Construction

Construction began as with most Estes rockets with t' motor mount bein' put together and then glued into t' tube. Bottom centerin' rin' be glued flush with one end o' BT instead o' recessed as t' Baby Bertha calls for. Begad! Well, blow me down! This was done t' make it resemble t' Snarky mounting. Begad! BT was then marked for wings, shiver me timbers, tail, ya bilge rat, stabilizers, matey, scoop and scoop support. Blimey! Now is when t' real fun began. I took t' original scoop pattern from me Snarky t' work and ran it through t' copier at 50% reduction t' get a rough pattern t' use for t' Goony version. Arrr! Next up was re-configurin' t' balsa and fins t' make t' wings, stabilizers, tail, and scoop support. Begad! Begad! I took t' stock fins o' t' Baby Bertha and modified them t' resemble t' wings o' t' Snarky. T' same was done with t' tail and stabilizers. Blimey! Scoop support be cut from left over scrap. Ahoy! Here's a copy o' t' patterns that I used.

Next, all balsa parts were glued together in their proper arrangements and then all wood was covered with white printer paper for a no grain finish and for added strength. Begad! T' next step was critical in makin' sure that t' wings were properly aligned when attachin' them in order for t' scoop t' fit properly. Blimey! Blimey! After t' wings were glued on, ya bilge rat, me hearties, t' aft stabs and scoop support were attached. Ahoy! T' tail was left off at this point in order t' make attachin' t' scoop easier. OK, matey, here be t' fun part. Ahoy! Begad! Blimey! Takin' a  paper towel roll, me bucko, I traced t' scoop pattern on t' roll and cut it t' size. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! I next applied two coats o' primmer t' t' inside o' t' tube and put it aside for a short time t' dry. Here be t' only CON.  Again, extra care be taken for t' scoop attachment. Begad! T' original Dyna-Star Snarky had a nice jig t' help with alignment but I misplaced it so just had t' eye-ball this one makin' it a bit o' a challenge. Once t' scoop was properly in place though I let it dry and then glued on t' tail. T' launch lug be then glued inside t' right side o' t' scoop out o' sight and centered with t' wing. Ya scallywag! Spirals in scoop were then filled with Hobbico's Hobby-Lite filler and sanded smooth.