What Are You Actually Building?
 

Hey, the design studies are neat, but how about what is everybody actually building scale or sport-scale right now?

I'm repairing a Centuri Saturn Ib, scratchbuilding a Shenzhou, and collecting parts to build a lightweight Sputnik before October.

And don't forget the pictures!

A "scale-like" Arcon. Taking the Semroc Arcon Hi and making it look like the working rounds (or non-working—depending on your point of view) in photos. Thanks to some help from folks here on YORF.

Construction to begin this week. Photos when there's something to see.

Sport-scale-ish Black Brant IV. Booster section is 2.6" PML tubing, sustainer is 38mm Loc tube. The transition, which is also the sustainer stabilization, is giving me grief... maybe I'm just being fussy...

I was hoping to get a Zooch Mercury-Redstone done in time for the celebration on Sunday at NARAM. Almost had a disaster when the glue started to grab early when joining the two main body tubes together. Now am hung up on the need to paint that tube before applying the wraps. It has been too humid for too long. Guess I should build the tower in the meantime and I can paint that with a brush indoors.


Bill

Terrier-Malemute, two staged. Terrier is T-20 based, and Malemute is coupler stock.

kj

Where are your pictures?

What Are You Actually Building?
 

What am I actually building? Well, nothing for NARAM. And it's not even a rocket. But I just knocked this out in my rocket shop.

Some friends of ours recently had another baby, and they've been funneling baby food jars my way. (I use them for storage in the garage.) I decided, to pay them back, I'd build them a storage rack like I have. I just got the finishing touches put on this last night. It includes 42 baby food jars. Just what everybody needs for keeping track of all those nuts and screws used in rocketry. I use just about every SAE screw size there is up and beyond 1/4-20, so having something like this is super handy.

Doug .



.

I've seen parts organizers with baby food jars before, and even made a couple, but never this fancy. It looks great!

hehe, well for my first post here...

An Estes Vagabond. Minus the supplied fins...dont really care for the shape. Just doing a std trapezoidial 3 finner.

Almost everything else will be per kit, except shock cord.

Would post a pic, but the workbench is wayyy to cluttered with other stuff.

It's my first Rocket since... a long time... oh about early 90's, I guess.

Semroc S1-b
Estes M-31 Honest John clone
Estes 1/100 S-V (2)
Apogee 1/70 S-V
Pershing 1a (2)
Estes GT-3 clone (2)
Nike-X clone (2)

I'm working on a Vagabond, as well. I thought the fins were cool. but I really liked the simple orange/white/black paint and decal scheme. I must have been in that kind of mood lately because I've built several models with such a paint scheme, including the Skybolt and the Stinger. Still looking for a suitable blue for the Skybolt. ;)

:D :D
For some odd reason, never was able to get my mind past really basic fin shapes..
maybe it is because they are easier to work on :rolleyes:

After doing a lot of building over the winter and spring, I hadn't built anything for a while so I decided to stop at the LHS on the way home yesterday.

I'll be working on two rockets at the same time. I think it might qualify as a scale or sport scale...the Estes Screaming Eagle will be started tonight.

Though not really a scale or sport scale, last night I started one that my 7 year old daughter requested. After I successfully built a dinosaur inspired rocket for her, she requested a dog rocket. It took a while for me to figure out how I could get fins to look like some part of a dog. It will be Underdog, his cape and long elliptical feet will serve as my fins. . I'm using a Big Bertha kit for most of it.

I got the cape cut out in two halves and glued together last night.

I'm not much of an artist, so I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to get his face on the nose cone.

I used Tamiya Brilliant Blue (TS-44) spray paint on my Skybolt.

The Basic Flying Model Rocket... :D Out of the Estes Vagabond kit bag..

lessons learned:
the body filler thats great for plastic models in no fun, and not going to get covered right with paint... Used it on the BT joint... had to try it.

First one built since about hmm...1994 give or take a few. Even then it was only a few built since 1985.

I sure miss Pactra Poly-U Spray paint. :( Used the Duplicolor you guys seem to like, it was quite decent. Primed with Tamiya White...also no longer available..

Will limit this one to Estes D or longer-burn less peak thrust E.



Oh and for grins... a first attempt at a Nose cone on the Lathe.


Now that this one is done,
Started working on a D Streamer Duration Bird.

If you are referring to Bondo spot putty or something similar, it works best for me over a coat of primer instead of over the raw paper/wood/glue. Apply, then sand and prime again like normal. You can paint base coat straight over the Bondo too. That comes in handy when you've got it ready to paint and then find a blemish, or ding the nose cone as you are toting it outside to paint and you've just run out of primer on another bird. :rolleyes:

It is 3-M Acryl-Blue Glazing Putty. Very similar stuff froman Auto Paint supply house. Actually quite nice. I really should have mixed some with a thinner. And done it right...I was too impatient with it.

Experiments still to be conducted.. ;)

Almost Finished a 3X upscale of the Estes Star Speeder ( waiting for a new altimiter to arive, otherwise complete.)
A 4X upscale of an Estes Orion Starfighter ( Frame up and fin mount complete, need to glass 4 main fins, paint and decals)
A 3" scratch Mercury Redstone ( all that's left to finish is 2 fins and the escape tower, paint and decal)
A 4" scratch Saturn 1B ( just started working up the tubes and Centering rings)
A 3" scratch Russian Vertikal ( completed basic airframe minus fins and external detail. composite sphere for the nose/payload is complete)
A 4" Scratch Little Joe II (Capsuel and airframe done, working on fins and LES, paint and decals)
A Booster for the 3" scratch Aerobee 150 I built earilier this year. (tube and fins cut)
A 1/72 scale Delta II ( core done, Working on boosters)
Figure I better finish a few of these before I start another Project. Happy wife, Happy life!

-> A 3" scratch Russian Vertikal

Looking forward to seeing that one :D

I have a new design in the makes. It's my 1st air scoop/duct concept with a hand turned nose cone unlike anything available. It's a bit hard to get a 3D perspective from my profile drawing but I'm sure I'll have pics available on the build as they come. Still edging a name for this one also.

Well, it is a down size of a sport rocket so I suppose that would be Sport-Scale - just added a Mini Orion from Semroc into the build pool.

Finishing up a Custom Rockets TRISTAR, then moving on to the vintage Estes Battlestar Galactica Laser Torpedo I got from Verna.

Need to throw together a quick and dirty fxed diameter tower launcher tonight.. :rolleyes:
for a launch tommorow.

For once, I am GLAD Homedepot and Lowes did NOT have some 3/4 tubing..
( I had enough for 2 pieces on hand..it was oversize and rough finish)

So I just got back from a 30 minute trip to a metal supplier.. paid LESS, for much better quality material. I was actually expecting to pay a lot... lucked out I guess.

OK guys,

As excited as I am to see the new Semroc Arcas, SWMBO reminded me that I had gathered parts for a corrected Estes K-26 clone including the Semroc laser-cut fins and mounts. So I decided to whip it together.

Therefore, in keeping with the scale and sport-scale theme of this sub-forum, I'm posting these pictures:

picture 1 is a close-up of the standard Arcas fin assembly, I added the cut out for the mounting screw on the real thing. I also added a thin triple wrap of cardstock for the piston ring at the bottom of the boat-tail. The edges of the fins are sanded and CA'd and they have two coats of balsa filler. A couple of coats of sealer and they'll be ready.

picture 2 shows the whole thing on my old cradle. The body tube is now 20.24 inches long which is the right length according to Peter Alway.

Nike-Tomahawk
Sandia Sandhawk

Coming up:
Black Brant II
WASP
Nike Smoke

All are scratch and I'm trying to do a credible (or at least not laughable) scale build of each one. The one that is closest to completion is the N-T, but I'm shy about posting any pics of my rockets until I've simulated every last screw.

I'm torn over how to proceed with the WASP. My original intent was to build a clone of the FSI kit. That version seems like a pretty nice rocket, but as a scale kit, or even a sport-scale kit, it has some glaring omissions and some not-even-close-to-scale elements, and the claimed scale factor is off by a factor of two. So, do I build it as a clone of the kit, or do I "fix it" and correct all of the scale issues? From what I have been able to tell, FSI actually did a decent job of making their scale kits pretty close to scale, but they really missed the mark in a few places on the WASP. (I haven't really looked at the FSI Javelin in detail yet, but nothing really jumps out as being totally off in it.) The only other issue that has come up with an FSI scale kit was correcting the Nike-Tomahawk's fins and making the fin brackets 3D in the Sandhawk. As a few people may know, I've been working on cloning every one of FSI's kits. (Why? Because I can, and I like them.) The minor details that I have added and corrections that I have made (and all of those that I plan on making) to their other scale kits won't alter the fact that they are clones (and won't need to), but I fear that making the corrections in the WASP will make it into something that FSI never kitted, and hence no longer a clone. Build it clone or build it scale? That's my dilemma.

Also very high up in the queue: Semroc Iris. I am head over heels in love with that kit. The Iris is quite possibly the most beautiful sounding rocket that has ever been built. I may even add the booster! In fact it'll probably be built right after, or more likely concurrent with, the BB II.

That nosecone / fin combination reminds me of like a bishop's hat. What about calling it "The Bishop".

I'm actually going with _______Predator. I have to find a 1st name that isn't being used if I can. Here's what it looks like presently.

Wow that's gorgeous. What is it going to fly on again?

It's prepped for 24 mm motors and weighs in at 7.75 oz as is. C-11's and D's prolly. Thanks for the compliment. With all this miserable humidity we have right now, It'll be a while b4 I can paint it.

Gary, that thing is beautimus! Great job!

Allen

LOL...Thanks Allen. We'll see how well I did once the primer goes on. You know all too well the primer will tattle on your build.

Now that's my kind of rocket! :D Wicked details and lots of fins. How about Star Predator for the name? :)

Thanks dood. There's another thread on the other forum with more photos. You will find some on both pages and I already gave it a name. Thanks for the suggestion though. Here's the link.
http://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?t=25136