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