Madcow 4" Patriot finishing ("Paintriot")

[KenECoyote]

Day of the launch!

This was one of the harder and more frustrating paints I've done, but it turned out great and I absolutely LOVE it. I feel that I finally did justice to my first Patriot rocket build after having bought so many kits of it.

Regarding the other paint schemes...for me it's up to you on what you're looking for, but I prefer the brightly colored marketing paint schemes on rockets thay really stand out (ex. Quest Tomahawk Cruise Missile) and I feel they are really eye-popping on the launch pads for the spectators to admire. Plus they can be easier to find!

 

[Buster]

You did a really nice job on that Patriot. My first rocket after being away for a long time was an Estes Patriot, which I have named “Never Paint a Rocket Green!” My HPR was a 4” Madcow Patriot with which I got both my L1 and L2.
I love that kit. Lost it when the Main didn’t fire for about 6 months in a field. The charges still fired after rain and freezing weather and the altimeter showed 2500’. Next was a 2.6” FG Patriot by Madcow which lawn darted because of failed motor ejection. Lost one fin and centering rings and flew again. So I understand.

 

[AfterBurners]

I know when I built mine I used a lot of nose weight. I forget how much, but it was a lot!

 

[KenECoyote]

You did a really nice job on that Patriot. My first rocket after being away for a long time was an Estes Patriot, which I have named “Never Paint a Rocket Green!” My HPR was a 4” Madcow Patriot with which I got both my L1 and L2.
I love that kit. Lost it when the Main didn’t fire for about 6 months in a field. The charges still fired after rain and freezing weather and the altimeter showed 2500’. Next was a 2.6” FG Patriot by Madcow which lawn darted because of failed motor ejection. Lost one fin and centering rings and flew again. So I understand.

Thanks!

I know when I built mine I used a lot of nose weight. I forget how much, but it was a lot!

I didn't note it before, but on that first flight to ~2,700', for some reason I had main deployment and I actually lost the rocket for a while after it drifted far away behind some distant tree groves.

I thought maybe a LOT of nose weight along with a punchy motor and not enough shear pins caused deceleration separation, but it may have been a screwy altimeter (still checking).

I had the GPS coordinates from my eggfinder Rx, but no phone signal out at the fields and it was getting late, so I went home, found it on Google Earth and got it back the next day.

The rocket had laid itself low under some vegetation right in the middle of a very large field, so it wasn't visible from the road or sides.

 

[AfterBurners]

Thanks!


I didn't note it before, but on that first flight to ~2,700', for some reason I had main deployment and I actually lost the rocket for a while after it drifted far away behind some distant tree groves.

I thought maybe a LOT of nose weight along with a punchy motor and not enough shear pins caused deceleration separation, but it may have been a screwy altimeter (still checking).

I had the GPS coordinates from my eggfinder Rx, but no phone signal out at the fields and it was getting late, so I went home, found it on Google Earth and got it back the next day.

The rocket had laid itself low under some vegetation right in the middle of a very large field, so it wasn't visible from the road or sides.

I wouldn't mind getting another one, but $175 with the electronics bay is a bit out of my price range unless it goes on sale. I remember when I bought mine awhile back it was under $100, but that was awhile ago.

 

[Buster]

Thanks!


I didn't note it before, but on that first flight to ~2,700', for some reason I had main deployment and I actually lost the rocket for a while after it drifted far away behind some distant tree groves.

I thought maybe a LOT of nose weight along with a punchy motor and not enough shear pins caused deceleration separation, but it may have been a screwy altimeter (still checking).

I had the GPS coordinates from my eggfinder Rx, but no phone signal out at the fields and it was getting late, so I went home, found it on Google Earth and got it back the next day.

The rocket had laid itself low under some vegetation right in the middle of a very large field, so it wasn't visible from the road or sides.

Yes I had to add 2 or 3 “D”. Cells wrapped in a Koozie and taped to the shock cord to get the CG right for using the 38/720 motors. Another fellow found mine while looking for his.

 

[Curtis Enlow]

Since the colors weren't what I needed, I just spray painted them!
View attachment 526520

I then enlarged and printed out the lettering from the Madcow site decals to match the same size letters I had to get the spacing right (one of the hardest things with applying flimsy sticky noodley letters).
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I applied the letters to a ruler first figuring it'd be easier to get into place and I can then transfer all at once over to the rocket. Also thia saved the painted finish (which actually was still tacky) from excessive handling.
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I found a used Cricut on Facebook for $40. Things like this are going to be SO much easier om now on.

This is the 'shooting star' theme I did for my Super Big Bertha. Surprisingly easy!

 

[KenECoyote]

I found a used Cricut on Facebook for $40. Things like this are going to be SO much easier om now on.

This is the 'shooting star' theme I did for my Super Big Bertha. Surprisingly easy!

View attachment 576810

Believe it or not, I had a Cricut at the time! Lol

However, I had used it only once about two years ago and then it got stored away after my personal laptop had issues. Plus the last time I used it, I wasn't happy with how unintuitive the user interface was and I dreaded relearning it or facing the "subscription" stuff I heard about shortly after my last use.

Still, I dusted it off and used it recently! I do think it's an amazing tool once you get the hang of it and I plan to use it more in the future.

 

[Curtis Enlow]

Believe it or not, I had a Cricut at the time! Lol

However, I had used it only once about two years ago and then it got stored away after my personal laptop had issues. Plus the last time I used it, I wasn't happy with how unintuitive the user interface was and I dreaded relearning it or facing the "subscription" stuff I heard about shortly after my last use.

Still, I dusted it off and used it recently! I do think it's an amazing tool once you get the hang of it and I plan to use it more in the future.

View attachment 576836
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I've seen your build thread on the Exocet - Nice!

Yeah, the whole pay-to-play thing threw me for a bit but luckily they abandoned that crazy idea. There are some free raster/vector design software packages, like Inkscape, that produce .SVG files that might be more usable than the clunky Cricut tool. Plus, there's always tons of YouTube how-to vids. It's a great tool!