Centuri Vector V #KB-2 Build, Part 3, Those Viking Fins! You could use the Viking fins, but it turned out they were a little short. I'm building two different Vector Vs with different fin positions on each. One model will have the longest fin side glued to the lower BT-55 tube. The BT-55 tube on the Vector V is 2.3" long, the Viking fin root length is ...
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Centuri Vector V Research, Part 1 I had picked up three Estes Viking kits on clearance a few years back. The Estes Viking used the same fin shape idea from the original Centuri Vector-V kit from 1972. Seeing the Viking fins inspired me to build a Vector V. The groundbreaking thing about the Vector V - It used an interesting fin ...
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Centuri Vector V Research, Part 2The Centuri Vector V was 12.8" tall. The upper ST-7 tubing above the card stock shroud is 6" long. The engine mount tube was 3" long. The BT-20 tubing is a little smaller in diameter but will work for this build. The short wider section at the bottom was a ST-13 tube at 1.34" diameter and 2.3" ...
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Centuri Vector V #KB-2 Build, Part 1 Parts The parts were assembled using Estes diameter tubing and the nose cone from the Viking kit. I thought I could use the Viking BT-20 tube, but ended up cutting some BT-20 tubes I had. I could have gone the extra and ordered some Centuri ST tubes but this was really a spare parts/spare kit clone. ...
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Centuri Vector V #KB-2 Build, Part 2, Decal Draw The kit decals were a single color - black. These should be easy to print! The scanned online decals were okay, but I wanted some sharper images. The one tricky decal is the body wrap intake ducts. You'll usually go through a few tries to get the width right to match up after rolling it around the ...
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Centuri Vector V #KB-2 Build, Part 4, Nested Shroud I went to payloadbay.com and printed two shrouds in the "Tools" section. Punch in the outside diameters for a BT-20 and BT-55 x 1.3" tall. Look close and you can see two shrouds, one stuck inside the other. There is an overhang at the bottom. Why a double layer shroud? It's just stronger! These ...
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Centuri Vector V #KB-2 Build, Part 5, Engine Mount For a time, Centuri produced smaller diameter kits with a two-piece main body. A lower 3" engine mount tube and a longer upper tube. TRIVIA: This is speculation on my part, but it seems the Centuri designers were trying to get away from the standard engine block gluing inside and up in the body ...
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Centuri Vector V #KB-2 Build, Part 6, Fiber Fin Edges TIP: Card stock fin edges can be sealed and slightly rounded with a bead of glue. A line of white or yellow glue is run down the edge. Use the side of your finger to smooth the round bead and remove any excess glue. Be sure the glue covers the edge completely from side to side. Make the bead as ...
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Centuri Vector V #KB-2 Build, Part 7, Vane Cutting The vane strip is an interesting size, 1/16" thick x 6" long x 1/6" wide. I cut the strip from some basswood. Basswood grain is tight but can still be filled with a shot of filler/primer. On the left is the sprayed strip, on the right is another piece after 400 grit sanding. Seven 1/2" long pieces ...
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Centuri Vector V #KB-2 Build, Part 8, Coolant Vane Base In the original kit, Centuri had you cut the vane coolant pattern off the thin 20 lb. paper instruction sheet. I wanted a little more visual relief so it was redrawn to fit the BT-20 and printed on 110 lb. card stock. I pre-curled the pattern. Even though it is flattened out for the adhesive ...
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Centuri Vector V #KB-2 Build, Part 9, Vanes & Design Placement Here's how the seven vanes look, placed evenly around the pattern base. There's good reason why I didn't glue together the upper and lower segments. I could try two different placements of the vanes over two different fin settings. My two picks are on the right side of both pictures. Now I can ...
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Centuri Vector V #KB-2 Build, Part 10, Shock Cord & Lower Body Paint The Kevlar shock cord was tied around a second, upper engine block. An outside layer of the block was peeled off to fit the inside of the coupler. The Kevlar end was slid into the upper tube, don't glue the tube on yet. The upper tube was then slid into the coupler. The Kevlar line was marked a ...
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Centuri Vector V #KB-2 Build, Part 11, Black Paint & Decals Here's the mask for the black vanes. This picture shows the upper vane placement This is the vane mask for the lower placement near the top of the shroud. The picture on the right shows how to pull the tape off, away and folded over itself. Whoops! I got some black over spray on the shroud. TIPS: ...
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Centuri Vector V #KB-2 Build, First Build Finished This was billed as a "Customizing Kit" giving the builder many choices on fins, vane position and decals. I even put the Centuri decal on one build, it seemed appropriate this time.
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Centuri Vector V #KB-2 Build, Second Build Finished The second build is in the catalog color and decal scheme. I'm a little more partial to the first build and color variation, the one with the wide span fins. Here's both builds for comparison.
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