Just scored me a very cool model off of eBay (thanks Jeff) and had a couple questions about it.

1. Does anyone have a nice picture of the stock model built? I did some prelim searching on what it's colors should be and all I could find were black & white photos.
The catalog pic at ninfinger:
http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/ca...i90/90fsi4.html
shows a darker blue/black colored body with perhaps a lighter (silver??) nosecone. But the package art is basically the opposite. With a lighter colored body and a dark nose cone.


2. Mine didn't come with decals but I know a good decal guy Question is what should they be? The plans here:
http://www.oldrocketplans.com/fsi/fsi1028/fsi1028.htm
have the package showing one style of decals but the decal scans are a bit different.

I really like the package art look of the model but will probably go with the catalog since that matches the decal scans.

Thoughts??

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Excelsior Rocketry:
Custom kit-bash sets and waterslide decals for model rocketeers!

www.excelsiorrocketry.com

Great project!

1. Red is often rendered as (dark) black in B&W photos. But I think in this case that your hunch is right. There is no "stock" paint job for any FSI model. But some of the schemes in some of the catalog pictures look appealing and are worth reproducing. (And others are just butt-ugly.) A Streak would look real nice, IMO, if it had a royal blue (or even metallic blue) fin area, a silver (consider using Monocote) airframe with a black or blue stripe near the forward end, and a white nose cone. Use your best guess (and especially your own artistic sense) for where the blue section ends and the silver section begins.

Alternatively, you could make the airframe gold, orange or even light blue, Or you could go with an entirely different set of colors, based on your own sense of style. Make it your creation.

2. The 1990 catalog photo clearly depicts the Streak with the decals that are included in the scan. Decals were not necessarily a standard part in every production run of the kits. But I would suggest checking through your kit carefully (look inside tubes) for a small decal sheet. The illustrations on the FSI kit cards, on the other hand, may just be fanciful depictions of possible decor schemes, rather than accurate representations of the finished rocket when built stock. You could probably reproduce it with some stick-on or rub-on letters (or a homemade decal) and some pinstripe tape.

It should be remembered that until sometime in the mid- to late-seventies, most model rocket kit instructions did not describe a standard paint/decor scheme and most kits did not include decals. Builders were expected to utilize their own imaginations and creativity when decorating their rockets. In their 1960s catalogs, for instance, Estes Industries used to list decal sheets featuring various assortments of decorative elements and logos, as well as other things like rolls of pinstripe tape on their accessory pages. Builders could buy the sheets to add their own range of decorative elements to their rockets; the kits of that era did not include decals. For many years FSI appeared to continue that tradition.

I haven't cloned the Streak yet, but it's on my list. I would greatly appreciate it if you could post a few pictures of your kit, and I am also eagerly anticipating seeing your finished rocket.

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SAM # 0011

If you are ever really stuck trying to figure out a paint scheme for your FSI kit or clone, you could always use the scheme shown throughout this catalog. (It's from sometime in the early 70s, though, so they didn't have many later models like the Streak yet. But you'll get the idea. )

http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/ca...e_rc1/rc1f.html

(By the way, that's my Mach-1 Dart and my faux RX-1 Thruster in my avatar.)

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SAM # 0011

I call it the "Ghost scheme."

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SAM # 0011

My Micron and Viking III are currently in ghost mode! They don't look bad, actually.

I had a Streak many years ago. FSI sent it in lieu of the "official" club kit. I painted it red. I don't remember the decals at all!

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NAR #27085 - Oregon Rocketry - SAM

Great information Mark, thanks a lot!!

I will pull the parts out and post a pic of them soon as I get some spare time. It actually had a little type-written paper in it that said "sorry no decals available". Wonder if they didn't have them at the time or hadn't produced them yet?

I love the blue, silver and white color scheme for the model. That was kinda the colors I had in mind. I've never worked with metallic blue and the silvers I've tried in the past (20+ yrs ago) never worked well for me. The new paints I see on the shelves now look intriguing and I think I will try them out. I have a box of about 15 Estes Alphas that I could practice on first to get it right. I really want the Streak to look proper when it's done!

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Excelsior Rocketry:
Custom kit-bash sets and waterslide decals for model rocketeers!

www.excelsiorrocketry.com

When I was there and I would bet till the end, the only kits with official colors were the scale models. Black Brant II, Wasp,etc. Remember till the late 80's over half of the FSI line was original George Roos kits. I do not think the Reeses got ANY built up original kits from George. The streak was after my time.

"I do not think the Reeses got ANY built up original kits from George."

I correct myself, I remember a all red Micro that Lonnie said was a George original.

If you want to create a real mirror-like or chrome finish, you'll have to use either a really expensive (and I mean REALLY expensive) spray paint or else cover the tube with silver Monocote. The finish produced by standard brand "chrome" spray paints is very fragile and will not hold up to any handling. It will dull in a day or so, if not in a few hours. You can get a decent-looking silver spray paint from the usual brands, but it won't be the kind that yields that "mirror chrome" look. You can get self-adhesive chrome silver Monocote from Balsa Machining Service* or your local hobby shop, among other places.


(*I can't seem to post a direct link to the listing, but if you click on the "Kits & Bldg. Supplies" drop-down menu, and then on the "Misc" link, you'll get there.)

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SAM # 0011

I don't know if they had these back in the day, but one option for the blue section is a simulated blue "anodized" finish. You can do this with Dupli-Color Metalcast paint. It's a two-step process. First apply the Ground Coat, which doesn't look all that good when it goes on (it gives the surface a sort of galvanized look), and then after it dries, you apply the Metalcast color paint. Again, it looks alarmingly bad when it first goes on, but don't panic. When it dries, the result will be amazing.

(BTW, the "silver" part of the airframe in the photo below was painted with Krylon Chrome, and shows what that looks like within a very short time. Other brands of "chrome" paint have the very same problem.)

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SAM # 0011