Model Rocket Building Blog 
Model Rocket Building Posts
Rocketry Product: Estes - STM 012 {Kit} (007221)
STM-12 Kitbash? (2016-11-27)
The Estes STM-12 is on clearance right now on the Estes website for $6.99: CLICK HERE I like the looks of the STM-12 but it could be kit bashed into an sport scale AAMRAM pretty ... [Read More]
STM-12 Kitbash? Maybe Not!!! (2016-12-09)EDIT: I did this post before I had a chance to see the STM-12 kit parts. As it turns out, it isn't a good candidate for an AMRAAM kitbash. Sure it looks a bit like the ... [Read More]
Estes STM-012 Kitbash to the B32-M Spike, Background (2017-05-30)Well, I thought it might work! I bought two Estes STM-012 kits on Ebay with the hopes of kit-bashing one of them into an AMRAAM. It never even occurred to me that the STM-012 model would have three ... [Read More]
Estes STM-012 Kitbash to the B32-M Spike, Part 1, Parts (2017-05-31)The STM-012 parts were all high quality and a good value for what I paid on Ebay. The STM-012 is a tall rocket made up from two 18" lengths of BT-60. The "Spike" will be shorter. The parts of ... [Read More]
Estes STM-012 Kitbash to the B32-M Spike, Part 2, Fins (2017-06-01)To get a rough idea of the fin to body tube size ratio I copied a picture from the Madcow website. I wasn't trying for an exact copied fin profile. I did like the fin size and placement in relation ... [Read More]
Estes STM-012 Kitbash to the B32-M Spike, Part 3, Tubes (2017-06-02)I had to get rid of the slotted tubing, the slots wouldn't fit the new fins anyway. The Madcow Pike is 28.9" tall. With the STM-012 nose cone at 8.4" long I figured I'd need about 20 1/2" of BT-60. ... [Read More]
Estes STM-012 Kitbash to the B32-M Spike, Part 4, Coupler Bulkhead (2017-06-03)There will have to be a bulkhead plate in the coupler between the two body segments. I'm cutting this from my frame matting stock. Two disks will be made and laminated together for a strong ... [Read More]
Estes STM-012 Kitbash to the B32-M Spike, Part 5, Coupler Bulkhead (2017-06-04)The bulkhead plate will be glued to the top of the coupler so when the ejection charge fires the shock cord will be pulling down. There will be no chance of it pulling off if the glued bulkhead is ... [Read More]
Estes STM-012 Kitbash to the B32-M Spike, Part 6, Fin Filling (2017-06-05)Here's the before and after using Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler. On the forums I've read where first time builders question how grainy the filler is. Too many try to use it full strength the first ... [Read More]
Estes STM-012 Kitbash to the B32-M Spike, Part 7, In Line Fin Gluing (2017-06-06)The body tube was marked and the primer/filler scraped off the root edge and fillet areas. The rear fins were glued on first; The trailing edges were set down farther back than the Madcow Pike. Thin ... [Read More]
Estes STM-012 Kitbash to the B32-M Spike, Part 8, Decals (2017-06-06)I looked online at a few missiles to get some ideas for decals. I ended up making some markings similar to the decals in the Estes Bullpup 12d kit. The black segments and long strips are in two ... [Read More]
Estes STM-012 Kitbash to the B32-M Spike, Part 9, Paint and Trim (2017-06-07)The low end fins were sprayed with Rusto 2X Aluminum. This metallic paint dries very quickly and decals adhere to it well. As usual, I stuffed a rolled paper towel in the rear engine mount recess to ... [Read More]
Estes STM-012 Kitbash to the B32-M Spike, Part 10, Decals and Trim (2017-06-08)The fins got a different decal treatment. I used a marked spacer strip to be sure all three bars were consistently spaced. The home print decals stuck and wrapped around the outside edge very well. ... [Read More]
Estes STM-012 Kitbash to the B32-M Spike, Part 11, Nose Cone Paint (2017-06-09)Damn paint! Painted plastic nose cones take forever to dry! Sure, the can says "Recoat within one hour or after 24 hours." I waited a few days after the white undercoat. That seemed to take forever ... [Read More]
Estes STM-012 Kitbash to the B32-M Spike, Finished (2017-06-09)This one turned out very well, except for the nose cone paint. The picture on the right was taken before the wrinkled red paint was sanded smooth. My favorites are now two foot tall, BT-60 based ... [Read More]
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