Brief:
Silver Comet XL - My Silver Comet kitbash project began with someone else havin' a bilge-suckin' 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. Arrr! Maybe t' motor had too long a delay. Begad! Maybe t' parachute was packed too tight. Aye aye! Ahoy! 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. Yes, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I admit it: I salvaged t' kit from a trash barrel. Blimey! My kitbash project started with a bashed kit. You, o' course, can do this kitbash on an existin' Silver Comet, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, or one you build from a kit. Ahoy! No crash necessary. Ya scallywag! Aside from t' totally mashed cone, and 3" or so o' crumpled body tube, t' unlucky space yacht actually looked in pretty good shape. I decided t' do somethin' *cool* with it. Ya scallywag! Nay right away, as it turned out, but after a year and a half in a box, me hearties, I took a second look at t' model and began t' plan. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! 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, I carefully peeled off t' transparent self-stick decals and stuck them on wax paper. Ahoy! Blimey! They were in fairly good shape. Aye aye! Blimey! Waste not, shiver me timbers, me hearties, want not! Blimey! Since t' original shock cord mount was lost in t' crash, I built one into t' coupler usin' t' old "double slit" method. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I used a few inches o' Keelhaul®©™ thread as a leader, and about 3' o' 1/4" elastic band as a shock cord. T' fins o' t' crashed model were in OK shape, shiver me timbers, but I never really liked t' shape o' t' things. They don't look like Olde Fashionede space Man-O-War fins. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Rather than remove them, matey, I simply added pods t' their tips! Blimey! T' pods are made from three teardrop-shaped pieces o' 1/8" balsa, arrr, glued together into a stack and sanded t' have nice round edges. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! 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, 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! Shippin' was inexpensive and fairly fast. Parts for t' second step were easy t' find. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I purchased a pack o' Estes BT-80 tubes and a coupler (from t' Large Coupler Pack) from a discount distributor. Arrr! I added a total o' about 4" t' t' front o' t' model. (In me case I needed more tubin' than that, arrr, t' replace t' crumpled tube.)

Re-finishin' t' Silver Comet be a real chore. Avast! I thought at first that I'd preserve t' original paint job and just paint t' fin tips and new body tube section. Arrr! But after sanding, arrr, matey, sealing, shiver me timbers, spiral-seam-fillin' and sprayin' t' new parts, 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. Begad! T' result be pretty good. Ya scallywag! I was never good at achievin' "chrome" like silver finishes, but after buffin' and a few coats o' Future floor wax t' finish looks really nice. Sort o' a "silver plastic" effect. Avast! When t' paint was dry, me hearties, arrr, I reapplied t' decals. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' original kit calls for t' "portholes" and hatch t' be placed on one side and t' logo decal on t' other. Ahoy! I decided that this was too unbalanced looking. Well, blow me down! So I called Estes Customer Service and tried t' order another set o' decals. Begad! Begad! They refused t' sell me one . . Ya scallywag! . Aye aye! 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, arrr, me bucko, and t' logo detail along t' top. As a finishin' touch, I used dark blue acrylic paint t' color in t' center o' each porthole and t' hatch's window. Avast! T' result is an amazin' improvement over t' original look. Aye aye! (If you've got a Silver Comet, try it!) I tried paintin' in t' cockpit windows, with limited success. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I eventually settled on usin' pieces o' blue Trim Monokote. Avast! Well, blow me down! This wasn't much better, and took a lot o' work. 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. Begad! Begad! I used a D12-3 motor and a two standard 24" Estes plastic parachutes. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! T' comments I got from t' launch volunteers and people on line for RSO inspection were very ego-boosting. Begad! Aye aye! T' launch was a great success, matey, arrr, shiver me timbers, too: T' model was very stable, perhaps due t' t' pods actin' as "drag members" far aft o' t' center o' gravity. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Avast! Although officially out o' production, me hearties, you may still be able t' nab a Silver Comet kit from hobby stores or webstores. Avast! 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. Begad! I've made lots o' dents in them in normal handling. Arrr! Havin' used harder balsa, shiver me timbers, and perhaps a coatin' o' epoxy, matey, shiver me timbers, might have made them a bit sturdier.