PML AMRAAM 4" CPR build

[Joshua Smith]

Honestly, one of the key pieces of the puzzle to moving fast is having a "hot" room. I have a spare bedroom I use for letting epoxy and paint cure and keep the heat in there up over 90 degrees. That vastly decreases the wait times on cures.

That's how you know ur serious

 

[Joshua Smith]

I actually have 5 builds going on concurrently... (not counting this one, this was just a repair...)

3 x Wildman Darkstars - 2.6", 3", & 4" - all underway, got a build thread for it, but building faster than I can post, so will probably do a dump near the end of the week

A Sirius Interrogator G in the mid-power forum is in the final stages. Everything is primed and getting ready for paint and decals

In the wings, I have a LOC Saturn V (5 x 54mm Cluster) and a US Rockets Swarm (1 x75mm core with 12 x 29mm outboards cluster). Those builds have pseudo-started. I am glassing the body tubes and fins for both right now and will include that process in the build threads when I get them posted.

And my kids each have an ongoing LPR or MPR build going on right now, so it can get a bit crowded in the workshop!

Not sure how much longer working from home is going to last, but I am taking advantage of it

The only thing slowing me down right now is traveling to launches on the weekends...

LOL. Stupid launches... Wow is all I can say on the concurrent builds. I'm building 3 up-motored LPRs right now, but mainly I just wanted to paper all the fins at the same time (also first time papering fins).

 

[mtnmanak]

LOL. Stupid launches... Wow is all I can say on the concurrent builds. I'm building 3 up-motored LPRs right now, but mainly I just wanted to paper all the fins at the same time (also first time papering fins).

Papering is a great idea. I do it for all my balsa parts. I have tried about every paper/cardstock-balsa combo I could think of and, for cosmetic papering, I found this paper works the best for me:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PYG93TH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It is very thin, lightweight paper, but is glossy on one side so it is much, much easier to paint when you are done. You end up with a perfect gloss finish with no trouble.

TVM has a pretty good video on skinning fins:



If you plan to skin a bunch of parts or think you may want to eventually glass fins with FG or CF using the vacuum bag method, I would also get a couple nice pieces of thick acrylic. I have a bunch of different sizes and thicknesses I use for a lot of solutions, but they are great for sandwiching your skinned parts while they are drying so they dry perfectly flat.