Model Rocket Building Blog
Quest Stiletto Build Part 1, PartsHere's a great Shrox design introduced in the 2010 Quest catalog. I understand Shrox likes conical pointy nose cones, the older MPC Nike Smoke nose cone is used here. This design also used a Shrox standard, the 50mm intake tube underneath. Here's all the parts: The 18" 35mm main air frame ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 2, Engine Mount 24mm UpgradeThis Siletto model is 26.5" tall. Usually any model I build over two feet either gets a 18mm cluster or a 24mm D engine upgrade. I've had great flights with my Quest Aerospace One with D engines, this model is about the same size. It'll get a D engine in a reinforced engine mount. If you are ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 3, Engine Mount 24mm UpgradeThe rings were glued 1/2" from either side of the engine mount tube. Electrical tape was wrapped over the engine mount and Kevlar Q-tip tube. At the top the plastic Kevlar tube is recessed away from the ejection charge end. Somewhere in the Apogee Peak Of Flight archives is a reference to ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 4, Parts PrepYou'll definitely want to sand the laser cut edges on the fins. Here is the root edge on a wing. For some reason the middle of the root edge was cut inside the the hold down tabs. After sanding a bit I still had to remove more edge to get everything flat and even. Looking ahead: The blue decal ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 5, Parts PrepThe 14" Quest parachute has the shroud line holes already punched out. The problem is, they are pretty far from the edge of the parachute. I prefer smaller tied loops closer to the edge. On the left is how the reinforcement disks fit on the punched holes. On the right I've trimmed back the ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 6, Nose Cone PrepDon't glue the nose cone halves together yet! In Step 20 you are given the choice of painting the bottom half silver and the top half black. After painting glue the two halves together then glue on the tip. This is a great idea - no masking and the two halves in different colors will hide any ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 7, Cutting the Intake TubeThe "bell curve" intake pattern is cut out and set back 1/2" from the end of the tube. Make the cut with a few light passes. The Quest 50mm tube is pretty thick, use a sharp blade. The instructions say you could use a razor saw but that would make for a rougher edge to clean up. The ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 8, Marking for the Intake TubeYou'll be able to see some of the inside edges of the intake tube when it is glued to the main body tube. CWF was brushed on the inside of both ends. After sanding smooth some CA was applied with a Q-tip. The inset shows Step 10 of the instruction. There is a "Instruction Revision" sheet with a ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 9, Intake Tube GluingDraw lines down the tube at the spine mark. Draw a line down the middle of the intake tube. Three lines of white glue were applied down the tube between the 4" and 13" marks. The two outside glue lines will make a interior fillet on both sides of the center line. Line up both lines and press ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 10, Stability Issues and a Larger RudderBefore starting a kit build I'll got to www.rocketreviews.com and look up the kit build review. It's great way to find out if there are any "kinks" or "gotchas" along the way. There wasn't any reviews for the Quest Stiletto. I started my build figuring I'd make any corrections as I ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 11, Cutting a Larger RudderAfter all the concerns about stability a larger rudder fin was drawn up. Mine is twice the height of the original and flipped so more fin area is to the rear. In the picture on the right the original rudder line pattern is the dashed line. My re-draw is the larger solid lined fin. The top shows ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 12, Fin Fit and GluingThe front end of the tail fins tuck under the intake tube. Extend the positioning lines onto the intake so you have something to center them on. I went ahead and put a Titebond M&TG fillet on the front and rear of the spine piece. It might be hard to get the fillet right after the ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 13, Wing and Rudder GluingDry fit the wing against the spine and look where the wing surface contacts the body tube. I drew a pencil mark to show where the second glue line will go. The inset picture shows the glue was applied - Down the angled root edge and on the tube contact area on the flat side. Before ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 14, Sands and PrepsThis post is a mixed bag. From the back end you get an idea of Shrox designs, certainly not a four fin model with the fins spaced at an even 90 degrees. (Yeah, I know - there are five fins here.) I cut a higher spine that is between the two wing fins. This was done so it could be sanded ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 15, Nose Cone Paint SolutionI'm jumping ahead to the nose cone paint . . . You are given two choices on painting the nose cone. Step 20 has you paint both halves separately then glue them together. (The copy says Step 19 - 22, but it is really Step 20 - 23, Oops!) Step 23 has you mask off one half after the two piece cone ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 16, Black MaskThe model got an overall white undercoat, then Rusto Metallic Bright Silver. Along with one half of the nose cone, the only other black paint goes on the two larger rear fins. I used my regular Scotch tape mask. The corners were rounded off a bit. Masking tape and grocery bags followed. ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 17, Nose Cone DecalI could see this coming - the rear of the decal won't lay down where the shoulder straightens out. You can see the two raised areas on the blue area of the decal. I don't have decal setting solution. Here's one way to fix and get rid of the wrinkles. With a new razor blade, cut straight ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 18, More DecalsI had read about the Stiletto decal problems on the forums. Some decals were missing, one "Rocket Blast"decal was facing the wrong way On the instruction sheet the decal placed behind the nose cone canopy was supposed to go around, matching the half diameter of the black nose cone top. It was ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 19, Chrome TrimThere is a gray area on the wing indicated on the face card and decal placement instructions. It's not mentioned or included on the decal sheet. Time for an upgrade! I decided to cut it out of my old chrome Monokote trim sheet. Using the illustration for a sizing guide, I did my best to ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Part 20, Wing Flap Decal FixThis was done after I took the finished pictures in the final post. I wasn't happy with the wing flap decals. right out of the bag there was a crease in the decal. The decal ink cracked when it was placed on the model. Be ready, any fold in these decals will break up the ink. Even though I cut ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Finished!This is a BIG model, probably under powered with a C6 engine. Like the earlier Quest Aerospace One, this one will fly with 24mm engines. After some weight comparisons with an 18mm engine mount, .60 oz. of clay was added to the nose cone before gluing the two halves together with ...[Read More]
Quest Stiletto Build Decal FixThe Stiletto was missing the two USAF and Star and Bar decals. I printed up the black USAF pair but won't be adding the Star and Bars. Those require white backgrounds. TIP : This font is called AMARILLO USAF. It's used very often on military models. You might find it on the free font websites. ...[Read More]
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