Dave, if you have and AC Moore craft store nearby, check the scrapbook section. They have 12" x12" sheets of embossed corrugated paper, and I have purchased some at Michael's also.

If you can't find it at either place, PM me.

Yes, that's true. Even so, the original Centuri Saturn - V kit also comes will clear slip-on plastic fins; a separate slip of paper with the fins recommend using these to insure stability
and to give the Saturn a slow "scale-like" spin during flight. I'll get the chance to test the
Centuri's version within the next week or so when we have our next Challenger club launch
(probably on August 4th, when we're co-hosting a Scout group launch project). Because the
Centuri Saturn kit is very rare, I don't think I'll take the chance of flying it without the add-ons.

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Dave, NAR # 21853 SR.

Hey, thanks foose4string! There is a Michael's near me; I should be able to go there today
and take a look (since they're open on Sunday's too). I'll also run a check and see if we have
any AC Moore Craft stores (have to admit I've never heard of them before).

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Dave, NAR # 21853 SR.

I prefer the paper from AC Moore. It's very similar to the paper Semroc uses for their Little Joe II wraps. The supplier for that paper is exclusive to AC Moore. The paper at Micheals is not bad, but it's not the same... slightly wider corrugation, the groove are shallow, and it's more expensive, but still not bad at less than a dollar a sheet. I'm not sure how close of a match either one will be to the Saturn V wraps, it's been a looong time since I've seen the original paper wraps.

I'd looked at AC Moore's website and was surprised to find there's none in the Houston area.
Their retail stores seem to be concentrated in the southeastern part of the US. I think Michael's is open until 7 PM today, so when I get the chance, I'll swing by there and see what
they have; otherwise I can go there tomorrow since I work near that area anyway. I'm in
no hurry to finish the build of my Saturn.

Speaking of the Saturn, a few minutes ago, I installed the pressurization/electrical & systems tunnels to the SI-C/SII stages. Some of you may recall that Estes instructions
says to install these AFTER the base white paint has been applied; since the first time I
built this kit in 1969 (the model I'm working on now is the fourth K-36 build), I've never
been able to figure the logic of installing these balsa tunnels after the base painting is
complete. The only rationale I can see is that it eases the application of the black roll
patterns on the model.

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Dave, NAR # 21853 SR.

Several more pics of what's been done so far. As mentioned in my previous post, the
electrical/pressurization & systems tunnels have been installed as have the four balsa
fins. These will require lots of sanding sealing, light sanding, and a good bit of Micro-Fil
in various spots.

I also put the entire model (as it stands today) on my weighing scale and the weight comes
right at 9.5 oz. Still have to do the shockcord with mounts (will use three of the Estes standard trifolds), the painting, installing the plastic parts to the various stages (still trying
to decide which Saturn to model, but so far leaning for the Apollo - 11), the Service Module
detailing, and the adding of four plastic F1 nozzles to the outboard 18 mm tubings at the
base. Overall weight (once all that is done) should still be in the acceptable range for
launch; by comparison, my Estes Maxi-Brute STAR WARS X-Wing weighs 15.25 oz empty!

More later,

(Oh yes, sorry that my workspace looks cluttered!!)

Attached Thumbnails

     

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Dave, NAR # 21853 SR.

Not mine. Of course, I bought one of the first in production in early 1969, so they may have seen the light later, but there were other Centuri Sat-V's in our section (MASER), and none ever flew with any auxillary fins, so that may have been a correction in a much later run of the kits.

The most popular at our launches was Larry Wilson's Saturn that he flew only on Mini-Maxes and FSI F100s! We flew it at an air show in Athens in '71 and the FAA observer wanted to stand 15 feet away from the launcher. Before we got to it though, John Langford's Cineroc Omega catoed, and his two stage F100-F7 model went unstable after staging. After that, the observer got wayyyy back for the Saturn (which made a perfect flight as usual).

Oh... and a guy in SoAR had a built Centuri Sat-V given to him earlier this year! He flew it a few months ago with the 3 C setup (and an original Centuri 24" striped chute that I gave him to replace the melted one in the rocket ). Made a perfect flight with the fins just as they are.

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Roy
nar12605

The Centuri Saturn - V I got has the cardboard 101 centering rings instead of the plywood
(as the instructions implied); the clear plastic fins appear to be an addition "after the fact"
since they're not mentioned anywhere in the instructions as well.

Sounds like that was a great launch to be present for; did you guys happen to have any
pics of those launches (especially with the FAA observer)? I would love to see those!

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Dave, NAR # 21853 SR.

I have some slides though I haven't seen them in twenty five years so I don't know if they've mildewed. I also had some super-8 film of the unstable staged rocket that showed the FAA guy (wearing a pith helmet!) with his arms crossed, but those clips didn't make it to my big reel that has most of my old MASER films and NARAM 13 clips. It was a bit far off since the crowd was in front of the hangars where we had our exhibit and they had us set up the launchers across the runway.
(John's mangled Cineroc attracted a lot of people to our exhibit, though)

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Roy
nar12605

I take it Michael's didn't have what you wanted, Dave?