Estes 1969 Saturn V Status

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So on the old vacuform wraps there used to be raised lines to seat masking tape on... I guess I'll have to be very deliberate in masking the wrapped areas since there is none of that now!
 
So on the old vacuform wraps there used to be raised lines to seat masking tape on... I guess I'll have to be very deliberate in masking the wrapped areas since there is none of that now!
It would be much easier to mask and paint while the wraps are flat. Anyone know of a paint that will flex and not crack when the wraps are installed?
 
It would be much easier to mask and paint while the wraps are flat. Anyone know of a paint that will flex and not crack when the wraps are installed?
Perhaps wrapping them around an appropriate size tube and spraying them might work. Probably just tack glue them in place with repositionable spray adhesive.
 
On my 1/48th one, I have 1/8th" inch stringers to mask around. Not looking forward to this. I might back fill with either a Sharpie pen or enamel paint pen marker from Testors.
 
It would be much easier to mask and paint while the wraps are flat. Anyone know of a paint that will flex and not crack when the wraps are installed?
A paint made for lexan rc car bodies may work. I've got a bunch of Pactra rattle cans. I'll test it out on a scrap when I get home from work in the morning
 
On my 1/48th one, I have 1/8th" inch stringers to mask around. Not looking forward to this. I might back fill with either a Sharpie pen or enamel paint pen marker from Testors.

On Rustoleum 2x flat black, a sharpie worked beautifully for touch up spots. You need glancing full sunlight to even notice.
 
I'll be using gloss colors for a clean background for the decals. Then use flat clear to seal everything.
 
Got mine from Belleview the other day and just got around to unboxing and begin building and right off the bat, Im missing the engine hook. Who should I contact? Estes or Belleview, or just order another from my favorite dealer and be done with it??
 
I'd just fire a note off to Estes. They're the ones with the extra engine hooks.
 
Got mine from Belleview...
did you mean Belleville

I usually make my own from the metal strip from an old wiper blade. I like to make them longer so that they extend over the top of the thrust ring, rather than under it.
 
Got mine from Belleview the other day and just got around to unboxing and begin building and right off the bat, Im missing the engine hook. Who should I contact? Estes or Belleview, or just order another from my favorite dealer and be done with it??

If you contact Estes, they will mail you the replacement, gratis - Estes has outstanding customer service.

Personally, I have a stash of never used engine hooks, as I much prefer more solid screw-on engine retainers.
Estes sells those as well, but does not include them with this kit. I would recommend sourcing one of them instead of a cheap-o engine hook:
https://www.rocketarium.com/Build/Motor-Retainers

Another thing to consider is forgoing the Estes default "thrust ring" that gets glued inside the motor mount tube. This way, you can use multiple motors of varying length (Estes, Aerotech, etc) in the future.

HTH,
a
 
Got mine from Belleview the other day and just got around to unboxing and begin building and right off the bat, Im missing the engine hook. Who should I contact? Estes or Belleview, or just order another from my favorite dealer and be done with it??

I'm going to second the idea that you should order the 24mm screw-on retainer. That will make it easier to use composite motors if you decide to fly it that way, which is definitely what I am going to do. I'm going to leave out the motor block.
 
I initially ordered just one for myself, may be a while before I dig into the build. Now I am thinking of getting another one to donate as part of a rocket science themed gift basket for our kid's school auction fundraiser, along with some other rocketry-related items, i.e. books, movies, gift certificate for a family museum visit, some astronaut ice cream packs, etc. and will include a copy of an Estes catalog, recent issue of the NAR magazine, and a flier with info from my local rocket club.
 
Got mine from Belleview the other day and just got around to unboxing and begin building and right off the bat, Im missing the engine hook. Who should I contact? Estes or Belleview, or just order another from my favorite dealer and be done with it??
Use a 29mm motor tube and a screw on retainer. Woosh! [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]
 
Called Estes (and Belleville) and a replacements on the way. Both have 1st rate customer service! Thanks for the other tips too.
 
Are you referring to the issue with the tunnel location and the clocking of the interstage wrap ? Just read about it on Chris’ blog:

https://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com/2019/02/mistake-in-estes-1969-saturn-v-inter.html

I haven’t gotten that far yet, but assume there is an issue. Anyone else come across this problem ?
I *knew* there was a reason I have been stuck on this wrap... I stopped cutting/gluing them with this wrap. Now I know why. Also, I guess maybe cut them all out and dry fit first?

Homer
 
Chris posted a fix from Estes/John Boren on his blog. Also on the NAR Facebook page.
https://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com/2019/02/mistake-in-estes-1969-saturn-v-inter_22.html

I guess I'll do the cut... just hope my geezerly hands can do it deftly! I'm sure glad I had my Centuri Saturn to kill time with before trying to build the new Estes Saturn as I'm sure I would never have noticed until it was too late... although as someone said elsewhere, 99.99% of folks won't even notice if you just go with it the way it is, so long as you line up the wiring tunnels!
 
I was trying to find a picture of the Apollo 11 Saturn V to illustrate the discrepancy in the wraps, just to understand it better myself.

So, to clarify, the kit instructions and wraps will work fine and make a fully functional rocket, but they don't exactly match the layout of the actual historical rocket. If you follow the instructions and use the existing wraps, the model kit will build fine and line up the dowels with each other per the instructions.

Hard to find a picture without the tank covered in ice/frost and on that side of the tower. This picture shows how the kit wraps are laid out, side by side with a photo from Apollo 13 and where the mismatch with the historical rocket occurs:
Screen Shot 2019-02-23 at 3.03.27 PM.png

Image from:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Apollo_13_Saturn_V_on_pad_39A_after_rollout.jpg

I could not find a similar picture of Apollo 11 on that side, I assume it would be similar.
 
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