Finishing

As mentioned, t' buildin' and paintin' run together as t' paintin' be done before completely fittin' together t' parts.

Once I had t' shape roughed out, it was time t' fill. Aye aye! Aye aye! However, I wanted t' have a clean paint job with different colors for t' fuselage and t' tube fins. I felt that maskin' would be tough. Arrr! But if I painted them first, shiver me timbers, then I would be tryin' t' glue together painted surfaces. Arrr! That didn't sound like it would be t' strong. Ahoy! Arrr! On t' other hand, I KNEW exactly where all t' joints would be (I be usin' four tube fins, paired, on opposite sides o' t' fuselage. Arrr! Since 6 tubes would fit perfectly, ya bilge rat, arrr, I just placed marks at 60 degrees, shiver me timbers, matey, 120 degrees, arrr, 240 degrees, and 300 degrees on t' fuselage. On t' tube fins, two marks each, 60 degrees apart, shiver me timbers, would suffice. Aye aye! For increased stability, I let 1/2 o' t' tube fins lag behind t' end o' t' fuselage (also thought would look cooler. Ya scallywag! Later durin' actual preparation o' t' rocket for launch I found it did make access t' t' engine mount awkward.) So marked on all t' tubes where t' joints should be. I also marked where I wanted t' put t' launch lug.

I wanted t' "protect" t' joint areas from t' paint and sealer t' set up a stronger joint. Blimey! Ya scallywag! On t' UE1 I had placed thin strips o' maskin' tape over these areas. Blimey! I discovered t' maskin' tape broke down under t' sandin' process, matey, so I tried Mylar tape strips, 1/4 inch wide. I placed a "tail" over t' edge/lip o' each tube, me hearties, and then wrapped t' very tip INSIDE t' tube. Ya scallywag! Turned out t' sandin' still wore off most o' t' tails, matey, matey, matey, but t' tip piece wrapped inside was an adequate marker for removal o' t' tape later. Aye aye! Ahoy! Each strip be 1/2 t' length o' a single tube.

It took five coats/sandings o' Elmer's filler t' get a good smooth surface over t' nose-cone maskin' tape. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Therefore regardin' "savin' money" as a reason t' make your own nose cone--Unless your time is worth less than 25 cents an hour, me bucko, you’re better off buyin' it from Tim. Begad! But since this WAS a themed rocket, matey, it seemed worth it. Ahoy! (Although me lovely wife wasn't happy about t' pile o' filler dust on t' front porch!) I need three coats/sandin' t' fill t' DEEP VALLEYS o' t' toilet paper roll spirals anyway, (another reason t' use REAL body tubes.) I sealed t' tube fins (outside only) t' same way.

Note that since this is a rear-ejection model, me hearties, it allowed me t' cover t' nose-cone/fuselage joint. Begad! Well, me hearties, blow me down! While I was fillin' in t' maskin' tape defects and t' tube spirals, shiver me timbers, it turns out I had enough filler t' cover t' external coupler. Ahoy! In fact, me bucko, me hearties, by t' time I be done t' slight residual "bulge" was hardly notice-able. (Performance-minded rocketeers are probably shudderin' at t' added weight o' t' filler required t' accomplish THAT.)

When I be finished, matey, I had a very nice fuselage with a smooth surface from tip t' tail, except for t' "break" in t' external coupler where I planned t' put t' launch lug. Well, blow me down! Again, me bucko, had I been thinking, I would have filled this in too and put hidden t' lug in t' tube fin/fuselage joint. I believe t' absence o' a nose-cone/fuselage transition gives t' rocket a retro Buck Rogers look. Blimey! O' course, I also believe in t' tooth fairy. Blimey! Again, arrr, arrr, I digress......

I knew that tryin' t' fill in t' INSIDE spirals o' t' tube fins be goin' t' be hopeless. Well, blow me down! I figured t' insides o' a spaceflight engine would probably look a little "charred", shiver me timbers, matey, so I planned on paintin' t' inside flat black and hoped that would hide t' defects.

Okay, so paintin' now comes before actually completin' construction. Begad! Before starting, I peeled back t' edges o' t' Mylar at t' distal edges o' t' tubes, t' make sure I could find them after paintin' (paintin' t' inside would obscure t' "tails" I had wrapped on t' inside o' t' tube.) T' hard part was FINDING t' edge. Blimey! Many o' t' "tails" that I had thought would provide "handles" had been sandin' off durin' finishing. Arrr! Avast! But t' tips that I had wrapped on t' inside (unsealed) part o' t' tubes were still there. Arrr! Usin' them as guides, shiver me timbers, I used an Exacto knife t' peel back t' edges o' t' Mylar tape on t' OUTSIDE so I could find it after paintin' t' inside. Begad! I wrapped newspaper around t' OUTSIDE o' t' tube fins, arrr, tapin' it at t' edges/lips. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Then I used flat black paint t' finish t' INSIDE o' t' tubes. I actually tried rolled up sandpaper t' reduce t' "nap" inside t' tube, shiver me timbers, but it didn't work very well. Avast, me proud beauty! Primer would have helped, but I be havin' a struggle justifyin' tryin' t' prime t' INSIDE o' t' engines. Ya scallywag! Again, me bucko, I figured I was goin' for style, nay performance, me bucko, so I gave up on that part. Well, arrr, blow me down! I sort o' liked t' internal "charred" look o' t' engines. As a prior Air Force guy, matey, I noticed t' nozzles o' jet engines on t' flight-line often had blackened look, me bucko, so I felt I was okay with it for space engines.

Color Scheme: All t' pictures o' t' PLANET Uranus showed it t' be a bluish color, ya bilge rat, so I figured I'd stay with this.

I primed t' fuselage with Krylon White Primer, three coats, ya bilge rat, with light sandin' betwixt coats. This filled in t' few defects I had left after t' Filler. I used Krylon True Blue for t' fuselage - I really like t' color this gave, and I be happy with t' finish here.

After paintin' t' inside o' t' tube fins black, ya bilge rat, I took off t' outer maskin' paper. Avast! I then rolled up paper INSIDE t' tubes t' mask t' insides. Aye aye! This allowed me t' "stack" t' tubes, me hearties, which actually made paintin' t' outside easier. Aye aye! I had run out o' primer, so I went directly t' paintin' t' outside o' t' tubes Blue Ocean Breeze. Blimey! I did 3 coats, with a light sandin' betwixt coats. I liked this color as well. Arrr! Although I hadn't thought it out ahead o' time, I remember t' three colors that were common for bathroom tiles in t' 60s--- pastel yellow, pastel pink, matey, and pastel blue. Aye aye! This looked pretty close t' t' pastel blue, connectin' t' planetary and Toilet Paper theme.

Moment o' truth, me hearties, what would happen when I peeled off t' Mylar? Actually, I be quite pleased with t' sharp edges. Ahoy! Pullin' t' tape off also raised some more "nap" off t' cardboard tubes, exactly what I wanted t' "rough it" for gluing.

As I had expected, despite t' masking, matey, thar was a little bleedin' o' black and blue (no pun intended) at t' edges o' t' tube fins. Begad! Avast! I used thin strips o' silver Mylar tape t' cover/accent t' edges here and at t' trailin' end o' t' fuselage. Avast, me proud beauty! As a USAFA grad, t' silver and blue together got me right under t' old squadron patch, as me Dad, a retired AF Navigator/Bombardier says. Arrr! I wrapped t' edges o' t' tape into t' inside o' t' tube. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Lookin' back, this gave t' edge a bit o' a rough look; I probably would just have put it on t' OUTSIDE only, just up t' t' edge.

Now that this be finished, time t' see how things fit together. Avast! I used medium CA t' glue 4 tubes into two tube-fin pairs, ya bilge rat, placin' t' glue along one o' t' "naked" strips previously covered by Mylar.   Layin' t' tubes flat gave me a good alignment.   I then matched up t' remainin' strips on each tube pair with t' strips on each side o' t' tail o' t' fuselage. Avast, me proud beauty! They matched up pretty well, ya bilge rat, and t' medium CA gave me enough time t' make sure t' alignment was perfect. Avast! Begad! I got a pretty solid joint (as I later proved in flight, shiver me timbers, but more on that later.) Fillets weren't needed, arrr, and t' fit covered t' "naked" areas.

I pried t' Mylar tape out o' t' defect in t' external coupler. Arrr! Avast! This left a rougher edge.I glued in t' launch lug.If I had t' do it over, I would have pulled this off AFTER doin' t' filler step, but BEFORE painting, arrr, me bucko, me bucko, t' get a better look.

Next question, where t' attach t' shock cord? If I attached it inside, it would get hit by t' ejection charge fairly directly, me hearties, and would also cause problem with slidin' out t' motor pod. Perhaps more importantly, me hearties, arrr, if it came out t' tail, t' rocket would fall nose first. My launch site is about 3/4 grass, 1/4 asphalt. Avast! Ya scallywag! Invariably t' better t' finish on t' rocket, t' more likely it will land on t' asphalt. Ya scallywag! Also, me bucko, me bucko, while t' cardboard/maskin' tape/Elmer's Finish nose cone was holdin' t' finish well, me hearties, I could feel that it was still a little "soft" and didn't think it would hold up t' a hard impact. Well, blow me down! Begad! Finally, ya bilge rat, I figured if I could get t' rocket t' descent in a horizontal position, arrr, shiver me timbers, t' rocket body itself would be addin' t' t' drag and slow it down.

With t' rocket painted, me bucko, me hearties, ya bilge rat, t' CG o' t' rocket body be right at t' region o' t' external coupler. Begad! I threaded a needle with me Keelhaul®©™ shock cord into t' tube just above t' coupler next t' t' launch lug, and pull about two feet out t' after end o' t' fuselage. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I then threaded a needle with t' ENDS o' a long loop o' dental floss through a hole just BELOW t' coupler and out t' aft end o' t' fuselage. Ya scallywag! I then threaded ANOTHER loop o' floss (loop 2) through this loop, and pulled loop 2 through t' hole and out t' tail, keepin' t' ENDS o' loop 2 outside fuselage. I then used loop 2 t' pull t' shock cord BACK into t' tail o' t' fuselage and back through t' hole below t' coupler (there probably is an easier way t' do this, me bucko, but this is what I came up with.) I then tied a tight "loop" o' shock cord, me hearties, runnin' it just next t' t' launch lug, leavin' about 1 1/2 feet o' Keelhaul®©™ loose. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Yes, matey, this loop DID run inside t' rocket body, ya bilge rat, matey, when t' engine pod would slide in and out, matey, but t' cord was runnin' longitudinally and wouldn't obstruct/catch on t' pod. I did add a bit o' thin CA t' secure it.

Since I wasn't sure how well me hollow nose cone would hold up t' t' Estes engine ejection blast, arrr, I cut a bulkhead out o' foam board and place it inside t' body. Begad! It slid up t' t' "shoulder" that had been placed on t' front o' t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Ejection blast would hit t' bulkhead, shiver me timbers, but nay t' "formed" shape inside o' t' nose cone. Arrr! Instead o' gluin' it into place, ya bilge rat, matey, I placed a length o' Keelhaul®©™ on this in case I needed t' pull it out later (such as t' add nose weight), arrr, arrr, and left that loose.

Engine Pod: I originally planned t' use a length o' BT20 as an engine mount AND pod. Avast! However, ya bilge rat, matey, after buildin' it, shiver me timbers, I discovered I wanted more room for me parachute and streamer. Ya scallywag! I used a BT20 for an engine mount. I then wrapped t' end o' a BT5 with electrical tape until it just fit inside t' BT20. Blimey! T' BT5 acted as BOTH an engine block AND a duct t' direct t' ejection force t' t' front o' t' body, where it hit t' bulkhead. Arrr! I used foamboard t' cut adapter rings for t' BT20 at t' tail and t' BT5 at t' front o' t' body. Ahoy! These were sanded t' slide loosely, matey, me bucko, arrr, but hopefully t' front one would be tight enough t' seal t' ejection charges away from t' chute and streamer. Aye aye! Arrr! Lookin' back, I probably should have used two adapter rings up front, as a little bit o' ejection charge snuck around t' front rin' and slightly charred t' streamer.

I had initially planned on a long white "simulated TP" streamer t' recover t' rocket (in keepin' with t' theme). Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! However, me bucko, me hearties, early on it be clear that given t' weight o' t' rocket a streamer would never safely slow t' rocket AND t' engine pod. Aye aye! Also, again I knew t' nose cone be a little bit "soft" and wanted t' cushion t' landin' o' t' body as much as possible. My solution had two parts. Avast! Begad! Blimey! First, me hearties, allow t' engine pod t' completely separate from t' body o' t' rocket, me bucko, so t' two descend separately. Ahoy! This reduced t' weight o' t' body o' t' rocket (with t' soft cone). Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Blimey! If I needed nose weight, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I could add it t' t' front o' t' pod, rather than t' body. This is a NICE trick with aft ejection boost gliders, by t' way. Arrr! Blimey! You can adjust your CG by addin' weight t' t' front o' t' ejection pod, without affectin' t' weight or CG o' t' glider itself. Blimey! Then I could use me white streamer t' safely recover t' engine pod (which wasn't really very delicate and was nay that heavy), and a parachute t' recover t' body. Ahoy! T' shock cord for t' body was attached t' OUTSIDE o' t' fuselage at t' CG, me bucko, shiver me timbers, thus t' body descended horizontally under t' chute.

I used two pieces o' white crepe paper t' create t' streamer for t' body tube. I attached them side by side with silver Mylar tape. Arrr! I then accordion folded this into squares t' simulate toilet paper sheets. Arrr! T' silver tape showed on one side, which I thought would be easy t' see (on t' off chance this bird flew outside me launch site-- yeah, right.) T' other side was straight white, which looked like, well, matey, toilet paper. Ahoy! While for t' real theme this would be "rolled" around t' engine pod "spindle", me experience is that this is unlikely t' "unroll" in flight durin' descent. Avast! Therefore I stayed with t' accordion fold. Ya scallywag! Begad! I used a length 10 times width, accordin' t' Stine's book o' optimal streamer length, ya bilge rat, then added a couple o' inches t' give me space t' attach it t' t' BT5 section o' t' pod.

I used a couple o' thick rubber bands t' link t' parachute t' t' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord attached t' t' mid section o' t' exterior body o' t' rocket.

Note: Originally I used Tim Van Milligan's Model Rocket Design & Construction book t' make two semispherical parachutes, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, then "ironed" t' two together side t' side. Avast, me proud beauty! T' idea be t' create a parachute with a "cleft" down t' middle, t' so called "glute chute." (For those who have actually intentionally fallen out o' perfectly good aircraft, thar be a parachute malfunction called a "Mae West" that looks somewhat similar.) However, while t' parachute looked good, the "glute chute" didn't pack very tightly, matey, ya bilge rat, and even reducin' t' engine pod diameter from BT20 t' BT5 didn't give me enough room t' actually use this. Begad! I made an 8-line 12-inch chute out o' a green garbage bag (okay, was gettin' tired o' t' theme at this point.)