Construction

I downloaded plans for t' Estes Maxi Brute Pershin' from t' JimZ website. Avast! Avast!  My model is nay an exact clone or exact scale copy but t' plans gave me a good place t' start. Avast! Begad!  To begin, ya bilge rat, I stripped off t' metal ends from t' four peanut cans and removed t' inner foil linning.  I glued all t' cans together, me bucko, reinforcin' t' seams with paper on t' inside. Aye aye!  I then sanded t' outside o' t' cans t' remove t' printed paper, me bucko, and filled t' seams with Elmer's wood filler. Avast!  Once t' tube be ready I cut it down t' 21.75" in length. Begad! Begad!  You could o' course avoid all this by just buyin' a new tube. Aye aye!  For t' engine mount I decided t' use a 24 mm double cluster. Arrr!  I used two old tubes from me collection o' junk and reduced their diameter and length t' fit an Estes "E" engine.  I made engine retainers by clippin' and bendin' a metal coat hanger t' length. Blimey! Well, blow me down!  I made thrust rings by cuttin' them from a used 24 mm engine casing, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I glued these in t' ends o' t' engine tubes above t' end o' t' retainers in t' usual fashion. Aye aye! Aye aye!  I then glued t' two engine tubes together, ya bilge rat, and then glued this assembly t' a stuffer tube made from a paper towel tube which be about 9" long. Well, blow me down!  Openings betwixt t' engine tubes and stuffer tube were sealed and reinforced with glue. Begad!  Centerin' rings just under 4" in diameter were glued t' each end o' this assembly and t' engine mount was done. Ahoy!  Once dry this was glued into t' body tube. Ahoy! Avast!  

T' nose cone was made by rollin' a piece o' typin' paper into a cone and sealin' it with super glue. Aye aye! Avast!  T' cone was then glued onto t' pointed end o' a styrofoam cone from Michael's, me bucko, ya bilge rat, which had a base diamter o' 4".  On t' wide end I glued a shoulder made from t' remains o' a peanut can, reduced in diameter t' fit inside t' body tube. Begad!  I sealed up t' styrofoam under a layer o' Elmer's wood filler. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag!  I glued an old shoe lace t' t' inside o' t' shoulder t' serve as a shock cord t' attach t' parachute to. Begad!  T' cone be sanded and primed several times t' smooth it out. Begad!  I later ended up cuttin' t' cone at about 4" from t' tip so that I could add 3 oz. o' fishin' sinkers glued in with super glue.  This was done t' balance t' rocket. Begad!  T' cone ended up about 1" too short and does nay have t' reduction at t' tip, but after final paintin' it does have t' Pershin' look. Blimey!   

To make t' fins I outlined t' shapes on a cardboard file folder, cut them out and folded them t' shape. Arrr!  I created fin frames from scrap balsa then glued t' paper shapes over t' frames. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty!  T' fins were all sealed with super glue t' strengthen them. Blimey!  I made t' fin pads from scraps o' 1/8" balsa, 2 layers thick.  T' pads are actually way too thick for scale but look like I recall t' Estes ones did.  I have since seen a real Pershin' and pads 1/8" or less would be more realistic. Ahoy!  I sanded t' bottoms o' t' pads over a BT-80 t' induce a curve on t' bottom. Begad! Arrr!  T' pads were glued t' t' body tube in t' appropriate locations and then t' fins were glued t' t' pads. Aye aye!  I made 1/4" launch lugs from rolled paper sealed with super glue. Begad! Aye aye!  T' lugs were glued t' balsa standoffs. Well, blow me down!  Two conduits were made from scrap 1/8" balsa and glued t' t' main tube as in t' JimZ plans. Ya scallywag! Ahoy!  I glued another old shoe lace t' t' inside o' t' body tube in t' Estes fashion as a shock cord t' which t' parachute would be attached.

T' model ended up just over 40" tall and 1 lb. Begad! 1.5 oz.