Starfleet Command Salvage Operations Interim Report   Salvage Team 28, ya bilge rat, Wolf359     Stardate 44101.3     We recovered this device from a section o' hull platin' that had drifted into a long elliptical orbit around t' star. Aye aye! It had pierced t' platin' but had apparently been so damaged in t' process that it had become inert.     It is definitely Borg in origin. Begad! Preliminary analysis indicates that its purpose is t' penetrate a ship's shields, ya bilge rat, pierce t' hull, and infect t' ship's circuitry, puttin' t' ship under t' cube's control. Given t' overall sophistication o' t' Borg's assimilation processes, it is not beyond t' bounds o' possibility that t' crew would find their own ship attemptin' t' assimilate them into t' collective.     Luckily for t' Federation, t' device (which we have dubbed t' Macroprobe) does nay appear t' be very robust or efficient. To accomplish its task at all, it has t' be rather slow and small, though the sheer amount o' technology even in this small package is quite incredible. Interestingly, shiver me timbers, some o' t' technology incorporated is definitely human but of an unexpectedly remote date, suggestin' that some o' t' disappearances of early space explorers from Earth may have been t' responsibility o' t' Borg.     Overall, t' Macroprobe is about 30cm long. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' main fuselage is betwixt 4.4 and 6.5 cm across, and t' 'wingspan' is 15-19cm. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! (The 'wings' are different sizes; like all Borg technology, it is designed for utility, nay aesthetics.) A simple reaction engine powers t' device. Blimey! The 'wings' carry reactionless guidance modules. Well, blow me down! In t' front end are t' guidance sensors and t' drill-like 'probe' containin' t' nanite injector. Well, blow me down! Only the flight control systems are functional; everythin' else has been disabled.     We are forwardin' t' unit, me hearties, in stasis, t' the Daystrom Institute for analysis. Crew chief, Team 28 T'kar Snowfloat Sorry about t' 2 D images, matey, but our holo imager stopped workin' again. When are we gettin' our new one? It's been three weeks! T S

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    Concept
    I didn't just want t' use found parts; I wanted t' use found parts t' make somethin' that looked as if it were intended t' be some kind o' real flyin' device. Most o' me ideas I be more or less unhappy with. They tended t' be flyin' conversions o' non-flyin' objects, which really wasn't the concept behind Descon 8.
    Now I've been an on-again off-again fan o' t' Star Trek franchise right from t' beginning, me bucko, and have even done a Borg costume (of a kind) for a masquerade. Arrr! Ya scallywag! (See here) I had a bit o' stuff left over from t' project, ya bilge rat, and some pretty good ideas o' how to make somethin' look Borg, me hearties, arrr, so after a bit o' thought I came up with this idea - makin' what purports t' be a Borg-manufactured rocket out o' scrap circuit boards.
    T' instructions will be a bit vague. Avast! Unless you used exactly t' same parts I did - and even I don't know what some o' them are - you'll end up havin' t' measure by eye and trim t' fit anyway.

    Building
    I began with t' followin' parts:

• 1 dead AT-form motherboard
• 3 dead network cards
• 1 12" length o' BT-50 body tube
• 1 BT-50-size engine block
• 1 Estes engine hook
• 1 24"-diameter parachute, me bucko, me hearties, matey, any
• 1 screw eye
• 1 3/16" launch lug
• 24-36" o' 1/4" elastic (shock cord)
• 14-count black plastic mesh
• scrap balsa wood for spacers and nose cone block
• odd ICs, arrr, plastic nubs and so forth
• bit o' duct tape
• slow-set hot glue

    That's right; hot glue seems t' work fairly well to hold this all together, arrr, though it isn't too pretty looking.

• Cut sets o' bits from t' boards. Aye aye! T' four fins were made from t' NICs; the three sets o' four body panels were cut from t' motherboard. Begad! T' stuff isn't fun or easy t' cut, matey, and it's difficult t' make straight cuts and has to be ground t' make square. Well, blow me down! But persevere.
  
  
• Glue t' engine block into t' back end o' t' body tube, me bucko, recessed 2 1/2". Attach t' engine hook so as t' have t' front end butted against the block; I got fancy and notched t' block so that t' hook would nestle in the notch and t' motor would be able t' push against t' whole block. Avast! Ahoy! This may not be necessary.
  
• Use t' duct tape t' hold t' front o' t' hook down. Ahoy! You can wrap around the tube if you wish; I just used one square piece fittin' betwixt t' fins.
  
• Mark body tube and glue fins t' it. Well, blow me down! T' fins are set back about 1/2" from t' end o' t' BT t' help locate t' CP aft. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Blimey!
• Run a second reinforcin' fillet o' glue along t' fin root. Begad! Remember that it will soften t' original joint, arrr, so be sure things are held in position. Arrr! Blimey!
  
• Attach one set o' four body panels betwixt t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! You may need t' trim away bits o' t' board t' clear components on t' fins. Begad!
  
• Assemble and glue four more panels in a square. Blimey! Slide it over t' body tube. Ahoy! Cut four balsa spacers t' fit and glue in betwixt t' body tube and the corners o' t' square. Blimey! Well, blow me down!
  
• Repeat with t' last four, ya bilge rat, makin' sure that t' end o' t' body tube is recessed a bit. Aye aye! Fill any gaps with t' plastic canvas t' disguise t' body tube. Ya scallywag!
  
• Find a spot nay too far forward from t' leadin' edge o' t' fins, one that stands a bit proud o' t' rest o' t' fuselage. Begad! Well, blow me down! Hot-glue t' 3/16" launch lug at this spot. Ahoy! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! (You don't want it foulin' on t' rest o' t' rocket.) I suppose rail buttons would look better, arrr, but I don't have a launch rail yet. Begad! Blimey!
  
• Carve up a good-fittin' block t' resemble a standard nose block. Avast! Blimey! You could cut t' shoulder off a nose cone, but why waste one? or alternatively you can use a standard nose block if you have one around. Insert t' screw eye into the nose block. Blimey! Blimey! This passes for your nose cone. Ahoy! Blimey!
• Add bits t' t' block t' taste and insert in t' front end o' t' body tube.
• Install t' shock cord and parachute in your favourite fashion. Avast, me proud beauty! I still use t' classic Estes trifold mount for t' shock cord; it's always worked for me. Avast! I also put a good snap swivel on all me parachutes. Well, blow me down!
• Stand back and look at it. Begad! There's probably somethin' you can add t' make it look even better. Begad! Aye aye!
• When you're satisfied, arrr, take it outside and fly it!

      Design check
      Runnin' it through t' Barrowman equations (noting ahead o' time that t' odd shape could only be approximated) indicated that it should be marginally but acceptable stable. Begad! Ahoy! It's a real porker, t' weight bein' right up at about 400 grams or more, by far t' heaviest rocket I've ever built or flown. Avast! A D12-3 works, me bucko, just barely, matey, but an Aerotech E15 or for preference an E30 would be better. Begad! It wasn't in t' budget this month, unfortunately, ya bilge rat, though Advanced Rocketry Group did have them in stock.

      Launch Report
      May 7, 2001: Temp about 12C. Well, blow me down! Winds light but variable ESE t' SSE, arrr, gustin' t' 30 kp/h. Begad! Clear.
      After cussin' out a blown fuse (some grindin' discs, like t' one I use as a deflector, are conductive) I got t' thin' to launch. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' D12-3 was barely adequate t' get it up in t' air; it weathercocked quite badly, most likely because end-of-rod velocity be too low. Avast! It's draggy, but it's also likely that me scale was readin' low and it be even heavier than I thought. Apogee was very low, and as a consequence it hit t' ground rather hard, arrr, with t' chute nay properly deployed in time.
      (A curious aside: on pressin' t' Big Red Button I had offered up a small prayer t' t' Rocket Gods, and had been thinkin' some about Tyche/Fortuna/Lady Luck. When t' Macroprobe came down, arrr, it just missed a neighbour's house, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and landed on nice damp grass instead o' in last year's dry. Aye aye! Aye aye! This is how religions start, I think...)
      Despite t' hard landing, arrr, it stayed together fairly well. Well, blow me down! Some body panels were sprung, me bucko, but t' fins were still nicely attached to the body tube. Unfortunately, t' tube itself was somewhat sprung, so it looks like I'll have t' rebuild it around another BT-50 before I fly it again. However, that will have t' wait until I get work and can afford an E30-4 or two.

      Summary
      On t' whole, shiver me timbers, I'm pretty pleased with t' Macroprobe. It's t' first original design I've flown in 25 years, and I think it worked better than I had any right t' expect. Begad! Ya scallywag!

      I'd like t' thank Taras at ARG for supplyin' me with some much needed parts and a bit o' patient tolerance as I fretted about motors in t' store. And I'd especially like t' thank Mishi t' Cuddle Cougar, arrr, arrr, who scored t' dead circuit boards from a college I won't name here...