Dynastar Snarky

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

billeblurzz

Well-Known Member
TRF Supporter
Joined
Jan 30, 2009
Messages
2,449
Reaction score
2,131
I received the DynaStar Snarky and Orion Transport rocket kits. Since it is STILL raining and I cannot paint the 24mm Renegade yet, I have pictures of the assembled Snarky. These kits I think can be WINNERS! They have good proportions and sharp lines. The Snarky is just CUTE!!! If anyone is starting one of these, beware the body tube marking sheet is WAY off!! Mine did not fit the body tube...it is too big. I had to guess at where to mark the fin lines and scoop lines!:( The assembly of the bottom scoop had some moments, but finally came out right. Those body jigs are needed to line the fins and scoop up.
 
Originally posted by billEblurzz
I received the DynaStar Snarky The Snarky is just CUTE!!! If anyone is starting one of these, beware the body tube marking sheet is WAY off!! Mine did not fit the body tube...it is too big. I had to guess at where to mark the fin lines and scoop lines!:( The assembly of the bottom scoop had some moments, but finally came out right. Those body jigs are needed to line the fins and scoop up.

Do you have the VCP program? It would be great in this case...just feed in the info and presto...New fin wrap! And...it's free!
VCP
 
Originally posted by billEblurzz
If anyone is starting one of these, beware the body tube marking sheet is WAY off!! Mine did not fit the body tube...it is too big.

I'll check into that.
 
I put together the Orion kit tonight. yes the body marking template is pretty far off.

I love Orion - it's like the 2nd rocket I scratch built as a BAR. this big one looks pretty good. the kit is nicely done, very high quality.
 
Belly shot: Painting bottom of scoop contrasting red with body white may pose a problem...wish I had an airbrush to reach up into scoop!:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
Wow! Looks great. You know it's gonna be a cool rocket when it looks good in primer.

I ordered a Rising Star Payloader from Apogee (thru Shrox BTW) plus some other do-dads just last night. I seriously thought about ordering a Snarky...or even an Orion...but the rocket budget has been hit pretty hard in the past few weeks. (But we've had fun!):D The Payloader will be good for night launches.

John
 
Wel you've gone and done it! Now I've got to get one of them things and turn it into a cluster! Thanks Rots!:D
 
That Rising Star looks to be quite stable (by modifying the V5 RockSim file on Apogee) to upgrade the motor mount to a 3 x 24mm cluster, and (obviously) triples the altitude on Estes E9 motors to over 2200'.











(I want one too.....)
 
Originally posted by billEblurzz
Belly shot and last shot: :D :D nice lines on this kit!:)
Geez! With those fillets it looks like it is molded out of one piece! Very smooth.

Don't forget, order through www.shrox.com and I, the designer gets part of the cut!
 
My Snarky's being sealed and filleted now. Pictures tomorrow. This is a very nice kit; a few comments and suggestions for anyone who's building one.

The fins are die cut, not laser cut. Mine showed some crushing, especially in the cross grain cuts, that will require some extra work filling.

If you have a BT-80 coupler, use it to support the lower tube when you're making the diagonal cuts for the intake and exhaust.

I used thin CA to stiffen all the cut edges of the lower tube. I also used the long shallow leftover "slice" to help align the tube on the main body tube when I glued the tubes together.

I replaced the supplied motor mount tube with the heavier foil lined 24mm motor tube (T50-mf) from Totally Tubular. I made the motor mount tube longer so it would accommodate a 3 3/4" (E9/F21) engine hook. Rather than attach the kevlar static line to the engine block per the instructions, I attached it to the inside of the main body tube, up closer to the nose cone using an "old fashioned" Estes/LOC style folded paper mount. It seems to me attaching the static line to the engine block is asking for burnthough after a few flights.

As noted, the fin marking guide is oversized. I "split the difference" between the two halves to get the proper placement. I also made corrugated cardboard alignment jigs for the wings and tail surfaces. The supplied alignment jig is good for attaching the two tubes together, but it is not very helpful for the wings; it's just too small.

Despite these minor issues, it's still a very cool kit.

len.
 
Here's my beefed up motor mount. I added 4 balsa longitudinal supports cut from leftover fin stock from the kit. I plan to install the motor mount so the engine hook is completely inside the main body tube, rather than with the motor mount sticking out back. This moves the CG forward, and I think it looks better.
 
Here's the wing alignment jig I made. I just traced the cutout of the supplied tube alignment jig onto a big enough sheet of corrugated cardboard, extended the slots for the wings to their full span, and then cut out the holes and slots. The supplied tube alignment jig is in front.
 
Here's the tail surfaces alignment jig I made. Again, I just cut out the necessary holes and slots from a sheet of corrugated cardboard.
 
Pic #2: was worried about getting a neat paint line on the tip of the nose....I made a cardstock "collar" by using the formula on the EMRR website for painting the red tip....after peeling it off, I had a perfect edge!:)
 
Belly shot: Since the back of the scoop is red....and the front inside is white, be sure to stuff a wadded paper towel half-way into the scoop to keep red overspray from coming out the scoop front. I painted the SNARKY white first, then masked off the body and painted the back of the scoop red....somewhat trying using only spray cans!:rolleyes:
 
Wow, thanks John!! Any nice comments from you are most appreciated! You do some GREAT work! I am jealous of your work on the SHX-15B. Look forward to your painting progress. I have one of those too...but I am waiting for another body tube since mine came in mashed. I have some computer problems and cannot download the correct fin patterns. I discovered the two DIFFERENT sizes in the fin patterns from your earlier threads. Are the CORRECT fin patterns the same as ONE of the originally shipped WRONG set? Maybe the smaller or larger of the original shipped set? Thanks
 
Absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I am not all that surprised since EVERY rocket you've posted a picture of looks to be of museum quality! You did a fine job!
 
Oh no...you'll make me blush :D

The smaller set of fin patterns that came with the SHX-15 are the correct size. You'll know when you cut out the patterns and put the puzzle pieces together. The wing/fin assembly should be the same length as the tube. The patterns for the vertical stab cardboard filler pieces are missing also...they are on the pdf file that Shrox posted (also on his site). But really you could just use some of the extra posterboard from the body wraps to make those and trim to fit.

I've got the second coat of primer on the SHX-15. I also mounted a nifty aluminum motor retainer from midpwrguy on it. Hopefully I'll get the first coat of gloss black on tomorrow....then I'll discover all the flaws the flat white primer hides.:)

The Snarky looks great. Don't forget to post some launch pictures!

John
 
You know billEblurzz, I always enjoy your finished products. They always look like you just picked them out of the catalog. Very nice work!!
 
Originally posted by fehskens
I replaced the supplied motor mount tube with the heavier foil lined 24mm motor tube (T50-mf) from Totally Tubular.

Foil-lined?

What is that? Wouldn't a foil (assuming aluminum) cause the paper to burn easier?

Nick

P.S. When all done, please submit this as a Modification Review. It is interesting what you have going here.
 
Back
Top