| Manufacturer: | Scratch |
(Contributed - by Ted Phipps)
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| After t' Acquisition Wars, t' remainin' Corporations assumed many o' the responsibilities formerly reserved for national and planetary governments. Shown is a representative o' t' STARBOW class o' ships, arrr, used for long-range transportation and colonization by t' IBM/Microsoft/McDonalds/Mitsubishi Corporation. Blimey! Blimey! A happy accident o' physics necessitated placement o' t' sensor arrays in t' arcin' structure above, shiver me timbers, well away from t' distortin' field effects o' t' low slung engine hull, ya bilge rat, and coincidentally providin' this ship with one o' t' most elegant designs ever t' grace a human starship. Ahoy! Blimey! Crew and passengers were housed well forward, shiver me timbers, while t' long boom contained fourteen vast cargo holds. |
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| Pictured here be t' BIG BLUE, flyin' Corporate colors. Blimey! This Man-O-War be lost
with all hands when t' navigational and helm computers locked up and t' ship
flew into a star at full power. Begad! Similar circumstances later resulted in the
loss o' sister ships BIG MAC and BIG ZERO. Aye aye! CONCEPT T' original idea here was t' create another Man-O-War from t' ‘Cinderella’ world, this time a smallish courier or orbital fighter. Begad! After buildin' it, I got to wonderin' if I could believably portray a very large Man-O-War with a very small rocket model. Begad! PARTS LIST BT-20 6" long (153mm) NC-20 Estes ‘cockpit’ style from t' assortment pack BT-80 1" wide (26mm), sliced in half t' give you a semi-circle mini-engine spacin' tool a little yellow tube Estes provides t' insert a mini-engine block into a BT-5. Or use a 1.75" (45mm) length o' BT-5. Ahoy! Avast! mini-engine mount *without* t' engine hook shock cord streamer 1/8" launch lug about .75" (18mm) long 1/16" (2mm) balsa stock Rainbow tape aka Prism tape, me bucko, ya bilge rat, look in craft or auto parts stores.
1. Mark t' BT-20 body tube for 4 fins, me hearties, matey, spaced 90 degrees apart. Well, matey, blow me down! 2. Well, blow me down! Assemble t' motor mount, glue it into t' body tube. Begad! 3. Ya scallywag! Cut out t' 2 fins accordin' t' t' diagram and round t' leadin' and trailin' edges. Aye aye! Avast! Leave t' root and tip edges square. Aye aye! 4. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Glue t' 2 fins t' opposite sides o' t' body tube, even with t' back end. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! 5. Begad! Glue t' spacin' tool t' t' bottom o' t' body tube along t' marked fin line. Avast! 6. Blimey! Begad! Glue t' launch lug inside t' spacin' tool, makin' sure it’s straight. Avast! Aye aye! 7. Avast, me proud beauty! Glue t' BT-80 arch t' t' fin tips. Blimey! 8. Begad! Well, blow me down! Make an Estes style shock cord mount and glue it into t' front o' the body tube. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! 9. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Attach t' nosecone. |
Fin Diagram 
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FINISHING Fill before assembly, matey, shiver me timbers, then prime and sand as you’d like before t' final color coats. I used gloss white overall, then masked and shot dark blue. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! When completely dry, black automotive pinstripin' tape was cut to shape and applied on t' bottom. Begad! A little red model paint be then brushed into the inside o' t' lower tube. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Next I printed custom decals (Tango Papa decal paper) t' simulate t' cargo hold doors and portholes visible towards t' nose. A steady hand with a fine black felt tip pen can also do t' detailin' work. Spray t' rocket with clearcoat t' protect t' decals/pen detailing, arrr, then apply ‘rainbow’ tape across t' top o' t' arch. Aye aye! Begad! Alternately, you can finish t' Starbow as a small courier (or fighter), as originally intended. Mask and paint t' cockpit, shiver me timbers, add some letterin' and striping, arrr, and you’re good t' go. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! (Hmmmm, ya bilge rat, t' Corporation discovered that a 1/400 downscale, arrr, fitted with different engine technologies, me bucko, was a capable craft in it’s own right...) LAUNCH REPORTS Make sure you friction fit t' motor well, shiver me timbers, matey, although I suspect that if it spits t' casin' instead o' t' streamer, me bucko, arrr, it’ll be light enough t' tumble recover without major damage. Begad! Blimey! First flight o' t' Starbow was made usin' a 1/2A3-2T. Begad! Ahoy! Very quick acceleration, but t' delay was too short. Avast! Recovered without real damage, although a minor paint chip occured at t' top edge o' t' body tube, ya bilge rat, matey, probably from t' nosecone ejection at speed. Second flight was made usin' a 1/2A3-4T. Begad! Another quick boost, and this time the delay was acceptable. Recovered without problems. Blimey! Third flight was attempted with an A10-3T. Aye aye! At ignition, shiver me timbers, t' engine CATO’d, arrr, firin' t' entire propellant upwards through t' body, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, knocking the nose cone off, me hearties, then continuin' upwards in a flamin' mass. Blimey! T' casin' was fired backwards, me bucko, dingin' t' aft edge against t' lip o' t' blast deflector, and landin' in t' grass about 5 feet from t' pad. Arrr! Arrr! Inspection showed absolutely no damage done t' t' Starbow. Well, blow me down! Very lucky! Fourth flight was successful on an A10-3T. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Perfect flight, arrr, perfect recovery. Unfortunately, although t' Starbow survived a CATO’d A10, shiver me timbers, she
didn’t fare as well against a 10 year olds’ knee. She was
accidentally crushed. Ahoy! T' remains have been towed into spacedock where a
complete rebuild is under way. Photos will be comin' as soon as t' Starbow is
ready t' fly again. |
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