Gemini Titan build

[MaxQ]

That's the Sheri's Hot Rockets Apollo Little Joe, only that Lannie made it a later round....looks great, doesn't it?

I like it...it does look really good.

....almost as good as my scratch built. (that's a joke fellas...me trying to be funny)

 

[BsSmith]

I'll bet that chrome isn't paint.....

The chrome on Sheri's is stick on chrome Monocoat. When I looked at the pictures of the real Titan I thought the Monocoat was too shiny so I used Testors Chrome paint for mine. I think it fits in much better.

 

[MaxQ]

The chrome on Sheri's is stick on chrome Monocoat. When I looked at the pictures of the real Titan I thought the Monocoat was too shiny so I used Testors Chrome paint for mine. I think it fits in much better.

<I thought the Monocoat was too shiny>

Yeah...it is...but it sure is pretty.

I'm building a Mercury Little Joe on another thread..it has a very shiny chrome finish, a bit non scale , but I thought I'd try it out. I saw this chrome posterboard at a Ben Franklin and couldn't resist the thought of rolling a rocket body tube with it...

It is all a matter of personal preference I guess, unless you are going FAI scale.
https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?t=3465&page=3

I may try various shades of silver and aluminum paints on this Gemini...like the plastic scale model plane guys with their "metalizers".

 

[BsSmith]

The "metalizers" are very nice.

I used the Testors air brush on buffing metalizers for the top silver section (Brushed Aluminium) and the capsule (Gun Metal-Exaust). They are some of the best metallic paints I've used.

 

[Bravo52]

Everybody can jump in here with their favorite metal paint suggestion, however, if you are going to cover a large area, be prepared to spray and spray and spray... You can get the metalizers in a can, however, it is not the buffing type and you will end up with a basic flat coat. I've used Testor's Metalizers for years and have found that the buffing metalizers tend to not be a good finish if you are going to handle the object because they easily wipe off. To combat that, Testors has a top coat that when applied, dulls the finish and you are no better off than any other metal paint.
A better option in my mind is the Alclad lacquers. They are rock-hard and very durable. Perfect for a rocket. They retain their luster even when top-coated. Finger prints are not an issue! The one drawback is they are a lacquer so handeling is a little different. You also have to be careful when spraying over plastic as the lacquer can craze the finish...... :2:

 

[rockets2000]

I've used Testor's One Coat Lacquer rattle cans in both blue and silver metallic and had good results. I sand the primer with 600 grit to get it reallly smooth, and the paint flows on very nicely. It takes pretty well to clear coat if you're patient, which I'm not, but it can be done.

Has anyone used Future on metallic paint?

 

[MaxQ]

Here's a shot of both the closure and the spacers. AT hardware can also use a flush closure. I think Wildman has them. Little heard about but they are out there I have seen them.

Well, the Wildman says he doesn't know what we are talking about, this "flush aft closure" thing

Maybe what was seen was custom made?

I have yet to hear from the other vendors, so...

I'm thinking it's time to get someone to reem the motor retention portions of these aluminum engine bells so that I can use something other than G77s....

 

[tonypv]

I've used Testor's One Coat Lacquer rattle cans in both blue and silver metallic and had good results. I sand the primer with 600 grit to get it reallly smooth, and the paint flows on very nicely. It takes pretty well to clear coat if you're patient, which I'm not, but it can be done.

Has anyone used Future on metallic paint?

Future works really well with Testors metallic paints.
I think it really makes them pop.

 

[rocketguy101]

The chrome on Sheri's is stick on chrome Monocoat. When I looked at the pictures of the real Titan I thought the Monocoat was too shiny so I used Testors Chrome paint for mine. I think it fits in much better.

If the GT finish is the same as the Titan II the USAF stuck in silos, then the Monocoat is definitely too shiny. Here are some pics I took at the Titan Missle Museum in Tucson.

 

[rocketguy101]

Here are some shots of the main engines...

 

[MaxQ]

Here are some shots of the main engines...

That's a lot of little pipes.
Guess I better get started on the detailing...............

 

[bguffer]

Well, the Wildman says he doesn't know what we are talking about, this "flush aft closure" thing

The below suggests flush aft closure does exist in the 98mm Aerotech line:
https://www.rocketryforumarchive.com/showpost.php?p=526862&postcount=17
https://www.rocketryforumarchive.com/showpost.php?p=528003&postcount=21

Wildman would not be the only vendor unaware. I spoke to another well known west coast vendor a year ago, who was also unaware.

 

[MaxQ]

The below suggests flush aft closure does exist in the 98mm Aerotech line:
https://www.rocketryforumarchive.com/showpost.php?p=526862&postcount=17
https://www.rocketryforumarchive.com/showpost.php?p=528003&postcount=21

Wildman would not be the only vendor unaware. I spoke to another well known west coast vendor a year ago, who was also unaware.

Maybe they do......in 98mm.

I was thinking ..I'll just get two 29mm standard aft closures and have someone grind off the thrustring...(might look as cool as a sparky motor while they're doing it...)

 

[MaxQ]

I heard back from Gary at Aerotech...

No flush aft closures as yet...so it looks like I'll need to either remachine the thrust rings on two
std. 29mm aft closures down to fit into the engine bells "as is" ...or remachine the nozzle cavities a bit wider on the engine bells...to let a std. Aerotech reload fit.

 

[bsexton]

I'm sure I'm missing something here. If you have a flush aft closure what do you do for forward motor retention? Are you going to use a thrust ring/engine block inside the motor tube? I probably need to read the thread more closely...

 

[ben_ullman]

I'm sure I'm missing something here. If you have a flush aft closure what do you do for forward motor retention? Are you going to use a thrust ring/engine block inside the motor tube? I probably need to read the thread more closely...

you are correct Bruce. If he was to go with flush closures he would implement a motor block setup

Ben

 

[MaxQ]

I'm sure I'm missing something here. If you have a flush aft closure what do you do for forward motor retention? Are you going to use a thrust ring/engine block inside the motor tube? I probably need to read the thread more closely...

For flush aft closures w/o a thrust ring...several guys here have posted that they used various lengths of spacer tubes to but up against an "internal thrust ring"...glued to the inside of the motor tube the farthest dimension for the biggest motor (read : the longest)you plan on using.

Kinda like the Estes E to D conversion spacer.....but bigger

See post #9 for the discussion...

 

[MaxQ]

As you know, I was concerned with the diameter of these engine bells not being wide enough to take a standard 29mm reload case with the aft closure thrust ring on the end of the motor.

Well, yesterday after making a few calls, I was able to locate a machine shop that would do the work w/o an excessively high minimum fee for a small job.

After striking out first with an automotive machine shop (their tooling wouldn't fit inside the engine cavity...it was too small) I got hooked up with an industrial machining company, that luckily was only five minutes from work.

The price was $20 each nozzle, which I had no problem with paying as they practically did the job while I waited.
They were nice guys and while we went over the specs... they asked a lot of questions about the hobby and were fascinated with the engine bells and all manner of rocketry stuff.

The first picture shows the aft closure on my 29/240 Dr. Rocket reload set against the engine bell cavity - which was too small in width to admit the aft closure thrust ring.
The second picture shows the remilled engine bell which comfortably allows the thrust ring to be set inside the engine bell.


This small modification will allow me to use every 29mm motor I can think of, rather than just the G-80 or G-77 single use motor, and not rely on internal spacers stacked against an internal thrust ring mounted in the motor tube.
Now .............................On with the build.

 

[bsexton]

Excellent!

 

[MaxQ]

Excellent!

I was relieved to get this resolved.

I didn't want to fly it on two "single use" G's ..especially if the built up weight got heavy.

I don't know if I can fit two Cessaronis 29mm in there, but accomodating my existing hardware was good enough for me.
All I need to do is concentrate on getting two aerotech motors lit together...ontime.

 

[BsSmith]

That's great that you got them machined! I should look into doing that with mine sometime, the G77 flights are getting boring.

All I need to do is concentrate on getting two aerotech motors lit together...ontime.

Magnalite works great for me, the motors light instantly with it.

 

[MaxQ]

Proceeding with the two motor mounts and faux plumbing.
Yep...those are drinking straws...with elbow bends.

They are effective.
This is a merely representation of the fuel lines and structural components...if you tried to do the thing accurately (to scale) it would probably take a lot of different tubing and a year to do it.
(as evidenced by the pictured from Rocketguy101)
https://www.rocketryforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=11466&d=1253672362)

Once I figure out how to mask off the black motor tubes I'll paint them silver ...
I added some surface detail to the airframe to give it a more realistic look.

 

[MaxQ]

I'm using new formula Krylon on this one...
The matte aluminum isn't too bad...

 

[rocketguy101]

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice! Love the flex elbows! You do beautiful work!

 

[MaxQ]

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice! Love the flex elbows! You do beautiful work!

Thanks...we'll have to give Sheri credit for those...(her idea).

 

[MaxQ]

More paint.
I decided to forgo the vinyl wrap decals and mask and paint the black roll patterns...

 

[MaxQ]

After masking the aft end, engine details were painted with old formula Krylon Chrome...a very nice paint. (Wish I could find some more).

There is some clean up of overspray on the airfame to do here..then on to the capsule....

 

[MaxQ]

Paint and decals on...finished masking off roll pattern trim areas

Some overspray needs a fix here and there ...

 

[MaxQ]

The scratch built details on the capsule transition/fairing were time consuming, but I think they add to the overall appearance...

I used Krylon black on the resin capsule, there were some problem with paint adhering to the surface, I think it will need a touch up before decals and trim tape go on.

Parachutes, shock line and rail butons arrived from Ken(Performance Hobbies) this week, so this is almost ready to go...

 

[bsexton]

Nice job -- looks like you will have plenty of new rockets to fly at Battle Park!