Cosmostrader

A kitbash o' t' Fliskits USS Grissom

I've never seen t' movie but I found it with a Google search on "Comedy sci-fi spaceship". Ya scallywag! This Man-O-War is about as "mod" as it gets. Ahoy! Begad! It looks like somethin' Frank Lloyd Wright would design. In some photos it looks like thar are 3 engines in t' center, arrr, ya bilge rat, arrr, in others it looks like 4 and yet in some movie stills it looks like just one big motor. Well, blow me down! I went with three central motors. 

I bought t' full kit version rather than t' Descon version. Ya scallywag! That gave me all the paper in t' instructions and t' face card with which t' work. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I even used t' NARRRRR application! Blimey! This kit has more parts than you can shake a stick at. Aye aye! I think t' only thin' in t' kit I didn't end up usin' was t' bag and t' hang tag.

T' Build

 This be t' photo that I used t' build t' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! (3 motors?) I blew up t' picture t' several sizes and kept sizin' up t' nosecones to the printed picture. I finally ended up at around 300%. I then added cut lines for t' fins and lines for the nosecones. Begad! (Click on t' picture t' see t' full version) T' printed picture was what I used for all dimensions. Well, me hearties, blow me down! I then cut on t' lines t' make fin patterns. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fin tabs in t' picture were much more generous than I needed but better t' be safe than sorry.  I ended up makin' through-the-wall fins for t' three main fins , but t' fins on the outboard pods are glued right t' t' transition paper. 

Just t' keep it a true kitbash, I made me own motor mount tubes usin' t' order form paper. Aye aye! I cut 1" x 2" pieces and rolled them around a spent motor. Once dried, I glued in a section o' tubin' from t' Grissom for a motor block. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! You can see in t' picture how outboard pods were made this way. Avast! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' central cluster was made by gluin' 3 rolled tubes together and three motor blocks were then glued in. Avast, me proud beauty! I then placed t' three MMT assembly on t' a piece o' t' face card and traced them and cut them out. Begad! Aye aye! This piece be t' major diameter t' which I glued both t' forward and aft transitions. Well, blow me down! The three motor blocks fit nicely into t' larger Grissom tubing. Ahoy! Begad! Motor hang on all MMT's is about 1/4".

I made the transitions usin' VCP and printed t' pattern on t' instructions. Ya scallywag! This is some pretty hefty paper. Blimey! Begad! All totaled, me hearties, I printed eight transitions. Aye aye! T' larger diameter on these outboards were made from pieces o' t' face card stock. Begad! Well, matey, blow me down! I had to sand t' ojive out o' t' nose cones on t' both t' pods and t' center nose cones. Begad! I did manage t' get t' ojive down t' bein' more conical, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but t' main nose cone wasn't long enough t' remove it completely.

T' Finishin' Touches

I made a 4" parachute usin' t' center o' t' supplied plastic chute material, 1/3 o' t' string and half o' each tape disc. Begad! T' chute is a bit small, me hearties, arrr, shiver me timbers, but I didn't have much room. Aye aye! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! T' keep t' weight down, I cut a small slit in t' base o' t' nose cone and poked in t' glue soaked piece o' supplied Keelhaul®©™© thread. 

Once it was fully assembled and fillets were applied, me bucko, I brushed a thinned out wood glue on all t' transition paper t' stiffen it up. Begad! T' generous fillets were smoothed out and thickened up using Elmer's Fill 'n Finish. Arrr! It took more time with t' Fill 'n Finish and sandin' t' three coats o' primer than it did buildin' t' whole rocket. Two coats o' Testors metallic aluminum finished it off. Avast! T' finished weight was 18 grams. 

Would it be stable? I didn't sim it but me instincts tell me it is, matey, but just barely. Begad! Arrr! T' Man-O-War appears in  different colors in some o' t' different shots I found. It looked silver in the movie still so that's what I went with. Aye aye! Puttin' motors in t' out boards was an option. Avast! I was afraid it would go way off course if one o' t' outboards didn't light, ya bilge rat, so t' first flight will be on just t' three central motors. 

T' flight

I made an igniter assembly for it by solderin' t' leads onto  disassembled MicroMaxx igniters. To make sure I had enough power, me bucko, matey, I used me marine battery and me home made launch controller. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! I've never used MicroMaxx motors, but I soon found out that these little suckers jump right up t' full speed right away. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I lit several other models before doin' t' Cosmostrader so I could get used t' them. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I played heck tryin' t' snap pictures o' them as they ripped off t' pad like little bottle rockets!  I finally got t' t' Cosmostrader. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I took a picture o' it on the pad, matey, matey, just incase I never saw it again, it shredded, arrr, matey, or busted on impact. My wife did t' countdown and sent it up. All three motors lit and she ascended into t' heavens. Blimey! Blimey! Well, ok, into t' air above me backyard. Arrr! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! It went t' about 40 feet, the nose popped off and t' chute came out. Ahoy! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' chute just started t' open as it hit t' ground. 

But Wait, thar's more!

Although these next rockets are nay part o' me entry, I just wanted t' share them with you. I just had so much buildin' momentum, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers,  I made several more rockets with t' materials left over. Everythin' on these other rockets were made with t' materials left over from t' Grissom and all use MicroMaxx motors. Things like launch lugs and motor mounts were made with rolled instruction paper.

SR71 Whitebird	Lawn dart	Wacky Tube fin rocket
chute recovery	Back-slide	featherweight recovery
10 Grams	4 Grams	6 Grams
2 MM cluster	1 MM motor	2 MM motors
It flew but could have used a touch more nose weight.	This few very well.	It flew but only t' about 50 feet.

And More!

Somgris flyin' saucer	Zamphier	Midnight Express (FlisKits paper tiger)
tumble recovery	tumble recovery	featherweight recovery
2 Grams	4.5 Grams	5 Grams
1 MM motor	1 MM motor	3 MM cluster
		(nothin' yet)
I launched this sucker 3 times just tryin' t' get a picture! Beautiful flight, shiver me timbers, every time!	This one corkscrewed. Begad! Nay a pretty flight.