Model Rocket Building Blog
Freedom 7 Build Part 1The parts from the new Dr. Zooch kit - The Mercury Redstone Freedom 7 Dr. Zooch had already had the BT-60 based mercury Redstone kit. I'd built one before, it was a lot like the old version of the Estes Redstone. Not the plastic capsule and tower, but a tower you made out of dowels. When finished, ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 2 CapsuleThe wrap sheet has four different capsule wraps to choose from - The Freedom 7, Liberty Bell, plain Mercury Capsule and the gray and orange boilerplate version. I close the Freedom 7 skin. I didn't cut out the Freedom 7 wrap at first. I cut out the boilerplate I wasn't going to use - for practice. ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 3 CapsuleI can assume all four of the capsule wraps on the pattern sheet are the same size and would now fit the nose cone correctly. I cut out the Freedom 7 wrap but cut the glue tab a little longer than the cut line showed. I just felt it was a little too small for gluing. I knew this could effect the ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 4 CapsuleOn the the second page (fifth paragraph) there is a line of copy left from a earlier draft of the instructions. You are reminded: "And the only painting you had to do was the black band." There is no painting of a black band at the base of the capsule like on the larger BT -60 based Redstone kit. ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 5 CapsuleBefore gluing on the antenna fairing, I wanted to smooth out the top of the balsa capsule. This balsa was rough. I applied a light coat of Carpenter's Wood Filler being careful not to get any on the printed recovery compartment wrap. Here's the smooth top after sanding and coloring over with a ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 6 CapsuleThe antenna fairing was centered and glued to the top of the capsule. (Not pictured) The nose fairing was formed round by pressing it into the soft heel of my hand with a pointed dowel. Some builders form shrouds on a rubber mouse pad. This "hand" method works better for me, especially with very ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 7 TowerIt's your choice whether or not to round the square legs of the tower. There are three provided, 1/16" square X 1 1/4" long. They might be made of basswood, I'm not sure. To round them, I first knocked off the square sides and then carefully "roll sanded" round on a block. That sanding block is a ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Part 8 TowerNext up, you cut a small triangle out of balsa using the triangle cut from the wrap sheet. Knock off a small bit from the triangle corners for a small gluing guide. This little triangle is your gluing guide to set up the basis for the three sided tower. All three legs are glued to the little ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 9 LES ModuleThe ends of the LES Canister Module dowel are squared up with a sanding block. I didn't want any grain to show through the final red paint so I filled some pores with Carpenter's Wood Filler. After sanding it was sealed with that old sanding sealer. It would be hard to smooth it up with the paper ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 11 TowerHere's where I made some changes in the tower construction. I placed this assembly over the top of the capsule, dry with no glue. The angle you see in the picture is how the tower legs would sit on top of the antenna fairing. I wanted the tower leg base to be wider at the bottom, taper and be ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 12 TowerThe second paragraph on page four looks to be left over from the prototype model instructions. Just disregard that step. I punched three small pinholes in a piece of cardboard to hold the wires for spray painting. Scrape off the paint on the inside of the tower leg for better adhesion. You can see ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 13 TowerThe best advice I can give you when making a tower is to take it slow. Double check before you make the wire cuts and be sure all is straight before moving to the next brace. If you haven't already done so, the small balsa triangle is removed from the inside of the three legs. Pencil marks are ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 14 TowerThe diagonal braces follow the same method. Carefully measure and cut the wire. A little glue is set in the corners. Tweezers are used to set the wire into the glue drops. When the glue starts to set up and get tacky, you can move the wire into it's final positions. At this point, the hardest work ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 15 TowerThe lower inverted "V" support are cut and glued in place. At this point you realized how little of the red wire is left! I did have enough. But if I had made mistakes in cutting the upper struts I'd be out of luck now. In Part 12 of the build I mentioned gluing the tripod tower legs higher up on ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 16 TowerI probably should have done this before the tower was glued onto the capsule, but I was stuck. Dr. Zooch has you simply glue the aero- spike toothpick to the top of the LES Canister Module. I wanted to inset it in the top rather than just do a surface gluing. The toothpick did look a little thick. ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 17 TowerHere's that rotary punch again! It's the only way I could cut those small circles in the tops of the LES motor bell shrouds. This time to form the shrouds, I used a smaller sharpened dowel. You'll just have to try this method to see how well it works. These engine bells are tiny! I haven't found a ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 18 TowerThis cut is a little tricky. You want the nozzle tab seam out of sight, facing the inside of the tower. Before cutting the tip off at the correct angle, do some dry fitting against the bottom of the LES canister module dowel. Trust me - double check before doing any cutting. In the picture, the ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 19 Engine MountI'm doing the posts in the same order as the instructions, were now up to page 6. The engine mount is pretty straight forward, I won't spend much time on this. I'd rather concentrate on the capsule, tower, fins and paint. This is the rear centering ring. Notches were made for the engine hook with ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 20 Body WrapsI don't do my body wraps as directed in the instructions. I've tried to use white glue on the outside edges then wrap around the body tube, but when the edges should match up it's never close enough for me. Using white glue you only get one shot at wrapping it correctly. To make it even easier, I ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 21 FinsThe fins are cut out using templates from the wrap sheet. I didn't use the supplied kit balsa, it seemed soft and wouldn't hold the sharp tapered, leading edge. I cut the fins from some harder 1/16" balsa. Double check the grain direction on the steering vane pieces. Here I'm checking the 90 ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 22 FinsI tried to save some time by gang sanding the steering vanes pieces. All were taped side by side and the taper marked with a pencil. I couldn't sand them like this, they moved around too much. I ended up removing the tape and sanding separately. Following the same sanding directions from the last ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 23 FinsThe steering vanes were glued to the outside edge of the main fin. I used one glued fin and vane as the master. When gluing the vanes to the other fins I held them side by side to make sure the vanes were raised to the same height. All the fins were set down on a smooth surface for drying, making ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Post 23 FinsThe Mercury Redstone fin mask can be confusing. I set the fins against the printed body wrap for masking, being sure the rear under hang was against the lip of the body tube. Scotch tape was used for the black / white separations. The clear tape was set in place while the fin was on the body tube ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 24 FinsHere's the four finished fins after removing the tape. Be sure to sand off any paint on the root edge before gluing to the body wrap. This will be a surface mount so the joint should be strong. The engine mount is glued in. Be sure to center the engine hook between two fin locations.[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Post 25 FinsThe instructions don't mention doing this but I wanted a stonger glue joint than just a surface mount for the fins. Certainly nothing new, these are Glue Rivots. Holes are punched along the fin placement line. When the glued root edge is set onto the body tube, glue will sink into the holes making ...[Read More]
Freedom 7 Build Part 27 FINISHED!The Dr. Zooch Freedom 7 is finished! This is another great offering from Dr. Zooch. I always find his kits to be a rewarding challenge. This BT-50 based Mercury Redstone is the same scale and about an inch taller than the Zooch Jupiter C. My Jupiter C has flown on a B6-4 and it really screamed! ...[Read More]
Model Profile Dr. Zooch Freedom 7This is the Dr. Zooch BT-50 version of the Mercury Redstone Freedom 7. This smaller Redstone is around 13 1/2" tall. Currently, the blog header picture is the capsule and tower of the larger, BT-60 based Zooch Redstone. This smaller tower has three vertical dowels on the outside. Thin stiff wire ...[Read More]
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