Semroc Brighton Clone build (replace a lost rocket).

[Back_at_it]

With the workbench clear and the Baby Bertha ready to fly I figured it was time to replace a rocket I lost a couple weeks back Up at Bong. About a year ago I built a clone of the Semroc Brighton. Not being a fan of clusters I built it with a single 24 mm mount. Due to a weak motor the rocket arced over and headed into the thick brush and I was unable to locate it. The rocket had flown on the E12-4 once prior to this launch so there is enough Thrust to get it safely off the rod. Unfortunately this motor seemed much weaker than the motors I have flown previously.

I know the Tripoli Wisconsin club was up at Bong Rec area the following weekend so I took a chance and posted the lost rocket on their Facebook page and as luck would have it I was told that someone did find. I'm still trying to connect with the person that found it but I'm sure everything will be fine. If by any chance someone here is a member of that club, please feel free to reach out to me.

In the meantime I decided to build a replacement. Going to make a few changes as this one is destined for our launch in Arizona later in the year. Mainly a bigger motor mount

Let's get started. I started by cutting all the necessary items. From left to right
- 29 mm motor mount with 29mm to BT80 centering ring in plywood.
- Estes 29 mm motor retainer.
- 700 pound Kevlar leader.
- 3 inch coupler, two pieces of 29 mm tubing and a pair of bulkheads cut as caps for the end of the baffle.
- A set of super big Bertha fins from rocket works in 3 mm plywood.
- BT80 coupler at 5 inches.
- Bulkhead with a couple of scraps to reinforce the mounting area for the screw eye.
- BT80 lower body tube at 18.5 inches long. Slotted for through the wall fins.
- BT80 upper tube at 11.5 inches long.

Ignore the super big Bertha nosecone. I contacted Randy at ERockets And got my hands on the appropriate Brighton nosecone. It has not arrived yet but should be here this week.



Started this build with the motor mount. The motor mount tube has had the outer layer peeled off for better adhesion. I lightly sanded the inside of the motor tube and the outside of the motor block. The motor block will be placed such that I can fly the 29 mm Estes black powder F motors. These are longer than any of the composites I would want to run in this rocket.



Next it's time to install the upper center ring. The location of the top of the fin tabs have been marked on the motor tube. The Edges of the centering ring have been sanded so that there is a bevel for the glue to sit in.



The upper centering ring has been attached and a fillet of TBII has been placed around the top and bottom of the ring.



While the motor mount is drying I turned my attention to the baffle. Here we see the components that make up the baffle. The upper bulkhead was glued in place with TBII. the edges of the internal baffle tubes were sanded where they will connect to the inside of the coupler.



Here we have A couple of pictures of the inner workings of the baffle. Note that the tubes protrude past the edge of the bulkhead approximately 1/16 of an inch. They are also just long enough that they cross each other inside the baffle so there's no way that hot sparks or embers can make it directly into the opposite tube.

Also note that I added A scrap of plywood as a reinforcement for the screw eye attachment. There is actually one on the top and bottom of the bulkhead.

In the back ground you can see the Kevlar leader has been assembled and a section of heat shrink tubing placed on the first couple of inches to protect it. Probably unnecessary with the baffle but I don't want to replace it



That is as far as I managed to get yesterday. Heading out to go fly the rockets now so I'll get back to this a bit later tonight.

Thanks for following along.

 

[Back_at_it]

Back with an update. Didn't get a ton done last night as I was out flying then had to get some dinner.

Decided to start with the main coupler. Here we see the components for the bulkhead. This is a BT80 bulkhead with a couple of scraps of plywood to reinforce the mounting point for the screw eye.



Coated the mating surfaces of all of the pieces with a generous amount of TBII then clamped them in place and allow them to dry.



With the bulkhead dry it was time to insert the bulkhead into the coupler. The edges of the bulkhead were beveled and the inside of the coupler was lightly sanded for a better bond.




The bulkhead was then recessed into the coupler about 1/2 an inch. Screw eye will be attached once it is dry.



Next it was time to wrap up the assembly of the baffle. Upper plate is installed with fillets applied. Attached the Kevlar leader to the top plate. Top edges of the baffle have been beveled so that it slides nicely into place and gives a nice groove for the glue to sit in.



Bottom of the baffled was inserted 6.75" up from the rear of the lower tube. Here we see the baffle in place.



Next it was time to insert the motor mount. The rear center ring will be left off to allow for internal fillets. TBII Was applied to the inside of the tube and the motor mount slid in place until the ends of the tube were even.



That is as far as I got last night. Working from home today so I should be able to get the fins installed and begin the fillets.

 

[Back_at_it]

Starting to look like a rocket. Installed the fins yesterday. Sanded the tube where the fins will sit and attached using TBII. I have to say that I really enjoy rockets with TTW fins. Makes attaching and aligning the fins so much easier.

Did the first round of fillets with TBII. Will go back over them with Thick and quick for round two.



While the fins were drying I added the screw eye to the bulkhead in the main coupler and soaked the coupler in thin CA. Once dry the coupler was sanded with 100 and 400 grit until I was happy with the fitment inside the body tube.



Right on que, the nose cones arrived from ERockets. Huge shout out to Randy and his crew. From placing the order to my door in 2 days.

Here is the nosecone as it arrived. Almost perfect. Just a little sanding to get it to meet the tube the way I like.



Dipped the nosecone in MinWax Sanding sealer and hung it up to dry. This is after two coats.

I'm going to wet sand it with 600 then give it another coat before priming and it should be ready to go. While I really wish they had this in plastic, Their balsa nosecones are a work of art.



Today will be internal Fillets and hunting for the most obnoxious annoyingly bright pink spray paint I can find. I've used the safety colors and they just don't "pop". I'm thinking of Krylon Gloss Hot Pink but I need to see it in person.

Thanks for following along.

 

[Back_at_it]

Internal fillets are done. Used TBII and let it run down the valley between the fin and tube. Repeated the process where the fin tab meets the motor tube. These are strong enough that my external fillets can be minimal. Took advantage of the sun and sat the rocket outside to help with cure time. I really like this working from home thing.




Next it was time to install the rear centering ring and motor retainer. The rear ring was installed with TBII and let dry for an hour. Next it was time to install the motor retainer. This is an Estes 29mm motor retainer. The inside was roughed up with 36 grit on a Dremel tool then wiped clean with alcohol. The outside of the motor tube was sanded with 60 grit to get any misc. glue off of it.

BSI 30 min. was applied to the inside of the retainer and the outside of the tube. Excess epoxy was cleaned up with alcohol.



At some point the launch lugs we installed. Used 1/4" launch lugs. The lower lug is 2.5" the upper is 1.5". Used a 3/16 rod as an alignment guide. Tacked the lugs in places with instant CA then went back with TB Thick and Quick for fillets.



Did a couple of additional fillets on the fins and lugs to make things nice. Ready for a test fit.



And here we have the rocket together for the first time. She's a big girl. The tubes I'm using seem to be a little fuzzier than normal so I'm going to get the first coat of primer on before doing any filler or sanding.



If the weather holds out I should have this one in primer today. Forecast is low 80's and sunny so we will see....

 

[Back_at_it]

Back with an update. Put on an initial couple of heavy coats of primer. The body tubes had a lot of fibers and fuzz sticking up that would have only gotten worse if I had tried to do the body work before priming.

After the primer dried I filled the seams with DAP brand wood filler and let that dry over night.



Afterwards it was time for two more coats of primer. This was left to dry for a few days. The body is nice ad straight at this point and ready for final sanding and paint. Final sanding will be with 600 grit then the entire rocket will be shot with a gloss white base coat. With any luck I should have this one in paint by the end of the week.

 

[clete]

I bought a Semroc OSO kit from a guy that shows up at the local launches with an enclosed trailer full of everything rockets. First time doing a Semroc kit. They seem like they really good kits, kind of old school maybe. I'd like to find more of their kits.
What is the red ring for, in one of the pics above? Aligning fins? Can you tell i'm kind of a novice builder?

Thanks,
CH

 

[Back_at_it]

The red ring is a fin alignment jig from Qualman rockets. Even with the slots in the tube, the large size of these fins makes them want to lean over. The alignment jig keeps them centered while they dry.

 

[clete]

thank you

 

[Back_at_it]

Little bit of progress on this one. The upper tube will remain gloss white so I managed to get two good coats of Krylon Gloss white on the upper tube. Also did one quick coat on the lower half of the rocket just to ensure that there were no major sanding scratches or anything I needed to address before the next color goes on. The Gloss White is a base for the final color on the lower



After testing a few different brands and shades of pink, I have settled on the Krylon Gloss Hot Pink. While it's still not the truly obnoxious bright pink I was hoping for, it's about the best I can find without going to Testors or some other specialty brand. With the size of the lower half of this rocket I'll settle for what I have as those little cans are $10-$12 each in my area. If anyone has a recommendation for an obnoxious pink in the future, let me know.

Weather only held out long enough to get the nose cone painted. Will need to wait to do the lower section. Still needs a couple of coats of clear. Hopefully it "pops" a bit more after that.

 

[kuririn]

I switched from Rusto to Krylon because the Rusto spray cans kept clogging internally on me and I had to throw away a few good cans that were nearly full.
However in my limited experience I found that Krylon is not as glossy as Rusto.
Left: Krylon Gloss Orange
Right: Rusto Gloss Orange

It looks like more of a matte finish than glossy.
Perhaps a gloss clear coat will solve the problem?

 

[kuririn]

BTW, since this model is OOP, feel free to use this scan for home print decals if you're so inclined.
I'm stuck on the filler stage of my clone build so you're probably gonna finish way before me.



Stickershock23 probably has this in vinyl, I'm sure.

 

[Back_at_it]

I switched from Rusto to Krylon because the Rusto spray cans kept clogging internally on me and I had to throw away a few good cans that were nearly full.
However in my limited experience I found that Krylon is not as glossy as Rusto.
Left: Krylon Gloss Orange
Right: Rusto Gloss Orange
View attachment 485695
It looks like more of a matte finish than glossy.
Perhaps a gloss clear coat will solve the problem?

I've not had issues with shine on Krylon Vs Rust. I too switched to Krylon as I just couldn't deal with the absolute crap results i was getting from Rustoleum. I'm happy with the shine, I'm just not happy with the color and I'm hoping that a coat of clear might make it deeper/ brighter.

The only paint I see a significant difference in is Duplicolor. Right out of the can that stuff is like glass. No clear needed.

 

[Back_at_it]

BTW, since this model is OOP, feel free to use this scan for home print decals if you're so inclined.
I'm stuck on the filler stage of my clone build so you're probably gonna finish way before me.

View attachment 485696

Stickershock23 probably has this in vinyl, I'm sure.

Awesome. I can load that into my Cricut and cut it. Will probably leave off the SEMROC name as mine is a clone.

Thanks!!!

 

[ECayemberg]

Cool rocket! Did you get your Brighton back? I saw a damaged Brighton at the TWA launch by the LCO table that I'm guessing was yours.

 

[Back_at_it]

Cool rocket! Did you get your Brighton back? I saw a damaged Brighton at the TWA launch by the LCO table that I'm guessing was yours.

Eric, Messaging you. Never got it back.

 

[Back_at_it]

The weather finally worked with me long enough to get some paint on this one. Seems like this one is dragging on forever.

I wasn't really happy with the pink color that I chose. Didn't feel it was really what I wanted so I went back to the drawing board and found that Krylon makes a Neon Pink. After a couple of test pieces over various base colors I decided this was what I was looking for. The Neon pink is a flat color so it will need to be clear coated if you want it to shine.

Here is the nose cone before clear. I applied two coats of white primer over the previous pink and painted on something like 6 to 8 light coats of Neon pink. The key to painting with this color is patients. You absolutely must do multiple very light coats or this stuff will run as it is very thin. You can see where it ran down past my masking. You must also keep the can further from the object or it begins to stripe. The good news is that it dries in just a couple of minutes and any mistakes you make can be sanded in 30 mins.



Next it was time to do the main body. After sanding the white base coat with 800 grit I started applying the pink. After the 5th coat It was starting to look like the color I wanted. I stopped there and let the paint dry for an hour. I then hit it with 800 grit to knock down some of the texture that had built up then applied 3 or 4 more light coats to get to the desired color. Each coat makes it darker but the darker it gets the more "neon" it looks. If you want bright pink then lay on two or three coats. If you want a neon color it will require more link 7 or 8 coats. Stop when you get to the color you are looking for.

Under my LED lights it doesn't really look "neon pink" but out it the sun light it's almost hard to look at without sun glasses



Here you can see the clear applied to the nose cone. Duplicolor clear is compatible with Krylon Neon so that is what was used. Now I just need to do the same to the rest of the body. Mother nature is showing sunny and 70F today so hopefully that happens and I can get the clear on this big girl.

 

[Back_at_it]

Two coats of clear on and curing. Vinyl tonight.

 

[Back_at_it]

All right guys it's finally time to bring this one to a close. I've been extremely busy with work the last week or so but I finally managed to get the final cut and applied last night. With the exception of a flight report this build is done.

Here we have the completed rocket with Chute.



The LED lighting in my hobby room does not do this color justice but here is the Brighton fully assembled and ready to go. If the sun ever comes out I'll need to take this in the backyard and get some better pictures of this color.




Final weight with all of the laundry and an altimeter on board comes in at 18.8 ounces. She's a Plump girl .

I'm glad I went with the 29 mm motor mount as it looks like I'm going to need an F67 to break the thousand foot mark. Should be a nice low altitude flyer on the E30 and F44. Of course we can always go bigger for more altitude.



That's it guys. Unless the sun comes out sometime soon which it doesn't look like it will here in Chicagoland, I'll be back with the flight report Somewhere around the middle of November.

Thanks for following along. I have another project on the workbench ready to go as soon as work allows.

 

[bad_idea]

I went back to the drawing board and found that Krylon makes a Neon Pink. After a couple of test pieces over various base colors I decided this was what I was looking for. The Neon pink is a flat color so it will need to be clear coated if you want it to shine.

This sounds like the fluorescent orange Krylon I have been using. Attention-catching when flat, eye-popping when clear-coated. I too spray it over a white base coat. (Well, I do now anyway. I naïvely sprayed it over gray primer once and was predictably disappoint with the result.)

 

[Back_at_it]

This sounds like the fluorescent orange Krylon I have been using. Attention-catching when flat, eye-popping when clear-coated. I too spray it over a white base coat. (Well, I do now anyway. I naïvely sprayed it over gray primer once and was predictably disappoint with the result.)

I've actually been playing around with a couple of different base coats and I think I'm going to lay this down over a Hot Pink base next time. Since the Neon Pink is transparent it gives the finish an almost candy neon finish. I have a PSII clone project coming soon and that rocket was originally pink in the catalog so I'll use it on that rocket.