Midget Clone Build Part 1 Parts The original Estes Midget kit was one of the first rockets I ever built. In 1969 I thought $1.25 was a great price for a two stage rocket! Before I start on this one - This build is not the recently released Retro Repro Midget kit from Semroc and not the original Estes kit. This is a ...
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Midget Clone Build Part 2 Parts Huh?
I don't know why fin templates were included.
Compared to the laser cut Semroc fins they weren't even the right size! I trust Semroc knowing the larger laser cut fins are correct.
On the same card stock sheet with the fin templates was a printed ...
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Midget Clone Build Part 3 Lug Standoff?
The original Midget kit and this clone kit included a dowel for a lug standoff. Normally, a lug standoff is required if the upper section of the model has a larger diameter payload tube. The standoff raises the lug so the launch rod will clear the wider payload section. But why is it needed on ...
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Midget Clone Build Part 4 Lug Standoff
The Estes kit had a LL-2B lug that was 2 3/8" long. Probably too long for a model this size. That length of lug will stick out like a sore thumb. A little like a 1/8" lug on a BT-5 model. The lug supplied in the Semroc Repro kit is slightly shorter at 2 1/4" long, with no dowel ...
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Midget Clone Build Part 5 Nose Cone Prep
I can hear the voices: "Why do you bother, nobody will see it anyway!" It's just me. I like the interior of my models to be as clean as the exterior. I spend some extra time on engine mounts and shock cord anchors. If they are built strong and clean, they'll function better and last a lot ...
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Midget Clone Build Part 6 Engine Mount
The centering rings are cut from a long, thick tube. The edges are a "wedge" shape, slightly thinner on the green side. I like to square up the rings, getting rid of the wedge, making the faces a little flatter. This can help with a model where the engine mount centering rings are flush ...
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Midget Clone Build Part 7 Engine Blocks
I had a hard time getting the thin engine blocks to fit into the mount tubes. The burr around the top of the upper mount had to be rolled over with a smooth dowel. Again, pre-fit any rings before using glue. This is the back end of the booster body tube. A second thin EB-20B engine ...
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Midget Clone Build Part 8 Kevlar
The new Semroc Midget kit has Kevlar tied to the upper centering ring. As typical for me, I forgot to cut a notch in the upper ring to tie on the Kevlar. A small drill was used to make the hole. There isn't much room between the BT-20 engine mount tube and the inside of the BT-50 ...
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Midget Clone Build Part 9 Transition
By dry fitting the mount and a fin on the BT-50 tube you can see how long the transition needs to be. The trailing edge of the fin will be flush with the end of the engine mount tube. A good fitting card stock transition will actually roll over the end of the centering ring a small amount. By ...
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Midget Clone Build Part 10 Transition
You'll have to draw a glue tab to the shroud pattern from the Payload Bay website. Sometimes I'll add a tab cut separate from the shroud so there won't be a raised seam. On this model it won't matter. A fin root edge will go right beside the raised seam hiding the raised side. The ...
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Midget Clone Build Part 10A Transition Oops! Out of curiosity I glued together the transition shroud that came with the clone kit. I knew it would be small. Earlier it was checked against the length of the root edge of a sustainer fin. The printing was faint and pixeled. I had to draw the line in for the glue tab. This is the wide end ...
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Midget Clone Build Part 11 Fin Prep Before today's posts: I'm back on the Holland America Veendam from September 7 through 15, cruising up the St. Lawrence River to Montreal. If I miss posting here and there, bear with me. The ship internet connections are never good! Back to the Midget: I've brought this up before, but it's ...
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Midget Clone Build Part 12 Launch Lug and Standoff Today I'm doing Blog entries from a Tim Horton's (good coffee!) in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. Sydney is a quaint town. Nothing too polished here, lots of small homes and original architecture. The residents seem relaxed and nobody is trying to over-impress.
I had thought about ...
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Midget Clone Build Part 13 Balsa Grain Fill
Sometimes when I sand down the filler, the nose cone shoulder ends up overhanging the edge of the body tube.
I usually sand the nose cone back to the right diameter with a sanding block and the nose cone in a scrap piece of body tube.
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Midget Clone Build Part 14 Shroud Seam Fix
A small amount of white glue was set over the raised seam. If you can, you'll want a little bit of the glue to get under the raised edge. Wipe off most of the wet glue on the outside.
Roll a clean dowel over the glued raised joint. The card stock will be a little p ...
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Midget Clone Build Part 15 Lug Gluing
The lug and standoff are glued even with the top wide end of the shroud. Primer was scraped off for a better glue bond. Gluing the lug (while it is on the standoff) takes a more time than usual. It seems top heavy and the dowel wants to roll over on to the body tube. Look down to ...
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Midget Clone Build Part 16 White Color Coat
The first white color coat was sprayed. I'm back using Rustoleum 2X again. The picture shows the first light coat after lightly sanding with 400 grit.
There is a engine block in the rear of the booster tube so a (casing) painting wand couldn't be used. The dowel was slid in ...
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Midget Clone Build Part 17 Fin Trim Colors
When applying trim Monokote the underlying surface must be clean and smooth. I found a few paint bumps and sanded them down before applying the trim pieces. Sand just the raised paint and not much more around it. You don't want to dull larger area of the gloss finish.
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Midget Clone Build Part 18 Fin Trim Colors
It was easier to place the piece using a knife blade underneath it. With the blade under the side of the piece I could see the spacing around the leading and outside edges.
Even using the templates there was some trimming to be done. The black piece still has the backing ...
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Midget Clone Finished
The original Estes kit had a 10" parachute. The Semroc reissue has a streamer. I installed a streamer to be sure I get it back. Lessons learned: Trim Monokote is hard to apply when the pieces taper to a sharp point. I thought applying the trim to the fins would ...
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