Paint and Markings
One of the reasons that the early Little Joe rounds appeal to me so much is the wild use of outlandish color, specifically the large orange makings near the middle of the airframe and on the fins. We'll document the process as we attempt to replicate those markings as closely as possible on our model.
The stenciled "United States" markings on each side of the airframe were replicated by creating a file in Illustrator using Tom Lai's Amarillo USAF font. Small bits of each letter were then digitally removed to mimic the stenciled appearance. With the basic Illustrator file complete, the marking was resized to match the prototype, testing the appearance of the marking on the airframe. Once the size was locked in, the file was sent to a local sign shop to have the thin vinyl marking cut. We'll apply the markings after the airframe is painted.
Update: After picking up the markings from the sign shop, they were checked for size against the body tube and the ink-jet proof. Much to my dismay, the vinyl lettering was about 5% undersize! I began scrambling for the problem, and learned that my ink-jet printer was resizing the Illustrator output! After resizing the file and adding a reference scale, the vinyl job has been resubmitted to the sign shop. My personal advice: don't blindly trust your printer!
The painting process begins with the layering of several thin layers of Tamiya Grey Primer on the airframe tube and fins. In addition to providing a stable base for the color coats, the primer also serves to flush out little flaws and hickeys in the surface of the parts. In particular, the single seam on the airframe tube was not completely filled, so the primer was sanded off of that section and a bit of Squadron White was applied to the offending gap. Also, one of the fins turned out to have some fatal errors. Fortunately, a spare set of fin skins was whipped up during the vacuform process for just such an eventuality, so a replacement is in process. Note that each fin has been attached to a short piece of spruce stock to simplify handling during the painting process.
After the primer is lightly sanded with 600-grit film, we can begin dusting on the color coats. On the left the first several coats have been applied to the fins, and on the right the first light coat of Tamiya Gloss Aluminum has been dusted onto the airframe. After using many alternatives in the past, I've found that the Tamiya metallic colors are by far the easiest to work with, certainly more idiot-proof than the Alclad or SnJ products. In addition, the durability of the finished part can't be beat, and it even has a mild flaw-covering property. The downsides to the Tamiya paints include the cost (about $5 for a small spray can), a limited range of metallic colors, and the flaw-filling characteristics must be carefully monitiored or detail will get nuked.
The orange fin in the photo above is the one with the fatal flaw, conveniently hidden on the opposite side. I'll repaint it in aluminum and take it along to Baikonur as a spare in the event something happens to a primary fin.
The revised vinyl lettering for the main airframe has been completed and sized for accuracy against the tube. The vinyl lettering is sandwiched between two translucent carrier sheets. After the final aluminum gloss coats are applied to the airframe, the bottom carrier will be peeled away, and the lettering positioned onto the part. The top carrier is then removed, leaving the finished marking behind.
Finishing the fins
Three of the fins feature an orange visibility band on their tips, as shown on Peter McQuillan's chart. Photos show that the orange does not appear on the tip plate, and I've made an executive decision that the underside of the fin was probably unpainted as well. I prefer to use 3M Blue painter's tape for most painting applications, as the brown generic masking tapes are a pain to work with. The portion of the fin that will remain silver will be masked with a plastic bag. Fin #4 is almost entirely orange, with the tip plate and underside remaining in the aluminum color.
Our next task is to mask and paint the "cuff" detail on the leading edge of each fin. I've chosen to use Tamiya masking tape for this step, as it is by far the best product for flat-surface masking. The Tamiya product has a very precise, flat edge that has none of the raggedness typical of consumer-grade masking tapes; the down side is the price, about $5-6 for a small roll. With the cuff masked, the rest of the fin surface is covered with plastic and the part is airbrushed with Tamiya Gun Metal acrylic. For small surfaces the Tamiya acrylics are fantastic, with remarkably fast drying times, great appearance, and decent durability (heck, the airbrush even cleans up with Windex when you're done painting!). It's interesting to note that the gun metal color appears much darker in these photos than in real life, as the metallic content in the paint lightens the actual appearance significantly.
At this point the fins are effectively finished, with the only chore left being to apply my FAI number to one of the trailing edges as required by the rule book. I may spray a dullcoat on the fins to simulate some panel finish differentiation, but won't make that call until the rest of the model is finished and stacked for the first time.
Painting the roll pattern
More Tamiya masking tape is used to mask the orange "roll pattern" areas on the airframe. Note that the Tamiya tape is being used only to mask the paint demarcation lines, with the far less expensive 3M Blue tape used to attach the paper overspray masks. Tamiya orange spray lacquer is then applied in several thin coats.
With the orange color coats in place, we can begin carefully removing the masking materials, building up to the big reveal! The orange is very glossy, so a matte overspray is probably in the cards for the future.
With the paint dry we can install the large US marking, using the vinyl lettering the sign shop cut for us. A piece of scrap paper has been attached to the aft section of the airframe, and a reference line has been drawn onto it to help align the marking. The backing is peeled away from the sticky side, the marking is positioned into place, and the carrier strip is peeled away, leaving the finished marking. Note the presence of small holes in the carrier sheet, which allow the panel lines below to be used to assist in aligning the lettering.
This has been, by far, the most nerve-wracking step in the assembly process to date. A slip here would have necessitated a complete repaint of the airframe tube.
With the airframe paint and markings complete, it's time to bolt the fins back into place for another sanity check.
With the final pieces of the escape tower puzzle completed, it's time to hit them and the capsule with some primer. The first photo shows (from left to right) the escape motor and forward closure, the tower lattice, the antenna canister, the tower base, three escape motor nozzles, and the capsule. You'll also notice the sections of scrap plastic that have been tacked onto the parts to simplify handling during the paint process. The transition section also took a dose of primer (click on the photo to see the hatch and antenna attach point detail that has been added). The right photo of the tower lattice clearly shows the convex underside that has been added to the aft closure.
The tower jettison motor next gets a dose of Tamiya yellow lacquer, then the the nozzle is brush-painted with a bit of Floquil Old Silver enamel. This little booger will be hidden under the base of the escape motor and will peek out from behind the escape motor nozzles.
Next up is the tower lattice, which is painted with Tamiya semi-gloss spray lacquer. The Little Joe 1A round featured a orange band on the top half of the adapter section, which we recreate by masking the appropriate portion of our adapter part. We'll next need to paint the Marman clamp black.
The top of the antenna cannister and the Marman clamp are masked with Parafilm, one of my favorite little goodies to have on hand. Parafilm is much thinner than standard masking tape, leaves a sharp, clean demarcation line, and leaves no residue, making it great for use over metallic colors. Parafilm will melt if used with lacquer-based paints, though, so testing with scrap materials is strongly encouraged. The photo on the right shows the results after the Parafilm masking material is removed.
With this phase of our paint work behind us, we can begin assembling the tower components. First, the antenna cannister is glued to the tower base, using a locator hole placed during assembly, The tower lattice goes into place next, securing the legs into pre-drilled holes. Tenax was used for this step, and the glue marred a few small spots on the black lacquer. We can touch those up with a brush later.
Decals
The Little Joe has a few assorted markings that we'll need to replicate:
* Two "United States" stencils on the capsule sides
* 24 bolt apertures below the Marman clamp
* A "Grand Central" manufacturer's logo on one of the escape tower nozzle
* A data plate for the tower jettison motor
* My FAI license number
The first step was to create the decal files, beginning with Photoshop and finishing in Illustrator. The GC logo and data plate were then printed on a color laser printer onto white decal film, while all other markings were printed onto clear film. I printed far more markings than will be needed in a variety of sizes, which will hopefully save time on future LJ models, in a variety of scales. (Note the large GC logo; one of these days I plan on building a whopper of a Little Joe model!)
Hint: proficiency in a good vector graphics program such as Illustrator or Corel Draw is a valuable skill for a scratch-builder to have.
The first decal to be applied is the data plate, which can be seen on the yellow tower jettison motor.
Next up are the 24 bolt aperture markings, which are applied around the adapter section just below the Marman clamp (be sure to click on the left image above, as I'm really pleased with how the adapter turned out!). The rules for the S7 event require that the competitor's FAI license number appear in letters 1 cm high on the exterior of the model. The marking created uses an outlined font so that it is less noticeable, and the marking will be hidden on the trailing edge of one of the fins.
Next, the escape tower nozzles are glued into place on the aft surface of the escape motor. The concave surface makes positioning the nozzles and the jettison motor a simpler task than it was on the Beach Abort model, and the finished appearance is much more realistic. Following that, the glass tube for the escape tower motor is primed and painted. It is not visible in this photo, but a cable raceway has been added to the other side of the motor.
The capsule also gets a coat of primer before it is painted with gloss aluminum lacquer, and then the lower section is masked and painted with Tamiya pure white. As a sanity check, all of the components on hand were weighed once again and everything came in at 456 grams. With a max mass of 1kg (or 2.2 lbs for those of you who are metrically challenged), that leaves us a very generous allowance for electronics, rail guides, motors, parachutes, and anything else I've forgotten. My best guess at this point is that the model's ready-to-fly weight will be in the neighborhood of 700g.
Test fitting the components
At this point all of the major components are stacked to insure that there are no glaring fit issues, and a quick check is made of the overall length and fin span of the model. Each dimension is accurate to within 1%, which is what we're shooting for...
I decided to practice my masking and painting skills for the next step on the capsule from the boilerplate model. The demarcations for the orange roll patterns are masked with a combination of Parafilm and masking tape, then the part was airbrushed with Tamiya orange acrylic. The photo on the right shows the film and tape being removed.
After applying a pair of downcurved "United States" decals to the capsule, the stack is again test-fit. Note the slight difference between the acrylic orange paint used on the capsule and the orange lacquer used everywhere else; that slight mismatch is probably going to be a problem for the judges, so the primary capsule will be painted with lacquer. Overall, though, I'm really pleased with the overall appearance of the model.
Back to part 1: Capsule assembly...
Back to part 2: Escape Tower assembly...
Back to part 3: Transition assembly...
Back to part 4: Boilerplate assembly...
Back to Part 5: Fin assembly...
Back to Part 6: Airframe assembly...
On to part 8: Motor Mount assembly...
