New Way Letter - Go Build, Finished

 

I can see this model as the perfect, personalized gift for a model rocket enthusiast.

At 22 1/4" tall and BT-60 based, it's tall and burly. A little like a Big Bertha with a twist.

A great model for small fields with a B6-4.

I cut the parachute to 12" diameter, I probably should have gone with a 15 or 18 inch.

New Way Letter - Go Build, Part 14, Decal & Parachute

The LETTER GO NAME is a water slide decal.

Before transferring, mark the center lightly with a pencil,

Then mark the center of the white span between the upper two black trim strips.

I set the decal at the pencil marks. I thought it was centered but got it wrong!

It was repositioned using a visual centering.

You are supplied with two LETTER GO decals. I used only one.

The elastic shock cord is tied to the Kevlar line.

The elastic is tied to the nose cone lug leaving a 8" tail. A small metal ring is attached at the end of that 8" tail.

The snap swivel (and parachute) is clipped to the metal ring.

New Way Letter - Go Build, Part 13, Black Tape Strip Trim

The kit supplies some pre-cut black vinyl trim strips.

When applied on the model the black and white paint pattern reminds me of the Wac Corporal.

The black trim is 1/4" tall. Get an idea of the spacing by setting the strip with 1/4" of the white showing.

The instructions wisely suggest wrapping a strip of paper around the tube for an alignment guide.

Don't peel all of the backing off initially - 

peel back an inch or so, apply and repeat.

Notice the pencil mark. That's the stop and start point directly over the launch lug. I started the strip with a slight overlap in mind so the left end is placed to the side of the pencil mark. 

With the rocket on the launcher and the launch rod in the back, any misalignment of the wrap won't be seen when taking pre-launch pictures.

Here's a better look of the alignment paper and the start (center) of the tape strip.

There is a third wrap strip at the top of the body tube.

New Way Letter - Go Build, Part 12, Fin Masking

According to the face card picture,

the fins will be white, the lower body tube black.

This was a fairly complicated mask, each fin was different.

First the marked Scotch tape lined the root edges.

Brown masking tape covered the rest of the fins.

Before spraying, reburnish the Scotch tape masking strip edges with a Q-tip.

If your root glue fillets were smooth the Scotch tape masks can give a very clean color separation.

I had a few small over sprays. Those were cleaned off with a damp[ magic sponge.

New Way Letter - Go Build, Part 11, Tube End Masking

I like to keep paint out of the tube ends. Paint can slow a smooth slide of an engine into the engine mount and a nose cone in the top of the body tube.

I rollup a piece of paper towel.

A painting wand is slid into the engine mount.

The paper towel is pushed into the recess below the centering ring.

Cut off the paper towel overlap and press in the end.

I use tweezers to get the paper towel into all the open areas.

On the open upper end with the nose cone removed - 

Some masking tape is rolled around the end of the tube.

Before pressing the tape in the tube,

Press the sticky side of the tape on your pant leg and pull off. This leaves some lint on the tape making it less sticky.

New Way Letter - Go Build, Part 10, The Parachute

Gee, where have I seen this parachute design before?

I'd place the reinforcement disks towards the outside corner of the chute.

The printed placement disk outlines are pretty big.

A toothpick is supplied to punch holes in the plastic.

I like a cleaner assembly so I punch a round hole using the rotary punch.

Set some scrap cardstock under the chute plastic for a clean, round punch. 

The shroud line spool is pretty smart.

Hold the side (over the punched hole) with your thumb and index finger. 

As you pull the red shroud line with your right hand, the spool wobbles back and forth releasing the line. 

No tangles!

I actually enjoy assembling parachutes - 

Especially after I started using ling tweezers to tie the knots.

I use a simple square knot - not a "Granny".

Square knots will not come undone. If you don't know how to tie a square knot: CLICK HERE

New Way Letter - Go Build, Part 9, Fin Gluing

I applied wood glue to the root edge and to the sides of the TTW (thru-the-wall) fin tabs.

The name letters should read clockwise, to the right.

Note how the letters lean down, like a down swept fin.

I drew an arrow to show how the fin should intersect the centerline of the body tube. 

Here's all five fins viewed from the rear, spelling my first name.

I tried to fill the nose cone seams using medium CA glue and sanding to surface.

Well, the CA glue doesn't stick to this polystyrene plastic!

Filler/Primer and paint doesn't adhere to this plastic either.

Rough up the plastic surface before spray painting with color. 

The upper picture shows a painting "handle" using a wrap of copy paper.