Hello all...

After a sort of hiatus where work and life interrupted my building processes, I pulled out the stops over the past week and built a slew of new birds. Here are the ones which are complete. There are a few more in the final paint stages I'll share with you all when they are finished. Can't wait to get them out to the field!

Semroc - Astron
Semroc - Excalibur
Quest - Lil Grunt
Fliskits - Mako
Estes - Mini Max

The Astron is a simple beginner's bird but still fun to build. I had an extra I gave to my boss for her young son to "help" daddy build.

The Excalibur is painted with a "hammered gold" paint on the bottom and bright silver on the top. I really like that look and I have one other rocket I plan on using it on.

I've flown the Mako before, and it crashed hard and broke a fin when the parachute got tangled in the kevlar and shock cord. I finally got it repaired and finished the paint job. The decals were plentiful but they really make this one look extra sharp. Just wish it had a plastic nosecone (my balsa finishing stinks).

The Lil Grunt was a fun and simple build. I don't quite care for the stickers though - really would liked to have seen waterslide decals on this one.

The Mini Max was fun, too, and it's one of only two mini-engine rockets in my inventory. I think I'll be flying this one quite a bit.

Attached Thumbnails

         

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Dale Marshall, San Antonio Texas
NAR #90990
Semroc SAM #083

BAR Since 2008
Enjoying model rocketry since 1977.
The Spotted Dragon
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Here are the rest of the finished products from this week:

Squirrel Works - Red Baron
New Way Spacemodeling - 4 Square
Semroc - VF-261

The Red Baron was stained with MinWax stain and left to dry for several days under some heavy books. I think it turned out pretty good even though there was some overspray when I painted the white parts on the top wing. For my first glider, I think it "tosses" well, just have to see how it does on the field.

The 4 Square is one I built a while ago but never painted. Finally settled on an orange and black scheme. I just need to find my decals so I can finish it up properly.

The VF-261 was an interesting build but pretty fun. The wing/fin configuration is unique, and the small launch lugs on the wingtips were a great touch. I didn't try to do the little nosecone tips for them, just settled on painting them an opposite color from the wings. I didn't feel like trying to match the cover art but I think it turned out pretty well.

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Dale Marshall, San Antonio Texas
NAR #90990
Semroc SAM #083

BAR Since 2008
Enjoying model rocketry since 1977.
The Spotted Dragon
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Your MAKO *does* look nice Have you had her in the air since the repair?

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http://fliskits.com/
Model rocket kits and MORE!

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Thanks for the compliment, Jim! Notice I don't take any real close-ups There was significant damage to one of the fins (snapped off *across* the grain) and one of the gussets. I did the best I could at the time, but the damage is still noticeable. Still, it's a sweet-looking rocket.

No, I haven't flown her again yet. It's been really windy here in San Antonio and I'm not real fond of long retrieval walks! As soon as the winds and life settle down a bit I'll get back out there. I sure will have a large fleet of new rockets to launch though! I'm glad I bough those engine bulk packs from the Boy Scouts!

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Dale Marshall, San Antonio Texas
NAR #90990
Semroc SAM #083

BAR Since 2008
Enjoying model rocketry since 1977.
The Spotted Dragon
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You have been busy. Nice job on all of them. The Astron is a nice little rocket.I built the Semroc Astron also.

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Scotty Dog
NAR 90998

Ditto the 'been busy' comment. That's some prolific build rate! I do very good to turn one out per month, if that even.

Earl

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Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

AWESOME!!!!! Love the Mako which does NOT look easy! Great work Dale!

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"That's considerably more than minor, David"

I finished up a few more rockets in the last couple of days. Here are some pictures.

Semroc - Thunder Bee - A simple mini-engine rocket that's the beginning of a line of rockets. This one wasn't much of a challenge to build except for the size of the parts! it turned out great, though.

New Way Space Models - Nike Smoke 2 - This is another of those great square-tubed rockets. This one was similar to the other two I've built. I did make one minor modification and cut a piece of the launch lug off and glued it to the tip of the nosecone as mentioned in a review on EMRR.

Scratch - Skybreaker II - this is a roughly 2x upscale of the Sunward Skybender, one of my favorite rockets. I had it built before but it core-sampled and pretty much everything was destroyed except the fin can and the nosecone. They have been resurrected and she's ready to fly again!

Attached Thumbnails

     

__________________
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Dale Marshall, San Antonio Texas
NAR #90990
Semroc SAM #083

BAR Since 2008
Enjoying model rocketry since 1977.
The Spotted Dragon
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Newly completed rockets. I have a table full of built-but-not-finished rockets. It's been windy and very
wet here in San Antonio (no complaints - we need the rain!) so I've gotten a bunch built but not painted or
primered.

Centuri : Laser Lance - A nice and easy build.
Centuri : Laser Lance - A 1.68x upscale. Easy build and excellent nosecone and decals from Sandman
Fliskits : Deuce's Wild - Another easy build except the fins aren't laser cut.
New Way Space Models : Q-bee - Another easy and fun square rocket
Semroc : Moon Glo - An easy build with an odd nosecone. Now to find a good color scheme...
New Way Space Models : Mark 4 - Another easy square rocket
New Way Space Models : Lune R-4 - Another easy square rocket
New Way Space Models : Quadzilla - Finally finished with decals. Easy and tall!

I'm still working on getting my Draconian Marauder parts upscsaled. I have all the parts except the nosecone, but I need to get those fiber parts cut out.

Attached Thumbnails

     

__________________
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Dale Marshall, San Antonio Texas
NAR #90990
Semroc SAM #083

BAR Since 2008
Enjoying model rocketry since 1977.
The Spotted Dragon
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Wow! You have been busy. So what's next?