I am glad I managed to resist temptation and not order that kit.

• Instead of 3D printing the entire fin assembly, use built-up fins with 3D details.
• A printed wrap may seem to be an easy way to a finished model, they always look fake to me. That goes double for the LJII with the corrugated body and the conduit along the side.
• For what the kit cost, why not decals for the black markings on the capsule and LES?

Bill

__________________
It is well past time to Drill, Baby, Drill!

If your June, July, August and September was like this, you might just hate summer too...

Please unload your question before you ask it unless you have a concealed harry permit.

: countdown begin cr dup . 1- ?dup 0= until cr ." Launch!" cr ;

Give a man a rocket and he will fly for a day; teach him to build and he will spend the rest of his days sanding...

No, I didn't mention the nose weight, but when installing the plywood bulkhead into the CM (2) 1 ounce steel washers are epoxied to it--with the screw eye in the center of them. The clear plastic panels wouldn't be good ballast. They're so light it would require my powder scale to weigh them.

__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Looks great, as USUAL, Jeffy !

I wish we could get Sandman to issue another run of his LJ II kits.

I have wanted one of those for 10 years.
The large Neubauer kit is now out of production...missed out on those too.
I missed the latest Centuri 1/45 scal one on eBay...had to stop at $200 for a partially assembled kit...and offering that was way outta hand.

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When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !

jeffyjeep,

Given the limitations of the kit, I think you did a great job. Like Bill said, body wraps tend to look fake, but if done well, and used throughout the kit, they are fine, maybe, for "fun" scale. A great example is the line of kits from Dr. Zooch. They are reasonably priced, and give modelers the opportunity to build of number of different models of real rockets from our past. And build them quickly, and be willing to fly them!

The LJ II kit you built is an odd beast. Highly detailed capsule, combined with low-res body wrap. Your picture in post #27, showing you scraping the thrusters off the body wrap, shows that their images were pixelated. I would have expected highly detailed images for these. Finally, the fins were kind of in-between in quality. An attempt by the manufacturer to produce a detailed part, but instead leaves the user with a part requiring way too much work to get a good, smooth finish.

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Lee Reep
NAR 55948

Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor
In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold!
Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp

Thanks, and you said it perfectly: the kit is a combination of highly detailed and poorly detailed parts. I can deal with the rough 3D printed fins--they just needed a lot more scraping and sanding. I can sand anything (except corundum, carbide, and tungsten.) It just takes time.
As for the BT70, I would have preferred a bare glassine or bare white tube rather than pixelated printed details.

I think I can scratch build a 1/70 LJII that's a little better than this one. Now that I have solid fins to serve as a sample (even though they're mounted) I may try to replicate them in a built up form: heavy cardstock or 1/64" plywood skins over a basswood or spruce skeleton. As for the final round-specific root details of these fins I'll probably scrape them from solid pieces of basswood or spruce.
As for the corrugated wraps: I have to check my supplies when I return home from central GA, but I believe I have a "secret weapon".

__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

This is page 2 of the instructions. It explains the origin of the BT70 wrap.

Attached Files

RSR LJII page.pdf (357.7 KB, 50 views)

__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

JeffyJeep, thanks for the build thread on my kit. I will use this to improve it in the coming lots. This kit was never intended to be a highly scaled kit but to hopefully look as realistic as possible without a lot of extra detailing and effort by the common builder.

As a builder option, the clear acrylic panels for the LES were my idea that I've used to make the towers a tad bit stronger and the RCS thrusters. I've knocked off and lost many on my Saturn IB and Saturn V builds, so the RCS detail on the wrap give it the "look".

I used George Gassaway's artwork for this kit (with his permission). In the future I do plan to re-draw it with vector graphics.

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Kit info Website: http://realspacerockets.com

You're welcome! Thank YOU for making the kit available.

Jeff

__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078