Construction

I downloaded plans for t' Estes Maxi Brute Pershin' from t' JimZ website. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty!  My model is nay an exact clone or exact scale copy but t' plans gave me a good place t' start. Arrr! Avast!  To begin, I stripped off t' metal ends from t' four peanut cans and removed t' inner foil linning. Avast, me proud beauty!  I glued all t' cans together, reinforcin' t' seams with paper on t' inside.  I then sanded t' outside o' t' cans t' remove t' printed paper, and filled t' seams with Elmer's wood filler. Blimey! Blimey!  Once t' tube be ready I cut it down t' 21.75" in length. Aye aye! Ya scallywag!  You could o' course avoid all this by just buyin' a new tube. Begad!  For t' engine mount I decided t' use a 24 mm double cluster.  I used two old tubes from me collection o' junk and reduced their diameter and length t' fit an Estes "E" engine.  I made engine retainers by clippin' and bendin' a metal coat hanger t' length. Well, blow me down!  I made thrust rings by cuttin' them from a used 24 mm engine casing, me hearties, matey, I glued these in t' ends o' t' engine tubes above t' end o' t' retainers in t' usual fashion.  I then glued t' two engine tubes together, and then glued this assembly t' a stuffer tube made from a paper towel tube which was about 9" long.  Openings betwixt t' engine tubes and stuffer tube were sealed and reinforced with glue. Well, blow me down! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down!  Centerin' rings just under 4" in diameter were glued t' each end o' this assembly and t' engine mount be done.  Once dry this be glued into t' body tube.  

T' nose cone be made by rollin' a piece o' typin' paper into a cone and sealin' it with super glue. Aye aye! Arrr!  T' cone be then glued onto t' pointed end o' a styrofoam cone from Michael's, shiver me timbers, arrr, which had a base diamter o' 4".  On t' wide end I glued a shoulder made from t' remains o' a peanut can, ya bilge rat, me bucko, reduced in diameter t' fit inside t' body tube. Ya scallywag! Arrr!  I sealed up t' styrofoam under a layer o' Elmer's wood filler.  I glued an old shoe lace t' t' inside o' t' shoulder t' serve as a shock cord t' attach t' parachute to.  T' cone was sanded and primed several times t' smooth it out.  I later ended up cuttin' t' cone at about 4" from t' tip so that I could add 3 oz. Ahoy! o' fishin' sinkers glued in with super glue. Arrr!  This be done t' balance t' rocket. Arrr!  T' cone ended up about 1" too short and does nay have t' reduction at t' tip, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but after final paintin' it does have t' Pershin' look.   

To make t' fins I outlined t' shapes on a cardboard file folder, arrr, me hearties, me hearties, cut them out and folded them t' shape.  I created fin frames from scrap balsa then glued t' paper shapes over t' frames.  T' fins were all sealed with super glue t' strengthen them. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy!  I made t' fin pads from scraps o' 1/8" balsa, 2 layers thick. Ahoy!  T' pads are actually way too thick for scale but look like I recall t' Estes ones did. Ya scallywag! Avast!  I have since seen a real Pershin' and pads 1/8" or less would be more realistic. Ya scallywag! Avast!  I sanded t' bottoms o' t' pads over a BT-80 t' induce a curve on t' bottom. Ahoy!  T' pads were glued t' t' body tube in t' appropriate locations and then t' fins were glued t' t' pads. Ahoy! Begad!  I made 1/4" launch lugs from rolled paper sealed with super glue. Ya scallywag!  T' lugs were glued t' balsa standoffs. Begad!  Two conduits were made from scrap 1/8" balsa and glued t' t' main tube as in t' JimZ plans. Well, blow me down!  I glued another old shoe lace t' t' inside o' t' body tube in t' Estes fashion as a shock cord t' which t' parachute would be attached.

T' model ended up just over 40" tall and 1 lb. Well, blow me down! Begad! 1.5 oz.