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:
Rocket Gallery
Flight Log
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2024-12-03

Enerjet by Aerotech Strong Arm Build, Finished

Blog
All three Strong Arm builds posed in my patio. Two are show builds with filled seams and more time spent on fillets. On the right is a flight build, not as much build time involved. Body tube seams are visible and not as smooth a finish. 10 foot rule on this one. I rarely use Rustoleum, but that was the best paint match for the tall gray stickers on the upper body. Some graphics are large and ... [More]

2024-12-02

Enerjet by Aerotech Strong Arm Build, Part 24, Engine Retainer

Blog
The inside edge of the motor retainer should be roughed up for better epoxy adhesion. I used the back side of my knife to scrape off the paint. Using the back of the blade will rough the surface and not dull the sharp side of the knife. The fit of the ring is tight. To make an easier slide in and seat, the edges of the motor tube were slightly rounded with some 320 grit sandpaper. Here's the ... [More]

2024-12-01

Enerjet by Aerotech Strong Arm Build, Part 23, Final Stickers

Blog
I'm building three of the Strong Arm kits for Aerotech and wanted consistency in the models. I made a template out of cardstock. Trace around one of the fins. With the backing still on, set the sticker on the cardstock in a good placement. Draw around the sticker border and cut out the square. This is another wet sticker placement. Set the sticker on the fin, lay the template over the fin and ... [More]

2024-11-30

Enerjet by Aerotech Strong Arm Build, Part 22, Small Stickers

Blog
There are a LOT of small stickers Thin strips can slide while cutting using a metal ruler. Make the cuts carefully. I'd recommend keeping the small stickers in zip lock bags. I was being careful and one fell off the workbench. I had to scour the floor to find it. The RADOME stickers are spaced 90 degrees around the top of the tube. I reused the placement guide to evenly place these ... [More]

2024-11-28

Enerjet by Aerotech Strong Arm Build, Part 21, Body Stripes

Blog
I wrapped a piece of cardstock around the body tube to use as an edge guide for the body wrap strips. If you've ever tried to get a stripe to meet up after wrapping it around a body tube, you'll appreciate a cardstock guide. For a cleaner look, start and finish the strip over the launch lugs. I read these colored stripes designate if a missile is a dummy or armed. Tape the guide edge in ... [More]

2024-11-27

Enerjet by Aerotech Strong Arm Build, Part 20, Placing The Fin Stripes

Blog
Cut a strip of cardstock 15/16" tall. Set the strip edge into the fin/tube root edge joint. The strip side is set against the top edge of the cardstock. Notice the rear edge overhangs the trailing edge. While the front edge of the sticker matches the angle of the leading edge, the trailing doesn't quite match. Leave some overhang and it can be trimmed off after the set sticker ... [More]

2024-11-26

Enerjet by Aerotech Strong Arm Build, Part 19, Placing The Roll Bar Stripes

Blog
Setting the vertical roll bar stickers straight with even spacing is difficult. How can you leave 17/32" space between them accurately? Two vertical stripes have to be centered between the fins. Mark the center line first. Make a simple cardstock centering guide. Roll some cardstock around the tube, mark the end of the dorsal fins. Using a ruler, find ... [More]

2024-11-24

Enerjet by Aerotech Strong Arm Build, Part 18, Waiting For Paint To Dry and Planning Ahead

Blog
You may have noticed a slowing of posts - That's because I'm building three Strong Arm kits at the same time. One is a flight version - no seam fills and less attention to details. These are sometimes referred to as: "They'll look good on the pad." Duplicate builds slow things down, I can't repeat the same build posts three times. Planning ahead, You might assume this roll pattern sticker ... [More]

2024-11-23

Enerjet by Aerotech Strong Arm Build, Part 18, Overall Paint Coverage

Blog
The larger the rocket, the more difficult it is to get a good gloss coat of spray paint. The Strong Arm is big enough to be a painting challenge. To get an idea how I spray models horizontally, I'll refer you to a previous post: CLICK HERE I'd recommend reading the post to understand the technique: [More]

2024-11-21

Enerjet by Aerotech Strong Arm Build, Part 17, Adapting A Painting Wand

Blog
I use painting wands to hold my rockets horizontally when spray painting. The wand is a 1/2" dowel shoved into a used 18mm engine casing. This is too small a diameter to fit this larger rocket engine mount. I wrapped some corrugated cardboard around the casing and closed it up with tape. To fit the 29mm diameter mount, the cardboard is just over a full wrap around the casing. This wider ... [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]