Model Rocket Building Blog 
Model Rocket Building Posts
Rocketry Product: Dr. Zooch - SLS {Kit} (SLS)
LAUNCH! Schoolyard Soccer Field, February 16, 2020 (2020-02-17)
As close to perfect as the Soccer field gets! Cool weather at 7:00 a.m. and no wind. Sometimes it's surprising what you see this early in the day. Hundreds (and I mean hundreds) of Pelicans ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 1 Parts (2012-03-04)Lots of parts in this one! Three nose cones and one pre weighted balsa adapter, Eight body tubes, the largest is a BT-60 size, An elastic shock cord is included but no Kevlar, Black Letramax ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 2 Shroud (2012-03-05)I scanned all the wrap sheets so I could print out more if I screwed anything up. The boat-tail has a glue tab attached. I went the other route where the tab is cut off so both straight edges of the ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 3 Centering Rings (2012-03-05)TIP: Anytime you get a black laser cut centering ring, chances are it's made from the Letramax material. Laser cutting leaves these ring edges very sooty. Wipe off the edges with a paper towel. ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 4 Engine Mount Shroud (2012-03-06)Both the rings were just a little loose on the engine mount tube. I built up the inside diameters with a ring of white glue. This is the motor mount ready for the boat-tail to go over the lower end. ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 5 Fairings (2012-03-07)I jumped ahead to the engine fairings - I pre-formed the fairings so they might glue easier to the BT-5 sized tube. As I've done before, a dowel was rolled over the fairings with a dowel in the heel ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 6 Toenail Trimming (2012-03-08)By leaving a little balsa on the side of the fairing piece, I was able to sand the root edge to the contour of a BT-50 tube. Sanding against a BT-50 tube will get the contour closer to the curve of ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 7 Fairing Fit (2012-03-08)The inside rear edge of the fairings got a coating of CA applied with a Q-Tip. This was sanded smooth with 400 grit on a dowel. It'd be best to do this before the toenails are glued to the pencil ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 8 Fairing Fit (2012-03-09)Check the fit of the fairings on the rear shroud. The tip and rear might fit well, but the sides might not lay down. You can "coax" the sides in by rolling a clean dowel over them. Check the fit as ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 9 Wrap Prep (2012-03-10)Looking close at the corrugate wraps, the edges were a little rough. These are easy enough to trim with a knife and straightedge. Any time you have a precut wrap, or if you are trimming them ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 10 Corrugated Wraps (2012-03-10)I decided to use the optional Saturn V style wraps supplied in the kit instead of the corrugated wraps shown below. It's up to you which to use but I wanted to show the gluing of the original ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 11 Feeder Line (2012-03-11)One of the dowels is cut to 5" in length for the feeder line. The picture shows the backside of the dowel. I sanded the back flat for a better fit against the body tube. The instructions say you can ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build part 12 Orion BPS & LAS (2012-03-11)Jumping ahead to Step 5: The nosecone tip is sanded down to a flat 3/16" circumference. This gives the LAS dowel a stronger hold on the nose cone. Before drilling, find the center of the flat top. I ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 13 Engine Bells & Party Hat (2012-03-12)The small engine bells were pre-formed on a dowel in the palm of my hand. These are small so help was needed to hold them closed while the glue tab dried. The glued tab was clamped shut with long ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 14 new Fairing Position? (2012-03-12)A few weeks back I visited Dick Stafford's Rocket Dungeon. You can see this entire post HERE This is the latest artist rendering of the SLS as shown on Space.com. Enlarge the picture to see the ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 15 SRB Skirts (2012-03-13)In the instructions, the SRB skirt is slid on and glued after the SRB wraps are glued in place. Because the SRB skirts are slid on the T-20 tube from the bottom, the smaller end of the skirt is ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 16 SRB Skirts and Paint (2012-03-13)After all the shaping, the exposed edges of the skirt support ring are a little fuzzy. I applied some medium CA with a Q-tip to harden up just the outside edges that will be seen, not over any areas ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 17 SRB Skirt Glue and Paint (2012-03-15)Here's the SRB white areas after painting. Everything is still a dry fit, no glue. The nose cone was removed and set aside for later gluing. The inside of the SRB tube has no paint in it so the ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 18 SRB Wraps (2012-03-15)The Zooch instructions have you apply glue to the outside 1/2" of the back of the wrap. I didn't have much luck with this in the past so I use spray adhesive. Using white glue on the back of the ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 19 SRB Bands (2012-03-16)Be sure your hands are clean before applying the bands. Any dirt or oil on your skin will transfer to the white cardstock. It's hard to cut the strip widths consistent. I cut out many strips any and ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 20 SRB Bands (2012-03-16)You can see the rough edge around the shoulder of the nose cone. I cut the uppermost white strip a little wide so it would overlap the top and cover the rough lip of the nose cone. This is the ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 21 Engine Mount Gluing (2012-03-17)The line at the top is your index line. The corrugated or Saturn V style wraps start on this line. The seam on your boattail shroud should also line up on the index line. This way the seam won't be ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 22 LAS Nozzles (2012-03-17)The small LAS nozzles are actually cut from the back end of fancy toothpicks. These are small, and could be easily lost. Keep them in the bag! I've already dipped them twice in varnish, wiped off ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 23 LAS Nozzles (2012-03-19)For just a slightly better glue joint, the angle cut side of the nozzle was contoured with a small rat tail diamond file. This gives a better surface contact at the gluing surface. A line was drawn ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 26 SRB Gluing (2012-03-21)Use white glue to attach the SRBs! White glue dries CLEAR, yellow glue dries YELLOW! Glue was applied to the area of the SRB bands. There is a slight separation at the band seam which gives a little ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build part 27 Launch Lug Gluing - Oops! (2012-03-21)I didn't glue on the lugs back in Step 2A. I waited for two reasons: 1. I fill the lug seams and knew the lugs would be painted white before gluing in place. Adding the Saturn V wraps changes the ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 29 SRB Struts (2012-03-22)You will need the add the SRB struts for strength. These keep the SRBs on the core body when you slide in or pull out the flame fin assemblies. I sealed and painted the dowel white before cutting ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 29 SRB Struts Oops! (2012-03-22)My placement of the launch lugs was wrong! I didn't want them down the middle of the core tube and thought a side placement wouldn't make them so obvious. I glued them to the side allowing for the ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 30 Feeder Line & Engine Bells (2012-03-23)If using the Saturn V wraps, you have to wait to glue on the feeder line. The shaped feeder line dowel was sealed and sanded with two coats of varnish. It was painted before gluing on the core body. ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Build Part 31 Engine Bells & Decals (2012-03-24)Instead of the recommended Testor's #1180 Steel I used Testor's #1145 Gunmetal Steel. It's not quite a full black and looked great on the nozzles. For painting, the nozzles were stuck down to some ... [Read More]
Dr. Zooch SLS Finished (2012-03-27)As far as I could tell, three NASA meatball logos are place 120 degrees from each other. You can see the small, vertical UNITED STATES decal set on either side of the upper core tube. The kit ... [Read More]
Essential Tools: Cotton Swabs (2012-07-25)This seems like a rediculous post - but lately I've ended up using these on every build. I buy mine at the Dollar Store or get a cheap generic brand. You'll be throwing them away anyway so ... [Read More]
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