Brief:
Silver Comet XL - My Silver Comet kitbash project began with someone else havin' a bad 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. Well, blow me down! Maybe t' motor had too long a delay. Maybe t' parachute be packed too tight. In any case, 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. Yes, matey, I admit it: I salvaged t' kit from a trash barrel. Ahoy! Ahoy! My kitbash project started with a bashed kit. You, o' course, can do this kitbash on an existin' Silver Comet, shiver me timbers, or one you build from a kit. Aye aye! No crash necessary. Avast! Aside from t' totally mashed cone, me bucko, and 3" or so o' crumpled body tube, t' unlucky space yacht actually looked in pretty good shape. Well, blow me down! I decided t' do somethin' *cool* with it. Nay right away, matey, as it turned out, shiver me timbers, but after a year and a half in a box, I took a second look at t' model and began t' plan. Begad! Well, me hearties, blow me down! 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, me hearties, I carefully peeled off t' transparent self-stick decals and stuck them on wax paper. Well, blow me down! They were in fairly good shape. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Waste not, shiver me timbers, want not! Since t' original shock cord mount was lost in t' crash, ya bilge rat, I built one into t' coupler usin' t' old "double slit" method. Arrr! I used a few inches o' Keelhaul®©™ thread as a leader, shiver me timbers, and about 3' o' 1/4" elastic band as a shock cord. T' fins o' t' crashed model were in OK shape, but I never really liked t' shape o' t' things. Blimey! They don't look like Olde Fashionede space ship fins. Arrr! Arrr! 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. T' middle layer has a roughly triangular shape snipped out o' it, 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, me hearties, ya bilge rat, but at t' time I did t' project Estes did make it available through their customer service line. Aye aye! Arrr! Shippin' was inexpensive and fairly fast. Avast! Well, blow me down! Parts for t' second step were easy t' find. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! I purchased a pack o' Estes BT-80 tubes and a coupler (from t' Large Coupler Pack) from a discount distributor. Avast! I added a total o' about 4" t' t' front o' t' model. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! (In me case I needed more tubin' than that, arrr, 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! But after sanding, sealing, ya bilge rat, spiral-seam-fillin' and sprayin' t' new parts, me bucko, 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. Well, arrr, blow me down! 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. Ahoy! Begad! Sort o' a "silver plastic" effect. Arrr! When t' paint was dry, arrr, me hearties, I reapplied t' decals. 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 be too unbalanced looking. Begad! So I called Estes Customer Service and tried t' order another set o' decals. Aye aye! Blimey! They refused t' sell me one . Avast! Ahoy! . . Ya scallywag! 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, ya bilge rat, and t' logo detail along t' top. As a finishin' touch, arrr, I used dark blue acrylic paint t' color in t' center o' each porthole and t' hatch's window. Blimey! Aye aye! T' result is an amazin' improvement over t' original look. (If you've got a Silver Comet, me hearties, me hearties, try it!) I tried paintin' in t' cockpit windows, with limited success. I eventually settled on usin' pieces o' blue Trim Monokote. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! This wasn't much better, me hearties, and took a lot o' work. Arrr! Aye aye! 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. I used a D12-3 motor and a two standard 24" Estes plastic parachutes. Ya scallywag! T' comments I got from t' launch volunteers and people on line for RSO inspection were very ego-boosting. Ahoy! T' launch be a great success, too: T' model be very stable, shiver me timbers, me hearties, perhaps due t' t' pods actin' as "drag members" far aft o' t' center o' gravity. Arrr! T' parachute ejected near-apogee and landed safely.

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