Finishing

Buildin' t' kit was pretty straightforward, with no special skills required. Blimey! Begad! One body tube needs t' be marked full length for alignin' t' upper and lowerkind and for t' two launch lugs. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' lower tube uses full TTW fins which can be a bit tough t' install once you apply t' double glue beads. Ahoy! My fins also neede minor sandin' t' fit properly. T' upper fins use t' slots in t' upper tube simply for alignment and protrude only far enough t' provide a stop for t' coupler. Begad! Begad! Joinin' t' body tubes needs t' be done in one smooth, deliberate motion one t' glue is applied otherwise you won't get them fully seated before it grabs. Ahoy! Ahoy! You also need t' align t' upper fins with t' lines made on t' lower tube at t' same time. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! I would say that this be t' single hardest step o' t' entire build. Ahoy! T' shock cord is Estes typical rubber elastic band installed usin' their three-fold paper mount. Begad! Begad! Both t' shock cord and t' 18" plastic chute are tied t' t' nose cone.

Paintin' is a bit tougher than normal simply due t' t' length o' t' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! You have t' be careful t' maintain an even speed and distance for each pass o' t' spray can or airbrush t' achieve even coverage. Arrr! Estes stock color scheme is a tan body with orange and brown fins, ya bilge rat, arrr, a very fall-ish scheme. Since I didn't have gloss tan or brown on hand I substituted yellow and green respectively. No special prep be done other than a single filler coat on t' fins and a light white primer coat.

Decal application was easy. Placement was guided by t' face card photo. Avast! There are two "STM 012" decals that are applied t' t' sides o' t' lower body tube. Begad! Three wrap-around decals are applied above t' lower fins, below t' upper fins and just below t' nose cone. There is no guide for how these are supposed t' align so it is up t' t' builder t' decide. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! T' decals are printed in brown and orange t' match t' stock paint scheme. There is also an orange "Estes" decal that I chose nay t' use.