Like the title says...
Sorry if TL/DR
Steps I have taken to date:
Sorry if TL/DR
Steps I have taken to date:
- Bought LOC Goblin kit - done
- Daughter wants to build it - so I gave the kit to her
- Bought LOC Minie-magg - why have the same kit?
- "Painted" fins with 50/50 Elmers wood filler & water
- "Painted" body tube seams with 50/50 Elmers wood filler & water
- CA glued the edges of the motor and body tubes
- Sanded fins on all sides and edges with 220 grit
- Sanded body tube with 400 grit
- Wiped motor tube with damp paper towels to remove glassine
- Didn't like it so I sanded motor tube lightly with 220 grit
- Marked fin and centering ring locations on motor tube (1/8 Inch from the end of the motor tube fore and aft and let the fin shape dictate the middle ring's location)
- Used a vice to set t nuts into the aft centering ring
- Installed the nut, washers, and eye bolt in the forward centering ring
- Used BSI 5 min epoxy to "lock" the metal hardware in place (used small pieces of painters tape to keep epoxy out of the threads on the t-nut)
- Read the directions then decided to half follow them.... ooph 2/10 stars do not recommend
- Put a masking tape blocker on the motor tube to hold the forward centering ring in place and used the aft ring to hold the motor tube in place.
- Put 30 Min BSI epoxy just a bit lower than the final placement of the forward centering ring and pushed the centering ring up the body tube into place and used the aft centering ring to hold the motor tube "straight" so the forward ring would be in the correct position.
- After the epoxy cured I pulled the motor tube and aft centering ring out
- Added fillet to the bottom of the forward centering ring... so that sucker is in there
- Used BSI 5 min epoxy to set the aft centering rings, middle centering rings, and fins in place on the motor tube
- Used BSI 30 min epoxy to make fillets around the aft centering rings, middle centering rings, and fins (used 8 grams in each section) x3
- Cut body tube to slide in the motor mount assembly (DO NOT cut on one side like I did, cut in the middle IMHO)
- Struggled to get the body tube over the motor mount assembly
- Read the instructions where it says you can't build the motor mount outside the rocket on this model .... cool cool
- Cut the body tube between the fin slots and the rear so that you CAN slide the motor mount assembly into the body tube
- Measured distance between fin slots on the body tube and used a piece of angle stock to make a vertical reference line for the rail buttons
- Drilled a small hole 2.5 cm from the aft end of the body tube
- CA glued the hole
- Sanded the hole flush inside and out
- Used BSI 5 min Epoxy to glue a 6-32 x 1/4" T nut (bought at Lowes) inside the body (this is between the the aft and middle centering ring)
- Placed BSI 30 min Epoxy just forward and aft of the fin slits
- Placed BSI 30 min epoxy on the forward tip of the Motor tube (to make fillet on backside of the Forward Centering ring which was already mounted in the rocket body
- Inserted the motor mount assembly making sure the motor tube seated up in the forward centering ring
- Used BSI 30 min Epoxy to make fillet on the bottom of the aft centering ring and stick the 3 pieces I had cut out back into the body behind the fins (worked OK)
- Drilled a small hole a random height along the rail button reference line while making sure not to interfere with the shoulders of the nose cone
- CA glued the hole
- Sanded the hole flush inside and out
- Used BSI 5 min Epoxy to glue the other 6-32 x 1/4" T nut (they come in packs of 2, NICE) inside the body
- Put a 6-32 nut on a 6-32 x 1/2" machine head bolt (also bought at Lowes) and used a Dremel to cut the length so that when screwed into the t-nut the bolt will not protrude into the body tube and snag recovery gear.
- Once the bolt was cut I backed the nut off the bolt to make sure the threads were not marred... it worked
- Made a crude cradle out of a card board box to hold the body tube so that I could fillet the fins
- Used painter's tape to mark fillet edges (note if you do this put the tape on your shirt a time or two to reduce the stickiness) I pulled some paper off the body tube getting the painter's tape off. Read about this technique AFTER putting the tape on.
- Used BSI 30 min Epoxy to make fin fillets... Mixed for 1 minute by the clock, waited 3 minutes, applied once slightly thickened, and used a gloved finger and isopropyl alcohol to shape the fillets 8.8 grams per fin (although I put one fin down in the cradle and filleted the "up side of 2 fins" x 3)
- Removed tape after 10 minutes (Not wild about how the fillets turned out but it's my first time 6.5/10)
- Filled the damaged sections of the body tube with 50/50 Elmers wood filler and water
- Sanded the body and epoxy fillets with 400 grit to prep for paint
- Screwed in rail buttons
- Used exacto knife to remove molding lines from nose cone and rail buttons