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Molniya
08-07-2008, 07:58 AM
Hello There,
I'm in the midst of building the Constellation Semroc xKit. I've attached the "pods" to the fins and now need to shape them into the tear drops. Any advice would be appreciated as to how to go about getting a consistent shape on all three fins ? Thanks !

Royatl
08-07-2008, 09:57 AM
Hello There,
I'm in the midst of building the Constellation Semroc xKit. I've attached the "pods" to the fins and now need to shape them into the tear drops. Any advice would be appreciated as to how to go about getting a consistent shape on all three fins ? Thanks !

Haven't started on my Semroc Constellation, but I'll try to recall my nearly 40 year ago experience with the Estes kit. My memory is that I did a pretty decent job for an 11 year old, but that I was still frustrated with how they ended up looking. I think I only included the extra material in the shaping, and didn't try to continue down to the main fin. So while I airfoiled the trailing edge to close to a knife edge, I feathered back toward the tips to full thickness.

Also, for an 11 year old, I was pretty savvy with the balsa fillercoat, so my fins were smooth and shiny, but the fillercoat "gapped" between the pods and the fin in the same way that it did between the body tube and the fins. Unsightly!

Intruder
08-07-2008, 12:27 PM
You can make six identical paper cutouts and glue them to both sides of each pod and then sand the pods into shape.

stefanj
08-07-2008, 02:05 PM
Get an emery board (the kind used to smooth nails) and some fine sandpaper.

Start by using the emery board to sand a *shallow* 45 degree cut around the edge of both pod faces.

The make another steeper angle between just inside the outer edge of the 45 degree cut and the base. Make a shallower cut between the inner edge of the 45 degree cut and an imaginary oval inside of the outer face of the pod.

Then use the sandpaper to smooth these faces into a rounded shape.

You can practice on pieces cut from scrap balsa.

Molniya
08-07-2008, 03:16 PM
Thank you...just one question though, when you say both pod faces, i assume you mean the pod faces on either side of the fin ...would that be correct ? Thanks !

Intruder
08-07-2008, 03:18 PM
Thank you...just one question though, when you say both pod faces, i assume you mean the pod faces on either side of the fin ...would that be correct ? Thanks !
Yes.

dwmzmm
08-07-2008, 03:18 PM
Get an emery board (the kind used to smooth nails) and some fine sandpaper.

Start by using the emery board to sand a *shallow* 45 degree cut around the edge of both pod faces.

The make another steeper angle between just inside the outer edge of the 45 degree cut and the base. Make a shallower cut between the inner edge of the 45 degree cut and an imaginary oval inside of the outer face of the pod.

Then use the sandpaper to smooth these faces into a rounded shape.

You can practice on pieces cut from scrap balsa.

I'm with stefanj; I built my first Astron Constellation back in 1970 and mine actually came out very good (in fact, it was one of my better builds of the day, considering that I was a
relative newcomer to the hobby then). Flew the Constellation many times, but not sure what happened to it (got lost somehow in the early 1980's). Not to worry, I have a vintage
Astron Constellation kit (still "in-the-bag") awaiting assembly..... :D :D :D

moonzero2
08-07-2008, 08:16 PM
I'm with stefanj; I built my first Astron Constellation back in 1970 and mine actually came out very good (in fact, it was one of my better builds of the day, considering that I was a
relative newcomer to the hobby then). Flew the Constellation many times, but not sure what happened to it (got lost somehow in the early 1980's). Not to worry, I have a vintage
Astron Constellation kit (still "in-the-bag") awaiting assembly..... :D :D :D
I too built a Constellation back in the 70's, mine too turned out really well. Launched it the 1st time on a C6-5,... and it went up really fast,... and it disappeared,... never saw it again!

dwmzmm
08-07-2008, 08:30 PM
I too built a Constellation back in the 70's, mine too turned out really well. Launched it the 1st time on a C6-5,... and it went up really fast,... and it disappeared,... never saw it again!

Ouch! I know that must have hurt.

As a side note, those teardrop pods actually adds a lot of strength to the fins. I remember mine seem very solid once everything dried and the painting was done. I even put a few
grasshoppers in the payload section in some of the flights I put up. A really fun kit!