Pimp Daddy Rocketry?

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Anyone else looked into on of these kits? The SS Cassiopeia came in the mail yesterday, and with todays launch cancelled, I've found some time to get started on it. It's a cool kit, and not bad from a price standpoint, but feels oddly vintage in todays market. No Kevlar and the old standby paper shock cord mount. :( Still, it's been a great project, and with the exception of a couple of small gripes, I'm enjoying the build. :cool:

[ghrocketman]

Ihave the following Pimp Daddy Kits:
Gemini Titan
Astron Trident
Orbital Transport (much better than the Estes re-release as it has original style balsa cones, but laser cut fins)
A-20 Demon
Cherokee-D
SS Cassiopeia

I have built the A-20 Demon and the Trident...they were great builds.
I'll be starting either the Cassiopeia or the Cherokee-D tomorrow.

I think they have very good value for the money.
I probably will order the Thor-Agena B next week.

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Coming along to the point that it's recognizable.

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

I planned to fly the Cassiopeia this weekend, but Ma Nature thwarted me. Except for the paper discs on the dowels, paint and decals, it's finished. Nice project. I'll be ordering from them again. :cool:

[ghrocketman]

I just finished my Pimp Daddy Cherokee-D; I will be starting either the Cassiopeia or the K-21 Gemini-Titan tonight.
I find their kits to be of extremely good value for the money....they are always coming out with something new also.

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

The Pimp Daddy A-20 Demon arrived today. Since my wife had aerobics and dinner was the leftovers from earlier this week, I had enough time to get the body tubes and nose cone prepped and sanded, the engine mount built and installed, and the fins shaped. It's a stretch to think that I'll have it finished by Saturday when I'm next hoping to fly, but there's a very good chance I'll have it painted. VERY nice kit. As with the Cassiopeia, my lone complaint is with the recovery system, which I've countered with a 6' length of 250# Kevlar and a 4' section of 1/4" sewing elastic. Overkill, I know, but what the hey. Pre-cut fins with this one, which was a surprise. If any of you want to give one of these kits a try, click on "links" on the website. One link will take you to the current kit on Ebay, which is usually sold at a "Buy It Now" discount. (A warning though. I called the next U.S.S. Atlantis that pops up.) :rolleyes:

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Speaking of which, the Cassiopeia is painted, albeit in a darker blue color than the catalog pic called for. That Ice Blue never has done much for me. It reminds me of an old Mustang that a friend of mine had that was a piece of junk. PD looks to have all of their kits up on Ebay, but not all are discounted.
http://www.pdrocketry.com/ :cool:

[ghrocketman]

I'm currently building my Cassiopeia now; body tube is together, nose cone has 4 coats of Balsa Fillercoat and 1 of Sanding Sealer on it....getting ready to cut the fins out. I obtained the original color for this kit by buying a color-matched half-pint of Dupont Automotive Lacquer (which was NOT cheap :mad: ).

I noticed that the PDR Thor-Agena B is not up on their ebay listing. I want to buy that kit, but I'm waiting for it to be less than $32.95 on their website....this is a little pricey for a BT-60 based LPR kit.

I'm debating on my next kit to start; it will either be one of my original 3 K-41 Estes Mercury Redstones :D , the PDR K-21 Gemini-Titan Clone, or an original Astron Avenger.

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

I'm debating on my next kit to start; it will either be one of my original 3 K-41 Estes Mercury Redstones :D , the PDR K-21 Gemini-Titan Clone, or an original Astron Avenger.

I picked up a K-41 nose cone on Ebay back in 2004. The wraps were badly faded and the tower had long since disappeared, but I felt like I did pretty well for six bucks. I just downloaded the scan from YORS the other night, so now all I have to do is pick up the dowels to recreate the tower. :cool:

[Ltvscout]

The Pimp Daddy A-20 Demon arrived today.
How does his "chrome" wrap for this kit look?

[ghrocketman]

I thought the chrome wrap for my PDR Demon is a near match for my original Demon wrap.

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

I thought the chrome wrap for my PDR Demon is a near match for my original Demon wrap.

Yes. It's a great reproduction. I haven't applied mine, so if I think of it, I'll bring the decal to NARCON.

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

The Cassiopeia was another rocket that I flew on Saturday. It was the next in line after the ill-fated Bomarc and was delayed for over an hour. I flew it on a C6-5 since we were dealing with minimal wind and I didn't expect much drift. The flight was arrow straight and very impressive with ejection occurring just as the forward motion began to stall. Since my one bone was with the lack of and up-to-date recovery system, I had substituted a 6' long piece of 1/8" sewing elastic in place of the MUCH shorter piece of elastic provided with the kit. I think both of the guys I flew with thought the nose cone had separated, but it just took a while to pull all of the elastic taut. True to my luck on the day, the Cassiopeia recovered on the road, breaking two fins and the ring off the back of the rocket. You can't imagine how strong the urge was to pack up and leave right then.
:mad: Man, I hate that road.

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Cassiopeia launch pics.

[snaquin]

Cassiopeia launch pics.

Bill when I first glanced at that last thumbnail the shadow in the image makes it look like your Cassiopeia was sticking in the ground. :eek:

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Bill when I first glanced at that last thumbnail the shadow in the image makes it look like your Cassiopeia was sticking in the ground. :eek:

The way my luck ran on Saturday, it wasn't inconceivable. :rolleyes:

[Eagle3]

Yes. It's a great reproduction. I haven't applied mine, so if I think of it, I'll bring the decal to NARCON.

Bill, did you put any kind of clear coat on the payload wrap? I sort of ruined mine when I tried to apply it like I do trim monokote (do NOT dip the wrap in a bowl of warm water with a couple of drops of dish detergent!). PDR is kind enough to send me a replacement, but they weren't sure about using Future or any other clear coat over the chrome decals.

[dwmzmm]

I currently have the PDRocketry's Gemini Titan - 3 (review in EMRR), Alien Explorer (review
pending after first test flight, probably on June 16th), and the Starship Excaliber. The GT and
AE have been completed as far as the build is concerned. As I've stated in my EMRR product
review (GT-3) and the various postings in this and other forums relating to the Alien Explorer, PDRocketry's kits are generally builder's kits . They should not be confused
by some rocketeers as kits that could be built overnight (I wouldn't recommend it, anyway;
I have, though, built a scratch 18 mm helicopter duration model - the Gassaway rotorock
design - overnight when "pushed to the edge" to do so!!).

BTW, those are nice pics of your builds and flights. Show us some more when you get the
time (I'd sure like to see them!)...

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Bill, did you put any kind of clear coat on the payload wrap? I sort of ruined mine when I tried to apply it like I do trim monokote (do NOT dip the wrap in a bowl of warm water with a couple of drops of dish detergent!). PDR is kind enough to send me a replacement, but they weren't sure about using Future or any other clear coat over the chrome decals.

No, I didn't do any kind of clearcoating at all. I'll probably be sorry one day, but that kind of thing only rarely occurs to me. (As in the case of the SLS Lil' Hustler. THAT one I clearcoated.)

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

As I've stated in my EMRR product review (GT-3) and the various postings in this and other forums relating to the Alien Explorer, PDRocketry's kits are generally builder's kits . They should not be confused by some rocketeers as kits that could be built overnight (I wouldn't recommend it, anyway; I have, though, built a scratch 18 mm helicopter duration model - the Gassaway rotorock design - overnight when "pushed to the edge" to do so!!).



No, I'd agree completely. They're a great weekend project though. :cool: I'm working on the Starlab right now, but getting ready for NSL has kind of taken my attention at the moment.

[Eagle3]

No, I didn't do any kind of clearcoating at all. I'll probably be sorry one day, but that kind of thing only rarely occurs to me. (As in the case of the SLS Lil' Hustler. THAT one I clearcoated.)

Thanks Bill. I normally like to throw a layer of Future on models a few weeks after the last decals have been applied, especially rockets with a white paint scheme. I think I'll just leave the Demon alone though.

[Vanel]

Now that I have my Interceptor and Semroc Centurion in the finishing stages, I thought I would start a couple of new projects. After selecting the old Estes Cobra as my clone build, I went to the kit stash and yanked out the PDR A-20 Demon kit - it'll complement my Cherokee D and Renegade nicely.

The kit is very nice, especially the foils, but I did notice a couple of things, one of which was major in my mind. The nose cone - supposedly a BNC-55AM - seemed too long. :eek: I yanked out one of my Semroc BNC-55AM's and sure enough, the one included in the PDR kit was 1" too long (5" versus 4"). I did a quick calc on the rocket's length, and found that the Semroc nose seemed to be right. This was confirmed by a check of the 1974 parts catalog, which lists the BNC-55AM as 4" in length.

I will be using the Semroc nose in the build :rolleyes:

The other thing was that the coupler looked like it had been hacked from a balsa cylinder - the ends were not close to even, and extremely rough. Testing the fit revealed that it would not fit into the BT-55 without some major sanding - bigger diameter than the tube!

I will replace that as well :p

A pic of the parts discussed above is below:

http://www.billcooke.org/images/Construction/PDR_A20_Demon/PD_A20_nose.jpg

[scigs30]

That is good you caught that. When ever I build a OOP Estes kit with balsa nose cone, I also order the same one from Semroc. I will sand the Semroc nose to the exact shape of the orig. This way if something ever happens to the orig. build I can always build a clone in the future.

[Vanel]

The A-20 Demon is now finished - on to other builds! :D

[dwmzmm]

The A-20 Demon is now finished - on to other builds! :D

Wow, a very beautiful, sharp looking model! I'll have to get me one too!

[cas2047]

You really did that bird proud! Excellent Job!!!

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

The A-20 Demon is now finished - on to other builds! :D

I'm surprised that more fuss isn't made over this kit. IMMNHO, it's far and away the coolest product in the PDR stable. Very nicely done, to the point that even I couldn't screw it up. ;)

[tbzep]

That's another kit that didn't impress me as a kid (I loved the Cherokee-D), but it has really grown on me as an aged veteran (never quit so I ain't a BAR). I think it's just been overshadowed by the Cherokee or it would garner more attention now.

[dwmzmm]

That's another kit that didn't impress me as a kid (I loved the Cherokee-D), but it has really grown on me as an aged veteran (never quit so I ain't a BAR). I think it's just been overshadowed by the Cherokee or it would garner more attention now.

I also thought the Estes Shrike (or was it an Astron Shrike?) was a cool looking model, although I never did get one back in the olden days (along with the A-20 Demon, and the
Cherokee, among a few others; I'm more into scale and certain models that are now classified as "classics" today). But looking at the pic of the A-20 earlier in this thread has "pushed me over the edge" as far as deciding to get one for my fleet. :)

[tbzep]

I liked the Shrike also. However, I was extremely limited in funds, so I was limited in what I could get. I only got two or three kits a year at best, all the while saving money for the Centuri Saturn 1B and V. I did finally get a Maxi Pershing and Honest John for Christmas one year, though. :)

[dwmzmm]

I liked the Shrike also. However, I was extremely limited in funds, so I was limited in what I could get. I only got two or three kits a year at best, all the while saving money for the Centuri Saturn 1B and V. I did finally get a Maxi Pershing and Honest John for Christmas one year, though. :)

Did you buy your kits via mail order or at hobby shops? I was able to build up my fleet pretty quickly with the numerous "free kits" Estes and Centuri offered through their mail
order specials. When my parents got me the Cineroc/Omega for Christmas (1971, I think),
I got like three free kits with it. Those free kit offers were too tempting to resist!!

[pantherjon]

Just curious if anyone has heard anything from PD Rocketry..I placed an order on the 14th and haven't received anything yet..Is this about normal for their time scale or not? Will have to shoot them an e-mail and see what's up..Not getting worried per se just getting a tad concerned...

[dwmzmm]

Just curious if anyone has heard anything from PD Rocketry..I placed an order on the 14th and haven't received anything yet..Is this about normal for their time scale or not? Will have to shoot them an e-mail and see what's up..Not getting worried per se just getting a tad concerned...

From past experience, it shouldn't take that long; I've usually gotten my stuff from them
in less than 1 1/2 weeks. Go ahead and send them an e-mail. I haven't received any feedbacks nor messages from Eric on their blog/forum in quite a while, and I do remember
some time ago he was very sick, so I hope he's ok. Let us know what you find out.

[pantherjon]

Shot 'em an email..will let y'all know what I find out..

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Just curious if anyone has heard anything from PD Rocketry..I placed an order on the 14th and haven't received anything yet..Is this about normal for their time scale or not? Will have to shoot them an e-mail and see what's up..Not getting worried per se just getting a tad concerned...

I've had several issues like this. :mad: They have always come through for me, but the experiences have moved them down in my "buying queue" appropriately. Keep us informed.

[snaquin]

I had an email from Eric on September 14th. I had inquired about the A-20 Demon and asked if the would be doing the holiday special again this year where a purchase of two kits would ship without any shipping charges.

He emailed me the latest kit list including some that were not yet on the website and I did inquire about the length of the A-20 Demon nose cone. Eric said he was unaware of the length problem. Eric said he purchased what is supposed to be a nose cone with the original specs for a BNC-55AM and would have to check with his supplier about this.

He hasn't gotten back with me (although I never specifically asked him to) but he knows I was interested in purchasing a couple of kits including the A-20 Demon. I may ask him about it again.

.

[pantherjon]

I just got an e-mail from Eric and he said they had had some problems with the lasercut finset on the Orbital Transport that I ordered..Said I should have the kits by Wednesday..And offered free shipping on my next order!:):cool:

[Eagle3]

I can vouch for Eric and PDR as well. I goofed up my A-20 Demon payload wrap by dipping it in water with a few drop of dish washing liquid. It's a common method of applying trim monokote giving you the ability to adjust it a bit if you don't get it on straight. Well, it totally dissolved the ink when I did that and Eric was kind enough to send me a replacement for free even I'm the one that screwed it up. I just got a Satellite Interceptor from him and can't wait to get started on it. It's my third PDR kit and they've all been great.

As far as the A-20 Demon nose cone goes, I certainly didn't notice a difference between the PDR cone and the original, so it's good enough for me. ;)