Model Rocket Building Blog

Quest Cobalt Build Part 1 Parts
A 4FNC rocket? I always need good models for soccer field launches and I have plenty of A6-4 engines to run through. There were "gotchas" on this build and some problem solving. Many have had trouble packing the wadding and streamer in such a short body tube. I built a clone of the Quest ...
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Quest Cobalt Build Part 2 Engine Mount Steps 1 - 6
I substituted a thicker ST-7 tube for the thin yellow engine mount tube supplied with the kit. The Quest centering rings are a tight fit on the ST-7 tube, so it took a little sanding for a slip fit. Look close at the tube and you'll see a pencil mark at the center of the tube. The start of the ...
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Quest Cobalt Build Part 3 Step 8 Gluing The Engine Mount
I'll do Step 7, marking the fin and lug locations, after the engine mount is in place. I want to use my FinTool which centers the engine hook between two fins. There was a problem with the fit of the engine mount. The centering rings were too small - the mount was loose and slid right through ...
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Quest Cobalt Build Part 4 Step 7 Fin Marking OOPS!
Step 7 has you cut out the tube marking guide. As normal, wrap it around the tube and mark for the fins. I don't like cutting up instructions, I transferred the lines onto another piece of paper and cut out the guide. It was wrapped around the 40mm tube. IT FIDN'T DIT! (If you got that, you've ...
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Quest Cobalt Build Part 5 Step 10 and 11 Gluing Fins and Lug
The launch lug was glued on and the body tube primed and sanded. Sometimes its easier to prime the body tube with the fins off. The fins were primed and sanded before gluing onto the body tube. Fin lines were marked then those pencil lines were roughed up for better adhesion. The ...
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Quest Cobalt Build Part 6 Step 12 Nose Cone Fix?
After reading a few forum comments, it seems there is very little room for wadding and the streamer. With the nose cone in place, the base of the shoulder is right on top of the engine block! I'll try to store the streamer inside the nose cone and pack it so the shock cord would pull it out at ...
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Quest Cobalt Build Part 7 Step 13-15 Paint and Decals
After the Cobalt was painted an overall white, two opposite fins were masked off. The top fin has been masked at the root edges with Scotch tape and covered with copy paper. The bottom fin has been masked at the root edges but the paper covering is yet to be taped on. Blue spray paint followed. ...
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Quest Cobalt Build Finished!
  It's a cute little model, should be a good one for the Quest A6-4 engines I have. I'm looking forward to flying it at the small, schoolyard field. A little nose weight (a forum post recommended 10 grams) and it might be stable with B6 engines. I probably wouldn't fly it with ...
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Quest Cobalt - Packing the Streamer TIP
I had to be sure the streamer would be pulled out of the nose cone at ejection. Here's one easy way to get it done - Set the nose cone tip into the body tube to hold it. Stuff all the shock cord and some of the Kevlar cord into the nose cone cavity FIRST, before the streamer.   Press ...
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Quest Cobalt Evil Twin - ORANGE!
I built a second Cobalt based model at the same time the stock kit was built.   This one is ORANGE . I had an extra Quest nose cone and some 40mm body tube. All is the same except for the body tube length. The Orange tube is 5" long, the Cobalt kit tube is 4". That extra ...
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Decal Fix on the Cobalt Orange Part 1
I wasn't happy with the way the yellow colors showed up on the water slide decals I made for the "Orange" model. The yellow ink was too transparent and when placed over the orange paint the yellow color disappeared! I read about this technique on one of the forums. I wish I could give credit where ...
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Decal Fix on the Cobalt Orange Part 2
Start with the easiest decals to back up with the white - the black outlined triangles that go on the fins. That black edge will cover up the edges of the white triangle set down underneath. I'm cutting one of the extras inside the thick black outline to make a template for the white decal. ...
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Decal Fix on the Cobalt Orange Part 3
The nose cone decal is harder, you don't have the black lined border to hide the white decal edge under. Cut an extra decal to size right on the edge of the yellow color. (This decal is one that got wet and is wrinkled. I was going to toss it, but kept it for a template.) Trace this onto the ...
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