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Originally Posted by Vanel
Sigh - another to add to the list...
Very nicely done!
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Thanks Bill!
The Rigel-3 is a model that's been on my list for a long time, and I finally got around to it this past year. I thought that the decals would be the high risk component in the model because of their age, but as it turned out it was the aforementioned fin parts and the wood dowels that are used for the struts. The dowels in my kit were quite warped after 30 years of kit stagnation. I replaced those with carbon fiber tubes, which made for a strong and straight substitution.
The kit decals worked very well, but I had to be a bit patient with them; it took a good minute's soak for the adhesive to soften enough to slide each one off its paper backing. But other than the soaking time, they worked great - no tears, no cracks, no problems.
One word of caution though about those corrected fin parts. Carefully built they tighten up the joint between the sustainer and booster fins quite well. But one has to keep in mind that there will be some paint build up, and so this has to be allowed for in the construction or things get too tight. One would prefer to have the booster actually separate when that upper stage engine ignites!
I must mention that Ray King also built and entered a beautifully rendered Rigel-3 for C Division, and his turned out very well. I was fortunate that he was competing in a different Division!
I've always thought the Rigel-3 to be one of Estes' more elegant futuristic designs, made more so with that unique nose. Now that Estes has the nose retooled and re-released as part of the new Dark Star kit, perhaps more folks now will have the chance to clone this great Old Rocket.