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Epoxy was then brushed onto the inner surface of the wrap and it was applied to the forward end of the Apache. I tried to line the seam up with the long line which had been run the length of the tube but must have let it shift without noticing while getting things aligned. The wrap was held in place with tape as the epoxy set up.
The wrapped, forward end of the Apache was pressed against the tube marking guide and the lines were transferred. A mark was then made on each of the lines a specified distance from the forward end. If my memory serves, each was 5-13/63". These marks were to locate the penetrations for the antennae.
The basis of the shock cord system is the steel cable already installed. To this is added a long piece of bungee-like cord. It was bent to the steel cable with a double sheet bend. At the opposite end, a loop was tied about a foot back from the bitter end. The bitter end was then tied to the eye screw in the transition.
For the final step of the assembly, the Apache base was glued to the transition. Although the instructions called for epoxy, I used white glue since this did not seem to be a major failure point to me.
Then the laborious sanding process began.
The nosecone and Apache wrap were not too bad. The wrap still needed some more work but the fairing was better than it had been.
The Apache fins and transition were a bit more work to sand. It was not difficult but it was tedious. The appearance was definitely improved but there were still some pits in the transition that I was not happy with.
For the next round of filling, I decided to try some Squadron green putty instead. The seam of the Apache wrap got a layer along its entire length but the cone needed nothing more.
Finally, the Nike wrap seam got a stream of putty as well and the Nike fins needed none.
After a day to dry, I attacked the putty with the sandpaper. It took care of the pits in the transition and nothing further was needed there.
What I had a question about, though, was the coloration of the Nike fins. I had imagined the normal fluorescent scheme but they were not mentioned in the instructions. The black and white photos I had seen were unclear on the matter and, for some reason, I thought that this rocket would be different. So it is that I sent a message to Cosmodrome asking and he got back to me quickly. It wasn't the answer I expected though. He told me the matter was unclear and sent me some links. Some versions did indeed have the fluorescent red fins. The one that captured my interest though, had a dark red Nike body and fins. I altered my plans then and there. It also had red Apache fins but of a possible florescent cast. That's what I decided to try and do. The photo I liked can be seen here:
https://www.skyrocket.de/space/img_lau/nike_apache.jpg
When the white had dried, I took the rocket back out and found that I had the "fuzzies" again, though not as badly, in the same places as before. A little sanding took care of that and I began to mask off the upper body, above the transition, to protect it from the red I was going to use.
The Nike section was then masked off and the rocket was taken back to the booth. Two coats of white were applied.
Like I said, 2 coats of white were applied.
The rocket was then taken back to the booth for another coat of white.
The rocket sat with the white drying for a few days as I attended to other issues and then the masking tape was gotten out to cover everything around the base of the Apache except for the fins.
