Nose Cones . . .

How many do ya' need?

Nose cones can be the most expensive part of a kit.
There's 100 here, a good start for the first run of a new product.

F-104 Starfighter Kit Progress -

Here's a peek at the instructions for the upcoming new kit from Odd'l Rockets -
The F-104 STARFIGHTER

This model is based on one of the out-of-production Centuri Fighter Fleet jets. The intakes and fuel tanks will be closer in shape to the real thing.

When will it be available? Hopefully in the next few months. Kit production and test flights take time, especially drawing up the instructions.

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.

New Odd'l Steampunk Design?

This is what you draw up when you have too much time on your hands.
Steam punk designs are big right now, this one is a Jules Verne Victorian style.

It would be up to the builder how much detail is added.
There are gauges, dials, tunnels and plenty of rivet heads.
The riding figure will sit on the model in profile, "sandwich board" style.
The canvas covered fins are based on the da Vinchi flying machine drawings.

This is the first drawing. The silhouette body isn't correct. 
The "man" will be holding the brim of his hat. The other hand will be on a throttle.

What do you think . . . should I proceed?

Cyclone Hole Punching TIP

I'm making up a batch of Cyclone kits and have to punch a ejection charge relief hole in the BT-20 upper body tubing.

You can get a clean hole using a simple 1/4" hole punch. This is how Estes punched holes in the Scout kits.

TIP: When punching the hole, be sure to stay away from the body tube seams! On the left I have penciled a line on the seam recess. Don't punch on this weakened (seam) area.
The inset picture shows the hole being punched correctly to the side of the seam.

Here's the finished hole, a perfectly round, clean punch!

Be sure to punch far enough down from the top to clear the nose cone shoulder.

New Upgraded Kits and Accessories

Semroc is sold! I hope the new owner can supply parts for vendors. 
Red River Rocketry has slowed it's production while new part sources can be found.
Fliskits had many custom nosecones made at Semroc. Carl never turned down a custom parts order.

The Odd'l Rockets problem? I use ST tubing (not BT tubing) in some of the kits. Sure you can get almost all sizes of the ST tubing from other vendors, but nobody can match the old Semroc vendor discount! If I were producing standard 3FNC models this wouldn't be a concern. There are just too many custom parts in Odd-Ball rockets.

Okay - rant over. Onto better products!

This next month (or two) I hope to have more BLAST! deflectors.
These will have a wider diameter base closer to the original MPC ceramic deflectors.
The bottom hole will be larger and easily fit over the Adeptor.

A large order of RAISE springs has come in. No real changes, the product is fine now.
I won't be making 3/16" rod Raise springs - Sorry!

The BREAK-AWAY rocket is being re-designed. Based on heavy walled BT-50 tubing, it allows longer couplers so the fit of the segments isn't as loose.

Making Raise Springs

Odd'l Rockets Raise Springs don't come fully assembled.
The springs are just that - a spring with a long straight wire out to the side.

The brass tube extensions are cut by hand.
The added tubes are less likely to catch on the engine hook.

If you use a Raise spring, keep it under the end of your model away from the nozzle. Don't slide it right under a launch lug that is a few inches above the end.

The tail end is cut off and a weird tension bend is made to hold the tube on. The bend takes four steps.
The tube is slid on and turned. Turning the rough cut end of the wire cuts a shallow groove inside the tube. That groove and the tension bend locks the tube on the wire.
Do me a favor - Don't pull the brass tube off the end of the spring. You might not get it back on!




125 Raise springs later I've had enough for one afternoon.
My fingers are dirty and sore!

. . . I Say Potahtoe

Gary Minton spent more time looking for a better potato than I did. Here's what he found - 

First, I had a sample stress-ball potato sent out. It's too heavy and I can't drill out for an engine mount tube like I do for the Sputnik kit.
These new spuds weigh only 18 grams each, half of what the stress ball potato did.
That leads me to believe these might be Styrofoam.

An order has been made for the first six. They've got to coming from China. The delivery estimate date is Thursday, October 23, 2014 - Monday, November 10, 2014!

Another typical day of research at the Odd'l Rockets workshop.

Drilling Soft Foam Potatoes

I wasn't successful trying to "drill out" an engine mount hole in the stress ball potato!

I can easily drill and hollow a hole in the round ball Styrofoam Sputnik model kits.

But the soft, heavy rubber potato won't fly! In this form, it won't end up being a kit.

I night do a "one-off" carving a potato out of white Styrofoam. Then I'll have to get some foam safe paints.

I haven't given up on this one, I think it'll be pretty funny.

"FLARE" Shroud Design

I made the first drawings of the conical base stability model, tentatively called the Flare. (The Bell Bottom name is already owned by Hot Rod Rockets.)
The shroud was drawn up using the Payload Bay Transition Tool
CLICK HERE then transferred to Corel Draw.
Only three will fit on a 8 1/2" x 11" card stock sheet.

One feature in the upcoming kit revision - 
The hard to cut launch lug hole will be pre-punched. You can see it indicated by the black dot in the upper left shroud.
For now - print, fit, redraw - repeat!

Powered FLIC Replacement

The combo kit was pretty successful with school groups. Some teachers like to show students other methods of stability.
I'm almost out Shuttle FLICs. Quest doesn't offer them on the website anymore.
The Shuttle looks great but I need to find something appropriate as a substitute.

The Corkscrew demonstrates a different kind of stability. The FLIC replacement model should do the same.







Over the past four years I've had great luck with the Hot Rod Rockets Bell Bottom design. Stable and seemingly indestructable! Something like this would be a perfect fit.

It's a BT-5 based model that flys high with inexpensive 13mm engines. Streamer recovery works well for smaller schoolyard recovery.
My model won't be a copy of the Hot Rod Rocket design. This was a great kit.

L.G.M. Instruction Face Card Art

I've finished the face card art for the first instruction page.

This involved a dozen photographs of the second prototype in different lighting.
The best was picked and cropped around the outside lines.
Color enhancement was done, then contrast and brightness.
A tip vortex was drawn off the legs and flame and exhaust off the back end.

I'd rather give the customer an actual picture off a real finished model instead of a model drawn in 3D.

After I get in two more flights using C6-5 engines it'll be time to bag them up!

Little Green Man Prototype Build, Part 9, Paint and Fingernails

White undercoats were sprayed.
Two separate coats, light sanding between coats to remove any glue boogers and rough areas.

The Key Lime Green Rustoleum paint followed.
No masking, just a light green overall. The decals and decor pieces will make the model.

I should have made the fingernails on water slide decal paper.
For the prototype they were cut out of blue trim Monokote.
It was hard to get them to the right oval shape, some were very small.
(In the kit these will be water slide decals) 

Three nails were cut for two hands, six in total.
(In the kit the hands will have just two fingernails) 
12 more were cut for the four nails on the three feet.

They were places on the tip of my hobby knife. Nothing was burnished down until the spacing was right. It took a few tries to get everything in place.

Little Green Man Prototype Build, Part 7, Nose Weight and Nose Plug Assembly

The screw eye is turned into the nose plug circle until the thread line is almost gone.
A glue fillet is added to both sides.

The clay is pressed into the drilled center of the nose cone.
Look inside the nose cone and you can see the glue line around the edge for the plug and screw eye.

Press the plug into the hole and into the glue line.
Recess the plug inside the hole to allow for an additional fillet around the edge.

Looking ahead - 

I found an old can of Key Lime Rustoleum Painter's Touch. This is an old label before the 2X was added. This same can has got a lot of use over the past few years. It was used on the Franken Goblin and Elevate 11 models.
There is plenty of paint in the can, a perfect color for the project.

Little Green Man Prototype Build, Part 6, Arm and Eye Gluing

The small arms were glued on just above the two front fin legs.
These were set back to the halfway point around the tube, at 180 degrees.

The eyes were a different story.
The larger eye goes to the left of center. The top of the oval is almost even with the top of the nose cone.

Set each eye on the nose cone and lightly trace around with a pencil.

For a flatter gluing surface, the gluing area is sanded flat with 220 grit on a sanding block. Don't sand all the way to the sides of the drawn oval, keep the flat sanded area inside the line by about 1/16".


This flattened oval makes a larger gluing area and allows the flat eyes to better sit into the nose cone curve.

The eyes are glued on.

Note the top of both eyes are turned out. The right eye is set slightly higher than the base of the left eye.

Little Green Man Prototype Build, Part 5, Fin and Feet Gluing

The three fin lines were drawn and the primer sanded down for better adhesion.
The fins are even with the rear of the tube.
To make positioning easier, the pencil line was extended around the end of the tube. A line was also drawn down the middle of the leading and trailing ledges.
The middle fin lines were simply matched up to the line on the body tube.

To be sure the fin height was the same, a wrap of masking tape was rolled around the tube after the first fin was glued on.

The feet were glued onto the outside edge of the main fin leg.

The "toes" were turned out from the heel end.
The inset picture shows the angle of the glue line.

The launch lug is glued to the root edge of the back third leg.

Little Green Man Prototype Build, Part 4, Fin Revision and Balsa Laser Layout

The larger lower fins needed some subtle shape change.
For two reasons - 
1. More strength after seeing the balsa grain ended up and
2. A better angle for less drag with the "T" foot piece glued to the outside edge.

The original fin is on top, the revised fin is under it.

Here's the revised upper and lower fins.
The fins were photographed with the 1" length for reference.
I can drop the jpeg picture into Corel Draw, size it to the 1" reference line and trace the new shapes.

Looking ahead, I wanted to see how all the balsa would fit on a 3" or 4" widths of balsa sheet for laser cutting.
The top picture shows the pieces set on a 4" width. The length was 7 1/4".

It's like a puzzle. Laying out the pieces takes many tries.
Using cut balsa you can see the correct grain direction.
The pieces have to be spaced so the laser cuts can't overlap.
I ended up fitting them all onto a 3" X 9" area.
On a 36" long balsa sheet I can cut four sets of fins.

Little Green Man Prototype Build, Part 3, Still More Fins

The main leg fins were also pinned and gang sanded.
Grain direction breaks are possible but sanding the fins together helped keep it from happening.

Forward strake ears were fitted to the nose cone using the rounded side of the sanding block.
A good fit here saves filling the joint later on. A fillet of Titebond M&TG should be enough.

Two more forward arms are cut, pinned and gang sanded.
I know, what does this shape represent?
The first fin template shapes are being changed for better fin strength and easier grain filling.

New Odd'l Design - LITTLE GREEN MAN - First Drawing to Prototype

The New Odd'l Rockets Little Green Man design came from an email suggestion. I was asked to come up with an original design. I never knew a few sketches could end up being a new kit.

Here's the first drawing of the Little Green Man.
Some of the design elements were inspired by online cartoon images.
But I had to make it my own.
Besides, this drawing looked like a Little Green Baby.

Four re-draws later and I had enough to start the prototype. 

The eyes are now closer to the old Warner Bros. cartoon eyes.
The mouth got even longer and a lower lip was added.
During the build the small hands were changed for more balsa grain strength.
The fin-leg outside edge angles were changed. The feet were at too low an angle.
The left and right antennas were flipped, the bent, short antenna is now over the taller eye.
The hands were glued on a little lower on the body to make the torso smaller.
The belt and ray gun were added.
Fingernails, toenails and a bigger tooth were needed.

The finished prototype - The Odd'l Rockets
LITTLE GREEN MAN!

It's always interesting to see your finished designs in 3D.
This one still keeps the looks of the final drawing.
Now I've just got to build a few and test fly a dozen times!

For the next build - 
It might need four legs to set the flat feet forward.
The hands will probably end up like the second drawing with just two fingers. The nails would be water slide decals in a darker green, not blue.
Talk about child bearing hips! I'll fix that.
The belt buckle still needs some tweaking. Maybe some belt loops?
The ears will be glued higher on the head, one higher than the other.
Oh, on the back side, add a ray gun under the belt!

You should see how many changes the Pigasus design went through before being kitted.
Most changes were subtle but needed for strength and easier assembly.

The prototype build will follow!