Estes Murcury Redstone help.

[ShakyShane99]

Hello I recently attempted to build a higher skill rocket. And I thought this rocket would be really cool. Seems to have built well just wish the engine retainer clip didn’t go past the fins so I can’t stand it without a stand. Also my motor mount was inserted about 1/8th of an inch so I could put a fillet then realized the there’s a gap between the fins and bottom end (ugh) Also my main concern is painting. I assembled the whole capsule and tower without painting it before hand. If anyone can give me tips on getting this capsule painted properly I appreciate it and all constructive criticism. I also plan on buying another one, shortening the length of the retainer clip. And spray painting the capsule before hand. And using this one to launch. Thanks. By the way I tried to make this post last night and my laptop went bad and doing this on phone I think I used wrong thread.

 

[cwbullet]

Moved to low power rocketry.

 

[Antares JS]

If anyone can give me tips on getting this capsule painted properly I appreciate it and all constructive criticism.

I don't think it's generally advisable to paint before assembly, because then you have to carefully scrape the paint off of anywhere that's getting glue without messing up what you want to keep, or accidentally getting glue on any paint you want to keep as plastic cement will 100% dissolve paint.

I did mine by assembling, then painting. My advice is Testor's flat black, a brush, a good reference picture of the capsule atop a Redstone, and patience.

 

[dpower]

Hello I recently attempted to build a higher skill rocket. And I thought this rocket would be really cool. Seems to have built well just wish the engine retainer clip didn’t go past the fins so I can’t stand it without a stand. Also my motor mount was inserted about 1/8th of an inch so I could put a fillet then realized the there’s a gap between the fins and bottom end (ugh) Also my main concern is painting. I assembled the whole capsule and tower without painting it before hand. If anyone can give me tips on getting this capsule painted properly I appreciate it and all constructive criticism. I also plan on buying another one, shortening the length of the retainer clip. And spray painting the capsule before hand. And using this one to launch. Thanks. By the way I tried to make this post last night and my laptop went bad and doing this on phone I think I used wrong thread.

Most of the capsule can be spray painted by masking off the tower. The top of the capsule inside the tower can be painted with a very small brush, might need to use some little strips of paper to prevent getting paint on the inside of the trusses.

I used a stand to display mine, to avoid the hook problem.

 

[David Schwantz]

Sorry, but it appears that you built the kit wrong. Cannot tell where mistake may have been, but here is a pic of mine. No stand needed.

 

[David Schwantz]

I think I see it now, your MMT is not inset far enough into the body tube.

 

[Back_at_it]

The motor mount isn't inserted far enough but that is OK. The rocket will still be plenty stably as it has more than enough body tube length. To get it to stand up on it's own you can clip off part of that clip. You will want to keep the part where it makes the 90 Degree turn but the rest can be clipped off.

As for the tower. Some people leave the tower as removable as it is fragile and tends to break when flown. If you chose to leave it removable you can paint them separately. If you intend to fly it with the tower installed you will want to make the tower as strong as possible. When I built mine, I used epoxy for assembly then used thinned epoxy and painted on a coat of thinned epoxy afterward. This basically made the entire tower one piece.

For painting, you'll want to spray the capsule with a flat or semi-gloss black. The tower will need to be painted by hand with a small brush and a lot of patients

 

[ShakyShane99]

Moved to low power rocketry.

Sorry, I didn’t realized I had it in the wrong place.

 

[ShakyShane99]

I don't think it's generally advisable to paint before assembly, because then you have to carefully scrape the paint off of anywhere that's getting glue without messing up what you want to keep, or accidentally getting glue on any paint you want to keep as plastic cement will 100% dissolve paint.

I did mine by assembling, then painting. My advice is Testor's flat black, a brush, a good reference picture of the capsule atop a Redstone, and patience.

You are right I used lots of little pieces of masking tape, flat black testers. “It suppressed me how fast it dried I usually use regular rust oleum 2x” and it came out perfectly I do need to fix like 2 little tiny spots where the black got on the tower with a brush. Thanks for the advice

 

[Antares JS]

You are right I used lots of little pieces of masking tape, flat black testers. “It suppressed me how fast it dried I usually use regular rust oleum 2x” and it came out perfectly I do need to fix like 2 little tiny spots where the black got on the tower with a brush. Thanks for the advice

Glad it worked out.

 

[ShakyShane99]

Sorry, but it appears that you built the kit wrong. Cannot tell where mistake may have been, but here is a pic of mine. No stand needed.

Maybe, but my instructions have the rear motor mount flush with the end so the fins can be glued to the bottom. I also can sit mine properly now because I shortened the engine lug with a rotary tool. The engine retainer clip looks just like the classic ones from years ago now.

 

[cwbullet]

Sorry, I didn’t realized I had it in the wrong place.

No issue. It happens all the time and that is why we explain why it was moved.