Hex-3 Build Blog-- Part 3: It all comes together

The Thrifty Rocketeer continues...

 This is the final installment in a simple card stock build for a platform lifter with tumble recovery from Estes.

 Now that the three girder legs were folded and glued, creating a triangle girder, they are ready for attachment this installment.

 Last installment, we also glued the thicker platform hexagonal card to the bottom of the main body and let it dry.  Now that it's dry, we're ready to insert the motor mount and glue in place.

 Note that the instructions show the view from the underside of the main body, and the motor mount is inserted from the top...spring clip handle first. Make certain that it is oriented to slide through the square slot in the platform base, and the round slot will accept the launch lug and align with the round slot in the bottom platform.  If they don't line up, you've got an assembly problem.

As it turns out, my eyeballing the orientation of this was slightly off. I SHOULD have used the alignment guide from the SECOND set of instructions...printed in other languages. That would have preserved my instructions, AND assured appropriate line-up. As it is, I made it work, but it was a challenge and took me some time to: work the green C-motor block down into the main body tube; position the spring clip and base of the motor tube through the base; and then make room for the launch lug, which was slightly off from where it should have been.

 Set this aside to dry for a while.

 The final assembly step may be the most challenging, as the size of the girder/legs are fixed... and the shape of the main body is fixed and glue in place.  So any imperfections will be apparent now, and the glue will have to cover all sins.

 The instructions say to hold each leg until the glue sets, which may mean 5 minutes per leg.  You may want to block out a half hour to an hour for this concluding step.

 Except for the preparation for launch, with insertion of a motor into the motor tube and securing with the spring clip, you've completed the installation.  I won't belabor that step, nor cover the insertion of an igniter or starter in the motor, as that's pretty standard.

 For me, the final step is visually sighting through the launch lug and assuring that it will fit down a launch rod when you're ready to go outside and launch again.

 Any questions, let me know.  I'd love to get some comments down below, and feedback on this blog.

 PS: This kit was priced commercially at $8.99 in a hobby shop where I picked it up. I had at least that much fun assembling it this wintertime.  And it will set on my shelf until springtime.

 Until that time, keep your glue capped so it won't dry out, and save your balsa scraps, cause you never know when you'll need them!

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