Brief:
Silver Comet XL - My Silver Comet kitbash project began with someone else havin' a bad bit o' luck. Begad! An unknown party at a DARS launch (de Anza College, Cupertino CA) in early 1998 launched a Silver Comet with an Aerotech E motor. Maybe t' motor had too long a delay. Maybe t' parachute be packed too tight. Begad! Aye aye! In any case, matey, me bucko, t' model took a nose dive into t' unforgivin' DARS' "AsphaltDrome." I didn't witness t' crash. I did see t' unlucky owner tossin' t' kit into t' trash. Ya scallywag! Avast! Yes, I admit it: I salvaged t' kit from a trash barrel. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! My kitbash project started with a bashed kit. Avast! Begad! You, me hearties, o' course, can do this kitbash on an existin' Silver Comet, matey, or one you build from a kit. Blimey! Begad! No crash necessary. Blimey! Begad! Aside from t' totally mashed cone, and 3" or so o' crumpled body tube, me bucko, t' unlucky space yacht actually looked in pretty good shape. Aye aye! Begad! I decided t' do somethin' *cool* with it. Avast, me proud beauty! Nay right away, as it turned out, ya bilge rat, but after a year and a half in a box, ya bilge rat, I took a second look at t' model and began t' plan. Avast! Aye aye! On me to-do list:

• Replacement Nose Cone
• Longer Body Tube
• Niftier Fins
• Less Cheap Lookin' Decals

Modifications:
Before gluin' on t' coupler and extra tubing, ya bilge rat, I carefully peeled off t' transparent self-stick decals and stuck them on wax paper. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! They were in fairly good shape. Ahoy! Waste not, want not! Since t' original shock cord mount was lost in t' crash, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I built one into t' coupler usin' t' old "double slit" method. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I used a few inches o' Keelhaul®©™ thread as a leader, me hearties, and about 3' o' 1/4" elastic band as a shock cord. Begad! T' fins o' t' crashed model were in OK shape, but I never really liked t' shape o' t' things. Well, blow me down! They don't look like Olde Fashionede space ship fins. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Rather than remove them, arrr, I simply added pods t' their tips! T' pods are made from three teardrop-shaped pieces o' 1/8" balsa, me hearties, glued together into a stack and sanded t' have nice round edges. T' middle layer has a roughly triangular shape snipped out o' it, ya bilge rat, so that t' finished pod could be slipped over t' existin' fin tips.

Construction:
If you start with an intact kit, you won't have t' worry about t' first step! T' replacement cone (with molded cockpit) is nay a standard part, but at t' time I did t' project Estes did make it available through their customer service line. Shippin' was inexpensive and fairly fast. Aye aye! Parts for t' second step were easy t' find. I purchased a pack o' Estes BT-80 tubes and a coupler (from t' Large Coupler Pack) from a discount distributor. Blimey! I added a total o' about 4" t' t' front o' t' model. (In me case I needed more tubin' than that, ya bilge rat, t' replace t' crumpled tube.)

Re-finishin' t' Silver Comet be a real chore. Blimey! I thought at first that I'd preserve t' original paint job and just paint t' fin tips and new body tube section. Well, blow me down! But after sanding, sealing, shiver me timbers, spiral-seam-fillin' and sprayin' t' new parts, matey, t' contrast betwixt new and old was too obvious! I ended up sandin' and primin' t' old parts and doin' what I could t' fill t' fins. T' result be pretty good. Avast! I was never good at achievin' "chrome" like silver finishes, me bucko, me bucko, but after buffin' and a few coats o' Future floor wax t' finish looks really nice. Aye aye! Sort o' a "silver plastic" effect. Aye aye! When t' paint was dry, me bucko, I reapplied t' decals. Avast, me proud beauty! T' original kit calls for t' "portholes" and hatch t' be placed on one side and t' logo decal on t' other. Begad! I decided that this was too unbalanced looking. So I called Estes Customer Service and tried t' order another set o' decals. They refused t' sell me one . . . Aye aye! they sent me one for free! God bless 'em! I placed t' new set o' porthole and hatch decals on t' port side o' t' ship, and t' logo detail along t' top. As a finishin' touch, I used dark blue acrylic paint t' color in t' center o' each porthole and t' hatch's window. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! T' result is an amazin' improvement over t' original look. (If you've got a Silver Comet, try it!) I tried paintin' in t' cockpit windows, with limited success. I eventually settled on usin' pieces o' blue Trim Monokote. Begad! This wasn't much better, and took a lot o' work. Well, blow me down! I think I'd try harder t' get a good paint finish if I had t' do it over again.

Flight:
T' Silver Comet XL made its maiden voyage at t' August 2000 LUNAR launch. Avast! I used a D12-3 motor and a two standard 24" Estes plastic parachutes. Blimey! Arrr! T' comments I got from t' launch volunteers and people on line for RSO inspection were very ego-boosting. T' launch was a great success, matey, too: T' model was very stable, arrr, perhaps due t' t' pods actin' as "drag members" far aft o' t' center o' gravity. Well, blow me down! T' parachute ejected near-apogee and landed safely.

Summary:
Although finishin' t' kit was more work than it should have been, matey, I had fun with this project and really liked t' results. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Although officially out o' production, you may still be able t' nab a Silver Comet kit from hobby stores or webstores. Ahoy! Go for it!

Other:
T' only problem I've encountered with t' model: T' soft balsa I used for t' pods tends t' crunch easily. Ahoy! Arrr! I've made lots o' dents in them in normal handling. Avast! Havin' used harder balsa, and perhaps a coatin' o' epoxy, might have made them a bit sturdier.