Roachwerks Custom Turnings X-20 Dyna-Soar Nose Cone (BT60)

Roachwerks Custom Turnings - X-20 Dyna-Soar Nose Cone {Component}

Contributed by Dick Stafford

Roachwerks Dyna-SoarBrief:
This is a review o' Gordon's Dyna-Soar nosecone kit. He describes it as 'goof' scale. Begad! Nevertheless, ya bilge rat, t' cone looks awesome and I don't worry about scale points. Although he provides some application ideas, ya bilge rat, usin' this is on a stable model is up t' t' builder.

Construction:
This is a simple kit as you'd expect. It consists o' t' Dyna-Soar body, 2 wings, 2 stabilizers, me bucko, me bucko, a transition from t' body t' a BT-60 tube, a screw eye, me bucko, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and a decal sheet.

T' parts come packaged with instructions (9 steps) and two sheets which provide drawings t' show t' placement o' t' decals, ya bilge rat, an outline and color scheme for t' X-20/Titan-II, and some other concept drawings. Ahoy! Arrr! T' latter are merely simple views with no detail.

Roachwerks Dyna-Soar I found t' transition didn't seem t' mate all that well with t' body, arrr, me hearties, but t' pre-formed angles made it easy t' sand t' fit. Aye aye! Gordon provides contact info if you have questions, but I just proceeded on me own. Arrr! Well, matey, blow me down! In a move that is certainly nay t' norm for me, arrr, I attached t' parts before fillin' (built upstairs in front o' t' tube where sandin' is taboo). As I be sanding, shiver me timbers, matey, I got t' feelin' that t' wings might be a bit flimsy t' be on t' tip o' a cone that might end up bein' quite heavy t' ensure a stable flight, me hearties, so I added some extra fillets on t' top and laminated t' base with cardstock.

Roachwerks Dyna-Soar T' last step recommends usin' this kit atop o' a FlisKits Deuces Wild, arrr, arrr, arrr, an Estes Big Bertha, or an OOP Titan III. Avast, me proud beauty! T' final photos are atop o' a in-process rocket that I'll eventually review. It's kind o' a Titan variant.

Finishing:
I used PlastiKote primer and Rustoleum flat black paint. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! I be excited t' get t' decals on, ya bilge rat, then...you should imagine t' sound o' a record player scratchin' t' a halt (younger readers may have t' search this on Google). Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! T' quality o' t' decals are poor. Begad! Maybe people used t' home made decals won't have a problem but, arrr, betwixt foldin' over on themselves and breakin' durin' alignment, I scrapped half o' them. After I recovered emotionally, I scrounged some replacements (see detail above).

Summary:
PROs: T' curved balsa surfaces o' this kit are cool and would be hard t' make yourself. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Construction be straightforward.

CONs: T' decals.

Overall Rating: 2 out o' 5

Comments:

avatar
D.S. (November 7, 2008)
Well, I now know that the decal issue was partially my fault. At today's launch, TRF's foose4string tactfully pointed out that I should have applied decal bonder or Future or something before applying the decals. I should have known that. But the instructions also should have told me.

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