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
Flight Statistics

2021-11-27

Quest/Aerotech High Q, #Q5012, Part 4, Stickers 2

Blog
GOTCHA: Here's the upper wrap. The wrap wasn't long enough to meet at the ends. I didn't want to leave that white gap. FIX: It was filled with a strip of my "go-to" vinyl, Contact Paper Blackboard Covering. The vinyl strip isn't a full gloss, but it's better than the white band. The flat surface of the Contact Paper fill strip was "shined up" with some Future floor finish later on. As I ... [More]

2021-11-26

Quest/Aerotech High Q, #Q5012, Part 4, Stickers 1

Blog
GOTCHA: Some of the die-cut stickers weren't cut completely through the upper layer. It took a few passes with my knife to free the stickers. These are plastic stickers, not water slide decals. TIP: I recommend dipping the stickers in a dish of water and wetting the body tube before setting down the sticker. The water allows lifting and repositioning of the sticker to set them ... [More]

2021-11-25

Quest/Aerotech High Q, #Q5012, Part 3, Masking

Blog
No CWF and filler/primer steps shown on this build. The grain filling methods were standard. There are four colors on this model - White, Purple, Black and a Silver nose cone. It's not an easy mask! Most of the lower body is purple, one fin was masked off to stay white. TIP: Most of you know this - Spray lightest colors first. On this rocket the gloss white was first sprayed, ... [More]

2021-11-24

Quest/Aerotech High Q, #Q5012, Part 2, Shock Cord & Parachute

Blog
The Kevlar line is doubled coming off the upper centering ring in the motor mount. This ties to the 1/4" elastic shock cord using a simple overhand knot. Note: There is a bit of glue on the end of the cut elastic to keep it from unraveling. The back end of the 29mm motor mount extends 1/4" out the back of the model. I glued the motor mount in after the model was painted and stickered. The Kevlar ... [More]

2021-11-23

Quest/Aerotech High Q, #Q5012, Build Highlights, Part 1, Engine Mount

Blog
Some descriptive copy from the Quest website: Flies on 'D', 'E', and 'F' motors. High-Q is a great looking and performing mid-size rocket. Over 30 inches tall, the kit features blow molded plastic nose cone, laser-cut balsa fins and a rugged 29mm diameter motor mount . Flights with an Aerotech F32-6W will go to almost 3,000 feet. Then your High-Q will recover gently on the big 18-inch fabric ... [More]

2021-11-22

Rocketship Games MMX Hawkeye, Finished

Blog
The stickers look good. They are thin so the edges aren't that noticeable. I think the gray, white and black trim colors look good and were easier than masking a tiny rocket. The two black launch lug "guns" are actually even, there is some camera distortion. The kit supplies two "Hawkeye" name stickers, the Estes kit only had one. I applied one on each side. In the Estes kit, the red square ... [More]

2021-11-21

Rocketship Games MMX Hawkeye, Part 8, Stickers

Blog
The kit supplied stickers are die-cut. TIP: Don't set these in place using water! The top surface ink isn't sealed and the ink bled on the first decal. There are extras so this wasn't a concern. Some of the stickers are tiny! I found it easier to place them from the tip of my hobby knife. There is no streamer or parachute, the model uses nose-blow recovery like the larger original Estes kit. ... [More]

2021-11-20

Rocketship Games MMX Hawkeye, Part 7, Paint & Details

Blog
Here's the model after an initial white undercoat and sanding down the fillet blobs. The instructions suggest white fins and a gray body. I thought that would be some difficult masking as the model is so small. I opted to paint it more like the original Estes Catalog picture, an overall light gray with a white nose cone. It occurred to me - Wait to glue on the small faux motor tubes - leave ... [More]

2021-11-19

Rocketship Games MMX Hawkeye, Part 6, Engine Block & Fin Gluing

Blog
I made a "Block and Tackle" (Jim Flis idea) to set the engine block in the body tube. A simple 1/8" wide wrap of tape stops the engine casing when pressing the engine block in place. This will leave a friction fitted MMX engine with 1/8" extended out the back of the tube. Here's the toothpick included in the kit. I measured just below the engine block position so it would hit the glue ... [More]

2021-11-18

Rocketship Games MMX Hawkeye, Part 5, Filler/Primer Sand & Kevlar Tie

Blog
This shows the before and after sanding of the filler/primer shot coats. You can easily see the gray filler/primer left in the grain pores when it is sanded to surface. The CWF filler fills 3/4 of the balsa. The filler/primer fills any remaining grain. A simpler two-step process than the old four coat sanding sealer fill. Here I've sanded the filler/primer off most of the upper end of the main ... [More]

2021-11-13

Rocketship Games R5 Hawkeye

Flight
Got much higher than you would expect. Really needs a streamer to help spot it after it lands. - Quest MicroMaxx - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Estes Space Twister

Flight
Heavy rocket, low altitude. It did spin on the way up. - Estes A8-3 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Estes Citation Patriot

Flight
Slow and lower flight. Good finish for the day. Parachute taped closed for no drift. - Estes B6-4 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

ASP MMX Hawk

Flight
A little wiggle after the boost stage. Streamer eject after a 80' altitude. - Quest MicroMaxx - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Odd'l Rockets Corkscrew 2

Flight
It hasn't been painted, this is a stability test model. Heavy walled BT-20 and a BT-70 sized offset ring provides stability. The original Odd'l kit was a BT-5 based model. It did some wiggling on the way up as planned. - Estes A8-3 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Odd'l Bones

Flight
Check out the flame of the A10-3t engine. It blew off the skull nose cone, catoing right after it cleared the rod. No real damage, shock cord snapped and the neck body tube dented. - Estes A10-3t - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

2021-10-02

Odd'l Rockets F-18 Hornet

Flight
Very stable with an altitude of 225' and 12" parachute recovery. - Estes A8-3 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Centuri Alien Encounter Flying Saucer 3/4 Size

Flight
Those dots around the perimeter do glow in the dark, just like the original larger kit. - Estes C6-0 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Estes Tazz

Flight
A little angle on the launch rod and the helicopter recovery brought it back close. - Estes B6-4 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

ASP Micro Wac Corporal

Flight
Good thing there was a shiny streamer or it would have been lost in the high grass. - Quest MicroMaxx - 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]