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