Model Rocket Building Blog
New Way A-20 Demon Build Part 1, PartsI'm taking a short break from the Estes Klingon Battle Cruiser. Believe me, I need a break from all the vacu-form parts! It'll start up again after this build is finished. I've wanted to build one of the New Way kits for a while. Many sub assemblies are in separate bags. I'd like to see how the ...[Read More]
New Way A-20 Demon Build Part 2, More PartsNormally it takes one blog post to show the parts, but this kit is so different (and complete) it'll take two. On the upper left are the centering rings. Round in the middle for the 24mm engine mount tube, with the outside edges square to fit the outer body tube. In the upper right is the included ...[Read More]
New Way A-20 Demon Build Part 3, Engine Mount and Parachute AssemblyI'm surprised I didn't take more pictures of the engine mount assembly. Notice the wide sleeve that holds the engine hook in place. Here is the Kevlar tie at the upper centering ring. On the left the Kevlar loop is pushed down, away from the joint. Apply a glue filled. After the fillet has just ...[Read More]
New Way A-20 Demon Build Part 4, Balsa ConnectorThe balsa coupler (connector) sides have to be sanded down to fit the inside walls of the square tubing. I doesn't take much to get a good fit, use a sanding block for best results. You'll also have to round off the corners. The instructions say to glue the block halfway into the short payload ...[Read More]
New Way A-20 Demon Build Part 5, Nose Cone ShapingI tried to fit the nose cone shoulder into the body tube but could see it was too large. The shoulder corners were being compressed and torn. Like the connector in the last post, the shoulder width was reduced and the corners slightly rounded. Once in the body tube you can see the nose cone ...[Read More]
New Way A-20 Demon Build Part 6, Engine Mount GluingThe engine mount was test fitted and didn't need any sanding of the centering rings. With the engine mount tube and outside body tube ends even, the rings shouldn't be in the fin slots. A glue ring is set right above the top of the slots, 2 1/4" from the rear. You can use the kit provided Q-tip to ...[Read More]
New Way A-20 Demon Build Part 7, Tube Seam FillingThe tube spirals are a bit deeper than a regular tube. CWF was applied using an old knife blade. The knife tip was dipped in the filler. The drop of filler was dragged down the seam about an inch at a time. The square launch lugs seams were also filled. After sanding down the dried filler I had to ...[Read More]
New Way A-20 Demon Build Part 8, Fin Gluing and Primer MaskThe fins were filled with CWF and sanded. Here I turning the fin sides away from a bright light to see if there is any remaining CWF brush marks or grain that needs sanding. Enlarge the picture and you can see the brush marks that have to be taken down. Any slight remaining balsa grain recesses ...[Read More]
New Way A-20 Demon Build Part 9, Primer Sand and Fin GluingHere's the before and after sanding down the filler/primer. The flat sides were sanded smooth first. I tried to avoid the corners, it'd be easy to sand them down and raise a fuzzy edge. The inset picture shows me lightly sanding the corner edges. The fins were sprayed with primer/filler before ...[Read More]
New Way A-20 Demon Build Part 10, Undercoats and Touch-upsTitebond M&TG was used for fillets. Two layers of fillets were applied. Run your fingertip down the dried fillet and you might feel some bumps. Those will show up after the paint is applied. I wrapped some old 400 grit around a Q-tip for cushioned sanding. It only takes a few passes to knock ...[Read More]
New Way A-20 Demon Build Part 11, Masking One Black FinOne fin was chosen for the black mask. I used Scotch Tape again. First the sides were set down, centered in the middle of the fillets. Next a piece was set over the top. Then two diagonals. After the picture was taken, four more diagonals were added to further round off the leading edge. The inset ...[Read More]
New Way A-20 Demon Build Part 12, Chrome TrimThe large wrap goes around the payload section tube. The top and bottom are pre-cut. The sides will have to be trimmed. Trim off the side edge up to the ends of the printed black lines. With "one-shot" wraps you've got to plan ahead. Before applying the wrap, mark the center of the tube flat. ...[Read More]
New Way A-20 Demon Build Part 13, More Chrome TrimDon't set the edge down first, center and set down the adjacent side first. Go slow. Rub your finger over the corners to coax the wrap over them. Keep the backing on the wrap and only remove it as needed going around the square tube. Here's the finished payload tube. This metallic ...[Read More]
New Way A-20 Demon Build Part 14, More Chrome TrimI checked the width of the low wrap around the upper part of the body tube. It's easier to mark the edge cuts without the trailing edge of fins in the way. I tried to trim the ends so the butted seam would be centered between the series of doubled row dots. The "zig-zag" line is first centered on ...[Read More]
New Way A-20 Demon Build Part 15, Fin PlatesThe fin plates are also cut out. There are eight, one goes on each side of a fin tucked into a fillet. Leave the backing on the pieces. Crease them over the side of a straightedge. The pieces are shown folded in the inset picture. The top of the plates are set 1/2" from the tip of the leading ...[Read More]
New Way A-20 Demon Build Part 16, Decals and FinishedThe instructions said this upper Demon wrap is the most difficult to apply but I didn't have any problems. The New Way instructions said to place it 1/2" down from the top of the tube. The old Estes catalog pictures showed it about 1/8" from the top. The 1/8" spacing looked too tight for me. I ...[Read More]
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