That's gotta be a record for me!

[jetra2]

I just finished building and painting my Super Big Bertha. This was a pristine kit that was yelling at me to build it Monday night. So I did.

It was an easy build, and the finishing was *gasp* EASY! This rocket is impressive in size, and for being my first Big Bertha of any size (ok, I did have a Baby Bertha...but that doesn't count), it is a great rocket.

I usedthis technique to fill the fins, and they turned out ok. I attached them with CyA, and filleted them with yellow glue (strength), Apogee's FIXIT clay (strength), and Fill n' Finish (looks). This gave it beautiful fillets that blend in quite well to the body!

Ok, now I'll describe to you the build process in pictures. This first picture is of the MMT inserted into the lower body tube, before attaching the other two CR's and the upper tube. At first, I thought this had to be a joke. As you'll notice in the pic, there is very little coupler tube sticking out! This wasn't a mistake on my part, but Estes supplies a 1" long coupler. I wasn't sure how to proceed, so I just kept following the instructions. As I would find out, you are to attach two more CR's to the MMT before you insert it in the upper tube. OK, so I did that. I let it dry, then sanded out the lower couple of inches of the upper tube to give the glue some bite, then inserted the lower tube assembly. As I would come to find out, it's actually very strong!

Time for pictures!

Jason

 

[MarkABrown]

What do you mean? You mean that you spelled Wisconsin wrong? Just pokin' at ya.

Tour De Deuce WINSCONSIN-NARCON Launch SUCCESSFUL!!! A report and pictures will be posted in this thread and will be posted on the TDD site soon! THANKS JON! Next up: MISSOURI!!! 9 down! ONLY 41 to go! Keep Watch!
TDD Thread
Hi...I'm Jason...I'm a Deuce-aholic...and proud of it!
No, it's not an addiction, it's a hobby!
There is a fine line between a hobby and a mental illness!
I AM WAY OVER THAT LINE!
NAR: 82997

 

[jetra2]

Come on Mark! I hit the submit reply button too early by hitting enter! Sheesh!

Here's the lower tube before the CR's

Jason

 

[jetra2]

Now i was kinda working fast, so I forgot to take pictures, but here's one with the first fin attached with CyA.

Jason

POST 900!!! YAY!

 

[jetra2]

Here's the second fin attached...

Jason

 

[jetra2]

Here's a not-so-great pic of all four fins attached.

Jason

 

[jetra2]

Here's the first assembled pic...

Jason

 

[jetra2]

Now here she is with a coat of gray primer on..

Jason

 

[jetra2]

No pix of her with only white, but here she is with the red on.

Jason

 

[jetra2]

And finally, here she is finished and decaled. I still have to attach the recovery system, but dang is she pretty! She's big too!



Jason

 

[loopy]

She looks great! Now go clean your room...Dang, boy! I thought my house was bad...

 

[BlueNinja]

Nice! I might try that technique, i water my fnf down to heated syrup consistency before applying it. Looks good, a couple people in our club have modded theirs for 4 24mm and 1 29mm.

 

[eugenefl]

Wow Jason! Nice job! That thing looks SCHWEET! I am really glad you took the time to build this one. I was hoping this birthday gift wasn't just *another* rocket in the collection. It'll be sweet to see it fly.

 

[johnnwwa]

Jason
First off NICE JOB!!!
Question I have a S.B.B. as you know thanks to you.
The coupler looks kinda small meaning Dia. is ok but too short .did you have any trouble with alignment of the two BT's . I thought about using the coupler from the estes phoenix .what do you think.

John
BAR

 

[kelltym88]

Very nice job!!! Looks beautiful. I went with a different type of paint job on mine,( sorry no picture handy). You'll love the way it flies also.