Centurion #14, Defender #18 & SPEV #18 arrived at my mailbox today. :D

Bob

Centurion #9
SPEV #9
Defender #10

Spev #12, Centurion #12 and Defender #15.

Sean

LOL! you must have ordered right before me...I got #13 and #14 this afternoon.

Mine were Centurion 15, SPEV and Defender 19. I'm planning to build mine, so if anyone has the other #15 kits and wants a matching set, I'll be happy to trade the Centurion. (I already started on the Defender. :rolleyes: )

My order was placed right after Bill's I guess. I had Centurion #16 and SPEV & Defender #20.

Looks like we were all waiting to pounce when Sheryl made the announcement here that they put the kits online!

I am going to open the bag on Defender #12 later tonight and inhale the sweet Semroc air, examine the parts and start the build. Just from peeking in the bags I noticed there is a little square of clay in there too. I bought the other kit as a spare should I damage or lose the other rocket. If it means anything to anyone to have Defender #11 let me know. I'll take another Defender kit or something else in trade. I have no problems parting with it as I'm a builder and not a collector.

I've had good success with the water thinned Elmers wood filler for balsa parts that you guys have suggested (no fill n finish in the stores in my area). I have heard of some guys using photo paper glued over the balsa fins. Anyone have any success with this or should I just stick with the thinned Elmers?

Thanks!

.

Centurion 13, SPEV 17, Defender 17.........All are going to get built.....Production number tags to be applied to the finished model...... :)

Depends. Jay swears by it, but I can see myself making a complete mess out of it. I can live with the sanding.

Forget the Elmers wood filler/fill n' finish.
An "old time" kit design deserves "old school" finishing.....get some Aero Gloss or Sig Sanding Sealer or Balsa Fillercoat for those fins !
Nothing beats that "organic chemical" noxious fume dope finish !!!!!
Honestly I have cases of old stock and won't use anything else.

I was out when the announcment came so I didn't get to order until the next day. So I got Defender #33 and SPEV # 37 (or the other way around). The number really doesn't matter to me since I plan to build them both, but it didn't take long to sell those first kits.

ROTFLMAO!!!

I just decided to look at the two "Defenders" I just recieved.

Let's see the Defenders are kit #KV-60, right? :rolleyes:

Well, I got kits #13 and #14 but mine say kit KV-61 SPEV! :eek:

OOPS! :D

I double checked my order on the SEMROC web site and yes...I did order two "Defenders".


Does this raise the value of my two kits? Sorta like the upside down airmail stamp...OK, I guess not.

I'm sure Carl, Sheryl and Bruce will fix it when they get back from NARCOM. ;)

Lately I have been using Delta Ceramcoat All-Purpose Sealer. It does a good job of filling and sealing the wood with just a couple of coats, dries fast and sands really smooth. Also, it has no noxious fumes at all and is non-toxic. I found it in the crafts section at Wal-Mart, in the section with the decoupage and craft painting supplies. I'm sure that you'll be able to find it in other craft stores, too, like Michael's.

Mark

Label paper vs. photo paper?
 

Actually, I use the adhesive computer label paper, and then rub it down onto the main fin surfaces with a Sharpie cap. That's probably the coolest finishing trick I learned from David J. Miller (Sirius Rocketry)'s "Interrogator" kit. :cool: ;) :D


Easy to do if the hole at the top of your thin CA bottle is too big, and you get the excess running onto the largest sides of the fins, instead of the edges. :mad:


Cheers,

So you actually got one each of the SPEV and Defender, or the numbered card insert was just wrong on one of the Defenders? If the latter, I wonder who got the mislabled SPEV kit?

No...I ordered two (2) Defender kits.

I got two (2) SPEV kits.

That's all.

It was just an oops.

Delta Ceramcoat All-Purpose Sealer ????

Never heard of it....

NO noxious fumes and non-toxic ?
C'mon now, that can't be good, and it definitely is NOT in the spirit of building old-time kits using old-tyme materials/finishing ! :D

That makes about as much sense as trying to launch an Estes Cold-Power rocket WITHOUT the genuine supposed ozone-depleting R-12 Freon propellant. :p

I use it also because my wife and son have asthma. Sometime I mix lightwieght drywall spackle with it to help fill the deep balsa grain. Walmart and Michael's carry Delta Creamcoat and any Ace will heve the lightwieght drywall spackle.

Hope this helps, JP

James Pierson
NAR# 77907

The Sandman noted:

"No...I ordered two (2) Defender kits.

I got two (2) SPEV kits.

That's all.

It was just an oops."

Gordo,
Sheryl mentioned that at NARCON when I told her that my wife had said that my order had arrived. They plan on making the "oops" go away.

ghrocketman said:

"Delta Ceramcoat All-Purpose Sealer ????"

I tried it and let it dry for a couple of days. It didn't sand well for me. Like most products, some swear by it and others swear at it. Could have been a bad batch. I will try it again on a project that I am not too concerned about.

But not on Defender kits # 13 and 14, SPEV kits # 10 and 11, and Centurion kits #10 and 11. I will build the higher number kit.

BTW, most of you know that SEMROC retains kits # 1 through 5. John Dyer of Red River Rocketry gave Carl an original Defender kit last August at NARAM. At NARCON Carl gave John Defender kits #6 and 7. John had to buy one to build! LOL.

Chas

You know back in the 60's when my dad helped me build my first rocket kits he used Aero Gloss dopes and sanding sealer in the bottles exclusively. He built tissue covered planes prior to my getting into rockets so he was very familiar with those paints and that's what we used. It wasn't until later when I wanted to spray my finishes on that I started to purchase the Testors spray enamels in the small cans from the hobby shop.

I haven't really used Aero Gloss since I was a kid but I can tell you I do remember the fumes when I'd paint a model at the kitchen table with dad!

I may try the method Jay mentioned with the label paper on a future build but not on these beautiful laser cut fins for the Defender. I'm always looking for a short cut to filling and sanding but that's usually when I get into trouble.

.

Jay

I'm going to try this on a future build but our humidity down here on the Gulf Coast is sometimes extreme and I'm not sure the adhesive on the paper would stay stuck even if I rubbed it down well. Have you ever had any problems with it wanting to lift back up?

Do you apply the paper to one side first and then trim around it and then do the other side or just cut the paper out like a fin pattern and then apply it? What works best for you? I know you mentioned sealing the edges with CA.

Thanks!

.

Gordo,
Sheryl mentioned that at NARCON when I told her that my wife had said that my order had arrived. They plan on making the "oops" go away.


LOL, oh I knew they would.

I was just having some fun with them. I think the Defender may be ohhhh...maybe #178 on my build que list...I have a lot of unbuilt kits. :rolleyes:

Steve,

Being a fellow Gulf Coast resident, this is a concern to me as well. I have a clone Estes Laser with paper laminate skins that has remained intact for at least three years without delaminating. Humidity has not affected it so far.

Understand, these skins were plain computer paper attached with 3M-77 spray adhesive, and not the label paper Jay and I have been using lately. I think the effect will be the same, because once the thin CA around the edges "fires off" those skins are down and locked. The only way they're going to come back up is by tearing off. They're not going to come up easily. And once you've sealed the paper with primer, paint, and gloss coat, it's going to be even harder for moisture to penetrate.

Build yourself a couple of Alpha clones and try the skins out. I think you'll like the results.

Go to the source!
 

Steve,

Since I live in the high desert of Southern Idaho (which is even drier [but not hotter] than Phoenix), this is where your mileage may vary *radically* from mine. :(


If my fins aren't laser cut, I stack sand them *first,* as well as lightly sanding the surfaces to "get the bumps out."

Then I apply the paper to one side, and place that side of the fin down so I can see to trim it with an X-acto knife (I put a metal ruler on top of the fin to help make sure my cuts are straight). Then I do the same thing for the other side, and rub both sides down with the Sharpie cap.


Yep, that's the final step.

As I've done before, I *highly* recommend that you all buy David J. Miller's "Interrogator" from Sirius Rocketry, which is where I learned this fin-finishing technique.


18mm version:

http://www.siriusrocketry.com/Interrogator01.htm


24mm version:

http://www.siriusrocketry.com/Interrogator02.htm


Cheers,

Jay's reporter mode on:

"As I've done before, I *highly* recommend that you all buy David J. Miller's "Interrogator" from Sirius Rocketry, which is where I learned this fin-finishing technique."

Funny you should mention it. At the close of the vendor's room at NARCON yesterday, there were a lot of hugs and handshakes and good wishes among those present. The SEMROC krew, the Fliskit krew, the Hawks Hobby krew, Sirius Rocketry krew, and Red River Rocketry krew (and flunky).

I had to mention to David of Sirius that I had learned something this weekend.

I have a big one and John Dyer of RRR has a little one.




Sirius "Interrogator" kits. I bought the 24mm and John the 18mm kit.

What?

Chas

Jay / Craig

Thanks for the tips.

One more question and I'll stop pestering you and return you to the regularly scheduled "New Kits" thread :)

I noticed Avery white mailing labels in full sheets of both laser and inkjet styles. They also make a weather proof mailing label that claims to have an extra strong adhesive.

What have you used that gave you good results?

.

Office Max full label sheet for ink jet...

The Avery brand is good, but more expensive. I have not tried their weatherproof version yet.

Other than a slightly whiter appearance, I don't see any real advantage in the Avery sheet for this application. The primer is going to cover it anyway, and it's white. As for the adhesive, they're about equal.

Finished my #26 Defender today. Thought I'd share some pics.

Very nice! Did you paint the motor tubes first or mask the tubes off to paint them?

.

I hadn't even thought about the paint before I started building. I should have painted the black tubes first. If I had it to do over again I would have. So, I was forced to mask. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, but just time consuming. Plus, it was good practice for the Saturn 1B that I still have yet to build. I want to leave the paint for last on that one, so I can fill or fillet any gaps that may be present where the lower shroud meets the tanks..