Big Bertha Paint info

[Green Dragon]

well, finally getting this one done - my Bertha clone .... this is one that ' everyone had' , but is my very fiorst ever bertha build....

anyways, going to do her up in the classic yellow and white pattern, but could find no info online regarding how long the white section should be .

any ideas / input ?

any help appreciated ( photos to follow, promise..... :)

~ AL

ps: also working on an upscale Bertha , and had no luck coming up with upscale photos online, if anyone has any links or info on giant scale versions ?

[dwmzmm]

Not sure if this will help, but click the link below to see a nice pic of Doug Sam's giant upscale
Big Bertha on a H120R Redline (Texas State Championships, June 2005 @ McGregor, TX):

http://www.nasarocketclub.com/gallery/Texas-State-Championships/100B0700

The picture should give a great reference point as far as the paint pattern is concern. I also
have the original Big Bertha Estes kit ("still in the bag") from the late 1970's that has the
vintage paint pattern shown on the face card. When I get a chance, I'll pull it out and see
what it has (the bag is currently unopened, if that means anything!).

BTW, the cool picture in the link above was taken by Warren Benson of the NHRC (#365) NAR
Section.

[foose4string]

I scaled the white section as best as I could from the old catalog pictures. I ended doing 5 5/8 inches. Anywhere in that ball bark, say 5 1/2 to 6 inches would be just fine. A fellow MDRA member, Jim Cox, has done a HUGE BB upscale, I don't remeber what scale his is, but it flew on M motors! He earned his level 3 on this beast, but the rocket suffered a fatal blow at the last regional Red Glare II launch when the recovery system failed. Boy, that was tough to watch. :eek: He's buillding another. :) Here's a few shots of my clone, then finally me holding my BB clone standing next to the Super, Super, Super Duper, Big Bertha.

[Green Dragon]

thanks for the input ( more welcome if anyone has any, lol :)

I'll make note of the white paint info, thanks - the plans do not show any ' mask off xx inches, wondered if older plans might have, etc - no need to open up a sealed kit, for sure.
probabally keep the 5.5" in mind and see how it looks, just figured I'd pick the guys brains, instead of reinventing the wheel.

as for the upscales, again thanks - the first pic ( Dave's post ), I have seen before, did not realize whose it was or the scale, good photo .
the other pic ( MDRA< hmm... been a while since I was down there with the upscale Rattler 7 project , you never know ) ... this one's nice, maybe slightly bigger than my own ( now under construction ) upscale .

one other comment / question - the giant upscale, and possibly your clone , looks like the black fin is black one side only ?
I recall a thread on that someplace, where someone was asking about the black stripe on the 'white fin side' , and it was decided there wasn;t one ... have to hunt that thread up .. hmm..

~ AL

[foose4string]

I would tend to agree that there is only one black stripe that corresponds with the black fin, and just one white fin opposite the black one. The 1971 Estes catalog (http://www.ninfinger.org/~sven/rockets/catalogs/estes711/711est18.html) shows the best side view for scaling the black and white roll pattern, that's the photo I used. 1974 (http://www.ninfinger.org/~sven/rockets/catalogs/estes74/74est20.html) has a nice big photo of the Berta on the striped side.

[pantherjon]

I have read in the near past that the Quest Big Betty is pretty much a clone of Estes Big Bertha.I never had a Big Bertha, but just completed a Big Betty last night, and looking at the posted pics from Foose I would have to agree that the Big Betty IS a dang close clone of the Big Bertha..Anyways, with that said the instructions on the Big Betty describe the white/yellow paint scheme..Shows that the rear 7" of the rocket body tube should be white, and the remaining forward section be yellow..

[foose4string]

Yes, there is an uncanny resemblance, eh? But there are minor differences, the main one being the Betty has 3 fins, the Bertha has 4. The cone shape is slightly different and the fin shape is too. But for the most part, they are clearly sisters. Without the extra weight and drag of the 4th fin, the Betty is actually a better performer in terms of speed and height. I wouldn't drag race the two. The lower, slower Bertha is a charmer. Both are very cool rockets.

[pantherjon]

I agree! Looking at the Bertha it does look cool..So does the Betty..Even tho, I WAS a tad disappointed in the quality of the parts for the Betty from Quest..Everything was real loose: the nose cone-had to put a strip of tap ALL the way around the shoulder, the thrust ring- strip of paper glued all the way around made it a tight fit, the centering rings- both on the engine tube and IN the body tube.And the plastic of the nose cone is real thin in some places and almost translucent....The die cut fins were GREAT tho :) Here she is with my secret clone project:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t21/Pantherjon/Weekenwork082507004.jpg

[foose4string]

The centering rings are my biggest beef with Quest. I did like you and just glue a strip of paper on the inside of the BT. That usually takes most of the play out of them. The nose cone was a bit loose on mine too, but wicking CA on the inside of the tube help tighten things up. Certainly no worse than the brand new Estes DRM cone I just bought. That's a pretty common problem when dealing with plastic cones, and a little cellophane or masking tape on the shoulder is an easy, quick fix that works very well. The Quest cone LOOKS thin, but is plenty thick for this rocket. A layer of primer and a few layers of paint and she's ready to roll.
Let's face it, Quest is a budget rocket. If you don't mind doing a couple things to help ensure that the parts fit correctly, then it's a good value. I personally don't mind. Semroc has spoiled us I think...good quality at a low price. That's hard to find.

[tbzep]

I'm partial to the 69 version myself (have a regular and a Broadsword sized upscale in those colors), but I'll eventually do one in the early 70's style like in the pics above along with a Ranger as a matched pair. Problem is, I already have a build list a mile long!

[Rocket Doctor]

Big Bertha and Baby Bertha

What about this idea, go through all the catalogs (color printing) and build and paint according to each color scheme.

With the Baby Bertha, I suggested many times rhat the color scheme be changed.

My prototypes were yellow, and another mint green.

But, to build and paint each version would be awesome.

[CPMcGraw]

Here's my take on a set of decals for a yellow & black "70's style" Baby Bertha. One of the stripes goes near the top of the tube, the other needs to be cut into 4 pieces to fit between the fins near the bottom. The name decal fits between the stripes.

[Rocket Doctor]

Looks Good....
The current black with white pin stripes have gotta go.

[tbzep]

The red and black with the fat lettering was a late 70's and 80's color, IIRC. I think the yellow and black paint in the pictures earlier in the thread were from the early 70's, right after the 69-70 red/black/white. I'm not home where I can look at catalogs and Jim Z'z is blocked at work for some reason. :(

Edit: Should have said Ninfinger's site....can't view either of them from work, though.

[Rocket Doctor]

As I had mentioned previously, there has been several variations over the years.

I think that it's about time for a totally new paint scheme, such as metal flake or glow in the dark decals.

Like I sai before, anything other the current back & white.

[ARTU]

Here is how I ended up painting my Bertha.

I figured since she was entering a contest, she might as well look HOT :cool:


http://CowboyRocketry.com/files/BerthaStand.jpg

[Rocket Doctor]

Very,very nice, great job.
Thanks for sharing it with us.

Do you also have a Baby Bertha ?

[barone]

Here is how I ended up painting my Bertha.

I figured since she was entering a contest, she might as well look HOT :cool:



And....what contest?

[Rocket Doctor]

A local contest?

[Doug Sams]

Yes, there is an uncanny resemblance, eh? But there are minor differences, the main one being the Betty has 3 fins, the Bertha has 4. Some Bettys have four fins...and a booster, too :)
Doug

http://home.flash.net/~samily/betty-bash/bet-gee4.jpg

[Doug Sams]

Here is how I ended up painting my Bertha.

I figured since she was entering a contest, she might as well look HOT :cool:

snip[IMG]

Suhweet!

Doug

[Doug Sams]

I scaled the white section as best as I could from the old catalog pictures. I ended doing 5 5/8 inches. Anywhere in that ball bark, say 5 1/2 to 6 inches would be just fine. (snip) Here's a few shots of my clone, then finally me holding my BB clone standing next to the Super, Super, Super Duper, Big Bertha. Very, very nice BB. What did you do for the motor mount? Stock 18mm? Or 24?

My 1974 F-100 had a small block (302) in it. It looked out of scale in that big engine bay. It begged for a big block :D The Big Bertha is kinda the same way :)

Doug

[Doug Sams]

one other comment / question - the giant upscale, and possibly your clone , looks like the black fin is black one side only ? Hi, Al,

If you look here,

http://home.flash.net/~samily/ql-bertha/catalog-art2.pdf

you can see in the 72 and 74 pics that the black (and white) fins are painted black (white) on both sides. If you look real close at the 72 pic, you'll also see the valley next to the white fin is yellow (whereas the valley next to the black fin is black).

You may need to go to ninfinger to get a better view of the valley. That's where I got the pic, but it's been compressed a bit since then.

HTH.

Doug

[Rocket Doctor]

Bertha's and Betty's????????

Where is the Baby in this mix????

[ARTU]

Very,very nice, great job.
Thanks for sharing it with us.

Do you also have a Baby Bertha ?


Well, I built her from a baby bertha kit and an 18" tube ;)

I have about 5 or 6 Baby Berthas still in the packages.

[ARTU]

And....what contest?

Our local club [JMRC] is having a Bertha Tri-Athalon.

OSL
B-PD
C-SD

all on the same Bertha, Eagle came up with the idea.

[Rocket Doctor]

Build some Baby Berthas for the contest. And,if you can get your hans on a mini and maxi, that really would complete the Bertha family.

Good luck.

[ScaleNut]

here's my big betty ..and she's quite the performer

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Assorted%20Rocket%20Pics/th_questbigbetty.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Assorted%20Rocket%20Pics/questbigbetty.jpg)

[Rocket Doctor]

Very nice looking.
Have you flown Betty yet?