Sons' new kits

[rbeckey]

Today the boys and I went to lunch and then to the hobby shop. The six year old fancied a Chrome Dome in blue/chrome and the eight year old got a Fat Boy for his first kit that is not ARF. The youngest and I cooperated on the Chrome Dome while the oldest sanded and sealed the finstock of the Fat Boy. He then learned that a plastic NC must also be sanded, and the mold lines filled as necessary. He got two coats of sealer on the fins and the NC done before he wanted to move on for the day. He put a good hour into it, not counting drying time for the sealer/filler, and I am pleased with that.
The Chrome Dome is easy enough, but I clipped the stock shock cord out of it and layed a piece of 1/8 kevlar down the length of the BT, then poured polyurethane glue down the tube on the kevlar. A 24" piece of 1/4 elastic was tied to the kevlar and will serve nicely, I am sure. I like the Chrome Dome's look. It is easy to see the appeal for a kid. (I think I just admitted something about my mental age.) The engine locks into the fin can with a lock ring, and there is no motor mount tube, just molded areas in the fin can to hold the engine in place. I took the liberty of scoring the inside of the fin can and spreading some gel epoxy on the seams after the plastic cement dried.
The Fat Boy will be coached along slowly, and kevlar substituted for the first few inches of hte shock cord. I will try to keep pretty close to stock besides that. It was hard not to sub that 24mm mount, I'll tell you! Better to keep this one low, so he gets it back more often.

PS: Dad got two G64-4 reloads and a new bottle of extra thick CA.

 

[saxophone]

Sounds like fun. Another kit that your older son might enjoy building
on his own is the Estes Mean Machine. I gave one to my nephew
and helped him build it. Look at all those tubes in
the package! It is easily recovered on a D12. The six foot rocket is
always a great attention getter. It's also big enough that your son
can get really creative on how he paints it. I added a card-stock
canopy to the nose cone and put my nephew's name under it like he was
the pilot. He got a kick out of that.

If I were to build it over again, I would modify it to break somewhere
in the middle instead of at the nose cone. I would probably put
a bulkhead at the bottom of the top tube and put a screw eye in it.
Why? Because the 6 foot rocket doesn't fit real well in my car.
If I broke it in the middle, it would fit much more easily. In fact,
I have an easier time transporting my 7 foot Aerotech Mirage than
his 6 foot Mean Machine. Ah well, live and learn.

 

[TheRadiator]

Not to mention that by breaking it in the middle, you don't have to worry about the body tube warping. Well, at least my first Mean Machine warped. Broke the 2nd one in the middle, and she's doing just fine!

 

[rbeckey]

We have a Mean Machine we call John Deere. Here is a pic from a recent launch. It is a family favorite, and the oldest son has already circled it in his Estes catalog. I agree that the next one will break in the middle, for easy transport. One advantage of the long version is never having a crispy chute. Too far away from the ejection to burn it, I guess.

 

[TheRadiator]

It's also on my list of rockets to purchase yet again so I can build it a little better. G10 fins, thru-the-wall, 29mm motor mount, etc. Decal wise, I going to try to duplicate the Estes decal in orange and paint the rocket fleet white. Well, I'm going to quit talking about it now before I go out and buy it!

 

[n3tjm]

Mean Machines do warp in the sun. That is one of the many good reasons why they should be split in the middle. Also, two 18" chutes is better than a single 24" chute.

 

[rbeckey]

Fortunately, mine hasn't warped yet. I like the one chute with a spill hole because the field is fairly small, but the grass is always long. The MM goes pretty high on an E9 or AT E, and I don't want it drifting. I had replaced the fin stock with 1/8 lite ply, so they are tough enough for almost anything.
Long grass makes all the difference, eh?

 

[TheRadiator]

I wonder if I should split my Custom Rockets Engage in half.... she's a 5 footer. Any suggestions???

 

[Ryan S.]

Probably a Good idea. I didnt do it to my mean machine it got warped. But its stuck in a tree now so I guess it doesnt matter

 

[TheRadiator]

Don't ya just *hate* that! Pretend the green smiley is just a big rocket-eating tree... :kill: There, I feel better. I lost a Estes Prowler in one of those rocket eaters after I flew her on an E15. Breaks the heart! Oh well..... prepare the Engage for surgery!!

 

[saxophone]

Hmmmmmm. I seem to recall sending a reply to this thread, and
now it's gone.

Ahh, there it is. I wonder why it didn't load the first time.