1 wide gap between the two? I know the tanks will mostly cover up the opening, but why it would it be designed this way, I have no idea.
Anyway, hope this is helpful to anyone who took the time to read it
S..
(edited for speling)