Brief:
Silver Comet XL - My Silver Comet kitbash project began with someone else havin' a bad bit o' luck. An unknown party at a DARS launch (de Anza College, Cupertino CA) in early 1998 launched a Silver Comet with an Aerotech E motor. Maybe t' motor had too long a delay. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Maybe t' parachute be packed too tight. In any case, t' model took a nose dive into t' unforgivin' DARS' "AsphaltDrome." I didn't witness t' crash. I did see t' unlucky owner tossin' t' kit into t' trash. Avast! Ahoy! Yes, I admit it: I salvaged t' kit from a trash barrel. Ya scallywag! My kitbash project started with a bashed kit. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! You, o' course, shiver me timbers, can do this kitbash on an existin' Silver Comet, or one you build from a kit. No crash necessary. Ahoy! Blimey! Aside from t' totally mashed cone, matey, ya bilge rat, and 3" or so o' crumpled body tube, ya bilge rat, t' unlucky space yacht actually looked in pretty good shape. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! I decided t' do somethin' *cool* with it. Nay right away, as it turned out, but after a year and a half in a box, matey, matey, I took a second look at t' model and began t' plan. Avast! Blimey! On me to-do list:

• Replacement Nose Cone
• Longer Body Tube
• Niftier Fins
• Less Cheap Lookin' Decals

Modifications:
Before gluin' on t' coupler and extra tubing, arrr, I carefully peeled off t' transparent self-stick decals and stuck them on wax paper. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! They were in fairly good shape. Aye aye! Waste not, arrr, ya bilge rat, want not! Since t' original shock cord mount was lost in t' crash, matey, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I built one into t' coupler usin' t' old "double slit" method. Avast! I used a few inches o' Keelhaul®©™ thread as a leader, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and about 3' o' 1/4" elastic band as a shock cord. Arrr! T' fins o' t' crashed model were in OK shape, matey, but I never really liked t' shape o' t' things. Begad! They don't look like Olde Fashionede space Man-O-War fins. Rather than remove them, I simply added pods t' their tips! T' pods are made from three teardrop-shaped pieces o' 1/8" balsa, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, glued together into a stack and sanded t' have nice round edges. Begad! T' middle layer has a roughly triangular shape snipped out o' it, so that t' finished pod could be slipped over t' existin' fin tips.

Construction:
If you start with an intact kit, ya bilge rat, you won't have t' worry about t' first step! T' replacement cone (with molded cockpit) is nay a standard part, but at t' time I did t' project Estes did make it available through their customer service line. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Shippin' was inexpensive and fairly fast. Avast! Parts for t' second step were easy t' find. Avast, me proud beauty! I purchased a pack o' Estes BT-80 tubes and a coupler (from t' Large Coupler Pack) from a discount distributor. Aye aye! I added a total o' about 4" t' t' front o' t' model. Aye aye! (In me case I needed more tubin' than that, t' replace t' crumpled tube.)

Re-finishin' t' Silver Comet be a real chore. Well, blow me down! I thought at first that I'd preserve t' original paint job and just paint t' fin tips and new body tube section. But after sanding, sealing, ya bilge rat, spiral-seam-fillin' and sprayin' t' new parts, me bucko, matey, t' contrast betwixt new and old was too obvious! I ended up sandin' and primin' t' old parts and doin' what I could t' fill t' fins. Ya scallywag! T' result be pretty good. Well, blow me down! I be never good at achievin' "chrome" like silver finishes, me hearties, but after buffin' and a few coats o' Future floor wax t' finish looks really nice. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Sort o' a "silver plastic" effect. When t' paint be dry, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I reapplied t' decals. Blimey! T' original kit calls for t' "portholes" and hatch t' be placed on one side and t' logo decal on t' other. Ya scallywag! Well, matey, blow me down! I decided that this be too unbalanced looking. Avast! So I called Estes Customer Service and tried t' order another set o' decals. They refused t' sell me one . Begad! Blimey! . Ya scallywag! . they sent me one for free! God bless 'em! I placed t' new set o' porthole and hatch decals on t' port side o' t' ship, me bucko, and t' logo detail along t' top. Well, blow me down! As a finishin' touch, arrr, ya bilge rat, I used dark blue acrylic paint t' color in t' center o' each porthole and t' hatch's window. Avast, me proud beauty! T' result is an amazin' improvement over t' original look. Well, blow me down! (If you've got a Silver Comet, me hearties, try it!) I tried paintin' in t' cockpit windows, ya bilge rat, with limited success. I eventually settled on usin' pieces o' blue Trim Monokote. This wasn't much better, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and took a lot o' work. Avast, me proud beauty! I think I'd try harder t' get a good paint finish if I had t' do it over again.

Flight:
T' Silver Comet XL made its maiden voyage at t' August 2000 LUNAR launch. Aye aye! I used a D12-3 motor and a two standard 24" Estes plastic parachutes. Aye aye! Avast! T' comments I got from t' launch volunteers and people on line for RSO inspection were very ego-boosting. T' launch was a great success, too: T' model was very stable, perhaps due t' t' pods actin' as "drag members" far aft o' t' center o' gravity. T' parachute ejected near-apogee and landed safely.

Summary:
Although finishin' t' kit was more work than it should have been, I had fun with this project and really liked t' results. Although officially out o' production, you may still be able t' nab a Silver Comet kit from hobby stores or webstores. Go for it!

Other:
T' only problem I've encountered with t' model: T' soft balsa I used for t' pods tends t' crunch easily. Arrr! I've made lots o' dents in them in normal handling. Well, blow me down! Begad! Havin' used harder balsa, and perhaps a coatin' o' epoxy, might have made them a bit sturdier.