Kit Review -

I'm beating my own drum - but I just got a great review on the NAR Facebook page:

National Association of Rocketry

David Julie Koo 

"Look what just arrived at my door!! This F16 finishes my fleet of Odd’l rockets. As a relatively new kit maker, I am always astonished at the level of detail and care Chris puts into each one. These unbuilt kits are truly a work of art in themselves (especially those instruction manuals)."

A disclaimer:

David Koo 3d printed the missiles in the kit. David is also the head of "Really Koo Stuff" (reallykoostuff.com) producing the 1/100 scale N-1 kits.

Colin's F-16 Launch

An email and picture from Colin Kaul - 
"Here is my Odd'l F16 on its first launch. It is kit number 165. I can't wait to get an F104 Starfighter!"

Thanks Colin!
Your picture caught the launch right after ignition!

A Well Built F-16

From the Facebook Model Rocketry Fanatics page:
David Koo posted pictures of his finished Odd'l Rockets F-16. Great work David!

Sprint60's F-16 Build

A port from YORF:

Here's a brief update. We've flown these a number of times now, drag racing fun; the last time at NARAM 60.  I finally have the paint finished, decals placed and canopies installed.  I don't have a pic of all four and one of them is still missing the nose cone.  

Fun rockets with lots of potential.  Some of the decals are kit decals, the rest are from Sirius Rocketry.

I'm still thinking about buying four more and kit-bashing F6Fs with a Blue Angels scheme.

Odd'l On My Facebook Page!

Look what showed up on my Facebook page!
I was on the Apogee website yesterday to check the kit availability. When I see it is low I make up more kits or make out a parts order.
It's great to see Apogee is promoting the Odd'l Fighter Fleet!

Better Bomb Tank Shape on the F-16 Kit

The bomb or tank wing details on the Odd'l Rockets F-16 kit were a compromise. Being a small vendor I certainly couldn't afford to have molds made for short run kits. Carved dowels were used for the larger tanks under the wings. They look good, but the shape could be better.

Using a pencil sharpener, knock off the rear end. You don't have to make a real sharp point, just remove some of the excess dowel.

On the left, the edge to be removed was marked with a pencil.

Make small chip cuts smoothing out the curve.

Wrap some 220 grit around the dowel and turn it against the sandpaper like a slow moving lathe.

After that, sand up and down as shown in the inset picture.

Here's the new shaped tank next to the F-16 tank. Both look fine but the new shape is better and more streamlined.

Odd'l F-16 Kit Update

I recently bought a small vacuum forming machine for the F-16 clear canopies.
Getting the best thickness of plastic, finding the correct temperature and the right moment to turn on the vacuum takes some time - and trashed canopies!
Here's twenty I made yesterday afternoon. On the lower right is a cut and ready finished canopy.


The F-16 kit will have water slide decals!
I ordered 100 sheets from decalpaper.com. My only gripe was the way they have shipped previous orders, in a plain envelope. The decal paper was folded to fit in my mailbox.
In the comments section of the online order form I asked for the paper to be shipped in a flat box. This is what I received!

F-16 Instruction Drawings Underway!

I've started work on the Odd'l Rockets F-16 kit instructions. This drawing shows the gluing of the intake scoop on the bottom of the model.
Instructions are really the most time consuming part of kit production. It would also be the most expensive! I'm fortunate to have a background in graphic arts.
My kit instructions are old school and hopefully answer all construction questions during the build.

F-16 Canopy!

Work continues on the new F-16 Fighter Fleet kit.
A big hurdle was making a workable clear canopy. I didn't want to go the easy route and include one made of card stock. What really set off the Centuri kit was the clear canopy with the decal details underneath.
After many revisions and test flights the real work starts on the instructions.