SCIGS30
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2009
- Messages
- 1,862
- Reaction score
- 300
For the love of God, This is S. Calif. when will the rain stop? I have over 300 vintage Estes kits to build and this is putting a damper on my progress. Oh well I decided to start on my Klingon vessel to go along with the Enterprise. I will do a much better job of taking pictures this time. I will also start on my vintage Star Trek rocket. That is the old yellow one that came in a box and has plastic nose and fins. This is another kit that I have about 6 of, they are cheap on Ebay I guess people are not to interested in these old kits or Estes made too many. The wood is old so I had to do some repair work from the die crushed parts, the model airplanes of this time era had the same issue. I used my nice little sanding jig I bought some time ago to make all parts square and true. I then sealed with 4 coats of balsa sealer for a smooth grain free shinny finish. I have some examples below of the unfinished wood vs finished grain free. I decided it would be easier to seal and sand before building the rocket. For the large balsa sheets I use a clamp device so the wood does not warp, this is another trick I learned from my freeflight days. I have scrap wood with thick craft board glued to protect the balsa. I then put half of the balsa fin in the device and add my sealer. When that half is dried, I turn the fin around so I can do the other half. When that is dried then I sand it smooth and repeat.