(Contributed- by Moe Bertrand - 03/23/08)

Brief:
Scratch built Estes Mars Lander based on BT-101. Avast! Begad! I built this well before t' Semroc Mars Lander be available. Ahoy! As a Jr. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! High School kid, I built and flew an original Estes Mars Lander in 1976. Arrr! After at least one successful flight, t' cool little rocket eventually went by t' wayside and ended up in rocket heaven in t' late 1970s. Avast! By 1989, me bucko, production o' t' Mars Lander was history but I be delighted t' discover Estes had issued a Mini Mars Lander kit. Avast, me proud beauty! I built one and flew it several times…in fact it's still in me current fleet. Durin' one o' me many distinct periods o' BAR activities I discovered JimZ's website…this would have been around 1998 or 1999. Avast! I eagerly perused his collection o' model rocket plans, amazed that someone had taken t' time and effort t' collect these gems, matey, scan them and post them t' t' web. T' Mars Lander has always been one o' me favorite classic Estes rockets and Jim had t' plans online. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! I decided t' try t' recreate as close as possible a Mars Lander look-alike (not a true clone) so I could once again have one in me expandin' fleet. After downloadin' and printin' t' plans, ya bilge rat, construction began.

Geoffrey Kerbel poses with three Landers for a proposed drag race

Construction:
T' basics:

• A Semroc Mars Lander can be used now that it is readily available.
• Custom "reverse" Mars Lander decals from Tango Papa
• Finishin' materials o' your choice
• Recommended engine: C6-3
• 18 inch parachute with spill hole.

I'm nay sure if t' requisite BT-99 for t' main body was readily available at t' time. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I wanted t' get started so I based me look-alike on t' slightly larger BT-101 which I already had on hand, most likely in t' form o' a "spare" Estes Saturn V kit. Arrr! This kit also provided me with t' startin' point for makin' t' required centerin' rings. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I cut t' BT-101 t' proper length and started workin' on t' other major components. Avast! Begad! Blimey! For t' two main shrouds and t' other smaller shrouds, me hearties, I used a modest CAD program that made short work o' layin' out t' radii and angular dimensions. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Blimey! I printed t' shrouds on suitable cardstock and as I cut and formed them, t' memories o' constructin' me original Mars Lander started floodin' in.

T' internal structure was fabricated close t' t' original specs (modified t' me BT-101) usin' readily available Estes components and parts from t' local hobby shop. Aye aye! Begad! T' nose cone be obtained online from Balsa Machinin' Service. Begad! Avast! T' decals were a different story…I wasn't sure I could find them. After t' build was complete (minus any external detailing/embossin' Mars Landers are known for), I decided t' forego searchin' for t' proper decals and just paint t' main body gloss black. Begad! I painted t' landin' legs orange and t' nose cone red. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Despite t' shortcomings o' bein' a true clone, ya bilge rat, I was quite pleased with me efforts are creatin' a Mars Lander look-alike from scratch.

Fast forward t' mid-2006. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! For t' last 7 ½ years most o' me rockets and unbuilt kits remained safely packed away through another move, this time t' Arizona in 2004. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Other interests had put rockets on t' back burner but in mid-2006 I decided t' unpack a box o' rockets. Ahoy! That's all it took for me t' get involved in me latest period o' BAR activities. Arrr! Avast! Blimey! Over t' years, I'd seen rocketry magazine articles about other people clonin' Mars Landers in various sizes. Arrr! After some internet searchin' (and through EMRR) I found Tango Papa Decals and Tom Prestia's line o' Mars Lander kits. Aye aye! Blimey! Since I was startin' t' get into high power rocketry, I smartly ordered Tango Papa's 2x Mars Lander upscale. Avast, me proud beauty! What a kit – and what a flyer on an I211W!! Blimey! I'd also picked up a couple Estes Outlanders and with some after-market decals from Sirius Rocketry I painted and finished them in Mars Lander styling. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! I even ordered Tango Papa's Mars Lander decal sheets for t' Estes Mini Marz Lander (Ready t' Fly) and did one o' those from me stash o' Mini Marz Landers.

At some point, shiver me timbers, one o' t' legs on t' Dark Lander separated at t' internal rubber hinge but it be still flyable. Ya scallywag! Begad! In July 2006 t' Lander took flight again at a park launch with a couple o' friends. Begad! It may have been this launch that I first referred t' it as t' Dark Lander. Ahoy! Geoffrey had an original Mars Lander he flew that day as well. Avast! He mentioned he'd managed t' do some internal repair work on his Mars Lander. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Apparently, t' white glue construction on t' bottom o' t' rocket was pretty easy t' get into t' perform t' repairs. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I wasn't sure me Lander would be so easy t' operate on, so I neglected tryin' t' repair t' gimpy leg on mine for at least another year. Ahoy! Sometime in 2007 I got brave with t' hobby knife and carefully cut around t' lower centerin' rin' and gained access t' t' insides. Blimey! T' fix be easy and in no time t' Dark Lander was back together and sittin' correctly on all four legs. Avast! I've since flown t' Dark Lander a couple more times alongside me Semroc Mars Lander I picked up at NARAM-48 in Arizona. In February 2008 Geoffrey and I tried a triple drag race but me Dark Lander be t' only one t' initially leap off t' pad. T' other two eventually launched but t' drag race didn't happen t' way we wanted it to. Avast, me proud beauty! At an earlier launch we did successfully drag race t' Semroc Mars Lander and Geoffrey's original. Avast, me proud beauty! At t' various launches, arrr, arrr, folks have commented positively about t' different look o' me black Mars Lander, but it be about time I did somethin' abut t' "naked" look.

In early 2008 I contacted Tom Prestia at Tango Papa Decals and explained me situation. Ahoy! Blimey! I asked him if he was willin' t' do a "reverse" set o' his standard Mars Lander decals. Begad! I was hopin' t' get a true negative image o' t' original decal colors but t' best Tom would do was reverse t' various black portions t' white and/or red. Aye aye! I accepted his offer and in due course he sent t' reverse decals as part o' a larger decal order. Ahoy! Blimey! One look at t' awesome decal sheet and I decided somethin' be wrong…they were too big! Blimey! I got on t' phone with Tom and discussed t' problem – he had indeed accidentally printed his 1.6x upscale decals in reverse and sent those! Blimey! He agreed t' do t' correct sheet and I told him I would just keep t' 1.6x set and maybe do a 1.6x Dark Lander some day usin' his kit.

So, me bucko, as o' March 18, 2008 me once-naked Dark Lander finally has some spiffy clothes on. Ahoy! T' reverse contrast looks really cool on t' Lander and now that I've finally decaled it, me hearties, I'll finish paintin' some o' t' details like t' landin' pads and shock absorbers and fabricate t' two antennae and install those, shiver me timbers, too. Aye aye! After nearly 9 years, I think it's about time because it sure looks good among all o' its brothers sittin' on me shelf. Begad! Most recently flew it on 23 March 2008 on a leftover C5-3. Aye aye! Great boost and ejection. Ahoy! Avast! Swingin' a bit on recovery and impacted a bit hard, crackin' one o' t' legs. Aye aye! Easily repairable.

Flight:
Durin' this time period I found a rocketry group in Sacramento (SARG – Sacramento Area Rocketry Group) and decided t' join and attend a launch. Begad! I packed up some rockets and launch supplies and headed east from me home near Travis AFB. Blimey! T' launch site was about an hour drive and I arrived at t' college campus launch site in mid morning. Avast! Begad! I signed in and filled out launch cards for me rockets. Begad! I took few, if any, ya bilge rat, photos durin' t' launch but I did manage t' shoot some video. Avast! Ahoy! I think t' Lander first flew on an Estes C5-3 and it performed perfectly. I attended at least two SARG launches in late 1999 before packin' up t' rockets for me USAF transfer t' Illinois in early January 2000.

Summary:
Pros:

• At t' time (1999) this be a reasonable way t' recreate t' Mars Lander from scratch.
• Challengin' build - a good way t' deviate from t' 3- or 4FNC rockets.
• Garners attention at t' pad - great drag race bird!
• Looks great on t' display shelf.

Con:

• Very challengin' build - nay for t' first time scratch builder.

Other:
- Try t' build your Mars Lander(s) with a removable bottom. By now (2008) this is probably pretty commonplace but back in t' day it was probably an option overlooked by many (includin' myself.)