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#1
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![]() I'm not sure this is a question of building technique so much as restoration/rehabilitation of a part, but here goes.
I am a big fan of the Enerjet division 1340 derived models of Centuri and Estes. This fin can is part of a Shooting Star 1435 kit, I believe the only 1340 model that was sold inside a Range Box - and perhaps this is why. The fins don't fit in the closed box without taking on this squashed/curve arrangement. The not-in-catalog kit is I think from around 1986, along with the Discovery model, so chronologically in that gap between the Challenger II and Maniac. I put the fin can into a 4-fin jig, clamped tightly at room temperature for a few months, and that seems to have accomplished nothing. My next thought is to (carefully) add heat to the process, and I am considering immersing fins and jig in just-boiled water. Or a heated bath a lower temperature. Another possibility might be some degree of hair drying warming - though that is harder to control of course. At the moment, the fin can is the toughest/costliest of the 3 main components (vs. BT and NC) to get if you want to build a proper 1340/Phoenix Bird or whatever. Yellow is the easiest color to get, but still I'd like to be able to build a Shooting Star with the original parts. Anyone out there have some experience in straightening some of these molded plastic parts, fins or otherwise? Thanks in advance. ![]() |
#2
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![]() I don't think a hair dryer will get hot enough.
I would try a MonoKote-type (RC aircraft covering) heat gun Heat it up really good in the fin jig. Then shock-cool it in a freezer.
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When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!! Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't ! Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY. ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, AGITATION, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, AGGRAVATION, INSTIGATION, NUISANCE-ACTION, and HAVOC ! |
#3
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![]() Quote:
So much much hotter than 212F too? My fin jig is the plastic Estes one, which probably also would begin to deform if I reached the right temperature. Maybe I can come up with some metal method, blocks in a vice where I could at least heat/fix 2 opposite fins at a time. My heat gun does a nice job of softening, deforming and melting PVC pipe, which is of course much thicker. It's just a challenge to stop short of real damage. Last edited by Tramper Al : 03-01-2023 at 10:49 AM. |
#4
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![]() Does it need to stay original? If not then perhaps use contact cement to attached pieces of 1/32” plywood to each surface of each fin, use braces to flatten them down, and then shape the leading edges accordingly.
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#5
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![]() I have straightened Alpha III fins by dipping just one fin at a time in water that was just boiling for about 15 seconds, then carefully bending them the other way. It may take a few tries but should work.
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#6
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![]() Quote:
Ah, thank you. This gives me some idea of how hot for how long may be needed, if the fin thickness and plastic are similar. |
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