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-   -   Vintage Estes Excalibur Build (http://www.oldrocketforum.com/showthread.php?t=16744)

scigs30 07-24-2017 10:21 PM

Vintage Estes Excalibur Build
 
3 Attachment(s)
My next kit is another vintage build, straight from the package. I will begin this build as soon as I order and receive more balsa Sealer from Brodak.

chrism 07-25-2017 12:50 PM

This rocket reminds me of the style they used in the old Buck Rogers serials from the 50s!

mwtoelle 07-25-2017 02:58 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by chrism
This rocket reminds me of the style they used in the old Buck Rogers serials from the 50s!


I think that was an inspiration for it. There were a lot of 1940s - 1950s space ships that had a similar look as well.

scigs30 08-05-2017 09:21 PM

10 Attachment(s)
I received my new jar of Brodak Balsa sealer and began working on my Exaclibur. Building vintage builds are challenging because of the age of the parts, such as out of round tubes and old balsa. This kit had it all to overcome, but that is the fun part about building vintage kits. The oval parts were not that bad, tubes were not crushed. Even though the kit was sealed the balsa parts had all come out and that is not a good thing. When die cut balsa if forced out of the sheet of balsa, small chunks of balsa break off since the fins were not cut from the die cut sheet with a razor knife. Most of the time I can fix this with using scrap balsa and gluing it to the imperfections and sand smooth. If it is a small issue, I can just use balsa filler or wood filler to fill the imperfections. Once all the balsa parts were fixed I glued the parts together as directed in the instructions and sanded smooth once dried. I then brushed on 3 coats of balsa sealer for a smooth grain free surface. This kit goes together pretty easy but does require some work when drawing the lines for the rivet decals. Estes has you draw the lines in pencil hoping they will leave an indentation after painting so you can add the rivets in the correct place, we will just have to wait and see how that works. The canopy was a little challenging only because of the age of the cardstock, but I took my time and it came out ok. Now of course I could make my life easy and replace most of the parts with new ones, but then it would not be a vintage build. The fins glue on as directed and Estes provides a nice little jig to make sure everything is nice and straight. The launch lug uses the extra body tube material as a standoff before gluing the launch lug in place. The rear motor went together with no major issues. I am hoping to start painting tomorrow and get this thing finished this week.

scigs30 08-05-2017 09:23 PM

3 Attachment(s)
More pictures

jetlag 08-05-2017 10:08 PM

I'm afraid you put the he fins on backwards!
Look at your face card.

Allen

scigs30 08-05-2017 10:14 PM

Oh no glued the fins on wrong, luckily popped off before dried.

scigs30 08-05-2017 10:47 PM

Good thing about white glue is it dries slow. How did this happen? The first fin was dry fitted in the correct position but when I glued it on, I glued it backwards. I did not reference the other two fins and glued them the same direction. I still cannot believe I did this but luckily the glue was not dry. Everything is sanded and the will get glued on tomorrow the correct way. I got lucky this time.

jetlag 08-06-2017 08:13 AM

Probably has happened to most of us at one time or another!

When I've done it, I was thinking of something else and glueing stuff without my proper attention. ADHD? Who knows!
What really sucks is when the glue is epoxy and it dried overnight.

At least you caught it in time!

Allen

scigs30 08-07-2017 01:21 PM

4 Attachment(s)
I removed the pictures with the fins placed incorrect and added new pictures. Boy did I get lucky with this build, everything worked out and she already has a coat of white paint. I am using white as my base coat followed by orange. Since I am using old formula Krylon, I have to use a white base coat or else I would have to spray a lot of coats of orange.


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