Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Model Rocket Build Progress Over Easter Weekend.

This weekend, I had a series of short blocks of time to get into the shop and make progress on some model rocketry projects.

Also, the wind conditions in the back yard were such that I was finally able to get out and perform a small amount of spray painting.

The first project was to get some clear coat on the decal sheet I made up the week before.  To help with this, I cobbled together a handy little sheet holding device out of a piece of card board, a paint stir stick (what else?), duct tape (what else?), and some paper clips.
 

Next up, the newly constructed Estes Astron Alpha received its first primer coat.  I had just enough Duplicolor gray to cover the entire model before the can ran out. 
Must get to the nearby auto supply store.
 
 

Moving on, I completed construction of the Satellite Interceptor build by attaching the launch lug and spot filling left-over small grain and gaps.  This model is now ready for primer, as well.
 
 

The Lunar Patrol model got pulled off the shelf for one final touch.  I’ll detail this in the next installment of that long-running build post series.

Finally, I applied CWF to the seams of a BT-50 body tube purloined from a Comanche 3 kit that I bought a couple weeks ago for parts. This tube is ear-marked as the booster airframe of a new Orbital Transport build. 

In between the rocket work, I also managed to do a small production run on a new set of shop-made sanding blocks.  I will also expound on these in a near-future post.

The rest of the weekend was pretty much spent in other important activities, such as playing electric violin in the church praise band for three back-to-back Easter Sunday services.  Most of the songs played were high-energy, up-beat rockers.  Phew!  Including early morning rehearsal, that was a 6 ½ hour day at church!

A large chunk of the weekend was devoted to hanging out with the grand-kiddoes (a.k.a. future model rocketeers!) – feeding and helping take care of the 3 week old, and participating in an epic basement-wide Nerf-gun battle with the 9 and 7 year-olds.

Sheesh – give me a few model rockets, a Nerf gun, or a pile of Lego, and I become a kid again!

Cheers.