I just came from the local ACE Hardware and they hav a line of spray paints especially for plastic (so the can reads, anyway.) I don't remember the price, but it couldn't have been too out of line with the regular spray paints. But I think the main problem people are having with the Estes/Centuri Egg Crate pieces is the yellow powdery stuff that coats them. They really need to be washed well. I've had my 1340/20 for 8 years now, and the only paint that
has come off is a scratch on the nose cone due to a C11 prang. The only other possible difference is that I used Krylon Semi-Flat Black instead of gloss.

Sean

Thanks Craig. Sounds like I could have used a can of this. I have the Egg Crate capsule painted already. I painted it at the same time I did the one for my 1340/20. I wasn't sure how Kilz primer would react with polyethelene so I skipped that type primer completely. I used some Krylon white primer on one of my capsules and I used Krylon Gloss Black on the other directly on the capsule surface with no primer. A little surface prep with a light sanding was all I did and then wiped clean but neither method worked well. If it were the 1340/20 you could use the Semroc balsa parts, but with an Egg Crate you have to have the capsule or not fly an egg. And who would build an egg lofter and not fly an egg? I'm not only going to fly an egg, I'm going to punish it with F engines just like they did at NARAM-14

I did save your info for future builds Craig. Thanks again!

__________________
Steve Naquin
TRA# 677 L2
NAR# 85518 L2
SAM# 0052

🚀 In Construction: Der Blue Maxx/Minie-Magg 5.5” & Vander-Burn MDRM Clone w/Stickershock23 Custom Decals
🚀 In Paint & Detail: USR Banshee
🚀 In Build Queue: Estes Doorknob w/Vander-Burn Rocketry Upgrade Kit [Sport Decor], Semroc Centurion-F, Semroc Egg Crate
🚀 In Repair: SLS Lil’ Hustler, SLS Aero-Dart 1969 Trim
🚀 Stay Tuned For Fall 2021 Launch Dates

I painted a black one with a couple of coats of gloss white Krylon and a few days later with a couple of coats of red Krylon. I used either a construction paper wand or scrap body tube so I wouldn't get paint on the inside surface. I painted my yellow can white and my black can red

I think we'd be hard pressed to find an original unless a very old Centuri Argus came up for sale/auction before Centuri used up all the old red cans .....

Keep those pictures coming Chris of your progress. I'm documenting my build of a 1340 with the 6.4 nose cone version. I put all the measurements including the .10 exposed coupler into RockSim the other night ..... more on this later.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
Steve Naquin
TRA# 677 L2
NAR# 85518 L2
SAM# 0052

🚀 In Construction: Der Blue Maxx/Minie-Magg 5.5” & Vander-Burn MDRM Clone w/Stickershock23 Custom Decals
🚀 In Paint & Detail: USR Banshee
🚀 In Build Queue: Estes Doorknob w/Vander-Burn Rocketry Upgrade Kit [Sport Decor], Semroc Centurion-F, Semroc Egg Crate
🚀 In Repair: SLS Lil’ Hustler, SLS Aero-Dart 1969 Trim
🚀 Stay Tuned For Fall 2021 Launch Dates

The fin pattern for the Enerjet Egg Crate and the Estes Eggspress are absolutely NOT the same pattern. They are similar, but NOT the same.
I have a scan of the Egg Crate fin somewhere but it will take some serious looking.
I have the Egg Crate (via modified Eggspress kit) in my build queue, but it is seriously down the list as I have the following kits/clone paks to build: a Hustler (second one), K21 Gemini Titan, Enerjet Athena (second one), Mars Lander, Original K41 Mercury-Redstone, X-21, Space Plane, Original Enerjet Nike-Smoke, Astron Avenger, Orbital Transport, Aerotech Sumo, 29mm Big Daddy, Astron SkyDart, 1971-version AeroDart (to complement the 1972 Enerjet AeroDart), SPEV kit, Scissor-Wing Transport, Enerjet 2250/2650, and Original Astron Nighthawk ahead of it.
I also have an original Estes K-29 Saturn 1B and K-30 Little Joe II that I was going to build, but with the Semroc kits coming out, those most likely will stay unbuilt.

__________________
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, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !

If you can find that fin pattern that would be really terrific I'll gladly recut three fins for the sake of accuracy. I'll wait a while in case you can turn something up. There are also no decals available online that I can find. The original sheet had little egg decals on it that said "Egg Crate". The picture on JimZ that is also pictured in most publications doesn't show the little egg decals and has stripes. The picture on JimZ is probably the way I'll finish mine .

And I thought I had a lot of items in my build queue.....not compared to that list. Man, having that many projects lined up would cause me to have some sort of stress disorder. I never seem to get used to having more projects than I do time to build them but that still doesn't stop me from buying more parts (and kits).

You weren't kidding when you said you intended to clone the entire 72 EnerJet catalog where you!

__________________
Steve Naquin
TRA# 677 L2
NAR# 85518 L2
SAM# 0052

🚀 In Construction: Der Blue Maxx/Minie-Magg 5.5” & Vander-Burn MDRM Clone w/Stickershock23 Custom Decals
🚀 In Paint & Detail: USR Banshee
🚀 In Build Queue: Estes Doorknob w/Vander-Burn Rocketry Upgrade Kit [Sport Decor], Semroc Centurion-F, Semroc Egg Crate
🚀 In Repair: SLS Lil’ Hustler, SLS Aero-Dart 1969 Trim
🚀 Stay Tuned For Fall 2021 Launch Dates

Nope, was not kidding about cloning the entire '72 Enerjet Catalog !
I'm currently working on a Nike-Ram on the workbench now too.
The estimated fin pattern .pdf you have is the correct shape; I would just go with that; It may take me a LONG time to find the scan and I recall it being the same as your .pdf anyway; come to think of it, I think mine is a .pdf, not an actual scan.

__________________
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, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !

Made some progress on the EnerJet Egg Crate today and dry fit all of the parts prior to bonding (later tonight I hope). I slotted the airframe so fins mount TTW directly to the 29mm motor tube (Semroc LT-115). I used LT-125 tubing for the airframe and adapted the Egg Capsule to fit as shown in the images in my first post of this thread. My EnerJet 1340/20 uses this same mod.

I hope to have the fins attached with fillets and then a pass with Fill n Finish before I crash tonight. Also I hope to have the Semroc ST-13 baffle built and turned down slightly with my dremel and sanding drum to fit the ID of the LT-125 and bonded inside the airframe with kevlar shock cord harness attached. I hope to have it in primer and painted over the weekend provided the weather still holds out.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
Steve Naquin
TRA# 677 L2
NAR# 85518 L2
SAM# 0052

🚀 In Construction: Der Blue Maxx/Minie-Magg 5.5” & Vander-Burn MDRM Clone w/Stickershock23 Custom Decals
🚀 In Paint & Detail: USR Banshee
🚀 In Build Queue: Estes Doorknob w/Vander-Burn Rocketry Upgrade Kit [Sport Decor], Semroc Centurion-F, Semroc Egg Crate
🚀 In Repair: SLS Lil’ Hustler, SLS Aero-Dart 1969 Trim
🚀 Stay Tuned For Fall 2021 Launch Dates

Speaking of the Egg Crate, I worked on mine last week !
It is in virtually the same exact condition as yours....Capsule painted with bare fins (sealed with original 1980's stock Aero Gloss Balsa Fillercoat and Sanding Sealer, of course) and bare body tube.
I went with the original 29mm mount in mine but probably will never fly it with 29mm anything. Most likely it will be fed a diet of 24mm D12-5's and RMS D15-7's and D9-7's using a 29 to 24mm Semroc adapter.
I will probably fill/prime/paint the body tube/fins over the next two days.
Are you going with dual chutes or a single ?

__________________
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, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !

I finished all construction this past weekend and finished filling the fins but woke up Saturday and Sunday mornings to rainfall. No rain today but the current humidity is 83% so I'm not spraying anything today.

I'm building the 24mm Semroc adapter for mine too but I do want to fly it on a 29mm single use or EconoJet at our HPR field because I'm not going to risk an "F" reload motor case in the Egg Crate.

I did notice mention of two things in the original instructions:

"The Egg Crate is designed to be flown with a minimum payload of 1-1/2 ounces for adequate stability. No more than 3 ounces of payload should be used, unless if a larger parachute is used". RockSim confirms the Egg Crate needs the added weight and is even unstable with larger motors without it. I weighed a few of the eggs I have here and they weigh in at 1.9 - 2.0 ounces (grade A extra large) and it sims pretty well with 2 ounces added as a mass object in the center of the payload section. I'm thinking of using a single chute.

Also, the instructions recommended not painting the capsule because the plastic is not compatible with most paints. Of course if you happen to have a yellow capsule like I do you have to paint it black to stick with the original capsule colors. I had better luck with the capsule I painted directly without primer than the one I shot with primer first. I should have prepped it like Sean and others suggested but I didn't realize that until after I painted it. It came out pretty good though.

GH have you decided on colors for yours yet? I'm sure you noticed it's finished differently depending on what picture you happen to reference in the EnerJet catalog. I'm still undecided about how to finish mine (I wish I could find an original EnerJet Egg Crate decal sheet with the little eggs that say "Egg Crate" on them to put on the fins, but I'm sure that's not going to happen).

__________________
Steve Naquin
TRA# 677 L2
NAR# 85518 L2
SAM# 0052

🚀 In Construction: Der Blue Maxx/Minie-Magg 5.5” & Vander-Burn MDRM Clone w/Stickershock23 Custom Decals
🚀 In Paint & Detail: USR Banshee
🚀 In Build Queue: Estes Doorknob w/Vander-Burn Rocketry Upgrade Kit [Sport Decor], Semroc Centurion-F, Semroc Egg Crate
🚀 In Repair: SLS Lil’ Hustler, SLS Aero-Dart 1969 Trim
🚀 Stay Tuned For Fall 2021 Launch Dates

I'm painting the lower body yellow with the red fin stripes.
Along with the black capsule, that is the only Enerjet Egg Crate paint scheme I am aware of.
Are you sure you are not comparing this to the original Centuri Egg Crate ?...that had totally different colors and was a totally different rocket.
I will place a single orange and black "Enerjet" logo decal in the middle (half way between the leading edge of fin and top of tube) of the body.
Good luck with those Egg Crate decals....that for some reason is the only Enerjet kit I have NEVER seen come up for auction. Maybe they made few kits, but I know at one point they had a HUGE overstock of the capsules....Centuri was practically giving them away.

__________________
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, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !