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Old 10-14-2008, 04:53 PM
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CPMcGraw CPMcGraw is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Mobile, Alabama
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  1. Basic model rocket building techniques - I'd consider my general skills somewhere between "adequate" to "good enough"...
  2. Research - Found some good websites, but really have to say "thanks" to Chan for his contributions.
  3. Building around a reference line -Trying to keep up with which view I was looking at in the data, versus which view I had of the model, was often difficult. Having to look through progressively-out-of-focus-tri-focals only added to the frustration.
  4. Building up hollow fins - I'm a wuss. I managed ONE good fin, and decided immediately to resin-cast all of them. I was trying to do two models at the time, so that would have been 16 fins.
  5. Resin casting - I also resin-cast some of the other details on the model, such as the retro rockets, the APU/thruster housings, and the dump-thrusters. This was the only way to achieve consistency with multiple copies of the same item. Since we were told these would be "display models" and not "flight models", I stopped worrying about the final weight.
  6. Forming and gluing paper shrouds - Learned better ways of doing this for the second model, but not in time to make the first model really look its best.
  7. Fabricating parts with launch lug and cardstock - Not really the problem, as such. In fact, it was the best way for the retros. The APUs were larger than what the balsa parts would have produced, so I used a length of BT-3 and some scrap balsa to produce a more to-scale shape and size. It came out only moderately larger than it should have been, meaning it looked much closer to the real thing. The APUs were round, not rectangular...
  8. Fabricating balsa parts - Worked better for the dump-thruster than trying to use a piece of launch lug, actually.
  9. Applying tube wraps - Not so bad, once I figured out to only apply the spray adhesive to the back of the wraps, and not to the tubes. The 3M-90 grabbed faster than 3M-77, but it seemed to hold better, too. Use thin CA around the edges to seal the wrap to the tube, BONDO to fill the joints.
  10. Filling - Had to use far too much, I thought, but BONDO spot putty turned out to be the best choice for its quick set-up time.
  11. Deciding when to attach details and when to paint - Just depended on the build sequence. Some parts had to go on before painting, while others could have been added afterward. This was very much an "it depends" issue, and it has affected my thinking on how to complete the second model.
  12. Attaching details - The number wasn't so bad, but having time to develop all of the important ones was the bigger issue. Some items were easy, but others took several attempts before getting them right. This ate away at the remaining time for some of the lesser details. There were many details that should be on this model, but aren't for this reason.
  13. Masking - Should not be done in one pass. This model needs several sessions to get the masking done well. Do the booster in one pass, with the S-IV-B and spacecraft sections protected in kraft paper. Do the S-IV-B in the next pass, and the spacecraft in the last pass, wrapping the other parts for protection.
  14. Painting - See the above entry on "MASKING". Since the base color for the model was white, I just sprayed white Kilz as both a primer and a color coat. While not producing as "smooth" a finish as a true color coat, it reduced the finishing time substantially. The final coats were going to be Future Floor Finish, anyway, which took care of the gloss coat and sealing the decals. It also feathered out the touch-up painting so that everything tends to blend together. Not perfectly, but not absolutely eye-popping-noticeably, either. Spray the Future with an airbrush, straight from the bottle, at 40 PSI.
  15. Attaching parts after painting - Probably the best option. It makes the masking job easier.
  16. Applying decals -Do one at a time, and use a setting solution / solvent for getting the decals to snug down like paint.
  17. Drawing straight lines on a curved surface - I used strips of self-adhesive label stock to duplicate the door edges, instead of trying to mark them with a pen. They llook better from five feet away.
  18. Assembling plastic parts - The Apogee capsule was the saving grace of this project. If we had been required to fabricate the capsule, per the original kit, I think most of us would still be trying to finish them. The original version is not something one wants to contemplate with only six weeks available time.
  19. Fabricating plastic parts - Alumilite starter kit. Hobby Lobby with a coupon, $70 - 40%. Grab a second box of casting rubber on a second trip with another coupon, $30 - 40%.
  20. Detailing - When I saw those hold-downs on the bottom of the fins, I knew I had to add them. They're so noticeable in profile, that the model looks strange without them. Most of the other details I worked on were just improvements on the kit-supplied items and could have been left as-is, but since I had the Alumilite handy, I just went with it...
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Craig McGraw

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