Interceptor-E nearly complete

[LeeR]

I finally got the decals on my Interceptor-E. I spread it out over 3 days -- they were a pain to apply. Smaller decals released from backing sheet just fine. The larger pieces were not so cooperative. After 15 minutes or so, I had to lift one edge, then fiddle with the decal to get it freed from starting edge to the other side. I finally resorted to cutting the larger decals into more manageable pieces.

But overall, the decals look just fine. I do use Micro-Sol and Micro-Set and they settled down tight and smooth. In another day I'll clear coat the body, and it will lose its gloss sheen. The nose cone is already clearcoated in a matte finish.

I strayed from the standard white color, this one is light aircraft gray. Also, the wing pods are a darker gray, rather than red or orange.

Hopefully I'll get to a launch in July. Motor choices are E18 for first flight, then F24 (24/40 reloads).

[Newbomb Turk]

Man, that's a beautiful build.
I can't really stray from white right now. My three current builds (in primer) are a rebuild of the body of a Maxi-Icarus, the newly released Nike Smoke and Citation Patriot clone number two.

[bacasino]

Beautiful build! I sold mine a year or two ago and wish i had it back :(

[mojo1986]

What those guys said. Just super-sharp!


Joe

[Les]

Very nice!

[LeeR]

Thank you for the compliments!

I actually completed the nose cone last year! I wanted to test the light gray color. It's haunted me that the body was just sitting around, not even primed, gathering a fine layer of dust.

I had a scratch-built Super Orbital Transport sitting for 10 years. When I decided a month before NSL that I would go, I hurried and finished it. Flew beautifully and took 2nd place in the upscale competition. It got me motivated to finish a number of incomplete rockets.

It's good to have made progress on these two.

Next up to get completed is an old Maxi Honest John. It needs fins added, it has to be almost 20 years old. (I shredded the original fins off in a fit of rage way back then ...) :o

[neil_w]

Looks great, love what you did with the colors.

[Daddyisabar]

Very Nice. They love those F 24 motors!

[scigs30]

I'm not into the larger rockets from Estes, but I did buy two of the Interceptor E kits before they were OOP and I did not realize the Mega Der Red Max was OOP already, but I was lucky and found 2, so I bought them. Your Interceptor E looks great, good job.

[LeeR]

I was out of the hobby at the time Estes had some really interesting kits like the Interceptor. When the new releases hit, I kind of went crazy. I bought 8 of the standard size, and 6 of the E version. I gave away standard model, and I've only built just this one E model. At this rate, these should last me well into my 90s. I also bought a Cosmic Interceptor when they went on clearance.

The Mega Der Red Max disappeared very quickly. I bought mine for about $50 from Hobbylinc. I don't recall if a Estes ever put them on clearance, but that's always a good signal that it's time to get a kit if you want one. Hobbylinc sold out within a day or so after I got mine. Nobody seemed to find one anywhere after that.

[LeeR]

Very Nice. They love those F 24 motors!

Thanks David! Assuming no fire ban happens, I hope to fly it at one of the July CRASH launches.

[JumpJet]

Lee,

If you do in fact have fire bands in July, just come down to SCORE. The third Saturday of the month we are having a Glider Fest and Possibly a Cook Out. You can of course fly anything you wish but hopefully LOTS of Gliders will show up.



John Boren

[LeeR]

John,

Paul Wolaver and I were talking on the way home from NSL about attending some SCORE launches. I'm going to try to make the launch you mention. Timing is perfect, my wife and I are going on a road trip in July, but it looks like we are leaving the week after the launch.

There have been a number of glider posts lately which got me thinking about some old designs like the Raven, Space Twins, and one Bill Eichelberger has been testing and posting about (Jet Freak) that was published in a rocketry newsletter decades ago. I could build that one in no time.

Thanks for the heads-up on the launch.

[ghrocketman]

Really like the use of Gray color scheme.
I may do that as well.

I'm changing the squadron decal DE- to either EF- or EG-

I did not know the Mega DRM was OOP.
I know of a local hobby shop that has one that I'm going to pick up TODAY before going on vacation.

[Daddyisabar]

Lee,

If you do in fact have fire bands in July, just come down to SCORE. The third Saturday of the month we are having a Glider Fest and Possibly a Cook Out. You can of course fly anything you wish but hopefully LOTS of Gliders will show up.



John Boren


Thanks John. Time to head down South as even Park County went under a fire ban in June, cancelling the Tripoli launch:( Looks like CRASH will be under fire ban for the third Saturday launch:( Hopefully we can get some guys out of the big cities of the Front Range and head down to Estesland and SCORE to fly some interesting stuff.

[Daddyisabar]

Thanks David! Assuming no fire ban happens, I hope to fly it at one of the July CRASH launches.

Looks like we will be under a fire ban, so the third Saturday will have to be at SCORE. Well worth the trip.

[LeeR]

My wife is joining me. Wow, that does not happen often! Maybe the mention of a cookout lured her. I have shown her FB posts from Johm Boren about his cooking!

John -- hint, hint.

I'm going to go dig out some glider plans.

[johnpursley]

Okay...so here's a shameless plug...

Accur8 Spacemodels offers a number of different nose-to-tail "skin" kits that allow you to finish out your Interceptor (both the E and the standard #1250 versions) in a variety of themes from the Classic scheme with a few added goodies (like a "Chameleon" block pattern on the base white color) to favorites like the NASA Interceptor, "Twilight" Interceptor (solid black with subtle "Chameleon" base pattern) and the "Thunderbirds" Interceptor (patterned after the Air Force show team. And there are others like the gray "Marines" interceptor. I can do custom design jobs, too.

The skins cover the nosecone, body and wings/fins/rudders. The skin kits also come with basic instructions, parts lists, and patterns/templates for scratch building Interceptor "clones" using the still-available Cosmic Interceptor.

Visit my store on eBay to see what I offer.
Accur8 Spacemodels on eBay (http://stores.ebay.com/accur8products)

You can order there or drop me a "wish list" at my johnpursley@accur8.com and I will invoice you direct at the prices that are current on eBay (or I sometimes discount them more!).

[LeeR]

John,

Your wraps look amazing! Since I have a decent inventory of both Interceptor models, I'll definitely be in touch to try out a wrap or two.

[johnpursley]

A standard "customization" that I offer is to include a Pilot Rank and Name on the lower left canopy sill as well as a custom body/serial/tail number.

Keep me in mind when you do your next build.

[LeeR]

John,
Based on your announcement in another thread that your sale was extended, I placed an order. Thanks!