T' Winnebago from

Spaceballs

T' Movie

"I'm a Maug: half man, ya bilge rat, half dog. Avast, me proud beauty! I'm me own best friend."

T' rules say you can have two entries so this is me second entry. Begad! Arrr! This makes a total of eight rockets that I made from one kit! 

 

This one be made from t' face card stock and a few scrap pieces o' balsa left over from t' USS Grissom kit bash in me other Descon 12 entry. There's no denyin' that this one gets t' full mission points! T' face card be folded and scored t' make t' shell seen in t' first picture. Arrr! T' back be left open t' accommodate three MicroMaxx motors. Begad! Again, I rolled me own MMT from Grissom instruction stock. T' glue tabs and all o' t' remainin' assembly were secured with wood glue.

T' fins were made and sized with a bit o' balsa left over from t' kit. Aye aye! Proportionally, arrr, they are a bit narrow but that's t' widest I could get from what be left over. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fin assembly was surface mounted but t' bits o' cardboard made for a strong bond. Avast! These two views show how I made t' engine pods.

 

Here you can see t' home-made engine tubes. 

Strength was added with bits o' left over balsa. 

T' completed assembly. I was hopin' that t' back wheels would stabilize in that direction. I wasn't sure if we were allowed t' use somethin' for weight outside o' t' kit, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, so I stacked and glued pieces o' t' t' hang tab together about 1/4 inch thick and glued it inside t' nose area for ballast.

T' seams and other areas received a few applications o' Fill 'N Finish. Avast! A coat o' primer and some light sandin' got it ready for paint. Blimey! I used me wife's acrylic paints t' paint it. (Hey, arrr, she has hobbies too) T' stripe down t' side is "metallic copper" and t' head lights are made with a pearl white with "micro glitter" mixed in. T' picture doesn't show it but t' head lights look pretty good. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! ;-) I didn't know what t' do with t' back end so I left it "almond". Begad! I used seven colors for t' complete paint job. 

Front and back views o' completed model.

Below are some launch pics.  I tacked on some card stock for flight t' ensure it would be stable. T' lift-off weight was 18 grams. T' wind be about 10mph but that made for a 13F wind-chill factor. Arrr! All three motors lit and t' flight was perfect. Ahoy! Blimey! Max altitude was about 40 feet. Avast! T' recovery was "soft-snow-impact" as you can see. Blimey! T' 10" o' snow t' day before helped here.