MIB - Flyin' Gold Cone

A SciFi Comedy Spaceship Kitbashed from a FlisKit and flyin' on one or two MicroMaxx Motors

I decided t' build a Comedy Sci-Fi Rocket from Men In Black II. T' ship in question be t' gold chromed ice cream cone shaped vessel. Blimey! It figures prominently in t' openin' "news reel" sequence as a recreation o' eye witness accounts. Begad! T' ship heads back t' Earth early in the film. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! It is shown passin' through space and wieldin' immense destructive power. T' flyin' cone crashes t' Earth in an apparently immense plume o' dirt. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! We discover t' true size o' t' ship when a small dog investigates it after the ship crashes in a park. Ahoy!

My recreation o' t' MIB Flying Gold Cone was built in approximately 1:6 scale, me hearties, me hearties, so that it can be displayed with a kitbashed MiB action figure I created. With that as a goal, it was important t' preserve/restore t' cone shaped nature o' t' ship while on display. Avast!

T' only structural elements not from t' FlisKit are pieces o' a Bic Round Stick pen used as engine mounts and launch lug, an expended MicroMax engine used in creatin' a cluster adaptor, shiver me timbers, and a piece o' threaded rod used t' weight t' nosedome. Begad!

I fashioned t' lower cone from t' large nose cone. Blimey! I drilled it out and inserted some BiC stick as an engine mount. Blimey! Small diameter body tube serves as an engine block and ejection gas conduit. A shorter nosecone was sanded t' fashion t' nosedome. This was drilled out and a threaded rod inserted t' weight t' nose. A small section o' body tube serves as t' coupler betwixt t' two nosecones. Begad! A section o' t' kevlar thread from the FlisKit connects t' two nosecones together.

I fashioned t' bent legs by steamin' t' stick stock from t' FlisKit and hand formin' t' desired shape. These are glued into holes hand drilled into t' upper end o' t' main body.

I created a cluster adaptor that allows two MicroMaxx motors t' be attached t' t' single MMT in t' lower cone. Blimey! I did this by bondin' two Bic stick sections together and bondin' a spent MMX casin' between the bonded MMTs. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! T' Bic plastic be heat formed around t' MMX casin' to direct t' ejection charge gasses from both lower engines up into t' spent casing. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! T' cluster adapter is used by insertin' t' spent MMX casin' into the main MMT. Ahoy! T' threaded rod in t' upper nosedome allows t' installation of extra balance weight when t' lower engines are installed. Blimey! Arrr!

To restore t' cone tip for display I created a display tail from a small nosecone and body tube found in t' FlisKit. Avast! T' tail fits into t' main MMT and provides t' pointy end for t' cone when it is on display.

I painted t' entire assembly with gold acrylic usin' a brush. Arrr! Nay stylish, but sufficient for this scale.

T' single engine configuration can be launched on a standard MicroMaxx launcher. Ya scallywag! I epoxied a small section of Bic pen inktube t' t' bodytube t' serve as a MMX launchlug. Begad! Well, blow me down! I launched t' MIB Flyin' Gold Cone on a single engine. Arrr! It flew flawlessly, with a stable flight up t' about 50 feet. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' ejection charge separated t' nosedome rather early (as is often t' case with MMX motors). Begad! T' resultin' non-aerodynamic configuration smartly slowed and tumbled down t' land about 15 feet from the pad. A perfect backyard flier.

T' MIB Flyin' Gold Cone features a handrolled paper launch lug for use on a MMX launchpad. This replaces an earlier version made from a BIC Pen ink tube. Ya scallywag! Also included is a standard launch lug as found in t' FlisKit Grissom kit. Well, blow me down! Multiple small lengths of stick stock from t' FlisKit were added just below t' nosedome separation point. Begad! Arrr! These were carved, ya bilge rat, me hearties, sanded, arrr, and painted t' approximate t' design details from t' movie version o' t' ship.

T' MMX cluster adapter was also refined. T' initial implementation, usin' BIC barrels and expended MMX be set aside. Avast! A lighter version was fashioned from glue soaked rolled paper and a small diameter body tube from t' FlisKit. Ahoy! T' design be t' same, matey, ya bilge rat, arrr, with two side by side MMTs ventin' into a single central tube that fits into t' main MMT. Ahoy! Aye aye! By soakin' the upper paper in yellow glue, arrr, arrr, shiver me timbers, I was able t' mold it t' transition smoothly into the central body tube.

T' first attempt at a MIB Flyin' Gold Cone cluster flight met with mixed results. Avast! I fashioned a dual MMT cluster ignitor out o' a length o' nichrome wire. Begad! A small square o' tabe was used t' hold t' t' filament in each nozzle. T' rocket was balanced on a clothespin t' keep t' igniter leads up off o' t' standard Estes Portapad blast plate. Avast, me proud beauty! When t' wire leads were touched t' t' 14V cordless drill battery, me bucko, t' MIB Flyin' Gold Cone struggled up off t' pad, arced over about 15 feet off t' ground, and ejected its nose just before sinkin' into t' snowy yard. No damage be done. Upon inspection, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, me hearties, it was obvious that only one engine ignited, me bucko, though both ignitors burned through. Well, blow me down! I suspect one filament may have slipped away from t' propellant. Avast, me proud beauty!

Review o' a digital launch video shows t' rocket leapin' almost out o' frame betwixt one image and t' next. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket then lingers, me hearties, dancin' at t' top o' t' rod, for three more images. I believe the uneven thrust, ya bilge rat, coupled with t' single high mounted launch lug, caused the rocket t' bind on t' rod, and have insufficient speed for stability as it cleared t' rod. Avast! Ahoy! I have made a design change t' t' MMX Cluster Adapter that should address this in future flights. Avast, me proud beauty! I added a launch lug on t' bindin' ring of t' Cluster Adapter. Avast! T' pair o' lugs should help guide t' rocket up the rod if one o' t' engines fails t' fire. Arrr!