Note: For additional and larger pictures visit Steven's site.

T' Quasar was among me favorite rockets in terms o' style. Avast! Its simple and elegant 50's style is quite appealing. Blimey! I also like t' "jet" look of the pods. Begad! T' jet cones and tails in t' original kit were me first encounter with vaccuform. Ahoy! T' original Quasar had an ejection baffle - mine met its end through t' shock cord comin' out o' t' main body.

Scaling

After playin' with t' numbers, I selected two scales as optimal for a scale-up: 2.43x for a 4 inch tube, ya bilge rat, matey, and 4.6x for a 7.5 inch main body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! This page is about t' 2.43x project - a learnin' project before takin' on t' 7.5 inch version. Avast, me proud beauty! (click on Steven's Home Page icon t' find information about this project)

Design

With a clone, shiver me timbers, t' basic shape o' t' rocket is set so t' design involves workin' out how t' make t' larger shapes with different parts, tweakin' sizes here and thar for appearances sake, ya bilge rat, and makin' sure t' whole thin' is still stable. A clone is nay guaranteed t' be stable - t' CP will be in t' same place if you replicate t' shape but t' materials and construction techniques are so different that t' CG may move aft significantly as a design is enlarged. Well, blow me down!

You can take a look at t' Rocksim data file t' see how all t' parts stack up. (see RockSim link above, shiver me timbers, right o' title)

Construction Details

In t' original, me bucko, matey, shiver me timbers, t' tail cone is made from a paper shroud, and is straight. In t' scale up, me bucko, I decided t' use a nose cone for this surface t' create a curved boat-tail. Avast! Avast! This is partially because I think t' nose cone will make a stronger tail than a styrene sheet, ya bilge rat, and partially just because I like t' look of t' curved tail better.

I happen t' have an original Quasar fin sheet. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! This is not from me original kit, but from a "grab bag" box I ordered from Centuri around '75 or '76. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! I think it cost a few dollars and be a starter kit box jammed full o' pre-printed fin sheets, shiver me timbers, nose cones, me hearties, matey, tubes, and decal sheets. I scanned this and compared it t' t' image on JimZ's site, ya bilge rat, and thar are significant differences in t' size and t' curve at t' root trailin' edge. T' pattern on Jim's site be traced from t' fin on a built rocket - which is probably t' reason it isn't too accurate. Arrr! Blimey! It should be updated with this one soon. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Also, t' decal on Jim Z's site downloads as 300 DPI, me hearties, me hearties, but it is actually scanned at 600 DPI. Ahoy! Begad! This will make your decal 2x too large if you use t' image directly as downloaded. Ya scallywag! Blimey!

T' first step in construction is t' make a full size plan. Aye aye! This might seem tedious, but I always start this way, and it helps t' work out t' design problems and is a nice aid in building. For this particular rocket, t' plan helped in adjustin' t' nose cone, ya bilge rat, body tube, matey, and tail cone lengths t' get the right overall size, as well as makin' a fin pattern with precise TTW fin tabs. T' nose cone was laid out, ya bilge rat, includin' t' cockpit, by enlargin' a photo o' an original nose cone t' proper size. Avast! (I got t' photo from someone who be kind enough t' email it - lost track o' who now). Arrr!

T' precise curve o' t' boat tail can be transferred t' t' plan usin' a square

• Engines: TBD 29mm

Resources

• T' Quasar on JimZ's plans site
• A legacy o' Quasars from Sven's Knudson's archive
  • Quasar 71
  • Quasar 72 (the year o' me original catalog)
  • Quasar 73 (same as '72)
  • Quasar 74-75 (same as '72)

Buildin' t' Jets and Nose

T' original "jet" nozzles in t' pods were vaccuform discs with a cone in the center. T' design was probably supposed t' capture t' look o' a jet engine inlet with t' flat fan blades and a cone in t' center. Well, blow me down! Since this rocket is such a large scale up, matey, I decided t' take some liberties with t' jet inlets to improve t' appearance. Avast! T' "cone" is provided by a nose cone, and there is no disc inside. Begad! Durin' flight, me hearties, t' air will be able t' flow through - perhaps it will make some kind o' interestin' sound that will add t' the flight. Ahoy!

I finally settled on t' shorter o' t' PNC-50 cone because o' its resemblance t' t' typical cone shape inside a jet engine. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! There is also somewhat o' a dilemma as t' how far t' let it protrude from t' tube. Begad! Blimey! About half an inch seems t' capture t' look fairly well. Arrr! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey!

The cockpit was hand-molded usin' Aves "Fix-it" from Apogee Rocketry. Aye aye! Aye aye! It took three applications t' get the cockpit fully laid out properly. Arrr! I also made it wider and flatter t' blend in with t' overall appearance o' t' larger rocket.

Final Assembly

T' last steps in assembly are t' give t' rocket a coat o' finishin' resin t' smooth out t' bumps, paint it, me bucko, add t' jet pod cones and exhaust, and t' decals. T' jet cones are nose cones with slots cut in t' base so they will lock onto t' portion o' t' fin tab that extends into t' jet pod. Blimey! Similarly, ya bilge rat, t' jet pod exhausts are just plastic bottle caps glued onto plywood tabs that fit on t' base o' t' fin inside t' jet pod. Arrr! They are all set up t' t' same length, so they all extend the same distance out t' jet pod. Arrr!

Givin' t' tail cone a good coat o' finishin' epoxy proved important to gettin' a smooth finish betwixt t' body tube and cone. Begad! Well, blow me down! Gettin' t' epoxy to stick required sandin' t' cone with #60 paper until it is fuzzy enough to create a mechanical bond. Arrr! Then two coats o' finishin' resin with sandin' in between create a surface ready for primer. Ahoy!

Decal patterns were created mostly from vinyl, shiver me timbers, with t' letterin' created by Tango Papa decals. Ya scallywag!

I went nuts with photoshop and created some space scenes usin' images o' the Quasar along with computed generated "space stuff". Avast! You can find these on me site or in the EMRR's Fantasy Photo Contest.