It’s here, well it’s been here. I refused to open it until I got most of the consumables, instructions page 3, to build it. I have checked the parts and they all there except the 3 washers on page 2 bottom left hand corner of the instructions. No problem, I pretty sure I can find replacements for these 3 washers.
The biggest new item that I got and it showed up 30 March was a Paasche TS airbrush. I’m off the body shop Tuesday (5 April). The body shop that painted my 66 Mustang is going to let me use his air system and paint booth to start learning how to use the airbrush. The shop owner has saved a bunch of card board boxes to practice making dots and connect them. I have a quart of the Nason gray primer to start out using but a girl in the local helmet painting shop said that I should use Createx paint, it’s cheaper (cost) to use for learning. I have the booth all day Tuesday so who knows what will happen by Tuesday evening.
1 April 2016 Friday
I spent a great deal of time figuring out which fairing and was associated with what piece of metal antenna. A picture in the instructions of both sides of the completed sail with all fairings with metal antenna inserted or a top view of the Blueback drawing would have helped. The top view would have helped identifying the openings in the top half of the hull.
I can figure it flipping back and forth through the instructions and looking at HardRock’s Blueback build and Start Saving Your Pennies, but there is a guber 1 1/2 “ from the tail end on the upper half fiberglass hull. Is this the last hole with red putty on it as pictured on the Instruction page 23 on the upper hull a vent also?
2 April 2016 Saturday
Today is cleaning and sanded the hull and tail sections as per the instructions, deburred the metal parts and they are ready for the ferric chloride soaking.
4 April 2016 Monday
Ferric chloride soaking/cleaning metal parts for primer tomorrow. Cleaned and sanded the sail, fairings, and tail piece
Had to make a quick disconnect/pressure regulator connection for the body shop air header. The body shop’s air header is at 90 to 95 psi and I'm going to need 10 to 40 psi. I’m not sure what the helmet shop would have charged me to primer the Blueback, but they were going to charge me $200 to repaint my 1966 South Carolina license plate which is my permanent plate now. So if I teach myself to use the airbrush gun tomorrow, this winter I can sandblast and repaint the plate myself. Already the airbrush is saving me money, just have learn how to justify these new toys.
5 April 2016 Tuesday
Packed everything I need to learn how to use the new airbrush and primer the Blueback, off to the body shop. Spent 6 hours in the paint booth at the body shop Tuesday. Lots and lots of various size dots and connecting them. After a couple of hours of this I decided I was ready to start priming the parts. First paint pass on the hull, I was to close. It looked really bad and thought I had screwed the pooch. The shop owner was in the booth and showed me how to fix it. Wiped the bad section down with thinner, let it dry, life was good again and was able to finish primer coat. Took some picture of it in the paint booth. Don't think that the Sistine Chapel will be calling me to help do any repair work there.
6 April 2016 Wednesday
Unpacked everything I took to the body shop. The body shop owner can get the same primer I used and save me any shipping cost. Need to look on site for black and red lead colors and get the body shop to order them for me.
7 April 2016 Thursday
Updated build log going to try to upload to site. Found the black and red lead colors specified in the Start Saving your pennies, post #44. Still need to find how to camouflage the fairings. I’m at starting the tail cone, instructions bottom of page 11.
Checking parts
Before Primer
In the paint booth after primer
The biggest new item that I got and it showed up 30 March was a Paasche TS airbrush. I’m off the body shop Tuesday (5 April). The body shop that painted my 66 Mustang is going to let me use his air system and paint booth to start learning how to use the airbrush. The shop owner has saved a bunch of card board boxes to practice making dots and connect them. I have a quart of the Nason gray primer to start out using but a girl in the local helmet painting shop said that I should use Createx paint, it’s cheaper (cost) to use for learning. I have the booth all day Tuesday so who knows what will happen by Tuesday evening.
1 April 2016 Friday
I spent a great deal of time figuring out which fairing and was associated with what piece of metal antenna. A picture in the instructions of both sides of the completed sail with all fairings with metal antenna inserted or a top view of the Blueback drawing would have helped. The top view would have helped identifying the openings in the top half of the hull.
I can figure it flipping back and forth through the instructions and looking at HardRock’s Blueback build and Start Saving Your Pennies, but there is a guber 1 1/2 “ from the tail end on the upper half fiberglass hull. Is this the last hole with red putty on it as pictured on the Instruction page 23 on the upper hull a vent also?
2 April 2016 Saturday
Today is cleaning and sanded the hull and tail sections as per the instructions, deburred the metal parts and they are ready for the ferric chloride soaking.
4 April 2016 Monday
Ferric chloride soaking/cleaning metal parts for primer tomorrow. Cleaned and sanded the sail, fairings, and tail piece
Had to make a quick disconnect/pressure regulator connection for the body shop air header. The body shop’s air header is at 90 to 95 psi and I'm going to need 10 to 40 psi. I’m not sure what the helmet shop would have charged me to primer the Blueback, but they were going to charge me $200 to repaint my 1966 South Carolina license plate which is my permanent plate now. So if I teach myself to use the airbrush gun tomorrow, this winter I can sandblast and repaint the plate myself. Already the airbrush is saving me money, just have learn how to justify these new toys.
5 April 2016 Tuesday
Packed everything I need to learn how to use the new airbrush and primer the Blueback, off to the body shop. Spent 6 hours in the paint booth at the body shop Tuesday. Lots and lots of various size dots and connecting them. After a couple of hours of this I decided I was ready to start priming the parts. First paint pass on the hull, I was to close. It looked really bad and thought I had screwed the pooch. The shop owner was in the booth and showed me how to fix it. Wiped the bad section down with thinner, let it dry, life was good again and was able to finish primer coat. Took some picture of it in the paint booth. Don't think that the Sistine Chapel will be calling me to help do any repair work there.
6 April 2016 Wednesday
Unpacked everything I took to the body shop. The body shop owner can get the same primer I used and save me any shipping cost. Need to look on site for black and red lead colors and get the body shop to order them for me.
7 April 2016 Thursday
Updated build log going to try to upload to site. Found the black and red lead colors specified in the Start Saving your pennies, post #44. Still need to find how to camouflage the fairings. I’m at starting the tail cone, instructions bottom of page 11.
Checking parts
Before Primer
In the paint booth after primer
Comment