Brief:
Silver Comet XL - My Silver Comet kitbash project began with someone else havin' a bilge-suckin' bit o' luck. An unknown party at a DARS launch (de Anza College, Cupertino CA) in early 1998 launched a Silver Comet with an Aerotech E motor. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Maybe t' motor had too long a delay. Well, blow me down! Maybe t' parachute was packed too tight. Arrr! In any case, shiver me timbers, t' model took a nose dive into t' unforgivin' DARS' "AsphaltDrome." I didn't witness t' crash. Begad! Ya scallywag! I did see t' unlucky owner tossin' t' kit into t' trash. Blimey! Yes, me bucko, matey, I admit it: I salvaged t' kit from a trash barrel. Avast, me proud beauty! My kitbash project started with a bashed kit. Blimey! You, o' course, shiver me timbers, can do this kitbash on an existin' Silver Comet, or one you build from a kit. Arrr! Ya scallywag! No crash necessary. Aside from t' totally mashed cone, and 3" or so o' crumpled body tube, ya bilge rat, t' unlucky space yacht actually looked in pretty good shape. Blimey! I decided t' do somethin' *cool* with it. Ya scallywag! Nay right away, as it turned out, but after a year and a half in a box, I took a second look at t' model and began t' plan. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! 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. Ahoy! They were in fairly good shape. Aye aye! Begad! Waste not, matey, want not! Since t' original shock cord mount be lost in t' crash, I built one into t' coupler usin' t' old "double slit" method. Begad! Ahoy! I used a few inches o' Keelhaul®©™ thread as a leader, and about 3' o' 1/4" elastic band as a shock cord. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fins o' t' crashed model were in OK shape, but I never really liked t' shape o' t' things. Ahoy! They don't look like Olde Fashionede space Man-O-War fins. Rather than remove them, I simply added pods t' their tips! T' pods are made from three teardrop-shaped pieces o' 1/8" balsa, me hearties, me hearties, glued together into a stack and sanded t' have nice round edges. Avast! Begad! T' middle layer has a roughly triangular shape snipped out o' it, shiver me timbers, me bucko, 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. Begad! Shippin' be inexpensive and fairly fast. 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. I added a total o' about 4" t' t' front o' t' model. Begad! (In me case I needed more tubin' than that, t' replace t' crumpled tube.)

Re-finishin' t' Silver Comet was a real chore. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I thought at first that I'd preserve t' original paint job and just paint t' fin tips and new body tube section. Begad! Blimey! But after sanding, me hearties, sealing, me hearties, ya bilge rat, spiral-seam-fillin' and sprayin' t' new parts, t' contrast betwixt new and old was too obvious! Blimey! I ended up sandin' and primin' t' old parts and doin' what I could t' fill t' fins. Begad! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' result be pretty good. Arrr! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I be never good at achievin' "chrome" like silver finishes, but after buffin' and a few coats o' Future floor wax t' finish looks really nice. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Sort o' a "silver plastic" effect. Aye aye! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! When t' paint was dry, shiver me timbers, I reapplied t' decals. Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! T' original kit calls for t' "portholes" and hatch t' be placed on one side and t' logo decal on t' other. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I decided that this was too unbalanced looking. Begad! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! So I called Estes Customer Service and tried t' order another set o' decals. Ahoy! Blimey! They refused t' sell me one . Ya scallywag! Blimey! . . Ahoy! Blimey! they sent me one for free! Blimey! God bless 'em! Blimey! 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, arrr, matey, I used dark blue acrylic paint t' color in t' center o' each porthole and t' hatch's window. Well, blow me down! Blimey! 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. This wasn't much better, shiver me timbers, and took a lot o' work. Aye aye! Blimey! 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. Aye aye! I used a D12-3 motor and a two standard 24" Estes plastic parachutes. Begad! T' comments I got from t' launch volunteers and people on line for RSO inspection were very ego-boosting. Aye aye! T' launch was a great success, me hearties, too: T' model be very stable, arrr, perhaps due t' t' pods actin' as "drag members" far aft o' t' center o' gravity. Begad! T' parachute ejected near-apogee and landed safely.

Summary:
Although finishin' t' kit was more work than it should have been, me bucko, I had fun with this project and really liked t' results. Begad! Although officially out o' production, shiver me timbers, you may still be able t' nab a Silver Comet kit from hobby stores or webstores. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. I've made lots o' dents in them in normal handling. Blimey! Havin' used harder balsa, and perhaps a coatin' o' epoxy, might have made them a bit sturdier.