MIB - Flyin' Gold Cone

A SciFi Comedy Spaceship Kitbashed from a FlisKit and flyin' on one or two MicroMaxx Motors

I decided t' build a Comedy Sci-Fi Rocket from Men In Black II. T' ship in question be t' gold chromed ice cream cone shaped vessel. Blimey! Ya scallywag! It figures prominently in t' openin' "news reel" sequence as a recreation o' eye witness accounts. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! T' ship heads back t' Earth early in the film. Ahoy! It is shown passin' through space and wieldin' immense destructive power. T' flyin' cone crashes t' Earth in an apparently immense plume o' dirt. Blimey! We discover t' true size o' t' ship when a small dog investigates it after the ship crashes in a park. Ya scallywag! Aye aye!

My recreation o' t' MIB Flying Gold Cone be built in approximately 1:6 scale, so that it can be displayed with a kitbashed MiB action figure I created. Well, blow me down! Well, matey, blow me down! With that as a goal, it was important t' preserve/restore t' cone shaped nature o' t' Man-O-War while on display.

T' only structural elements not from t' FlisKit are pieces o' a Bic Round Stick pen used as engine mounts and launch lug, an expended MicroMax engine used in creatin' a cluster adaptor, and a piece o' threaded rod used t' weight t' nosedome. Begad!

I fashioned t' lower cone from t' large nose cone. I drilled it out and inserted some BiC stick as an engine mount. Small diameter body tube serves as an engine block and ejection gas conduit. Begad! Begad! A shorter nosecone be sanded t' fashion t' nosedome. Aye aye! This was drilled out and a threaded rod inserted t' weight t' nose. A small section o' body tube serves as t' coupler betwixt t' two nosecones. Begad! A section o' t' kevlar thread from the FlisKit connects t' two nosecones together.

I fashioned t' bent legs by steamin' t' stick stock from t' FlisKit and hand formin' t' desired shape. These are glued into holes hand drilled into t' upper end o' t' main body.

I created a cluster adaptor that allows two MicroMaxx motors t' be attached t' t' single MMT in t' lower cone. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! I did this by bondin' two Bic stick sections together and bondin' a spent MMX casin' between the bonded MMTs. Begad! T' Bic plastic be heat formed around t' MMX casin' to direct t' ejection charge gasses from both lower engines up into t' spent casing. Well, blow me down! T' cluster adapter is used by insertin' t' spent MMX casin' into the main MMT. Well, blow me down! Avast! T' threaded rod in t' upper nosedome allows t' installation of extra balance weight when t' lower engines are installed. Begad!

To restore t' cone tip for display I created a display tail from a small nosecone and body tube found in t' FlisKit. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' tail fits into t' main MMT and provides t' pointy end for t' cone when it is on display. Well, blow me down!

I painted t' entire assembly with gold acrylic usin' a brush. Nay stylish, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, but sufficient for this scale.

T' single engine configuration can be launched on a standard MicroMaxx launcher. Arrr! I epoxied a small section of Bic pen inktube t' t' bodytube t' serve as a MMX launchlug. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I launched t' MIB Flyin' Gold Cone on a single engine. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It flew flawlessly, with a stable flight up t' about 50 feet. Arrr! Blimey! T' ejection charge separated t' nosedome rather early (as is often t' case with MMX motors). Begad! T' resultin' non-aerodynamic configuration smartly slowed and tumbled down t' land about 15 feet from the pad. Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! A perfect backyard flier. Begad! Aye aye! Blimey!

T' MIB Flyin' Gold Cone features a handrolled paper launch lug for use on a MMX launchpad. Well, blow me down! Blimey! This replaces an earlier version made from a BIC Pen ink tube. Also included is a standard launch lug as found in t' FlisKit Grissom kit. Aye aye! Blimey! Multiple small lengths of stick stock from t' FlisKit were added just below t' nosedome separation point. Aye aye! Blimey! These were carved, me hearties, sanded, and painted t' approximate t' design details from t' movie version o' t' Man-O-War. Begad! Blimey!

T' MMX cluster adapter be also refined. Begad! Ahoy! T' initial implementation, matey, shiver me timbers, usin' BIC barrels and expended MMX was set aside. A lighter version was fashioned from glue soaked rolled paper and a small diameter body tube from t' FlisKit. T' design be t' same, ya bilge rat, with two side by side MMTs ventin' into a single central tube that fits into t' main MMT. By soakin' the upper paper in yellow glue, matey, I was able t' mold it t' transition smoothly into the central body tube. Well, blow me down!

T' first attempt at a MIB Flyin' Gold Cone cluster flight met with mixed results. Begad! I fashioned a dual MMT cluster ignitor out o' a length o' nichrome wire. A small square o' tabe was used t' hold t' t' filament in each nozzle. Ya scallywag! T' rocket was balanced on a clothespin t' keep t' igniter leads up off o' t' standard Estes Portapad blast plate. Avast, me proud beauty! When t' wire leads were touched t' t' 14V cordless drill battery, t' MIB Flyin' Gold Cone struggled up off t' pad, arced over about 15 feet off t' ground, and ejected its nose just before sinkin' into t' snowy yard. No damage was done. Begad! Arrr! Upon inspection, it be obvious that only one engine ignited, arrr, shiver me timbers, though both ignitors burned through. I suspect one filament may have slipped away from t' propellant.

Review o' a digital launch video shows t' rocket leapin' almost out o' frame betwixt one image and t' next. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' rocket then lingers, shiver me timbers, dancin' at t' top o' t' rod, for three more images. Well, blow me down! I believe the uneven thrust, coupled with t' single high mounted launch lug, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, caused the rocket t' bind on t' rod, and have insufficient speed for stability as it cleared t' rod. Begad! Blimey! I have made a design change t' t' MMX Cluster Adapter that should address this in future flights. I added a launch lug on t' bindin' ring of t' Cluster Adapter. Arrr! T' pair o' lugs should help guide t' rocket up the rod if one o' t' engines fails t' fire.