I picked up this kit at NARCON earlier this year, after having a nice chat with Carl Campbell, the guy behind DFR. This is a nicely detailed scale kit of the Atlas V, for the New Horizons mission. It intrigued me with its pre-wrapped body tubes, 3D parts, and complex configuration. Read about this interesting scientific mission here: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/ .

The launch was in 2006, and it's now travelled nearly 3 *Billion* miles ! It's due to reach Pluto in July 2015, so thought I'd better start now, since sometimes builds take me a while.

First, the kit parts. Lots of goodies in there, all nicely packaged in separate bags, to help keep track of things, and protect the wraps & 3D parts.

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Paul
If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane - Jimmy Buffett
NAR #87246 www.wooshrocketry.org

Here are some closeups of the payload tube wrap. There's some real nice detail that would be difficult with decals. Plus, no dealing with spirals, priming, sanding, and painting!

The wrap doesn't meet perfectly on the backside.

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__________________
Paul
If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane - Jimmy Buffett
NAR #87246 www.wooshrocketry.org

And now, the first actual building. Basic motor mount, but the assembly steps are an improvement over typical, by inserting the engine block from the top, and using a supplied 1/8" square dowel to apply white glue from the top. Completely avoids the possibility of seizing, and also prevents any glue from getting in the path of the engine. Classic style engine hook was nicely curved, with just the right amount of spring.

The forward plywood centering ring is also shown, with screw eye epoxied in place.

Also note that the 3 clear fins are packaged all by themselves, which were within a larger sub-assembly package, to keep them from getting scratched by other bits.

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__________________
Paul
If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane - Jimmy Buffett
NAR #87246 www.wooshrocketry.org

Looks good Paul, look forward to see it finished!

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www.wooshrocketry.org NAR Sec. 558
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unstable by design

WOW! I likes the looks of this one. Subbed.

After a house full of relatives and too much eating the past 3 days, got back down to business. A little sanding, and two more glue joints!

There are 2 printed parts making up the tailcone, which have great detail. The aft piece has a slot for the engine hook smartly located in one shroud for the dual thrust chamber RD180 main engine, keeping the scale lines intact. There is a bunch of sanding required, the printed layers are about 5 per mm, with significant ridges that must be sanded. The sanding sticks really helped, but with all the detail, it's tough to get in the corners. The instructions recommend plastic cement for the ABS parts, I used medium CA, I think it'll provide better adhesion, especially to the tube.

For the forward CR, white glue is recommended, my favorite is Weld-Bond.

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__________________
Paul
If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane - Jimmy Buffett
NAR #87246 www.wooshrocketry.org

Despite the 5 weeks gone by, I've made just a little progress. The tailbone proved to be a *lot* of work. After gluing it together, and then on the motor tube, it was clear that the 3D layers were far too rough. My first attempt was simply sanding them down. After doing this, and painting, it still looked crummy. So, I got out the Squadron putty, and went to work. After 3 passes of applying & sanding, it was ready for paint. The detail on this part made it very tedious! Though flat is more correct, I went with gloss for easier maintenance. Besides, the wraps are quite glossy anyhow. I just started the same process with the booster cones. I'm undecided about the booster nozzles, it's going to be tough to fill & sand these, even just the outside, and get decent looking detail at the narrow end of the nozzle.

Also filled & painted the transition & NC. A few snowflakes got on the NC while painting, so that one will need to be sanded & re-painted. The transition is done, though!

While I think this kit is going to look nice when done, I've been surprised by how much work the 3D parts are to finish. Are they all like this? Is there a way to print in a finer pitch? These ridges are pretty deep.

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__________________
Paul
If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane - Jimmy Buffett
NAR #87246 www.wooshrocketry.org

I have 6 of his kits. I really like his kits but parts I have gotten from Shapeways for other projects are not as rough. The print is finer, not as coarse.

That's some stellar work on that tail cone! FAR better than what I have the patience (and the eyes) for!

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Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Thanks Jeff, that's high praise for a modeler of your talents. Sometimes the OCD just sort of ... takes over. I'll make up for it on other builds!

__________________
Paul
If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane - Jimmy Buffett
NAR #87246 www.wooshrocketry.org