Finishing

Finishin' was slightly more involved than construction because o' t' amount o' body tube spiral and balsa grain t' cover, but surfaces were large enough t' allow for broad swipes while sanding, matey, so it all worked out well. Aye aye!  When all o' t' glue fillets were dry, I sprayed t' entire rocket with Valspar primer t' toughen it up a little before t' Fill & Finish. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast!  Once t' primer was dry, shiver me timbers, I sanded everythin' lightly t' remove any burrs that resulted from t' dryin' primer, ya bilge rat, matey, then brushed on t' first coat o' thinned Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler. Avast! Ahoy!  I've found that t' best way t' work with this is t' fill a cup with water, dip t' brush in t' water, then smear it around in t' wood filler. Blimey!  Once t' bristles have picked up enough filler, me bucko, I then paint it on t' fins, nose cone and tube spirals and wait for it t' dry. Ya scallywag!  Once dry, t' filler is sanded off and t' process repeated until your fins are glass smooth, matey, or you run out o' patience, matey, (which is what usually happens t' me.)  Once up t' me standards, t' rocket was reprimed, then t' body be sprayed with Testors Racin' Orange, arrr, a fancily named flourescent orange with a nice pop. Ahoy! Blimey!  This paint works best when sprayed over white primer and in multiple light coats. Aye aye!  More finicky than t' flourescent orange I usually use, me hearties, but t' results were very nice. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag!  T' nose cone be painted Testors gloss black, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, as was t' stripe down t' one fin. Arrr! Aye aye!  This caused a bit o' a problem when it ran badly.  (Forgot that I wasn't paintin' with Valspar.)  T' run looked pretty horrible, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and as usual, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I got disgusted and lost interest in t' project.  Just before NARAM 55 I decided t' see if I could save t' project, arrr, and t' me surprise, I did.  T' offendin' runs were sanded away, shiver me timbers, and I again used t' Testors gloss black, arrr, this time takin' care t' do it in light coats.  It turned out very nice.

Decals were more o' an issue.  I've tried before with t' decal scan at JimZ and filed, but in t' meantime I won an auction for a set o' Screamer instructions and a decal. Avast!  I tried scannin' me version and workin' on it and was more successful. Well, blow me down!  I broke it down into sections as I was most interested in t' wrap and Mini Brute "bug", me bucko, but I also printed off t' black stripe that sits just above t' fins on t' body tube. Avast!  I did t' upscale by measurin' t' wrap from t' original decal, then figured what length it would have t' be t' fit around a BT-70.  Not t' most elegant method, but it worked. Begad!  To be sure I had t' upscale right, shiver me timbers, I printed t' wrap off on plain paper and checked it for fit. Well, blow me down! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty!  Once I had that sized right, arrr, I upscaled t' original scan by that number, then isolated t' decals separately and put them in place usin' Print Shop. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag!