Micro Arcas

[kuririn]

I purchased a laser cut set of Micro Arcas fins from erockets a long while ago.
I think it was around the time of the Big Bang.
I believe this was going to be a part of Semroc's Deci-Scale line of sounding rockets, but I don't think this ever went into production. The Deci-Scale line includes 1/10 scale models of iconic sounding rockets like the Aerobee 150, Aerobee 300, Iris, IQSY Tomahawk, and Wac Corporal.
The full sized Arcas was only 90+ inches long, and the airframe for a 1/10 scale rocket would be a smaller diameter than a BT-5 tube, so it's no wonder that this never went into production.
I decided to explore the possibility of a Micro Maxx powered deci scale Arcas so I looked up some figures in Alway's ROTW.
Lo and behold, there on the page is a 1/10 scale dimensional drawing!
Undeniably a message from the rocket gods.
This is going to be fun!


BT-4 tube, nose cone and BT-4 to BT-2.5 centering rings came from my MMX parts stash (purchased from the original Fliskits).
Other parts (motor tube, kevlar, streamer) will also come from my stash.
Will be making a cardstock tail cone from one of the online shroud generator tools.
(rubbing hands) TBC.

 

[kuririn]

Printed tail cone template from Payloadbay and glued together.


Then sanded tapers into the tiny fins


Meh, not perfect but good enough.
TBC

 

[kuririn]

Assembled the motor mount

 

[mbeels]

Then sanded tapers into the tiny fins

Oh my goodness that is tiny. I didn't even know about BT-4. It looks more like a large launch lug!

 

[kuririn]

The root plates are tiny and hard to sand as a stand alone.
So I decided to glue them on then sand them.


Unsanded, needs to be contoured to fit with the fin


After sanding and contouring


Recovery gear attached, launch lug glued, and fins glued on.
Done.

So cool to pose it next to Peter Alway's dimensional drawing, no?
Laters.

 

[kuririn]

Because of the pointy nose cone and knife edges of the tapered fins I decided to use thin CA to fill the balsa parts. After drying and sanding they are smooth and tough.
Then shot some white primer.

 

[kuririn]

Sanded the primer, then basecoated with gloss white.

 

[kuririn]

Shot some red.

 

[kuririn]

After masking for the side stripes, I messed up and sprayed the wrong color of red.
Will have to sand that off and do a reboot.

 

[kuririn]

I just had an epiphany.
Instead of masking for the scallops and stripes why not just cut it out of white decal paper and paint it, then apply.
No masking or bleeding.
Stay tuned.

 

[kuririn]

Sanded off the booboos, then masked and re-sprayed white primer.

Will let this dry.
Good night.

 

[Rktman]

Nicely done! Do you find these diminutive small scale projects more difficult to build than normal scale kits? I'd think that handling these teeny tiny parts would tend to slow things down?

 

[kuririn]

Yeah, tweezers and a magnifying glass (at my age) are a must.
Also any small misalignment or glue booger really shows up.

 

[kuririn]

Change of plans.
Instead of painted decal paper, I masked and repainted in the darker red.
Just need to mask for the arches and points, then brush work and decals.

TBC.

 

[user 35280]

Change of plans.
Instead of painted decal paper, I masked and repainted in the darker red.
Just need to mask for the arches and points, then brush work and decals.
View attachment 438549
TBC.

This looks really good, how did it end up for you?

 

[kuririn]

She's flyable, but I hate to use a whole sheet of decal paper for one tiny decal, so I've been waiting until I have a bunch of decals to arrange on one sheet before printing it.
Will update when I get around to it.