The Starlight Seiron3

[BSNW]

Hello all-

I hope you are all doing well. Now that I have successfully passed my TRA L3!! (YAHOO!) I have time to get back to my other love....model rockets! (I truly have one foot in HP and my other foot in model rocketry... I love them both equally!).

There is nothing like a day at the hobby table, with a cup of coffee (or a beer if it is a summer evening) building a model rocket. ANYWAY, this time I have something from my late dear friend Bruce. I think this is the first time I have done a build thread on something other than an Estes kit. Anyhoo, I have chosen a nice "three banger", the Starlight Seiron 3. I can only imagine three C6-7's in this thing. I am afraid my tracker won't fit in this one, so I may have to stick with three B6's. I really like how it has written instructions!! Here we go. Below are photos of the unpacking. More when I have time for progress!!

BTW: is Starlight rocketry still around?

Andrew

 

[BSNW]

Here is the unpacking, NICE KIT!!

 

[BSNW]

BTW: as you can see on the table, I am also building an Estes Air Commander (two-stage). I am restyling it to be more of a sounding rocket than an "attack weapon" theme. I like sounding rockets. more photos of the Seiron 3 below.

 

[MALBAR 70]

Cool! I love Starlight kits, unfortunately, I do believe they have closed up shop.
I didn't realize this kit was a 3x cluster, I regret not picking one up when I had the chance.

 

[David_Stack]

Looks like a nice model!

Is that a booster for an Estes/Centuri "Long Tom" I see sitting inverted on that build table as well?

 

[BSNW]

Looks like a nice model!

Is that a booster for an Estes/Centuri "Long Tom" I see sitting inverted on that build table as well?

Hey Dave-
It is from an Estes Air Commander two-stage. You can see the upper stage on its side next to it. That is a nice BT-55 kit as well.
Peace
Andrew

 

[BSNW]

Hey All-

I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. I was able to make some progress on this kit. I first glued the three motor tubes together and installed the motor/engine blocks in each.

 

[BSNW]

I then rounded the leading edges on the fins. Next I "wedged" the root edges as they are glued in between the motor tubes. I made sure to sand the bonding surfaces on the tubes....

 

[BSNW]

Here you have it with all the fins on!

 

[BSNW]

I now had to make a decision. Below are two images. One with the stock cone and other out of a parts box...... I am sorry. It is a nice kit, but that nose cone does not do it for me. I also took 2" off the upper section. In its place I will add some nose weight if needed as I will balance everything out when the rocket is complete.

 

[BSNW]

After gluing on the top section, I then took cotton balls and packed in the open gaps on the inside. I then took thin CA and saturated the cotton. A tiny drop of accelerator hardens everything up nice and tight. This is a trick I have been using for years. Works great. Photos below.

 

[BSNW]

As you can see I used my customary BIN primer to seal all the balsa. It is now ready for sanding-priming then painting.
I already purchased a pack of C6-7's!!

 

[kuririn]

Good swap out on the nose cone.
Looks much better.

 

[SCooke123]

Yeah I like the 2nd nosecone better too. Should be a high-flyer when done!