Vintage Estes Aero-Fin and Red Max Build

[SCIGS30]

Here are couple of builds I started yesterday. The Vintage Estes Aero-Fin and one of my many Estes Der Red Max kits. The Der Red Max was built yesterday and allowed the glue to dry overnight then brushed on Dope balsa sealer today and sprayed the bare rocket with Gloss Red today. I tried to get some pictures of the finished fins to show how well the balsa sealer works, even without using primer or fillers. On my next day off, I will apply the decals. Today, I built the vintage Aero-Fin. The instructions have you seal the fins before gluing onto the rocket, probably makes it easier with 5 fins. I work tomorrow so will not be able spray the gloss white until Wed.

 

[SCIGS30]

Here is my Aero-Fin all painted ready for decals. Finished with dope sealer for the balsa followed by gloss white and gloss blue. The little fuzzy on the fin gets pulled off when all dry. Also finished my 3 day Der Red Max build. In the pictures the Der Red Max on the left is an original kit from the 70s or early 80s I built over 5 years ago. You can see the better quality of decals on the older version vs the new version. I don't spend much time on my finishes, the vintage Der Red Max, I gave her all I had. I filled the spirals, sanded the body tube, multiple coats of primer with sanding, followed by flat white, sanded and finally Gloss red. Then buffed her out and shot a glossy clear. It took a lot of work and I will never do that again. The one I just finished on the right only took 3 days and is good enough for flight. Also after sealing the fins, both builds weighed about the same. The newer version was a little heavier before painting. After painting and as shown, the smoother rocket came in at 76.25 grams and the faster build at 48.5 grams. I did not use any primer on the lighter build, just Gloss red and gloss black.

 

[Adam3836]

Nice work
Cool kits

 

[SCIGS30]

The vintage Estes Aero-Fin is complete. The old decals were a challenge even after applying decal solutions. Sometimes with vintage decals, you just have to be happy even if they are not perfect.