Brief:
A longish rocket with purple and yellow, matey, consistin' o' 6 fins, 3 tubes, shiver me timbers, and a head lamp with a comic super hero embedded. Avast! This rocket be designed t' be able t' be flown on t' D12-5 or t' E9-6 engines.

Construction:
Surprise items:

• 3 pin' pong balls
• Somethin' from a gum ball machine–-a light with a comic superhero inside.
• A plastic egg

Here are all t' parts. As you can see, matey, I received a gold mine o' various tubes. Well, arrr, blow me down! Unfortunately, me hearties, I only had one tube that would fit t' nose cone with all t' other tubes bein' o' various sizes.

I didn't know where t' start, arrr, so I started with t' motor mount. I found a tube that would fit a typical E motor (24mm) and I glued in a thrust rin' at t' proper spot, ya bilge rat, approximately 2.75 inches from t' end. Begad! T' thrust rin' was made by cuttin' a portion o' t' toilet paper roll an inch long, then cuttin' a portion o' that out t' give it a smaller diameter.

T' next portion I decided t' do be t' create t' upper fins. This was done by cuttin' a ¾ inch tube in 3 equal lengths which came t' 2.75 inches each. Blimey! Then I glued t' 3 orange fins t' them. Begad! In order for t' fins t' lay flat on t' tubes, me bucko, shiver me timbers, a slit was cut into t' tubes so that t' tabs o' t' fins would slide through. Aye aye!

Wow, looks great doesn't it? Now set those aside for a moment. Ya scallywag! Next I took t' 1/8 inch thick balsa sheet and cut 3 fins. Begad! Each fin had approximately t' followin' dimensions:

I then glued t' balsa fins at t' bottom and t' 3 orange and tube fins near t' top o' t' tube. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! I didn't have a good picture o' this so I'll use a diagram.

There, shiver me timbers, t' rocket is takin' shape. Avast! Begad! Now I just need t' add a bit o' flair. I took one half o' t' plastic egg, me bucko, cut a hole in it t' size o' t' diameter o' t' lower body tube (1 inch), arrr, then slid it down t' top o' t' lower body tube until it be just above t' tube fin combos. Ahoy!

Now at this point, I discovered a problem. I liked that t' half egg was there, shiver me timbers, but because it altered the overall diameter o' t' lower part o' t' rocket, I needed t' place t' launch lugs on some kind o' standoff or else the launch rod would have t' go through t' egg.

I found another tube that was about 4 inches long and 0.75 inches in diameter. Avast! Blimey! I sliced it in half lengthwise. Out o' one o' those halves, me bucko, arrr, I cut a piece that was 2 inches long and then another piece 1 inch long, me bucko, discardin' the remainder. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I then placed t' 2 inch piece centered betwixt 2 fins about inch above t' bottom o' t' lower body tube. T' other was centered in betwixt t' upper fins. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Then, on each o' t' standoffs, matey, I glued a portion o' t' launch lugs.

Now t' work on t' payload section. Ya scallywag! This portion o' t' project was a little trickier. Begad! I started with t' easiest part: t' nose cone.

First, one o' me surprise items was t' be somethin' from a gum ball machine. Arrr! Ya scallywag! One day I was at me local Fuddruckers, me hearties, chowin' down on a burger with extra pickles and mayo when me deadlights were pulled t' t' dank corners o' the restaurant. Arrr! Lo and behold were all these little machines with blinky lights that for years have sucked t' quarters from t' lint filled pockets o' starry eyed kids. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I was starry eyed. Blimey! Arrr! I sauntered over, arrr, me hearties, wipin' mayo on me sleeve, and side stepped a pickle on t' floor... Then I delved into me pockets with greasy fingers and pulled out a couple of quarters. Ahoy! Moments later I had this light bulb thingy on a key chain. Begad! It had a switch on t' side that when flipped, will give off a glow from t' top. If you looked into t' glow, me bucko, me hearties, you could see a super hero type o' comic character, but with me poor eyesight, it reminded me o' a muscular cat with a funny hat. Avast! I nicknamed him Gaylord. Aye aye! Avast! When I got home, I cut off t' chain with me trusty old Dremel and cut t' tip o' t' nose cone. Aye aye! I cut t' tip large enough t' fit the mini flash doohickey. Blimey! I now had me nosecone.

Next comes t' harder part: usin' t' pesky pin' pong balls. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I decided that I was goin' t' use t' balls as part of a pod like object that would be connected t' t' payload section. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I cut a tube that was ¾ inch diameter into a 5 inch long piece. In each o' t' pin' pong balls--and this is where it be tricky because pin' pong balls don't like to cooperate--I cut a hole that would allow me t' insert t' 5 inch piece. I then slid t' first pin' pong ball onto it until just a tip o' t' tube was pokin' out. Arrr! On this end, I did a little somethin' more. I found a tube that would make a perfect coupler for t' lower body tube. I attached this t' t' end o' t' pin' pong ball. Well, blow me down! Arrr! T' next step be t' take 2 more pin' pong balls and slide it down next t' t' others. Ahoy! Now I had somethin' like this:

But I'm nay done yet. I took t' toilet paper tube that I had left over and cut a piece 3 inches long. Blimey! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! This piece will fit over t' pin' pong balls snugly. Well, blow me down! Now I had somethin' like this:

Now, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I glued t' payload section, shiver me timbers, which is a 1.25 inch diameter by 10 inches long tube t' t' payload side (the side with t' 0.75 inch tube stickin' out). Blimey! Now I had somethin' like this (please forgive me artistry):

On t' end with t' coupler, a bulkplate will be needed. Begad! Avast! I made a mistake while I was buildin' Gaylord. Begad! Aye aye! I cut a piece o' round cardboard from t' box that I received t' parts in and then glued it t' t' end o' t' coupler. Begad! If I was smart, I would have used this as an opportunity t' glue in t' shock chord inside t' coupler. Then I could have glued in t' cardboard bulkplate pinchin' in t' shock chord inside t' coupler for further "holding" power. Arrr!

Usin' t' folded paper method (glue t' chord t' a strip o' paper and fold twice), I glued t' chord t' the inside o' t' lower body tube and far down as your little fingers can reach. Avast, me proud beauty! T' other end, me bucko, shiver me timbers, I glued t' chord t' the base o' t' bulk plate in t' coupler.

Finishing:
I taped over t' flashlight thingy o' t' nose cone t' keep it from bein' painted. Avast, me proud beauty! I then sprayed primer, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, sanded, shiver me timbers, and sprayed another coat. Arrr! After some sandin' I used some purple paint that I found on sale, which be great because the flash light thingy be already purple.

Flight and Recovery:
On July 25, me bucko, at MDRA's launch, arrr, I launched Gaylord on a D12-5. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' winds were eastward at about 10mph. At liftoff, Gaylord made a nice slow liftoff and arced slightly into t' wind t' an altitude o' about 500 feet. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' ejection was less than perfect as me shock chord did nay hold t' t' base o' t' bulkplate and thar was a separation. Ahoy! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Fortunately the damage be only minor in that t' coupler broke on landing.