Brief:
This is me EMRR Box-o-Parts contest rocket. Well, blow me down! It features 6 fins, 4 18mm motor mounts, ya bilge rat, and a unique nosecone arrangement.

Construction:
T' parts from me box that I used in t' rocket are:

• Big Daddy nose cone
• BT-100 tube, ya bilge rat, 12" long
• BT-80 tube, me bucko, 4" long
• BT-20 tube, me hearties, 4 sections 2.75" long
• 3.9" diameter phenolic coupler cut into sections
• Balsa fin set (maybe from Sizzler or Hi-Flier)
• Plastic fin set
• Bamboo skewers, me hearties, 1/8" diameter by 5" long, 3
• Balsa sticks, 1/16" square cut into 1" and 1/2" sections
• Plastic Darth Vader Slurpee cup lid
• Estes 1/4" launch lug
• Balsa stock, used for centerin' rin' and nosecone stops
• Plastic tablecloth parachute, hole reinforcements, me hearties, and shroud lines
• Estes 1/4" wide rubber elastic shock cord
• Shippin' box, used t' laser cut motor mount centerin' rings
• Card stock, cut into shapes and applied t' outer surface

Items added (not in box):

• Nose weight (4 Estes butter pats)
• Bolt, ya bilge rat, arrr, nut, ya bilge rat, and washer for motor retention

Construction steps:

I didn't have a good match betwixt t' tubes in me box and t' one large nose cone so I knew I'd have to create some sort o' adapter. Begad! Luckily, t' Slurpee cup lid (once Darth Vader be cut off) provided just t' part I needed t' center t' Big Daddy cone in t' BT-100 tube. T' transition was glued t' t' cone with about 2 inches exposed.

I removed t' shoulder o' t' nosecone, matey, ya bilge rat, and then cut a rin' from t' included balsa sheet t' center t' bottom of the cone in t' BT-100. Arrr! I also cut some small sections o' balsa t' act as stops so t' nosecone would stick out the right distance from t' tube.

T' dress up t' transition that was created at t' tip o' t' cone, ya bilge rat, I cut rectangles out o' t' phenolic coupler to create impeller blades as part o' t' jet engine styling. Ahoy! Blimey! These were glued t' t' Slurpee cup lid on an angle.

T' next steps I took were t' attach t' fins. One set o' fins were balsa and they were simply glued t' the outside o' t' body tube. Blimey! T' other set o' fins were plastic, shiver me timbers, arrr, and before gluin' them on, I had t' remove t' mounting tabs that were intended t' hook into t' plastic fin can. Ahoy! T' increase t' visual impact, shiver me timbers, me bucko, ya bilge rat, t' plastic fins were glued on swept forward. Aye aye! I also cut t' 1/8" bamboo skewers t' 5" long and glued them t' t' leadin' edge o' t' balsa fins. This looked cool, ya bilge rat, but in retrospect was pretty dumb. Begad! I must have poked myself at least 20 times with t' sharp points.

T' fill in t' area at t' base o' t' rocket betwixt t' fins I cut small sections o' t' 1/16" balsa strips and glued them around t' aft edge.

I drew a series o' square, rectangular, arrr, matey, circular and triangular shapes on t' included card stock and cut them out. Avast! I then glued those shapes t' t' outside o' t' body tube in an eye pleasin' pattern. Arrr! Arrr! T' hope here would be that they would stand out from t' tube enough when painted t' give an interestin' look t' t' rocket.

I then started workin' on t' motor mount. Ya scallywag! Most o' t' other tubes in me box was either 13mm or 18mm so I knew I would have t' cluster. Blimey! I tried figurin' a way t' use t' 3x 24mm mounts t' hold 13mm motor tubes, me bucko, me bucko, but couldn't quite make it work. Begad! I didn't have enough balsa left over t' make a set o' rings from that, me hearties, so I decided t' use t' box itself for t' rings. A friend o' mine was gettin' some parts laser cut, me hearties, so I cut t' sides from t' box me parts came in and sent them along t' have several 4x18mm centerin' rings made t' fit t' BT-100. Begad! Arrr! Since t' rings were made o' corrugated cardboard, arrr, me bucko, arrr, I stacked 2 rings with t' corrugations at 90 degrees for strength and left them under a stack o' books to dry. Arrr! Well, blow me down! T' mount was assembled in t' usual fashion. For motor retention I added a bolt epoxied in t' space betwixt the four motor tubes. Avast! Blimey! A washer and nut are used t' hold t' motors in place. Ya scallywag! Once t' mount be dry it as glued into the aft end o' t' rocket.

I glued t' BT-80 tube section t' t' top centerin' rin' and that fed up inside t' open end o' t' nose cone. This acts as a stuffer tube for t' parachute and shock cord.

I added t' nose weight, me hearties, and then attached t' shock cord t' t' BT-80 tube with a tri-fold mount made from some of t' paper that was in me box. Avast! T' attach t' shock cord t' t' nose, I drilled two holes in t' cone below t' fan blades and tied t' cord through t' holes.

Finishing:
I wanted t' model t' have t' feel o' a massive piece o' machinery that had been kickin' around t' galaxy for a while, matey, so I planned for a heavily weathered look. Begad! For t' nose I started with a base coat o' black paint. Begad! i then brushed on an acrylic silver paint and let that dry. Avast, me proud beauty! A top coat o' black paint was brushed on then while that be wet, I wiped t' black off with a paper towel, me bucko, leavin' t' blades lookin' dirty and worn. Begad! Blimey! T' cone was dry brushed with silver t' make it look beaten.

For t' body, me hearties, I wanted t' carry t' weathered theme over, but before startin' t' base coat I took t' strips of gold vinyl material I found in t' box and applied that t' t' front o' t' body tube. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I sprayed a black base coat over the entire model, arrr, and let that dry. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I picked out t' card stock shapes and t' leadin' edges o' t' fins in silver, then applied black over that and wiped t' wet paint with a paper towel t' make t' streaks. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! For t' gold stripes, matey, I brushed on acetone and then wiped t' softened paint away with a paper towel t' make it look like t' paint had been worn away. Begad! Blimey! I wasn't 100% happy with t' result so I made a wash o' black paint mixed with water and sloshed that all over t' body. Avast! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! When that had dried I dry brushed silver over t' details and had a nice layered look.

One o' t' comments I received about t' finished model be that it looked like a weapon from t' Warhammer 40,000 miniature game.

Flight:
First flight was made usin' 4x C6-5 motors. While preppin' t' motors, ya bilge rat, I realized that I didn't leave enough o' the bolt stickin' out and couldn't use t' nut and washer t' hold t' motors in. Begad! Begad! I ended up usin' maskin' for motor retention.

I used a few sheets o' Estes waddin' in t' BT-80 stuffer tube, shiver me timbers, then folded t' parachute and placed it in the rocket. T' cone slid down over t' tube, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and it was ready t' fly.

I like t' twist t' igniter leads together for me clusters instead o' usin' clip whips, so after installin' the motors, me hearties, I inserted t' igniters and then gathered a lead from each one and twisted them together. I did t' same for the remainin' leads and made sure that thar weren't any shorts.

T' first launch be straight and fast with a little wobble off t' 3/16" rod. Begad! Ejection happened almost at apogee with a clean chute. Avast! T' rocket landed on t' asphalt playground with no damage.

T' second flight was made with only 2x C6-5 motors. Avast! I left two o' t' spent motors from t' first flight installed t' fill t' extra motor mounts. Aye aye! This flight was also straight, matey, but ejection was well after apogee. T' cute opened and t' model drifted into a high tree.

Summary:
I think a did a good job comin' up with a unique rocket based on t' parts I received. Blimey! I was a little limited in what I could do because very few o' me parts matched in diameter and size. Begad! I was very happy with t' overall result.