Semroc (Centuri) Excalibur KV-43 BackgroundAccording to the Semroc website - The first version of the Excalibur was introduced in the 1972 Centuri catalog - The Semroc website says it had streamer recovery, but it did use a 12" parachute. In 1973, a booster was added, this kit variation was renamed the Excalibur 2. The Excalibur single ...
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Semroc (Centuri) Excalibur KV-43 Build, Part 1, Parts Here's all the parts - The face card on the Semroc instructions shows another paint job - an overall light gray with the red decals. I'll do a more interesting decor. The 12" parachute is one of the original Semroc (Centuri) style in yellow and black. The original kit had plastic nose cone ...
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Semroc (Centuri) Excalibur KV-43 Build, Part 2, Fin Prep The fins were removed from the card stock sheet using a hobby knife. The ash left from the laser cutting darkens up the edges. Trust me on this - Wipe off the burnt ash from the edges before proceeding. Remove most of the ash with a paper towel. Sand off the remaining ash and hold-down tics with a ...
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Semroc (Centuri) Excalibur KV-43 Build, Part 3, Engine Mount The engine mount tube had a small "stab" cut meant for the upper bend of the engine hook. I extended the left side of the slot with my knife using the flat back side to square it off. I didn't want to punch the engine hook through the stab slot and tear up the tube. The Kevlar line gets a loop ...
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Semroc (Centuri) Excalibur KV-43 Build, Part 4, Filler Primer The fins were sprayed with filler/primer before gluing onto the body tubes. On the left is one of the larger, lower fins after sanding down the filler/primer. The remaining gray filler shows how uneven the surface is. On the right is the small upper fins, before and after sanding to surface. The ...
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Semroc (Centuri) Excalibur KV-43 Build, Part 5, Fin Gluing The engine mount was glued in first. As I mentioned before, there is not much clearance between the ST-8 and ST-7 motor mount tube. TIP: By gluing the engine mount in before gluing on the fins, I can then mark the tube and center the engine hook between two fins. Here's the small upper fins on the ...
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Semroc (Centuri) Excalibur KV-43 Build, Part 6, Shock Cord Feed Feed the Kevlar line out the top of the lower tube. I mark the Kevlar below the top lip of the tube. If the ejection were to happen too early or too late you could end up with a Zipper. A Zipper is a tear down the body when the Kevlar extends beyond the top tube end. Here's the steps to feed the ...
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Semroc (Centuri) Excalibur KV-43 Build, Part 7, Prepping For Paint Here's another rough shoulder on a balsa nose cone. The picture on the left shows the before and after. On the right - Slide the nose cone out of the tube a bit, wide enough for a folded over piece of 400 grit sandpaper. Gently run the folded sandpaper around the joint knocking down the rough ...
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Semroc (Centuri) Excalibur KV-43 Build, Part 8, Decal Draw & Red Mask Mentioned earlier, I'll be trying to duplicate this version from the Centuri Big Shot catalog page. There were decals included in the Semroc kit, but these were mostly in red. The Centuri model decals were black. I drew up new decals, some with a bit of red. This is an interesting mask - the ...
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Semroc (Centuri) Excalibur KV-43 Build, Part 9, Yellow Mask The yellow is masked. The yellow bars are between the two vertical red bars. They aren't as tall and sit inside the ends of the red. I use a Q-tip to press down and seal the edges of the Scotch tape masks. Take extra care in the corners where the tape overlaps. When the tape was lifted I lost some ...
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Semroc (Centuri) Excalibur KV-43 Build, Part 10, Decal Placement The tricky decals are the vertical fin stripes. The fins are thin fiber stock and I won't be able to roll the ends over the top. There isn't a real rounded edge. On the left the two parallel lines are cut to size while still on the backing sheet before soaking. When I got the length right, I ...
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Semroc (Centuri) Excalibur KV-43 Build, Part 11, Tying It All Together The motor mount tube extends below the main air frame tube. The catalog picture shows the tube extension painted black. I used the Contact Paper Blackboard covering material. A strip was cut and started under the engine hook. This was rolled around the tube, the trimmed end stuck under the engine ...
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Semroc (Centuri) Excalibur KV-43 Build, Finished The touch-ups worked well, you have to look close to find them. I did make duplicate decals, some in red. The black decals looked better, there was already plenty of red on the model. This is another build I was always curious about. A good looking tall, skinny scale-like model. I'm not a fan of ...
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