Model Rocket Building Blog 
Model Rocket Building Posts
Rocketry Product: Estes - Mars Snooper {Kit} (20) [1965-1974]
Mars Snooper Build Part 1 Parts (2011-11-29)
A friend ordered and built the Mars Snooper in the 1970s. I remember he had trouble with the three shrouds and balsa coolant vanes. Wish me luck! Here's all the parts. Some were ordered from Semroc, ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 2 Engine Mount Prep (2011-11-30)I've brought this up before. The end edges of the TA-2050 coupler are cut at a slight angle. You can see the gap between the coupler and 2050 ring. With 220 on a block, sand this edge flat. After ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 3 Shrouds and Pods (2011-12-01)I used my adjustable hole punch to cut the ends of the ovals. The top and bottom of the lug cut out holes would be very hard to cut with a knife. After the end holes are punched, the middle curve ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 4 Engine Mount (2011-12-02)Here's the finished engine mount, viewed from the front. I could tie the Kevlar to the thrust ring, but on this build I am going old school and using a tri-fold mount. I don't know why, but steps 5 ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 5 Lug Hole Marking (2011-12-03)In Step 7, the instructions have you: "Cut a 1/4" hole in one of the RA-2060 spacer rings in the position shown in figure 7B." Huh? That's a little vague. I punched a smaller 3/16" hole that would ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 5 Lug Hole Marking (2011-12-03)In Step 7, the instructions have you: "Cut a 1/4" hole in one of the RA-2060 spacer rings in the position shown in figure 7B." Huh? That's a little vague. I punched a smaller 3/16" hole that would ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 5 Lug Hole Marking (2011-12-03)In Step 7, the instructions have you: "Cut a 1/4" hole in one of the RA-2060 spacer rings in the position shown in figure 7B." Huh? That's a little vague. I punched a smaller 3/16" hole that would ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 6 Lug Hole Punch (2011-12-04)The hole was punched using the largest cut tube my rotary punch, 3/16" diameter which fits the 1/8" launch lug perfectly. I found I had to widen the hole, my punch might be getting dull. A sharpened ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 7 Nose Cone Weight (2011-12-05)Jumping ahead to Step 12: The lead nose weight (Semroc #NCW-1) was slightly wider than the inside diameter of the upper BT-20D tube. The outside edges of the weight were easily filed down to a ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 8 Shroud and Lug Fit (2011-12-06)The lug fit through the #1 shroud was very good. The fit on shroud #2 and #3 needed some tweaking. Here the shrouds are dry fitted over the engine mount and 2060 centering ring. The lug was slid in ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 9 Shrouds and CA (2011-12-07)After all the trimming is done, reform the shroud again making sure it is perfectly round. I do this before treating the card stock shroud with CA. You wouldn't want to permanently glue the shroud ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 10 Ring Adjustment (2011-12-08)Because of a glue fillet on the engine mount (at the top of the 2050 ring), this 2060 ring wouldn't butt up against the adapter assembly. Fot a better fit, I cut an angle on the inside edge of the ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 12 Pods and Fins (2011-12-09)Here's the cross section airfoil of the largest fin. Shaping was done with 220 grit sandpaper on a block. The nose cones were glued into the pod tubes. Sand their shoulders to the diameter of the ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 12 Gluing the Shrouds (2011-12-10)In Step 8A you slide the #1 shroud down onto the 2060 ring already glued to the installed engine mount. The picture to the right shows the dry fit. Looking ahead to the illustration in Step 8C, the ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 13 Low Shroud #3 (2011-12-11)Shroud #3 is slid on from the bottom. If you have a tight fit around the BT-20 motor tube it may be hard to slide on. It's not in the instructions, but I added a thin 2050 ring inside the shroud and ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 14 Fin Fit (2011-12-12)I was afraid this might happen! The fit of the large fin on the tube and upper shroud is pretty close, but take a look at the vane. I'll have to cut eight more larger vanes out of some 1/16" thick ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 15 Fitting The Vanes (2011-12-13)Here's the first new vane after fitting. The outside edge is larger than it needs to be for now. After I'm sure all the inside edges fit well, the outside edge will be trimmed to fit Shrouds 1 and ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 16 Fitting The Vanes (2011-12-14)A line was drawn on the vane connecting the outside edge to the widest points of Shrouds 1 and 3. This over hang was cut off. Here's the fit of one vane after sanding. Just the shroud edges got a ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 17 Upper Fins (2011-12-14)Step 6 of the original instructions has you glue the upper fins on first to the BT-20 above the adapter. Then glue on the fairings and round the outside edges. No, not this time! After you've built ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 18 Gluing The Forward Fins (2011-12-15)The upper BT-20 tube was sprayed with primer and sanded. After sanding to the tube surface, I could see the new mix ratio for filling the body tube seams is working well. The tube was marked for ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 19 Trimming The Long Lug (2011-12-16)The instructions have you glue the long lug through the shrouds then trim the lug flush with the angle of Shroud #1. I didn't want to run the risk of cutting into the shroud so I decided to trim the ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 20 Filling The Lug Ends (2011-12-16)When sanding the lug to the correct angle, some of the inside skin of the lug doesn't get sanded off. It rolls inside the lug and should be taken off. Using a sharpened dowel, the rolled edge is ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 21 Early Primer (2011-12-17)The nozzle vanes were taped to a sheet of cardboard for spraying. The outside edge of the fins are facing up, the root edge is stuck to the sticky side of the tape facing up. Off the top of the ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 22 First White Coats (2011-12-17)Here's the first coats on the upper section of the Snooper. Everything was going as planned, I was spraying Rustoleum 2X Painter's Touch, gloss white. Out of nowhere, the can started spattering! I ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 23 Gluing Main Fins (2011-12-18)The three main fins were glued onto the lines printed on the shroud. Above the fins, the wrap of masking tape helped make sure the fins are all at the same height on the main body tube. Remember, ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 24 Pods (2011-12-19)The pods were sprayed with primer off the model. I'm holding onto the nose cone tip, my hand is inside a grocery bag. The back half of the pod was sprayed. After it dried, the sharp side was ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 25 Gluing Outside Fins (2011-12-20)The outside fins were hard to align. Even with a pencil line and "double glue" these fins liked to slip and slide all over the BT-5 pod. In the picture it doesn't look centered, but it is. These ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 26 Re-Mask and Spray (2011-12-21)At the top of the fins pod edge I rolled the fillets over the top with a toothpick tip. Enlarge the picture to see the rounded joint. The lower half of the model is ready for the white coats. A ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 27 Decals (2011-12-21)This is the Snooper decal as copied from JimZ's: http://www.spacemodeling.org/JimZ/estes/k-20.pdf In this form with the blue-ish background it won't be useable. If printed from this scan, the ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 28 Masking the Shrouds (2011-12-22)This is going to be a harder mask than normal. You've got to mask around fin root edges and the top of Shroud #1. This is clear scotch tape. It was stuck down to my patio door glass. A thick, ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 29 Upper Mask (2011-12-23)I wanted to duplicate the Mars Snooper paint job from this Estes catalog page. The upper section mask won't be an easy one. The tips of the white triangle areas go to a thin point. To find the ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 30 Upper Mask (2011-12-24)This is one of the three sides with the Scotch tape in place. The black marked side is facing in. The cut "tapered arrow" point is on the inside. It takes some time to get the strips straight. Sight ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Build Part 31 Assembly (2011-12-25)All eight nozzle vanes were glued in place on the masked lines. This was the look I was hoping for, a high contrast that draws attention to all the nozzle detail. In the Estes catalog pictures, the ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Finished! (2011-12-26)Decal printing will have to wait. I didn't want to use up a full sheet by only printing 1/3 of it. This was a harder build than I thought it would be. Aligning the shrouds and getting the vanes on ... [Read More]
Mars Snooper Decals (2012-02-07)Decals were (finally) printed up for the Mars Snooper on the same sheet as the Scavenger name decal. In the picture to the right a positioning template was made out of cardstock. This helps place ... [Read More]
Long Cruise Project (2012-11-09)If you can read the small print you know what I'll be working on while on the next cruise. I'll be gone for 30 days, four cruises on three different ships. One of the first Dr. Zooch kits I tried ... [Read More]
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