As long as you don't need more lead than will fit in the cone

__________________
- Dick
NAR L2, member of MDRA and NARHAMS
*** My Rocket Dungeon ***My Our Planet Page***
Co-moderator of the MicroMaxRockets, microhybrids, and OddRocs Yahoo groups
Volunteer compiler of product news for ROCKETS Magazine

Dick I hear you but as it sits with an engine in the bay it's just shy of the TE of the wings. It won't take much to tip that scale.

Steve

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We should build a Bridge to the Stars

Hostile Projectiles

I'm really surprised that the CG is that far forward with a motor installed. But that's good.

Will the Delta X-15 have a resin nozzle?

I'm going to be away from the Internet next week (probably) so I hope you are not out of these before I get back. I could easily check, but will ask anyway. Do you take PayPal?

__________________
- Dick
NAR L2, member of MDRA and NARHAMS
*** My Rocket Dungeon ***My Our Planet Page***
Co-moderator of the MicroMaxRockets, microhybrids, and OddRocs Yahoo groups
Volunteer compiler of product news for ROCKETS Magazine

Dick yes PayPal is my only way really. And yes the X-15 will have a resin cast cone. you bet.

Thanks,

Steve

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We should build a Bridge to the Stars

Hostile Projectiles

I had a little time last night to begin the V-23 Build.

The builder is informed on the first page of the instructions that there is an expectation that the builder is not a beginner but a seasoned builder. Although with only a bit more explanation here and there this kit would be something that anyone with a few builds could manage.

You start by cleaning the resign nose cone and tail cone to remove mold release. The instructions indicate that the best way to do this is with steel wool and soapy water.

Of course I assumed that a sponge would be acceptable and I went ahead and cleaned both parts with a sponge and soapy warm water. The steel wool was right there on the sink too. I just didn’t use it.

After cleaning the parts you are instructed to use some 400 grit sand paper to smooth things out and then prime both parts with the primer of your choice.

There was no flash on either part and I only did a little light sanding on the inside of the business end of the tail cone. Once that was done I primed both parts.

That’s where things got a little interesting because the primer didn’t adhere well to a few spots on both parts. I let them both dry and then went back and used the steel wool with soapy warm water to remove the primer and clean the parts correctly. Once that was done I went ahead and re-primed and both parts came out looking great.

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I plan ahead that way I don't have to do anything right now.

Oh by the way, I'm not here just for the "olde" rocket discussions.

The next step is to install the pre-built engine mount into the tail cone. Before doing this I added glue fillets to both centering rings and the engine block for good measure.

The instructions tell you to clean out the inside of the tail cone with a Dremel to accommodate the mount if it doesn’t fit. Mine didn’t fit but I didn’t want to chance removing too much material from the tail cone so instead I shaved and sanded down the larger balsa centering ring and peeled a couple of layers from the smaller standard centering ring that fits into the business end of the tail cone.

The instructions tell you to glue the mount into the tail cone. A glue type isn’t suggested so I used 5 minute epoxy and it came out great.

The next step is to cut the fins and wings. The instructions tell you to apply the fin and wing templates to the balsa using 3M 77 and then to cut around the templates. I didn’t have any 3M 77 so I taped the fin template to one sheet of balsa and the wing template to the other and then just cut around each fin and wing with an Exacto knife. It went very quickly and I had the four fins and two wings in no time.
One note here: If you follow the directions exactly you will be fine here, but if you chose to cut the wings first you have a 50/50 chance of using the wrong balsa stock since the two pieces of balsa are different sizes. The stock for the fins is bigger than that for the wings. The templates show the grain direction which I thought was a nice touch and helpufl since I sometimes don’t pay enough attention to grain direction.

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__________________
I plan ahead that way I don't have to do anything right now.

Oh by the way, I'm not here just for the "olde" rocket discussions.

That’s where I wrapped up last night, and since my PC crashed last night I spent time this evening purchasing a new PC, a laptop actually, and sending the old PC drive out so that my data can be retrieved.

The next step is to round the leading and trailing edges of the wings and fins and then filling imperfections and sealing all six pieces.

More to come...

__________________
I plan ahead that way I don't have to do anything right now.

Oh by the way, I'm not here just for the "olde" rocket discussions.

When I have time I need to go through this wonderful build thread and make a list of the things I need to put in the instructions.

This is a great help to me Cas you are being most detailed and this helps everyone.

One thing I need to mention is that the decal are coated. I put two coats of Testors sealer over them so your good to go on putting them in water.

Again Cas you are doing a great job and thanks for pointing out the two different sizes of the balsa sheet. The templates are configured to fit the two pieces of balsa exactly with little room to spare. Take note of this to those that are about to build my kit.

Steve

__________________
We should build a Bridge to the Stars

Hostile Projectiles

LOL! You must have ESP Steve because I was going to ask if you had already coated the decals. I figured you probably did since you were also kind enough to build the engine mount.

If you ever do offer this kit more widely it really wouldn't take much at all to tweak the instructions here and there to make this kit buildable by almost anyone. I'd even suggest you leave the engine mount build to the builder as it would extend the build a bit and everyone is used to doing that anyway. It can't be fun building all of those before shipping the kits.

I really like the way you inject humor into the instructions. I've smiled more than once as I read through steps.

More to come!

__________________
I plan ahead that way I don't have to do anything right now.

Oh by the way, I'm not here just for the "olde" rocket discussions.

Thanks Cas!!!!!!

Steve

__________________
We should build a Bridge to the Stars

Hostile Projectiles