Brief:
Estes Exoskell modified for 24mm motor power.

Modifications:
I usually don't go for Estes "novelty" kits, shiver me timbers, arrr, but when I saw an "Exoskell" on clearance for a few dollars, arrr, I snapped it up. Aye aye! Avast! I figured I could do somethin' unusual with it, such as turnin' it into a cluster kit, shiver me timbers, or enhancin' t' pre-printed decor with more slimy details. Several months later, I had a go at it.

I started buildin' t' kit "stock." Although thar were a few tricky bits, such as puttin' t' pre-printed wrap around t' body tube and mountin' t' spring-loaded fins, matey, matey, it went together fairly easily.

I also followed t' instructions for washin' t' green plastic parts with black acrylic, arrr, in order t' produce a model that looked like t' one on t' box. Arrr! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! I experimented with addin' a bit o' Future floor polish t' t' black paint, with mixed results. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It be at this point that I got impatient and did somethin' stupid. I placed t' wet pieces in me convection oven, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and set it t' "air defrost," in t' belief that t' circulation would smartly dry off t' runny polish / paint mix.

Well! There turns out t' be some heat involved in t' defrost cycle. Aye aye! Begad! I noticed t' problem almost immediately, arrr, but t' "fin can" and one o' t' fins be badly warped. Begad! Arrr! Yargh! I tried straightenin' t' semi-melted pieces t' no avail.

That's where I got creative! T' Exoskells I've seen fly were all poor performers. T' recommended C5-3 motor sort o' "lobbed" it into t' sky. Begad! Begad! It did nay fly very high and tended t' eject on t' way down. Well, blow me down! Bleah! What this model needed was D power!

I found, shiver me timbers, in me spare parts box, a plastic BT-55 t' BT-50 transition section and a 6" piece o' BT-55 tubing. Begad! Ahoy! I also had on hand an Estes "D & E Engine mount kit." This kit has parts t' mount D12 and t' now-discontinued E15 motor in a variety o' body tubes. Aye aye! I decided t' modify t' mount t' allow use o' t' new E9-4 motor. I did this by snippin' off t' front tab off o' t' metal engine hook, and placin' a thrust rin' 3.5" into t' mount tube. (T' E9 motors are 3.75" long.) T' engine hook be held in place by a fiber sleeve included in t' motor mount kit.

I glued t' mount into t' BT-55 tube, and attached this "power pod" t' t' Exoskell's lower body tube usin' t' transition section.

I used 1/16" basswood for t' fins, which were scaled-up versions o' t' originals. Aye aye! T' create a fin template, I placed one o' t' Exoskell's survivin' plastic fins on me computer's scanner, scanned an image, shiver me timbers, and blew it up by 50% in both directions. I figured this would provide plenty o' extra fin area (an extra 125%) t' make up for t' heavier motor and mount. I printed out t' image, sketched in a tab along t' root edge, and used t' template t' create four fins. Ahoy! I mounted these "through t' wall" style for extra strength.

Construction:
Replacement materials: 

• Plastic transition, ya bilge rat, BT-50 t' BT-55
• Estes D/E Engine mount kit, modified
• 6" o' BT-55 body tube
• 1/16" basswood
• "microballoons" filler.

T' result o' me modifications was pretty cool. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! I called it t' "Exoskell Extreme."

Finishing:
T' "stock" Exoskell doesn't require any real finishing. Begad! As mentioned above, I did take t' time t' give t' original plastic parts a black wash. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I also added t' suggested silver highlights, and added me own details (a dark blue wash and darkened eyes) t' t' little plastic alien that is suspended in t' recovery capsule.

This left t' task o' detailin' t' fins and power pod. Aye aye! T' original fins had ribs and ripples that suggested a biological origin. I did me best t' duplicate this by creatin' a network o' "veins" that ran over t' surface o' me new parts. I used a mixture o' yellow glue and "microballoons" t' create a thin putty. Avast, me proud beauty! I dribbled this over t' surface usin' a BBQ skewer. Since t' yellow glue wouldn't stick t' t' plastic transition, matey, I used tube-style plastic cement as t' base for t' putty I used on its surface.

T' ribs came out lookin' pretty good. Begad! I was less successful with me paint job. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I could nay find spray paint t' match t' light-gloss-olive-green color o' t' body wrap, or even t' candy-green color o' t' plastic parts. Avast! I might have resorted t' usin' brush-on enamels, me hearties, but a launch day be approaching. As you can see in t' picture, arrr, thar's a definite color mismatch betwixt me parts and t' originals!

Flight:
I flew t' Exoskell at t' LUNAR field in Livermore. T' maiden flight was on a D12-3. It flew great! T' model flew straight up at moderate speed and ejected near apogee.

T' main body's parachute only partially deployed. Begad! Aye aye! Fortunately, me hearties, everythin' held together just fine and thar was no damage. T' alien recovery pod drifted down on its fairly-large chute for a soft, spring-loaded landing. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! I find it hard t' pack t' two parachutes in t' Exoskell's rather small recovery compartment.

I flew t' model again with a D12-3, this time gettin' a perfect recovery. Then I went for broke and popped in an E9-4 motor. Ahoy! T' model flew noticeably higher on this fine motor; however, arrr, because t' "main event" o' t' Exoskell's flight be t' interestin' two-part recovery, I think it would be fine t' stick with t' D12-3.

Summary:
Despite t' rushed paint job, I be really happy with me efforts on t' Exoskell Extreme. Aye aye! It got great comments on t' flight check-in line, matey, and flew perfectly. Ahoy! I've moved since buildin' and flyin' me "Exoskell Extreme". I gave t' model away t' a former coworker whose two sons were just startin' t' get into rocketry. Begad! Ahoy! I'm sure they'll enjoy it . Blimey! . Ahoy! Aye aye! . Aye aye! Ya scallywag! it's a real eye-openin' model both on t' ground and in t' air.

In one o' those "it was meant t' be" situations, I found ANOTHER marked-down Exoskell t' first week after movin' into me new home. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! This battered kit lacked directions and t' body wrap. I intend t' build another Exoskell Extreme, this time addin' putty "veins" t' t' entire body tube surface and paintin' everythin' a uniform color.

Hmmmm. Begad! I wonder if thar's room for a strobe light in t' alien's recovery pod . Begad! Ahoy! . .