The Baby Bertha is an excellent place to start as you begin to rebuild your fleet. I also like the Estes Wizard.

For years I always assembled the rocket first, then worried about how to finish it and paint it afterwards, and I always wondered why my paint jobs looked like an afterthought. Now I work the finishing process into the build process, and that is what I think most experienced model builders do. But to describe that process would be way too involved for this thread, and it would no doubt overwhelm you with too much detailed information. You need to go and build some rockets first. The one thing that I would recommend right off the bat, though, is to try to do at least a preliminary sealing and sanding of the fins before you attach them to the rocket. That one step will save you immense amounts of time and hassle.

Like others, I have gone to laminating most of the fins that I use that are made out of balsa. I do it to give them strength, though, rather than just to cut down on the finishing time. (I haven't noticed any big savings in finishing time when I do that.) For lighter fins, I use either regular 24 lb. printer paper or Tyvek, and for thicker or larger fins, I use 110 lb. cardstock. I adhere the paper with good old Elmer's, and press the fins between a couple of books overnight to keep them from warping. I wouldn't recommend using self-stick label paper for this, though. The adhesive used in them only works well to affix the label to smooth, non-porous surfaces. Many people who have tried using them recently have reported that the material fails to hold for very long and easily comes loose from their fins, and if you are trying to adhere it to raw balsa, you can be certain that you will get the same result, too. (To get self-stick mailing label paper to stick to balsa fins, you need to first seal the balsa grain with at least 2-3 coats of sealer, and then sand it smooth, and... ...uh, well, I'm sure that you can see the problem here, right?)

At any rate, don't worry too much about making your first few rockets look perfect - just build them and fly them. I have been a BAR for 5 years now, and have built dozens of rockets, and I am only now starting to get comfortable with the painting phase of the build. Like any other skill, painting and finishing models well takes a little bit of study, a bit more of thought, and a whole lot of practice. You can get help with the first two by asking questions and sharing your experiences here on this forum, but the only way to get the last part is by building and painting rockets. Don't worry about messing up, because that is when you will gain your greatest insights. Good luck!

Mark \\

__________________
SAM # 0011

I have been pretty lucky Mark, because not a single one of the fins I've laminated with Avery paper over raw balsa has worked loose. Maybe it is the sealing of the edges with CA that is locking them in so well. I promise to report back if that changes.

I too like the Wizard. It is a fun and quick build and finish. I flew mine twice on 1/2A6-2's in a small field. I put it up on an A8-3 and never got it back. That rocket will really move out. I have another unbuilt Wizard kit just waiting to be put together so I can replace my lost one.

Well, I spent the weekend working on the Baby Bertha. I managed to get it assembled with, mostly, no problem. The fins are a bit out of alignment, but, for a first try in years, I'm pretty pleased. It's certainly better than I usually did when I was younger! The Estes alignment guide was actually pretty useful, and I expect to do better with it on my next attempt.

One thing that I did discover was that I used entirely too much glue to attach the fins. I compounded this problem by using Titebond II as a gusset fill-in, and it looks pretty bad. Next time, I will apply the Titebond much more sparingly, and use wood filler that can be painted and sanded in the gusset.

I also managed to get the Aerogloss on the fins, but I'm not so sure that it did very much. I had already sanded the fins pretty darned smooth before I put the Kilz on. The primer didn't go on as evenly as I would have liked, but oh well, the gobs of primer sanded off, mostly, without too much difficulty! Next time, I may try skipping the sanding sealer and going straight to the primer, just to see what happens.

I'm hoping to get another coat of primer on tomorrow evening after work, and get it sanded by the next evening. With any luck, it will be ready to paint by this weekend. I may go with a three color approach, but the paint scheme for the original Bertha looks a bit much for a first try! Maybe I'll do the green and yellow scheme of the 1980s era Bertha. I'm sure I will come up with something nice.

Thanks again for all the suggestions, and I hope you enjoy the pics I've attached!

Attached Thumbnails

       

__________________
Deron T. Lundy, K8OSU
Columbus, Ohio

Looking good. Sometimes too much glue can be as bad as not enough glue. You'll find that generally a thin glue line along the root of the fin is sufficent. I usually tack it to the body tube momentaily and pull it back off. Let the glue dry for a few minutes, apply another thin layer to the root and then attach to the body tube. Fillets go on after all the fins have been attached and the glue has dried.

When I use Kilz, I normally don't use anything to seal the balsa. I spray the Kilz on and let it fill and seal. Sometimes one coat is enough. Sometimes two. Just depends upon what it looks like after sanding the first coat.

Be sure to wash the nose cone before you paint it to remove any oils or mold release. Paint doesn't like to stick to that stuff. You may even want to buff up the nosecone with some 400 grit sandpaper before you paint it so the paint can adhere better.

__________________
Don
NAR 53455
"Carpe Diem"

Here's a quick tip: Use a small artist's brush to apply a thinned layer (use just a few drops of water) of Titebond II to both the root edge and to the tube, just where the fin is to attach. Let this layer dry completely. What this does is force some of the glue up into the end grain of the balsa, and into the paper weave of the tube, before it solidifies. When it's dry, apply a new layer of full-strength glue to those same locations, and press the fin onto the tube. Hold it in place for about 12-15 seconds, then carefully align the fin. Wipe away whatever squeezes out with a moist brush, or your finger. It really doesn't take all that much glue, but the two-step method will survive the destruction of the fin and the tube before it ever turns loose.

Good thing about Titebond II, it sands easily once it's fully cured...

__________________
Craig McGraw

BARCLONE Rocketry -- http://barclone.rocketshoppe.com
BARCLONE Blogsite -- http://barclone.wordpress.com
BARCLONE Forum -- BARCLONE Forum

BARs helping BARs

SAM 0044
AMA 352635

I actually punch holes (every 1/4" or so) along the tube where the fin will be attached, and I use full strength glue, not thinned. Remember the glassine is there to repel water. If you can't punch holes, use the tip of your knife to score the glassine diagonally along the attachment line. Or you can just sand the glassine off along the line.

Other than that, ditto on the advantages of the double glue method.

__________________
Roy
nar12605

Roy,

Do you use one of those "T" pins to punch your holes? Deron.....the glue going through the holes act as rivets. The "head" of the glue will have a tendancy to spread out larger than the hole on the inside of the body tube.

__________________
Don
NAR 53455
"Carpe Diem"

I use whatever's sharp and handy. I got a set of sewing needles years ago for threading burn threads on rocket gliders and H/D models (and for replacing buttons of course) and I just took a couple of them and wrapped tape around the top end so I could have something to push on, but you can use a straight pin, T-pin, or a bulletin board pin (you might have to sharpen those a bit), or just use the tip of a #11 Xacto blade-- punch and wiggle around to make the hole bigger. For mid and high power I use a little hand drill and a 1/16" bit.

__________________
Roy
nar12605

I sand the outer layer of the tube to "rough it up", both for the glue and for the primer. The "blind rivet" technique works, too; but I generally find that either the fin itself breaks, or the tube crushes, long before the glue quits holding.

__________________
Craig McGraw

BARCLONE Rocketry -- http://barclone.rocketshoppe.com
BARCLONE Blogsite -- http://barclone.wordpress.com
BARCLONE Forum -- BARCLONE Forum

BARs helping BARs

SAM 0044
AMA 352635

Can't argue with your results with the Avery paper. Maybe using the CA does the trick.

II did manage to get my Wizard back after launching it on an A8-5 - but it was a looong walk! It went out of sight for a few seconds near apogee, too - that rocket really gets the most out of an 18mm A motor! I have mine painted in the "classic" paint scheme, with decals from Excelsior, which I like much better than the current look.

Mark \\

__________________
SAM # 0011