I finally finished the Estes Interceptor-E. The painting was pretty simple, just paint everything white. Then mask off for the wing tip pods and the tailcone. The hardest part was applying the three pages of water slide decals.
These have to be without a doubt the hardest decals I’ve ever applied. I’ve worked with thin decals before but never ones this large. This is a two edged sword. They are so thin that they will stretch very easily, so you have to be careful and fully wet the area where the decal will be applied. That way your can move the decal into its final position without stretching it (that’s the theory anyway). On the other side, with them being so thin, they conform easily to any surface details that are there, making them look almost painted on.
I did finally get them on and it really makes this bird look great. Hopefully I can get this one in the air for the June launch.
Update: It flew very well at our club launch. I then took it to our annual High Frontier launch in Pawhuska OK. It flew beautifully again, but unfortunately drifted northeast into some high grass (very high) and brush. Myself and a friend looked for it for quite some time with no success. I really hated to loose that rocket, it had turned out great and I only had two launches on it. I have another kit in my stash and I guess I’ll have to find some time to get it built. Next time there is high grass or brush in the area, I’ll be sure to fly it with a beeper. I had one in my range box that I could have used but chose not to. Stupid on me.
Luhman-ations 