Dig Baddy's Aries - Red Tigress 1 Scratch Build

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DigBaddy

It's OK to not know something
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Saw this on the wall at the Air Force Space and Missile Museum back in January; figured I'd have to build it. Not sure why, just looks kinda cool. Partway into the build, so will get pics of that stuff later. Keeping it simple, wanted to do a 4x13mm cluster, but that seems more risk to the model than it's worth, so, 18mm, BT60. Conical nosecone from BMS seems to be the correct length needed.

https://www.spaceline.org/cape-canaveral-rocket-missile-program/aries-i/
Done some reading and trying to find pics. If anyone else has built one like this (of any Aries), please share!

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ok, some pictures. Got the BT on the way. Rear shroud is in place and notched for the fins. I cut the notches after the shroud was in place; and it's made from some notecard. Nothing fancy.

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Nosecone all nicely filled.

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The fins were a bit more challenging. I just ended up making a two-layer balsa fin (2x 3/32") and then shaped them. Working on getting them smooth yet.

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Gotta figure out how to get a bit of nose weight in the cone. I think I can get just enough large lead sinkers in front of the dowel to do the job...
 
That looks like a fantastic scale subject.

Any ideas yet about launch lugs? My brain is thinking you could conceal a lower one inside that shroud... Speaking of the shroud, I wonder how much base drag that adds? You may not need as much nose weight as you think.
 
That looks like a fantastic scale subject.

Any ideas yet about launch lugs? My brain is thinking you could conceal a lower one inside that shroud... Speaking of the shroud, I wonder how much base drag that adds? You may not need as much nose weight as you think.

I was going to be lazy and do a standoff for the LL. Could change that...

Good point on the shroud adding base drag. I'll adjust the zero mass cone to the diameter of that in my sim and see what changes. Right now I only have it as the diameter of the tube.
 
cool looking, what did you fill your spirals with?

This was my first attempt at filling with spackle. Grabbed some of this at Menards since we're doing some home renovations at the moment and gave it a shot. No more CWF filling for me. This stuff is great. Used a plastic "razor blade" to take a dab of it, smooth it over. Then sanded smooth with 400 grit. Slightly watered down CWF usually took two attempts as it would shrink some as it dried and not quite fill the spirals.

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I was going to be lazy and do a standoff for the LL. Could change that...

Good point on the shroud adding base drag. I'll adjust the zero mass cone to the diameter of that in my sim and see what changes. Right now I only have it as the diameter of the tube.

Ok, sim updated with enlarged base drag cone for shroud (which I can't get to work in the old OR). Set nose weight to zero. Looks good! May add a tiny bit for comfort, but I'm guessing this will be stable.

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This was my first attempt at filling with spackle. Grabbed some of this at Menards since we're doing some home renovations at the moment and gave it a shot. No more CWF filling for me. This stuff is great. Used a plastic "razor blade" to take a dab of it, smooth it over. Then sanded smooth with 400 grit. Slightly watered down CWF usually took two attempts as it would shrink some as it dried and not quite fill the spirals.

View attachment 541552
great, I was looking for an alternative to CWF 👍 got a picture of your plastic razor blade you used?
 
Started on some of the smaller details. There are bands around the rocket, so I'm using some thin styrene strips to make them. Top band is smaller than the others. Still need to do the bands near the top of the fin roots. Simple process. Tack one end down with CA, wrap around and cut to size. Then tack the other end. I then use a piece of paper wrapped around the tube to ensure the band is square and tack in a couple more spots. Once set, I essentially weld the strip to the tube with more CA. The tiny bottle tips are sure handy for this.

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Not much progress on this lately as I've been awful busy with the close-out of the middle/high school MTB racing season, new floors in the house, and winter prep (including redoing a bunch of my shop). But, I got in a swing test this evening while the kid is out collecting excessive amounts of sugar.

Stable with 10g in the nosecone when loaded with a D16-6. Makes a nice whistle too! Attaching the .ork if anyone wants it.

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Finally some progress. I have 4 rockets now in the primer/paint stage, so first coat of sandable primer on this. Decal sheet is pretty much done, just need to print it.

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This was my first attempt at filling with spackle. Grabbed some of this at Menards since we're doing some home renovations at the moment and gave it a shot. No more CWF filling for me. This stuff is great. Used a plastic "razor blade" to take a dab of it, smooth it over. Then sanded smooth with 400 grit. Slightly watered down CWF usually took two attempts as it would shrink some as it dried and not quite fill the spirals.

View attachment 541552
I sanded off the spackling compound on the maxi-Alpha, and when I say off, it means 99% of it. Using 400 grit, it takes too much off, leaving the depression it was supposed to fill. It's not the answer to my finishing techniques. What am I doing wrong?
 
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