I've heard of other people using white Trim Monokote for the white areas on the fins.

As is always the case, your mileage may vary.

__________________
Jay Goemmer
"Centuri Guy"/"Tau Zero"
YORF Member 28
Semroc SAM #0029
NAR 86131


"I think about organizing things all the time. Never seems to happen. I find something that piques my interest and I'm off on a quest. Or a Centuri. "

--Bill Eichelberger, 02/22/2022


“Centuri fret buzz in an updated form.”
Bill “Wallyum” Eichelberger re: Estes Flutter-By
03 Sept 2014

Still need a text height.

and white on silver? is the silver a shadow or outline?

If anyone has a picture of the original decals (on or off the rocket) it would be helpful.

I'm working on finding suitable fonts.

__________________
Bernard J. Herman Ohio RLS

Starport Sagitta Rockets
email bherman@sagittarockets.com

NAR # 97971 SR

What's your idea on the best way to change Washington D.C.?
Let us know at the Cantina
Sagitta Cantina

We're looking for a few good Catos, please tell us about any you may have had. Survey of Anecdotal Malfunctioning Engines or S.A.M.E.

Bernard,

You might contact Eagle3 (Buzz Nau) to see if he has a higher resolution version of his photo in this post:

http://forums.rocketshoppe.com/show...81&postcount=17

__________________
Jay Goemmer
"Centuri Guy"/"Tau Zero"
YORF Member 28
Semroc SAM #0029
NAR 86131


"I think about organizing things all the time. Never seems to happen. I find something that piques my interest and I'm off on a quest. Or a Centuri. "

--Bill Eichelberger, 02/22/2022


“Centuri fret buzz in an updated form.”
Bill “Wallyum” Eichelberger re: Estes Flutter-By
03 Sept 2014

Please do as I have already sanded off the originals.

__________________
NAR 79743
NARTrek Silver
I miss being SAM 062

Awaiting First Launch: Too numerous to count
Finishing: Zooch Saturn V; Alway/Nau BioArcas; Estes Expedition; TLP Standard
Repair/Rescue: Cherokee-D (2); Centuri Nike-Smoke; MX-774
On the Bench: 2650;
Dream Stage: 1/39.37 R-7

Here's another Centuri Stiletto post on YORF:

http://forums.rocketshoppe.com/show...37&postcount=17

__________________
Jay Goemmer
"Centuri Guy"/"Tau Zero"
YORF Member 28
Semroc SAM #0029
NAR 86131


"I think about organizing things all the time. Never seems to happen. I find something that piques my interest and I'm off on a quest. Or a Centuri. "

--Bill Eichelberger, 02/22/2022


“Centuri fret buzz in an updated form.”
Bill “Wallyum” Eichelberger re: Estes Flutter-By
03 Sept 2014

I guess that some patent claims have driven my decal backing paper supplier out of business. The merit of the claims is dubious. I tried someone else but have not received a response yet. Fingers crossed

__________________
Bernard J. Herman Ohio RLS

Starport Sagitta Rockets
email bherman@sagittarockets.com

NAR # 97971 SR

What's your idea on the best way to change Washington D.C.?
Let us know at the Cantina
Sagitta Cantina

We're looking for a few good Catos, please tell us about any you may have had. Survey of Anecdotal Malfunctioning Engines or S.A.M.E.

Comrades:

Shhhh . . . don't tell her, I got another Sandhawk to rescue.

Here's the payload bay. It was split along both long seams , but not at either end. The nose cone was glued on, but strangely offset. The original bayonet mount would have had the seams on the nose line up with the seams on the bay. There was a large crack laterally near the nose starting at one seam and another, smaller one starting from the opposite seam. Had they connected, this would have been much more difficult. Also, there is a fairly large dent that looks like someone melted the plastic somehow.

Using Plastruct Plastic Weld (MEK), I glued the cracks first and then tackled the long seams. One side I squeezed together but the other side I shimmed with a strip of styrene. You can see the shim as a thin white line in the picture. I probably should have used a thicker piece.

I'm thinking of filling the dent with slow CyA and sanding before it gets super hard. Also there does not appear to be any way around rescribing the panel lines. I was able to locate the antenna spots and drill them out, but without access through the nose, I'll have to come up with some other way to secure them rather than the usual epoxy from inside.

This is a part of a very large lot I was able to obtain. They were all built between 1970 and 1976. The builds are straight but the finishes are rough, being mostly dope. There was lots of paperwork and a whole bunch of unfired engines, including 18mm shorties, dated as far back as 1968. The D powered rockets in some cases had engines and wadding installed like they've been waiting for launch for 44 years. The engines were all stamped 1976.

If I gotta stay home, I'm gonna work on some of this stuff.

Attached Thumbnails

   

__________________
NAR 79743
NARTrek Silver
I miss being SAM 062

Awaiting First Launch: Too numerous to count
Finishing: Zooch Saturn V; Alway/Nau BioArcas; Estes Expedition; TLP Standard
Repair/Rescue: Cherokee-D (2); Centuri Nike-Smoke; MX-774
On the Bench: 2650;
Dream Stage: 1/39.37 R-7

Mark-

This may be loooong past your need, but here are the Stiletto decals with ruler, JIC.

Earl

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

Earl,

Thanks. That project got seriously bumped but I'll get back to it, hopefully this winter.

So here's another quicky rescue: An old Estes Alpha. I'm sure you're thinking "Holy Moley, is fixing an Alpha really a rescue?" In truth, it probably took longer to repair than to build a new one. On the other hand, the last Alpha I built was at least 45 years ago. And having an Alpha around never hurts, you can launch it on just about any motor Estes makes.

So this one was missing a fin, the parachute was missing shrouds, the paint was terrible and a new one for me, the fillets were made of bathroom caulking. Based on the rest of the eBay lot, this one was from about 1970 and it had been flown a bunch. The rubber shock cord was rotted. It took me an afternoon of scrapping to get the caulking off. I traced one of the other fins and cut a new one. After gluing and sealing the balsa, I made new fillets all around and spent a lot of time sanding the whole thing. I primed and sanded some more. I went with all white with one black fin. The second picture shows my kevlar upgrade: I tie a Kevlar leader around a 2050 paper ring, use the Q-tip on a popsicle stick to spread glue around the inside of the tube just above the motor mount, and then ram it home with a sanded-down D casing on a dowel. Of course, this requires removing as much as possible of the old tri-folds, but I've done this a bunch and it works great.

The last picture shows it ready to go, paint is regular Rustoleum Gloss White and Flat Black. The parachute was re-rigged and got new sticky dots.

Ready for another fifty years. I'll launch it as soon as they open the parks.

Attached Thumbnails

     

__________________
NAR 79743
NARTrek Silver
I miss being SAM 062

Awaiting First Launch: Too numerous to count
Finishing: Zooch Saturn V; Alway/Nau BioArcas; Estes Expedition; TLP Standard
Repair/Rescue: Cherokee-D (2); Centuri Nike-Smoke; MX-774
On the Bench: 2650;
Dream Stage: 1/39.37 R-7

Since the Alpha has gone through multiple iterations (involving its motor mount, its nose cone, and--especially--its fins' planform, as BEC compiled elsewhere here on YORF) since its initial appearance, restoring old Alpha rockets is definitely worthwhile, because they aren't identical to the current Alphas. The older ones' different paint schemes and decals also add to this.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR