Well, the Maxi Honest John is completed, but awaiting decals. This HJ has sat finlees since the late 90s. In a fit of rage, a younger and more temperamental me took a wood rasp and hacked off the vacuformed fins after becoming completely disgusted with their looks, and flimsy nature.

Other mods were incorporated. had converted it to 29mm, used plywood centering rings, and substituted a heavier body tube (LOC 2.6”). Since the tailcone and nose cone shoulders are slightly larger in diameter than the standard BT-80, the LOC tubing works well and is not noticeable.

My plan was to make built-up fins, similar to fin construction on the old 1:70 Estes Saturn 1B. Well, that never happened. A few months ago I ordered the 3D printed fin set from Boyce Aerospace. Very nice! Strong, perfect fit, good detail, not too much sanding required. (I sanded them a bit, and counted on ample applications of filler-primer, followed by sanding, to fill the “grooves”). I used 15-min epoxy to fasten them in place, followed by very minimal epoxy fillets to reinforce, yet not stand out like the monster fillets used on most HPR builds. Paint is Tamiya Olive Drab 2.

I neglected to take pictures of this “fin conversion”. It happened over months, to a built model, and so not my typical build. Here is a picture of my Mini, my BT-60 model (I like this model, I bought four when they were clearanced. ) and the Maxi. My decals appear to be in great condition. They have been in the kit box in my temperature-stable basement for all these years, so I doubt I’ll have any issues.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
Lee Reep
NAR 55948

Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor
In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold!
Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp

Those are some nice HoJo’s. If you need a waterslide decal set for the Maxi, I MIGHT have a set that I’ll never use. I won’t know for sure if I have one until I return home from a job in Warren, OH at the end of the week.

__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Jeff,
Thanks! The decal for the BT-60 Honest John I got from sandman. It’s the same graphics as the Maxi decal.

I appreciate your offer for a decal. The clear surround on the decal sheet has not yellowed, so I think I’ll be OK.

By the way, I still fly the Firefly glider I “inherited” from a friend., which you supplied a decal for. If you ever need any cut vinyl, let me know. My laptop is so old that I cannot load a big file like the high-res DRM decals, but simple stuff like a Goblin or Scamp, or text or roll patterns, are pretty easy.

(And I could never offer Stickershock-like custom stuff. )

__________________
Lee Reep
NAR 55948

Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor
In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold!
Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp

Love this, always been a huge fan of that rocket. I think I used Sandman decals on my Madcow HoJo. This kit has more scale details, especially those fins. Looks super nice.

__________________
Fleet : http://s84.photobucket.com/albums/k...Rocket%20Fleet/

http://youtube.com/swillie

Are you sure it was Firefly and not Dragonfly?

__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Hi Lee,

You said this is Tamiya Olive Drab ? Is this not a flat paint ? They look great. I was thinking flat would be the perfect opportunity to use vinyl ?

__________________
Jim Filler
NARHAMS # 139
NAR CB - RCPC

Lee-

Nice grouping of HoJos! I have just finsished building the mini and have both the BT-60 and the Maxi version in construction (I won’t say how long the Maxi has *been* in construction ).

Just wondering though on the Boyce fins, are they heavy/dense enough do you think to require any offsetting nose weight?

Earl

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

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

Ah, you are right — DragonFly!

__________________
Lee Reep
NAR 55948

Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor
In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold!
Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp

Hi Jim,

It is pretty flat paint. (Maybe not as flat as Testors or Model Masters military colors.) Seems like all the good military colors are flat, I am not sure I have seen any with gloss to them. So I coat flat paint with Krylon UV-Resistant Acrylic Gloss Clear, apply decals, and use their Matte Clear to “re-flat” the sheen. These are awesome products— Krylon has a whole series of coatings for archival use, such as documents and photographs. I find it in the Art Dept. of Hobby Lobby.

Here is the nose cone from my Interceptor-E. Base was Testors Flat Aircraft Gray, then the treatment as above. No silvery decal edges.

I’ve used it with enamels and lacquers. Never an issue, and no yellowing.

Regarding vinyl,, it’s great for many decals. But … for tiny lettering, like all the fine text, it’s hard to cut, often impossible on small models, and a real bear to transfer off the backing and onto the transfer tape, then back onto the model. For really fine text, Stickershock will print text and small graphics onto vinyl. This is how he does full wrap graphics, and even decals like the planet symbols on Orbital Transport decals. Probably works best for white models like the OT.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
Lee Reep
NAR 55948

Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor
In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold!
Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp

Earl,
The fins are definitely heavy compared to vacuformed fins. I am not sure it will matter, but I’ll probably check the CG of the BT-60 model, and compare to the Maxi. I can make adjustments if necessary.

__________________
Lee Reep
NAR 55948

Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor
In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold!
Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp