Vintage Estes Harpoon Build
 

Here is another vintage Estes build, The Estes Harpoon 1915, came out in the mid 80s I believe. The kit uses the old Centuri nose cone that had been refitted to fit the Bt-50 tube. Simple build typical Estes die cart parts and decals still look pretty good. Another 2 day build so far and should have the decals on tomorrow morning. I built this model KISS just like I did back in the 80s. The balsa is sealed with 2 coats of Brodak balsa sealer and sanded smooth. Estes and Centuri instructions would sometimes show the builder to seal the balsa before assembly, then on some builds had you seal the balsa after construction....go figure. I built the rocket in one day using good ole fancy white glue. I let this dry overnight and today I sprayed with Krylon Old Formula Acryli Lacquer, did not use any primer just sealed the balsa fins with Brodak. Will post pictures with decals added tomorrow.

Don't you just miss the die cut balsa parts, unlike laser fins these require some sanding. After sanding and a couple of coats of Brodak balsa sealer, these fins are ready to go. You can see the instructions have you seal the fins before attaching to the body tube, this makes sense.

The old Krylon blue looks pretty good, once again no primer, today I will apply the decals.

Looking good.
Estes had to do something with all those leftover Centuri "RPG" nosecones.

The plans for this kit can be found here:

https://www.oldrocketforum.com/showthread.php?t=18570

Interesting on the retro fit of the old Centuri Skylab nose cone. I never realized Estes resized the the connector end of the mold to fit a different tube. Originally, the Centuri Skylab cone fit the Centuri #10 cone, which had an ID of 1.00 inches.

Earl

I saw a couple of those nose cones on eBay the other night.

That is smooth! I need to give Brodak a try but given the time we are in I guess I'll need to find an online seller.

My "local" closest hobby shop still has 1oz bottles of Midwest Aero Gloss Balsa Fillercoat. :D
I was in there today.
No, I won't buy them and ship though.

Unfortunately this hobby shop has a LOUSY selection of Estes kits/engines at retail + pricing.
Bought 3 bottles of glue and left.

Here she is all done, the old decals went on without any issues. Sorry about the picture quality, had to use a back up camera.