Comrades:

This one verges on stupid: a K-41 Mercury-Redstone rescue. The short version is I got it for $1 (+$5 for S + H) off eBay last month. I was the only bidder and was interested in the vintage 'chute. Unbeknownst to me, the seller threw in an equally vintage Beta sustainer set up for shorty 18mm motors. The first pic is what I got in the mail. The MR had a solid tube and engine mount but no fins or launch lug. The top decal was upside-down and the United States decals were 90 degrees off. Of course, the tower was long gone. The wrap on the capsule was torn and badly dented; I couldn't figure a way to get it off without tearing. My original plan was to keep the old parachute and dump the rocket, but I decided to give it a go. The Beta was easier. It was missing a fin and a lug (and a booster) but was a relatively easy fix.

Picture 2 shows the initial work. For the Beta, I traced the other fin and made new one, added a lug and another thrust ring from the top with a Kevlar leader on it. Then it was ready to paint.

For the MR, I made three piece fins (as opposed to the original 4-piece) including some fin caps made from an old Sandhawk card. I added cardstock details that show under the paint and built an original-style stand-off and launch lug. I still have to add the fin fillets and sand off the decals that proved mighty tenacious.

Picture 3 shows the capsule with the original wraps printed from JimZ. I prepainted the balsa near the edges of the wraps in case they didn't fit well. No prep, just a bit of Tamiya flat black with a brush. Note that I've added a small strip of 3/32 balsa to assist gluing the starting and ending point of the wrap. By adding this little strip, you are far less likely to bend or dent the wrap while installing it. Try it.

Picture 4 shows the capsule with the later version of the wrap I Photoshopped. There is little or no variation between the colors of the wrap at the joint line. I'm likely to buy a 3d printed tower from Shapeways. It's down to $19.

Picture 5 shows Beta and MR primed and ready for paint. I need to see if Excelsior still has decals. As soon as the rain stops, I'll finish and post a picture.

Attached Thumbnails

         

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NAR 79743
NARTrek Silver
I miss being SAM 062

Awaiting First Launch: Too numerous to count
Finishing: Zooch Saturn V; Alway/Nau BioArcas; Estes Expedition; TLP Standard
Repair/Rescue: Cherokee-D (2); Centuri Nike-Smoke; MX-774
On the Bench: 2650;
Dream Stage: 1/39.37 R-7

Wow, they look great! Nice job on the MR fins!


Joe

Mark - I am impressed. It is always god to see models get a second chance. The work you have put into these old birds is top notch.

Great to see another fellow rocketeer who will take the time and care on rebuilding. Good luck with the Beta decals, I gave up on the clone I built and bought original leftovers and fragments to make a set for mine.

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Whiskey Alfa Lima Tango

Is *this* Mercury capsule (see: http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/no...a/69est096.html ) the same one that your K-41 Mercury-Redstone has? This Mercury capsule was also designed to house payloads; it had a removable base and came with "a full set of adapters to fit the capsule to most Estes body tubes." If so, how is the base removed and re-attached? I'd always wondered (by the time I was able to buy my own rockets, both the K-41 Mercury-Redstone and the Mercury capsule kit were long out of production, and the "interwire" [for general public use, outside of ARPA] and eBay hadn't yet been invented).

Many thanks in advance for your help!

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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Nice score, Mark, and beautiful work so far. Cool bonus Beta sustainer.
What is it about vintage chutes that drives us nuts? I love them.

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Just completed: Estes Cherokee-E, Estes Multi-Roc.

Current project: Painting the roll pattern on my new Ventris build, gifted me by the estimable Dr. Houchin.

No, the Mercury Capsule kit (PSM-1) and the K-41 nose cone (BNC-60AK) are completely different from each other. The BNC-60AK is a solid balsa nose cone that is somewhat scale, there is no provision for a payload. The PSM-1 is a scale like hollow cone that can be used to carry a small payload. The rear piece of the PSM-1 has a small protrusion on to allow insertion into a BT-20. A Retro-Repro version of the PSM-1 is available from Semroc if you want to see what it is like.

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'Til next time,

Mike Toelle

NAR 31692 L1

SAM 0373

Thank you for clearing this up (and for describing how the PSM-1's base was/is [in the Semroc reproduction] fitted into place)! Now that you've mentioned it, I recall the solid balsa Mercury capsule (BNC-60AK) that also appeared in Estes' 1969 catalog, on the nose cones page (my copy of that catalog vanished many years ago, during a move). The PSM-1's catalog description sounds like it also fits BT-60 tubing like the BNC-60AK (the PSM-1's 1.8" base diameter would include the protruding "heat shield rim," which--at that scale--wouldn't be much wider than the 1.637" BT-60 tube size).

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Here's something that might be worth rescuing.....I don't need any more projects. It looks like the Farside-X's first two stages were never built but the parts are there. The Starship Vega is also needing some real TLC. Bonus - a possibly serviceable (but keyless, of course) Solar Launch controller. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Est...AAOSwUrdZdzp B

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Bernard Cawley
NAR 89040 L1 - Life Member
SAM 0061
AMA 42160
KG7AIE

We had a Mach-10 contest a few years ago where there were some really good flights, including the winner, an amazing flight: our field is 1800 ft long by 400 ft wide. Some rare times the wind lines up along the long dimension. That day we set up about 200 ft from the upwind end. Most of the successful Mach-10s would end up circling a couple of times and end up about 300 ft away. This flight, by Geolaw here on the forum, turned with the wind and stayed straight all the way to the other end of the field.

Yes, there were some "shot duck" flights, and, yes, I was expecting the contest to be a disaster, but it actually turned out pretty good. We had 8-10 entries and five gave really good flights.

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Roy
nar12605

The first flight I ever had with a Mach 10 that "worked" was a big loop into the wind. After thrust it just hung in front of us for several seconds until the ejection charge fired, and then it turned with the wind and recovered downfield. Only myself and our club prez were there to see it, and he apologized because he had laughingly said I'd never get one to fly. That flight later flew onto the roof of B6-4 School, which was several hundred feet away from B6-4 Field, so nothing surprises me in regard to the Mach 10 flight characteristics.

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Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2