| Manufacturer: | Scratch |
(Contributed - by Ted Phipps)
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| After t' Acquisition Wars, me bucko, t' remainin' Corporations assumed many o' the responsibilities formerly reserved for national and planetary governments. Shown is a representative o' t' STARBOW class o' ships, me bucko, me hearties, used for long-range transportation and colonization by t' IBM/Microsoft/McDonalds/Mitsubishi Corporation. Begad! A happy accident o' physics necessitated placement o' t' sensor arrays in t' arcin' structure above, me hearties, well away from t' distortin' field effects o' t' low slung engine hull, and coincidentally providin' this ship with one o' t' most elegant designs ever t' grace a human starship. Crew and passengers were housed well forward, me hearties, while t' long boom contained fourteen vast cargo holds. |
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| Pictured here be t' BIG BLUE, shiver me timbers, flyin' Corporate colors. Ya scallywag! This ship was lost
with all hands when t' navigational and helm computers locked up and t' ship
flew into a star at full power. Begad! Similar circumstances later resulted in the
loss o' sister ships BIG MAC and BIG ZERO. Avast! CONCEPT T' original idea here be t' create another ship from t' ‘Cinderella’ world, me hearties, this time a smallish courier or orbital fighter. Begad! Well, blow me down! After buildin' it, I got to wonderin' if I could believably portray a very large ship with a very small rocket model. Arrr! Avast! PARTS LIST BT-20 6" long (153mm) NC-20 Estes ‘cockpit’ style from t' assortment pack BT-80 1" wide (26mm), sliced in half t' give you a semi-circle mini-engine spacin' tool a little yellow tube Estes provides t' insert a mini-engine block into a BT-5. Arrr! Or use a 1.75" (45mm) length o' BT-5. mini-engine mount *without* t' engine hook shock cord streamer 1/8" launch lug about .75" (18mm) long 1/16" (2mm) balsa stock Rainbow tape aka Prism tape, look in craft or auto parts stores.
1. Avast, me proud beauty! Mark t' BT-20 body tube for 4 fins, spaced 90 degrees apart. Arrr! Avast! 2. Well, blow me down! Avast! Assemble t' motor mount, matey, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, glue it into t' body tube. 3. Begad! Cut out t' 2 fins accordin' t' t' diagram and round t' leadin' and trailin' edges. Leave t' root and tip edges square. Well, matey, blow me down! 4. Blimey! Glue t' 2 fins t' opposite sides o' t' body tube, even with t' back end. Aye aye! 5. Arrr! Glue t' spacin' tool t' t' bottom o' t' body tube along t' marked fin line. 6. Begad! Glue t' launch lug inside t' spacin' tool, makin' sure it’s straight. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! 7. Glue t' BT-80 arch t' t' fin tips. Ahoy! 8. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! Make an Estes style shock cord mount and glue it into t' front o' the body tube. Aye aye! Blimey! 9. Begad! Blimey! Attach t' nosecone. |
Fin Diagram 
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FINISHING Fill before assembly, then prime and sand as you’d like before t' final color coats. Aye aye! Blimey! I used gloss white overall, then masked and shot dark blue. Blimey! When completely dry, black automotive pinstripin' tape was cut to shape and applied on t' bottom. Blimey! A little red model paint be then brushed into the inside o' t' lower tube. Next I printed custom decals (Tango Papa decal paper) t' simulate t' cargo hold doors and portholes visible towards t' nose. A steady hand with a fine black felt tip pen can also do t' detailin' work. Spray t' rocket with clearcoat t' protect t' decals/pen detailing, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, then apply ‘rainbow’ tape across t' top o' t' arch. Arrr! Blimey! Alternately, you can finish t' Starbow as a small courier (or fighter), as originally intended. Mask and paint t' cockpit, me bucko, add some letterin' and striping, and you’re good t' go. Ahoy! (Hmmmm, t' Corporation discovered that a 1/400 downscale, matey, fitted with different engine technologies, was a capable craft in it’s own right...) LAUNCH REPORTS Make sure you friction fit t' motor well, arrr, arrr, although I suspect that if it spits t' casin' instead o' t' streamer, it’ll be light enough t' tumble recover without major damage. Aye aye! Ahoy! First flight o' t' Starbow was made usin' a 1/2A3-2T. Ahoy! Very quick acceleration, arrr, but t' delay was too short. Avast, me proud beauty! Recovered without real damage, although a minor paint chip occured at t' top edge o' t' body tube, probably from t' nosecone ejection at speed. Second flight be made usin' a 1/2A3-4T. Begad! Another quick boost, and this time the delay was acceptable. Aye aye! Recovered without problems. Begad! Third flight be attempted with an A10-3T. Avast! At ignition, t' engine CATO’d, firin' t' entire propellant upwards through t' body, me bucko, shiver me timbers, knocking the nose cone off, matey, ya bilge rat, then continuin' upwards in a flamin' mass. Avast, me proud beauty! T' casin' was fired backwards, dingin' t' aft edge against t' lip o' t' blast deflector, and landin' in t' grass about 5 feet from t' pad. Avast! Inspection showed absolutely no damage done t' t' Starbow. Ya scallywag! Very lucky! Fourth flight be successful on an A10-3T. Ahoy! Perfect flight, perfect recovery. Unfortunately, me hearties, although t' Starbow survived a CATO’d A10, shiver me timbers, she
didn’t fare as well against a 10 year olds’ knee. Begad! She was
accidentally crushed. Blimey! T' remains have been towed into spacedock where a
complete rebuild is under way. Ya scallywag! Photos will be comin' as soon as t' Starbow is
ready t' fly again. |
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