Model Rocket Building Blog
Estes Dragon Ship 7, #1345, BackgroundThis model build was a request. It's been a while, I get around to them sooner or later! There's not much background information on this rocket. I had left the hobby in the late 1970s, on the road as an entertainer since 1978. These two were introduced in 1980 and featured on the catalog ...[Read More]
Estes Dragon Ship 7 #1345, Part 1, Canopy PatternsI didn't include an "all parts picture" on this build. It was assembled over time when I was waiting for parts to arrive. A clone kit is available through a vendor but I thought I could put it together for less money. Many of the basic parts were in my spare parts drawer. I found the instructions ...[Read More]
Estes Dragon Ship 7 #1345, Part 2, Engine MountLots of parts! This is just the engine mount - Standard 2 3/4" engine hook, engine block, 6 3/4" long BT-20D engine tube Two 20/60 centering rings Short BT-20AE spacer tube 1 1/2" long Nine (count 'em nine) BT-3XW motor tubes at 1 1/2" long. The spacer tube enlarges the outside diameter of the ...[Read More]
Estes Dragon Ship 7 #1345, Part 3, Engine MountThe lower notched ring is slid down from the top until it rests on the top of the spacer tube. The retainer ring was glued on top of that. The original kit didn't have an engine block. I added one, slid down from the top. A glue fillet was added from the top with a long rounded end dowel. The top ...[Read More]
Estes Dragon Ship 7 #1345, Part 4, Engine MountAs each tube was glued on, I checked to be sure the ends were even with the central BT-20 engine tube. The engine hook is hanging over the back edge of the sanding block. I'm not sanding here, the sanding block is just a convenient flat surface. The back end view - All the BT-3 tubes ended up ...[Read More]
Estes Dragon Ship 7 #1345, Part 6, Fin PreppingThere is a lot of balsa on this model! Those small pieces in the bag are the launch lug "gun" stand offs. Those weren't on the JimZ templates. I took my best guess as to their length and height. TIP: During assembly, keep small parts in separate zip-lock bags. The next time you lose a small part, ...[Read More]
Estes Dragon Ship 7 #1345, Part 5, Engine Mount PaintingI've jumped way ahead in the instructions. The engine mount and motor tube assembly is sprayed silver, then glued into the model after the main body is painted. This shows the first coat of silver after sanding. TIP: I sharpened and sanded a dowel to dress the ends of the tubes. Sometimes there ...[Read More]
Estes Dragon Ship 7 #1345, Part 8, Fin Gluing and CanopyThe fins were glued on using my Odd'l Rockets FinTool. (Yes, I may finally have the FinTool available after NARAM!) Notice the engine hook through the bottom slot in the FinTool base. On a regular build, the engine mount is already glued in. The FinTool is slid in and the engine hook ends up ...[Read More]
Estes Dragon Ship 7 #1345, Part 7, Fin PreppingWell, I got a post out of order again! That's what I get for staying up late - I'll put them in the right order in a few days. Three pieces of balsa are laminated to make the gun housings on the front of both wings. The instructions have you glue the housing pieces directly onto the fin and round ...[Read More]
Estes Dragon Ship 7 #1345, Part 9, Canopy Fin FittingAfter a dry fit of of the top canopy fin, I found the notch wasn't high enough. I didn't want to cut into the fin, so I glued a shim under the back. The shim was sanded, filled and the entire fin got a shot of filler/primer. I went back and fixed the dorsal fin template. Here's the better fit of ...[Read More]
Estes Dragon Ship 7 #1345, Part 10, Removable Fin FittingYou can almost see the curvature sanded into the root edge of the bottom removable fin. Earlier the side pieces were glued on a little higher than the root edge of the center fin. This allowed me to sand the curve without reducing the fin height. The instructions have you glue the front of the ...[Read More]
Estes Dragon Ship 7 #1345, Part 11, Nose Cone WeightThe Semroc parts list shows a clay nose cone weight. It's listed as the original parts number CB-M4 at 6 grams. Notice this is the "4" designation. Looking at the Estes Custom Parts Catalog, nose cone weights are listed as NCW-1, NCW-2, NCW-3 and NCW-4. The heaviest one is the NCW-4 at .354 oz. 6 ...[Read More]
Estes Dragon Ship 7 #1345, Part 12, Paint!The model got an overall shot of gloss white and some smooth sanding. This was repeated two more times. I tried to find a lighter gray than what I had on hand. I took the plastic cap from a can of Rusto 2X Gloss Winter Gray to Hobby Lobby, and looked through all the Tester's Master Modeler colors. ...[Read More]
Estes Dragon Ship 7 #1345, Part 13, Rivet Line DecalsThere are lots of rivet lines on the model. Measure and cut one to size. You can cut a second decal to the same length. When fitting decals between the fins you will always have two equal lengths on either side of the fin. The rivet lines are small and narrow. Use tweezers to dip the decal in ...[Read More]
Estes Dragon Ship 7 #1345, Part 14, More DecalsThe wing decals are slightly different size. Be sure to check the width of the rear skid fins. The get the wider wing decal. The smaller wing decal goes on the dorsal fin under the canopy. Here's where I realized the decals printed small. The two piece front tube decals didn't match up! By now I'm ...[Read More]
Estes Dragon Ship 7 #1345, Part 15, Gun TrimThe masking tape strip on the launch lug gun standoff was lifted. The paint lip was sanded smooth. The guns were painted metallic black instead of just gloss black. The clear red decal stripes won't show up over black paint so strips were cut from chrome Monokote trim. Here's how the guns will ...[Read More]
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