ESTES Redstone update ( testbuilders wanted.)

[te_groen31]

Hello Group,


For the last 3 weeks I have been working hard on a
super-detailed Redstone rocket in scale 1:48.

Together with Michael Urban, I am exchanging information
to make the best model we can.

Since I once bought ESTES' Redstone rocket, I decided to
make a special update for this model. This update will be
available, soon.
In the attachment you can see an example.
Print it in high quality on medium weight paper and glue the
wrap onto the model. These drawings have the correct
size for the model, ofcourse...scale 1:35 ! I nice coat
of semi-matt clear laquer is recommended. First practice
on a separate piece of paper and NEVER on the model itself !
Make sure the laquer does not destroy the print.

The fins will have to be painted last. My objective is
to make the most accurate and most detailed rendering of
a Redstone rocket, that can be found on internet,
and I think I succeeded.

The true test is in building the model itself. If somebody
has NOT started his/her model yet, I would like to ask
him/her to give my version a try.
Or if you are willing to update your finished model, than that's
fine, too ! ;-)
The difference is HUGE !!! Your Redstone will no longer
look like a toy, but like the real thing !!

One condition : PICTURES !! I'm sure I am not the
only one who wants to see pictures of the updated model, so
please make pictures and share them with this group.


I still have to make the instructions, so any test builder will
receive a preliminary sketch.

I especially like the plastic parts of the model. The decals
are not really accurate, but the plastic parts are just great,
and they deserve every bit of attention when it's time
to choose the correct colors and start painting.
The fins are just a bit too big, but it's necessary to make
the model fly properly.

Needless to say, ofcourse, that when Michael and I release
our paper model, it will be the most detailed and most
accurate model of a Redstone ever, that can be found on
internet !!
Don't believe me ??
Wait and see ........ ;-)

Greetings,

Erik.

P.S. ...oh...one thing.... 2 versions are available, MR7 and
MR8. Alan Shepard's "Freedom 7" and Gus Grissom's
"Liberty Bell 7". But the differences are minimal and can
only be seen up close.

 

[Frank Claunch]

This looks like a good idea. Can't wait to try this out.

 

[te_groen31]

Hello Frank and others,


As soon as our club's webmaster is back from his vacation, I
shall try to get several files for the Redstone on our models
page.

The scale 1:96 paper model is finished. The instructions
for the ESTES scale 1:35 are in the making.

Be prepared to do quite a bit of cutting and sanding, because
some of the pastic parts need to fit properly. Also, the
cylinder will have to be extended by about 20 mm ( 4/5 inch ).

The standard ESTES cylinder is not exactly to scale to the rest
of the model. Either the capsule and escape tower need
to be bigger, ot everyting else under it need to be smaller.
But fortunately, the difference is small.

I shall also try to make the colors as accurate as I can. I shall
print a mix for the paint. The capsule, f.i. is not black, but
a dark, bleu-ish grey, with a hint of metallic effect.
To make this color, take 5 parts Revell 302( semi matt black ),
5 parts of matt black number 8 or 9,
3 parts blue 51, a very tiny drop of white 301 and an even
smaller amount of silver 90. Make sure the drop of white paint
is just a drop at the tip of a pensel. And be extremely careful
with the silver. Add this color last. Just wet the brush and mix
it with the rest. It's only to add that bit of sparkle on the
lighter part of the reflections.
If the result is still too dark, add a bit of blue and white.

The escape tower is also much brighter than the color
in most pictures. It's a mix of Revell red 31 and bright
orange.


More later.


Erik.

 

[dtomko]

Erik,
This looks fantastic. I cloned the original Centuri version, with longer BT and balsa fins, and since it's yellowed so much I am eager to update it with your markings.
Drew Tomko

 

[Stymye]

last year,I found a spray paint color that matches the capsule color VERY well, It's Dutch boy brand(lowes or home depot) the color is
3612 Bronze, I'm not sure why it's called that because, it has no bronze coloring at all... it's black with a silverish metalic hue and looks great for mercury capsules!

heres my little joe with the color

 

[sandman]

Erik,

Have you made any progres on this yet?

I was considering scaling down your drawings to make a 1/100th scale version to match my Estes Saturn V.

Not a kit...just for me!

 

[JStarStar]

Sandman,

A little while ago, I got the Neubauer Rockets 1/100 Mercury-Redstone... haven't built it yet, but from all appearances it will be a snap. (The fins are actually die-cut card stock.) I ultimately want to make a 1/100 set of every manned spacecraft from the US, USSR and China.

Neubauer lists on their website 1/100 models of the Mercury-Redstone, Mercury-Atlas and Gemini-Titan, but all are now listed "out of stock," so I gather those kits are now OOP.

FYI as a steely-eyed balsa-cone-turning man ...

the Mercury-Redstone is based on BT-20. It uses mini-series motors. The escape tower is a mini-dowel coming out of the nose cone a-la your Saturn IB.

Just as a thumbnail guess, I'd venture that the Mercury-Atlas could use BT-50 as the main tank diameter. A cardstock shroud for the taper section and you're good to go.

The Gemini-Titan, hmm... I'm blanking on the capsule dimensions, etc... bigger than Mercury, smaller than Apollo... a 1/100 Apollo capsule fits BT-70, so 1/100 Gemini, hmm... maybe BT-55???

Probably a BT-55 capsule, with BT-60 tubing for the Titan booster.

Hmmm... ideas... ideas... as Hedley Lamarr said, "my mind is racing with a raging torrent of creative alternatives!!!"

Now, what we need is some steely-eyed plastic molding man to come up with removable clear plastic fin-can units for BT-50 and 60 for the Atlas and Titan ... heheh..

Now, I'm gonna go watch football for a while!!

 

[sandman]

Actually I did make some Mercury capsules in 1/100th scal...forgot I had them!

I made them out of basswood so the detail would show better.

The body tube wil be a Totally Tubular T-.70 tube NOT a BT-20.

The Mercury Redstone is 70 inches in diameter so 1/100th scale would be .70" (TT-.70) not the .736" BT-20 size.

For a Gemini Titan.

A Quest T3018 tube would work (1.18" ....02" undersized) or a Totally Tubular T-52H motor tube (1.21"....01" oversized)

Erik,

We are sorry to be wandering off the subject...we are just waiting for you to finish the drawing..

 

[JStarStar]

Erik, this is superb!

I have an Estes Mercury-Redstone, currently resting in the jaws of a rocket-eating tree in my little park adjacent to my house, and it doesn't look like it's gonna drop any time soon. So I picked up another MR kit and wanted to build it.

I was a little dissatisfied with how the Estes kit looked - it wasn't bad, but it was a little spare on scale detailing. Your wraps should make a great looking model. They look terrific.

It'll probably be a week or so before I get to build it... You know, work and all that...

PS, Sandman, you are correct on the tube size for the 1/100 Merc-Redstone kit. The Neubauer kit is a little smaller than BT-20, so it is probably the TT tube size.

 

[Stymye]

I have the prototype pdf files from Erik but,
I am not able to adjust the size of the graphics in acrobat reader
and my printer does not allow the option from an acrobat reader file ...? my question is, how do I adjust the size of a pdf page to get it to match the tube ?.....they need to print larger but I can't find the option to do it.

 

[sandman]

I have AutoCAD so I just copy a PDF image into CAD and can expand it to any suize I want.

 

[SwingWing]

Originally posted by stymye
my question is, how do I adjust the size of a pdf page to get it to match the tube ?.....they need to print larger but I can't find the option to do it.

Be sure the "shrink pages to fit" is un-checked in the print dialog box when printing. .PDF files can also be placed or imported into many graphics programs (Illustrator, Corell, Cad) and manipulated.

 

[Stymye]

I have the shrink/expand buttons off,,

I tried importing into coreldraw,corel paint, auto cad and turbo cad
but the pdfs appear to be encrypted and password protected and will not load up.

are there any other options?

 

[Stymye]

ok I figured out the problem , I can't speel and I'm computer illeterate.

I started on the redstone conversion , so far I have the wraps printed and mounted to the tube. intsead of extending the kit tube, I cut a new st-20 to scale length ,I will spray a protectant on the wraps than recut the fin slots and remove paper where all the details mount, this includes wire antennas and some balsa parts and cardstock components.

the wraps are extreeemly well detailed down to the last rivet
but who would expect less from Erik.

heres a pic of 2 of the wraps(there are 4 total)

the pic has been reduced in size and resolution but you can still see the magnificent detail! again the detail is far better than these pics depict

 

[Stymye]

I used a spray adhesive that will not warp the photo paper, once the wrap is started theres no turning back,so clean fingers and good lighting are necessary. my camera is crap so I can't get sharp pictures, I will have the use of a better camera this weekend to document the construction with.

I still took a couple but they came out blurry.

 

[Stymye]

one more

 

[dtomko]

Andy,
That looks beautiful! What is the length of the ST-20 that you used?
Drew Tomko

 

[Stymye]

I had to redo the wraps , I didn't follow my advice and seal the wraps before handling. I had to do some serious peeling but eventually got it all off.

I am also going to reduce the wraps by 1%, there was a tiny overlap.
that was ok but since I'm redoing it, I can tweak that issue as well.

Drew, I'll get you that dimension, since I'm reducing the wrap it will change a tad..it will be somewhere around 20.25 ish"
It may be just as easy to leave the tube a little long and trim to fit later . or you can add the piece to the kit tubes. Erik has provided instructions and dimensions on how to do that.
I'm sure not everyone has st-20 readily available

this time I'm going to seal the wraps before I cut anything out, because any oil or dirtor glue on fingers is picked up by the ink, and any excesive rubbing will mess things up, sealing beforehand will solve this from happening.>head-bonk<!

 

[Stymye]

the wraps are done , I airbrushed them with a semi gloss acrylic
before cutting. made a world of difference.

I cut the fin slots after the wraps were installed, the fin tabs have to be trimmed to be able to position the fins accurately on the body

Erik shows this in his instructions. it doesn't have to be done but would not look right if left alone.

the marked areas in the pic have to be removed. I used a razor saw and also scoring with a hobby knife to cut them out , I used a emory board and a needle file to clean up the cuts.

 

[Stymye]

this pic shows the difference between the original and the new position, the upper fin is the modified one.

you can also see a fin slot , I marked it with pencil than used a straight edge to guide the hobby knife.I made about 6 light passes and they were done. the fin slots have to remain in the original position for the motor mount to fit, or ofcourse if you use the kit tube, they are already done and you would just have to cut thru the wrap.

 

[laseradam]

I have a Estes M/R kit that I got last month at the Hobby Lobby 1/2 off sale.

I would be willing to be a test builder if you still need one.
Adam

 

[Stymye]

sorry for the delay ,I did not want to continue the build untill Erik had further instructions ready, this is still a work in progress and Erik has done alot of research on the capsule, colors and many other details. I am following his directions as they arrive, in order to give a proper review of the project. rather than try to jump ahead on my own

I just recieved two more pages from him and I have to say they are the most detailed plans I have ever worked with. The builder could construct a show winning model if he(she) decides to follow thru each detail.

on my side,...I have had some problems with the capsule itself , it does not fit together very well. The first redstone I built was molded in white plastic and went together perfectly , this one is molded in red plastic and seems to be slighty too large for the plastic capsule base. whats strange is, it's the same package and release number. no problem, a bit of sanding should solve the problem.
the antennae are fabricated from wire I will make them tomorrow and post some pics as well, along with a few other small details that mount to the body
pics within in the next couple days.

 

[jpasqual]

Keep us posted on the results -so far the model looks great !!!

 

[Stymye]

would anyone be interested in doing a test build of this beta
I have been swamped at work,, getting home very late and working staturdays as well...infact I'm usually posting from work
I simply have not had time for anything rockets lately.

I have the complete set of files now, all that is required is the redstone kit

If interested just send your email address in a pm
and I will send the files out

thanks in advance ,Andy

 

[Stymye]

thanks to the members who have offered to build the redstone update... the build can get back on track now. I will definately get back to mine also when I can get on a normal schedule again.

I'm looking forward to seeing the completed model !

 

[te_groen31]

Hello space fans,

Is anybody still working on the Estes Mercury-Redstone ?

Next weekend, just before Christmas, I want to make all
files available on my club's website.

It would be nice if I could include a few pictures of the
model, made by other people. My version is almost done.
Today the fins will be finished. Maybe I'll give it a coat
of acryllic laquer, if I can find it.

I'll post a few pictures, here, as soon as possible.

The biggest challenge will be the painting of the text.
No second change............

Greetings,

Erik.

 

[scottluther1369]

This looks awesome! I w really want one! (so what else is new)

Off topic - is the new Redstone plasctic flins in stead of builigihg nthe fines?
--Scott

 

[Const Star]

Originally posted by stymye
last year,I found a spray paint color that matches the capsule color VERY well, It's Dutch boy brand(lowes or home depot) the color is
3612 Bronze, I'm not sure why it's called that because, it has no bronze coloring at all... it's black with a silverish metalic hue and looks great for mercury capsules!

heres my little joe with the color

i get the same effect my spray painting the rocket with a coat of gloss black and then from a distance using a metalic chrome spray paint. id show examples of my work but i dont have a digital camera to snap off pics

 

[BobH48]

Originally posted by stymye
I have the shrink/expand buttons off,,

I tried importing into coreldraw,corel paint, auto cad and turbo cad
but the pdfs appear to be encrypted and password protected and will not load up.

are there any other options?

ok I figured out the problem , I can't speel and I'm computer illeterate.

So, how did you resize the pdf's?

I thought of printing them and then scanning them back as either a jpg, tif or bmp and resizing them with Microsoft Paint.

That's what I do when I want to make those paper scale models into Micro-Maxx size.

 

[Stymye]

So, how did you resize the pdf's?

I tried that , unfortunately you will loose the crisp detail in doing so
I had to screen cap them at 147% and than opened them in corel
my monitor was barely large enough to work

I have the corel files If you would like them or can export them to annother format.