Not Sure What To Do

[Liam]

I have completed an LPR rocket design (ORK). Now I have to build it.

The booster stage is a tumble recovery (BT20) tube. How do I paint this thing? I want to put glue fillets on the 'booster pods' and the fins.

 

[n3tjm]

Put motors in the pods and use those to deploy the booster's recovery system. I'd use 13mm motors for that purpose

 

[cwbullet]

Send me the ork and I will try to fly it on 3 motors.

 

[lr64]

I'm a bit confused re booster vs sustainer.

 

[neil_w]

Attaching the side pods after painting would be easiest. You'll want to mask off the areas on the various tubes where the glue joints will be. Filleting the side pods will be almost impossible.

You could slot the main tube and put some tabs onto the side pods. Then they should slot into the booster pretty securely even without fillets.

[addendum] Now that I've looked the rear view a bit more, it seems like you *might* have a chance to pull some fillets with a toothpick or something similar implement. But it'll be difficult at best.

 

[Liam]

Attaching the side pods after painting would be easiest. You'll want to mask off the areas on the various tubes where the glue joints will be. Filleting the side pods will be almost impossible.

You could slot the main tube and put some tabs onto the side pods. Then they should slot into the booster pretty securely even without fillets.

[addendum] Now that I've looked the rear view a bit more, it seems like you *might* have a chance to pull some fillets with a toothpick or something similar implement. But it'll be difficult at best.

Building on your idea, what do you think about masking off the glue joints and then painting it black? Next, attach the pods, which are painted and masked. Fillet the pods. Then, glue the painted fins on. They can then be filleted with something like a cocktail skewer. I could use something like Titebond Quick & Thick. It dries clear. That puts the fillets over the paint. So, I wonder about the adhesion.

 

[Azamiryou]

Looks like the fins will be easier to fillet after assembly than the pods will. If I really wanted those fillets, I would

1. Paint the pieces before assembly, either masking to keep paint clear of the joints, or sanding/scraping before gluing. (Also have at least some bare materials where the fillets will be.)
2. Glue on the pods first, then fillet them, then touch up the joint — mask and spray if there's room, brush if there isn't.
3. Finally glue on and fillet the fins. Touch up with brush next to the pods, mask and spray to touch up the open sides.

It's a lot of work though, so I'd be carefully considering how important that paint scheme and/or the fillets are to me!

 

[neil_w]

In my opinion: Strong fin mounts are most important. Glue and fillet them normally before painting, and then deal with the pods afterwards. Filleting fins after painting will be both weaker and uglier.