Estes X-Ray build

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SCIGS30

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Here is some pictures of an old Estes X-Ray kit that I built. Straight foward build and painted to match the 1979 picture. The fins are 1/16 th sheet balsa and that is what I used, if anyone would like to clone this kit I would suggest using basswood.

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Yes, use basswood or even plywood for the fins. I build an original back in the 1970's and those fins were sure weak because they were 1/16" thick balsa. 1/16" thick basswood or plywood would be way stronger. Be careful about any aft c.g. shift from heavier fins. Perhaps 1/32" thick plywood? That is extremely strong and lightweight.
 
Fine looking rocket. Good job :)
Cheers
fred
 
Dateline: Yuma, Arizona. Summertime, 1967. The MCAS Yuma rocket club conducts its first launch on the baseball field behind family housing. My first rocket? Why, the X-Ray of course. Colonel Jolly was our adult advisor. Wow.

Super nice job on the finish, SCIGS. Question: How did you get the black strip beneath the clear ends of the payload tube? I want to do the same thing on my Constellation clone.

Behave yourself

John
 
Dateline: Yuma, Arizona. Summertime, 1967. The MCAS Yuma rocket club conducts its first launch on the baseball field behind family housing. My first rocket? Why, the X-Ray of course. Colonel Jolly was our adult advisor. Wow.

Super nice job on the finish, SCIGS. Question: How did you get the black strip beneath the clear ends of the payload tube? I want to do the same thing on my Constellation clone.

Behave yourself

John

I know of two methods:
1) paint the shoulder of the cone and coupler black.
2) Apply black striping tape.
 
The LHS normally sells detail tape, but this time they were out and I didn't want to wait. I made my black stripes with decal paper. If anyone needs them let me know and I can PDF them.
 
Dear Messrs. 30 and vector: Thanks for the ideas. Maybe I'll try two different methods, and see which works best.

The PDF file would be appreciated.

John
 
Yes, use basswood or even plywood for the fins. I build an original back in the 1970's and those fins were sure weak because they were 1/16" thick balsa. 1/16" thick basswood or plywood would be way stronger. Be careful about any aft c.g. shift from heavier fins. Perhaps 1/32" thick plywood? That is extremely strong and lightweight.
Actually the extra mass of fins would help establish a reasonable stability margin. As it was originally, the X-Ray was way OVER stable.
 
Resurrecting a (14 year old) SCIGS thread is always welcome ! :)
One of my winter projects is to build a whole series of down- and up-scales (0.75x thru 4x) of my favorite boyhood rocket: the X-Ray. Don't really see any of them around anymore. Those HUGE 4 fins sure move do the CP aftward.
 
One of my winter projects is to build a whole series of down- and up-scales (0.75x thru 4x) of my favorite boyhood rocket: the X-Ray. Don't really see any of them around anymore. Those HUGE 4 fins sure move do the CP aftward.
Sounds like a great project. Has sourcing the payload tube in various sizes been a challenge ?
 
For a "near enough" BT-60 clear body tube, Lithonia Fluorescent Tube Guards are a great product. The ones for T12 bulbs are ever-so-slightly larger than BT-60 (it can almost slip a BT-60 inside), so with some shims, it can be used with standard BT-60 parts. They come in 4' and 8' lengths, and can thus be cut to nearly any length you'd want for an upscale of a BT-50 or BT-55 based kit.
 
Thanks @TomBroad for bringing this thread up.

That's a great looking X-Ray by SCIGS, and one of those rockets I used to stare at in the catalog. With my small childhood budget, it never made it. After looking at it a few times, I was inspired to dig through the old catalog for possible clones or upscales before planning 2022's build pile.
 
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