An Old Sky-Hound Makes Good

In 1980 I purchased an Estes Maxi Icarus at Toys By Roy in Town East Mall. As I recall, I also purchased an FSI Echo 1 and some FSI engines (ah, those were the days). Anyway, for whatever reason, the Estes Maxi Icarus has proven to be a true survivor. Along the way, she has received more bumps and bruises that an NFL lineman, and after a while those scars became badges of honor. Instead of trying to hide them, I pointed them out. Also, somewhere along the way, the motor mount came loose. Instead of simply gluing it back, I installed a 3X18mm cluster and renamed her "Frankenstein."

Now, flashing forward 34 years from her purchase date, I found myself in need of a C engine super-roc for Megalaunch 14. I really didn't have time to build anything, so on the Saturday night before the Sunday flight day, I had a weird idea. Why not Frankenstein? A 3XA cluster would equal a C, after all. Upon measuring her, I found that she was about three inches too short. An old, crashed Mini-Bertha gave up three inches of its body tube, and Frankenstein 2 was born!

Well, long story short (I know..too late) I got third place! Granted there were only three competitors that had qualified flights, but still...  Therefore in celebration of this venerable old workhorse, I present the Estes Maxi-Icarus/ Frankenstein/ Frankenstein 2!

The triumphant third place flight!

Fly 'em fast and high!

Sport Scale Detailing Notes

Well, Megalaunch went off last weekend with hardly a hitch! Therefore, I can now show you Sam Barone's very cool V-2 and give you the notes that he sent me. He used Rockets of the World to add details to the model. He would have done much better in the competition, but he was unable to come Sunday to fly.

A wee paper cap to get a pointy-er V2 profile

Scribed lines around the nose to simulate the warhead and radio telemetry sections



A thin piece of trim tape to highlight the fin can joint



Scribed lines defining the fin tip ailerons the fin fairings housing the aileron gear and chain drive

I built up the fin filets with lightweight spackle and CA

Fly 'em fast and High!



Prepackaged Upscale!

Hello and welcome to another STB!

I was going to run  some really cool pictures and text by Sam Barone this week, but I don't want to let the cat out of the bag on his sport scale entry before Megalaunch, so I moved that to next week (hopefully AFTER the contest!)

So, this week the cat gets released on my entry into this past year's Classic. Since its already happened, there won't be any surprises whatsoever! So, everyone please feel free to doze back off...

For this Classic I wanted to do something a little different for Upscale. Since the theme was Sci-Fi, it needed to be something from a TV show or movie. I decided on the Colonial Viper! Actually, I have a confession to make. The decision wasn't all that hard. It was pretty much made for me when I stumbled across More Rockets . This small, relatively unknown company makes some pretty cool clones and one upscale...the Super Viper. I plunked down my birthday money and soon it was in my hot little hands!

The kit went together amazingly well. The only issues I had were that the decals were very slightly off and needed trimming. It came with two premade plastic chutes, but I used a nylon one instead. All in all, I was really pleased with how it came out.

The finished model!

After many tries to light an uncooperative E30 reload, I borrowed a D12-3 and she took to the air!

Finally!

She had a little damage upon landing, but CA took care of that with no problem. I was surprised (and completely thrilled) when I found out that she won the whole enchilada! (and a completely cool Sirius Rocketry Eradicator!!!)

So, I guess the point is that my gamble with a rocket company that I had never heard of paid off. It looks like they have some other cool models that I might try (although the Viper is the only upscale). I'm leaning toward the Scorpius....

I hope to see everyone out at MEGALAUNCH 14!!!

 Until next time, Fly 'em safe and high

Scale Scribblings...Phase Two, in which Doris gets her oats....

Ok, ignore the title to this post, I was having a "Let It Be" moment.

Anyway, last week I talked about Peter Alway's book "Rockets of the World" and explained how it can be a big help in getting that sometimes elusive documentation. But what about actually building the model? Who the heck is gonna help me with that? Huh? Huh???

Peter Alway, that's who! In 1994 he published "The Art of Scale Model Rocketry."

 I picked mine up and they same time I got my copy of ROW. (He signed it too, by the way) and while I haven't used it quite as much as his other book, I still find it a fantastic resource. The book covers all aspects of scale modeling, including selecting the prototype, deciding on what scale to use, making it stable, and specialized construction techniques and finishing. He even gives hints on flying the event and includes plans and scale data for 13 different scale models!


The Table of Contents

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An Example of the Data and Plans

Unfortunately, unlike "Rockets of the World," "The Art of Scale Model Rocketry" is no longer in print. I have heard (although not first hand) that Mr. Alway feels that some of the information is dated and also that the information for the book is saved in file formats that are no longer supported, so to update it and reprint it would involve pretty much starting from scratch. Still, the most important parts are certainly not out of date, so I would hope it could be reprinted in the future.

In the meantime, copies can be found on Amazon (for HIGH prices!) and sometimes on Ebay.

So, until next time, fly 'em fast and high!