FlisKits MMX Saturn V Build Part 1, Parts
I found the MMX Saturn V the most interesting of the new releases from FlisKits. Here's all the parts - It's advertised as the "World's Smallest Flying Saturn V". I checked - the Quest MMX Saturn stands 5 3/4" tall. The FlisKit Saturn V is 4.65" tall.
Some parts of interest, ...
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FlisKits MMX Saturn V Build Part 2, Engine Mount
The engine mount is similar to a 18mm style, just smaller. The engine block is set with an engine casing. 1/8" of the casing extends out the back. The scalloped ring is set into the glue fillet on the rear centering ring. The engine skirts will form and glue over the scallop circles.
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FlisKits MMX Saturn V Build Part 3, Nose Cone Filling
Looking ahead, I tried to figure out filling and painting. The BT-4 body tube had no seams! At least none I could feel. The launch lug is long and I could feel the seams with a thumbnail. First up, rough the surface so the CWF will stick to it. 400 grit was used to take off some of the gloss. ...
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FlisKits MMX Saturn V Build Part 4, Nose Cone Taper Sanding
After sanding and lifting up the nose cone, The sawdust left on the block shows I was sanding more on one side. Make adjustments and try to sand the adapter area flat. Don't change the shape of the adapter angles.
Here's the nose cone after all five surfaces were sanded smooth.
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FlisKits MMX Saturn V Build Part 5, Engine Skirts
The instructions simply say to "roll" the skirts to shape. They are printed on the instructions, the paper looks to be 24 lb. I decided to make a form to shape the skirts on. A dowel was sanded down to the same diameter as the back end of one of the centering ring scallops.
The dowel was ...
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FlisKits MMX Saturn V Build Part 6, Engine Skirts
A dowel was sharpened to form the skirts over. You will want to preform the skirts before any gluing. The length of the taper was the same as the height of the skirt. The tip of the dowel was rounded off. Press the dowel into the skirt over your fingertip. Do enough pressing so the shroud keeps ...
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FlisKits MMX Saturn V Build Part 7, Drag Shroud & Launch Lug
The drag shroud is printed in black on 110 lb. card stock. Before cutting out the shroud, the launch lug hole was made using the smaller barrels of the rotary punch. The lug hole is oval shaped. A larger center hole was punched, two smaller holes were punched outside of that to make the oval. ...
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FlisKits MMX Saturn V Build Part 8, Escape Tower
The escape tower is a small round plastic rod. You have to drill a small hole for the rod to glue into. The CM part of the nose cone is already pointed. I decided to flatten the point slightly to make it easier to set the center hole.
A needle is slowly pressed in. Press a little and ...
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FlisKits MMX Saturn V Build Part 9, Cutting Out Fins
The kit supplied fins are printed on a single layer of 110 lb. card stock. I wanted them a little thicker. Some scrap 110 lb. card stock was creased and folded. A glue stick was applied and the stock folded over and burnished. The fold will end up being a rounded leading edge.
The printed ...
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FlisKits MMX Saturn V Build Part 10, Gluing Fins
I probably should have glued these on before the first white coats. The paint was scraped off the fairing center line where the fins are glued. A drop of glue was set down and the root edge drawn through the glue drop. Use tweezers to hold the fin and set them in place on the fairings.
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FlisKits MMX Saturn V Build Part 11, Decals
The lower band decals have to be cut apart to fit around the fairings and launch lug. The vertical black bands seem too tall. To fit around the top of the skirt it was raised above the top of the scalloped ring.
The USA decal to the left of the launch lug was set right ...
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FlisKits MMX Saturn V Build Part 12, Streamer Install
The supplied Kevlar line was pretty long, I cut off a few inches. On the Flis MMX kits the Kevlar is attached to the nose cone with a small nail. This kit had one of the newer, split brad nails. Press a pin hole in the cone shoulder. Tie a knot in the Kevlar. Squirt glue into the hole. Press ...
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FlisKits MMX Saturn V Finished
This was not a level 1 build! The nose cone tapers were a challenge to get right. The fin skirts took a lot of coaxing to stay shaped when gluing. The finished model does look good. The decals add the right amount of trim. It's flown twice already - very stable. It falls slowly ...
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MMX Saturn V Comparison
Here's the two smallest, flyable Saturn Vs out there. On the left is the recently finished Fliskit Saturn V. On the right, the Quest plastic Saturn V. Without an engine installed - The Fliskit Saturn V weighs .08 oz The Quest Saturn V weighs .23 oz, almost three times heavier! The Fliskit ...
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