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Hans "Chris" Michielssen's Page

AKA: hcmbanjo
Location: Orlando, FL
Club Memberships: NAR
Favorite Rockets: Estes Goblin
Personal Home Page: www.oddlrockets.com
Club Home Page: www.R-O-C-K.org
RocketReviews.com Pages:
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2025-01-29

D.I.Y. Making Centering Rings, Part 2

Blog
Depending on the thickness of the mat board, you cut probably on the outside line using scissors. Check against the end of the larger tube. Chances are this diameter will be to large. Here's why you cut out four rings - You'll need the thickness and stiffness of all the rings to sand to the correct diameter. One or two rings by themselves would flop around when sanding to size. On the left ... [More]

2025-01-28

D.I.Y. Making Centering Rings, Part 1

Blog
While I wait for warmer weather, the Black Star Voyager spray painting will be delayed! I'm doing a slight upscale of another OOP kit that needs centering rings. This was to be a spare parts drawer build. I didn't have the correct size centering rings, a BT-5 to a BT-50. Rather than wait for a mail order, I decided to make them from framing mat board, a thicker cardstock. TIP: To get ... [More]

2025-01-27

Estes Black Star Voyager Build, Part 26, General Assemblies

Blog
In the shock cord mount instructions, note where the glue is placed. You fold the mount into a pool of glue. TIP: You'll make a cleaner mount if you apply a thin coat of glue on the section to the right and fold onto the dry section on the left. It doesn't take much glue (a thin skin) when gluing paper to paper. With the backside of the mount dry , press and form the still wet mount into ... [More]

2025-01-26

Estes Black Star Voyager Build, Part 25, Painting The Vanes

Blog
It is difficult to get smooth fillets inside the tight corners of the vanes. I did sand and reduce the glue boogers and some still were visible when some gloss black was shot. I thought about painting the vane areas with flat black, flat colors are a great way to camouflage imperfect areas. Gloss finishes show everything! Another idea - why not paint the vane areas with a metallic ... [More]

2025-01-24

Estes Black Star Voyager Build, Part 24, Fitting The Fin Halves

Blog
The instructions have you glue the rear fin half on, Then glue on the upper half (and hopefully match up with) the low fin. I've got to give John Boren props for the design. It's an amazing assembly but needs some fine tuning before gluing down the root edges. As careful as I was assembling the halves, I didn't get a perfect fit. With the upper fin half taped down to the body tube, I held the ... [More]

2025-01-23

Estes Black Star Voyager Build, Part 23, Pre-Painting, Pre-Assembly

Blog
There is an open area where the balsa pieces join on the lower fin unit. I decided to fill it. Some CWF was dropped in using a toothpick and allowed to dry. It took another drop of CWF to fill as the first application shrunk as it dried. This was sanded with 400 grit on a block. Thinking ahead - TIP: There are visible inside areas that would be impossible to shoot with a spray can once ... [More]

2025-01-22

Estes Black Star Voyager Build, Part 22, Forward Basswood Vanes

Blog
TIP: You'll have better luck and less mess applying the wood glue to the bottom length of the basswood vane - as opposed to laying a bead of glue down a pencil line on the body tube. I set down a wrap of masking tape for a bottom alignment of the vanes. While you could set the glued vane on the pencil line, TIP: I set it on the side of the drawn line. You can use an aluminum angle to be sure ... [More]

2025-01-21

Estes Black Star Voyager Build, Part 21, Forward Basswood Vanes

Blog
There are nine basswood vanes to be shaped. Start by sanding and squaring the rough sides with 400 grit on a block. The pictures show the before and after. For consistency, I taped up two groups of vanes. One group with five, the second group with four. The tops and bottoms were sanded to get them the same length. Mark the taper line across all the grouped vanes. Using a block, sand a 45 degree ... [More]

2025-01-20

Estes Black Star Voyager Build, Part 20, Rear Vanes

Blog
I don't extend the pencil lines all the way down the tubes, just closer the to top and bottom of the vane ends. TIP: Mark tubes with pencil, NOT INK . I see it all the time on Facebook rocketry groups. New builders using ink to mark the body tubes. That ink can bleed through paint and be visible on the finished model. TIP: For easier visual alignment, extend the pencil lines over the end ... [More]

2025-01-19

Estes Black Star Voyager Build, Part 19, More Smoothing of The Vane Edges

Blog
Here I go, overdoing a build. Earlier I glue sealed and sanded the outside exposed edges of the cardstock vanes. I wanted a smoother edge on the cardstock. Looking at the vanes again, I realized the inside edge (the flat side parallel to the body tube) would also be seen. On the left, you can see a glue bead going halfway down the inside edge. I addition to the outside edges sealed ... [More]

2024-06-29

Odd'l Rockets Little Green Man

Flight
A little wobble on the way up. Not much altitude but recovered safely. - B4-4 - Muncie AMA Field [More]

2024-04-06

Centuri ARGUS clone

Flight
I only used one parachute, the original kit had two, one for the low end, another for the long upper section. The parachute was taped closed in a "hillbilly hat" for faster descent. - C6-5 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Estes Mini Bertha Clone

Flight
First launch today. After all these years I shouldn't be surprised by how well mini engine models perform. Very stable, the 1/2A3-2t motor. I would guess the altitude capped out at 275'. The two second delay seemed short. - Estes 1/2A3-2t - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Semroc MMX Blue Bird Zero

Flight
I actually captured a MicroMaxx launch! Estimated altitude was 75', no damage after the streamer recovery. - 1/8A-1 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Warped! (Scratch Design)

Flight
A weird one. It started as a regular bagged Custom kit that sat in the direct sun a little too long. The nose cone was melted and bent. I bought the kit. The body tube was cut into angled wedges and glued together like the Fliskits ACME Spitfire. I renamed it WARPED. A B6-4 pushed it to at ... [More]

Custom Solar Explorer

Flight
I wasn't worried about losing this one - the BT-50 tube was crimped above the engine mount from an earlier hard landing. After reaching an altitude around 600', the winds blew it into the trees just South of the flight line. Lost! I really need to thin the heard anyway. - C6-5 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Quest MMX Saturn V

Flight
The larger fins really didn't help much, it was unstable after it cleared the short launch rod. - 1/8A-1 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

2024-03-02

Estes Skytracer Clone

Flight
- A8-3 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Rocketship Games R5 Hawkeye

Flight
Boost is always fast on these little models, good thing I had some young eyes to point me to the landing area. - 1/8A-1 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Nike X Goon

Flight
A B6-4 got an altitude of 350'. Full chute, textbook flight. - B6-4 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

2015-04-19

Rockets By Style / Kit-Bash/Modified

Photograph

Hans "Chris" Michielssen's Orange (Q Cobalt Kitbash)

2014-11-09

Rockets By Style / Kit-Bash/Modified

Photograph

MX-774 Kitbash on an Estes A8-3. Bunnell Blast, November 8, 2014

2012-09-22

Saturn Press Saturn V - Step 17

Build Entry
The outside curved lines of the Engine Fairing Shrouds were cut from the cardstock with scissors. The interior Fin Slots were cut with a knife and straight-edge. [More]

Saturn Press Saturn V - Step 16

Build Entry
The A Frames and Fins were pressed together. The C Frames are pressed into the A Frames and Fins. Be careful handling the Fin paint while assembling. Silver or metallic paints are easy to dull with fingerprints. After all were assembled dry (no glue) I applied white glue to all the joints with ... [More]