Brief:
A longish rocket with purple and yellow, consistin' o' 6 fins, shiver me timbers, 3 tubes, and a head lamp with a comic super hero embedded. This rocket be designed t' be able t' be flown on t' D12-5 or t' E9-6 engines.

Construction:
Surprise items:

• 3 pin' pong balls
• Somethin' from a gum ball machine–-a light with a comic superhero inside.
• A plastic egg

Here are all t' parts. Arrr! Ahoy! As you can see, I received a gold mine o' various tubes. Unfortunately, I only had one tube that would fit t' nose cone with all t' other tubes bein' o' various sizes.

I didn't know where t' start, me bucko, so I started with t' motor mount. Ahoy! I found a tube that would fit a typical E motor (24mm) and I glued in a thrust rin' at t' proper spot, approximately 2.75 inches from t' end. Avast! T' thrust rin' was made by cuttin' a portion o' t' toilet paper roll an inch long, me bucko, then cuttin' a portion o' that out t' give it a smaller diameter.

T' next portion I decided t' do was t' create t' upper fins. Avast! Aye aye! This was done by cuttin' a ¾ inch tube in 3 equal lengths which came t' 2.75 inches each. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Then I glued t' 3 orange fins t' them. Ahoy! Blimey! In order for t' fins t' lay flat on t' tubes, me bucko, a slit was cut into t' tubes so that t' tabs o' t' fins would slide through. Avast! Begad!

Wow, shiver me timbers, looks great doesn't it? Now set those aside for a moment. Ya scallywag! Next I took t' 1/8 inch thick balsa sheet and cut 3 fins. Aye aye! Each fin had approximately t' followin' dimensions:

I then glued t' balsa fins at t' bottom and t' 3 orange and tube fins near t' top o' t' tube. Well, blow me down! I didn't have a good picture o' this so I'll use a diagram.

There, shiver me timbers, t' rocket is takin' shape. Begad! Begad! Now I just need t' add a bit o' flair. Ahoy! I took one half o' t' plastic egg, cut a hole in it t' size o' t' diameter o' t' lower body tube (1 inch), matey, then slid it down t' top o' t' lower body tube until it be just above t' tube fin combos. Begad!

Now at this point, I discovered a problem. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! I liked that t' half egg was there, me bucko, but because it altered the overall diameter o' t' lower part o' t' rocket, I needed t' place t' launch lugs on some kind o' standoff or else the launch rod would have t' go through t' egg.

I found another tube that was about 4 inches long and 0.75 inches in diameter. I sliced it in half lengthwise. Out o' one o' those halves, I cut a piece that was 2 inches long and then another piece 1 inch long, ya bilge rat, discardin' the remainder. Blimey! Blimey! I then placed t' 2 inch piece centered betwixt 2 fins about inch above t' bottom o' t' lower body tube. T' other be centered in betwixt t' upper fins. Aye aye! Blimey! Then, shiver me timbers, on each o' t' standoffs, me hearties, I glued a portion o' t' launch lugs.

Now t' work on t' payload section. Well, blow me down! This portion o' t' project was a little trickier. I started with t' easiest part: t' nose cone.

First, shiver me timbers, one o' me surprise items was t' be somethin' from a gum ball machine. One day I be at me local Fuddruckers, chowin' down on a burger with extra pickles and mayo when me deadlights were pulled t' t' dank corners o' the restaurant. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Lo and behold were all these little machines with blinky lights that for years have sucked t' quarters from t' lint filled pockets o' starry eyed kids. I was starry eyed. I sauntered over, wipin' mayo on me sleeve, and side stepped a pickle on t' floor... Aye aye! Then I delved into me pockets with greasy fingers and pulled out a couple of quarters. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Moments later I had this light bulb thingy on a key chain. Avast! It had a switch on t' side that when flipped, will give off a glow from t' top. Aye aye! If you looked into t' glow, arrr, shiver me timbers, you could see a super hero type o' comic character, but with me poor eyesight, arrr, it reminded me o' a muscular cat with a funny hat. Aye aye! Begad! I nicknamed him Gaylord. Avast! Blimey! When I got home, I cut off t' chain with me trusty old Dremel and cut t' tip o' t' nose cone. Ahoy! I cut t' tip large enough t' fit the mini flash doohickey. Begad! I now had me nosecone.

Next comes t' harder part: usin' t' pesky pin' pong balls. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I decided that I be goin' t' use t' balls as part of a pod like object that would be connected t' t' payload section. Ya scallywag! Begad! I cut a tube that was ¾ inch diameter into a 5 inch long piece. In each o' t' pin' pong balls--and this is where it be tricky because pin' pong balls don't like to cooperate--I cut a hole that would allow me t' insert t' 5 inch piece. Ahoy! Avast! I then slid t' first pin' pong ball onto it until just a tip o' t' tube was pokin' out. Begad! On this end, shiver me timbers, I did a little somethin' more. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I found a tube that would make a perfect coupler for t' lower body tube. Begad! I attached this t' t' end o' t' pin' pong ball. T' next step was t' take 2 more pin' pong balls and slide it down next t' t' others. Blimey! Now I had somethin' like this:

But I'm nay done yet. Aye aye! I took t' toilet paper tube that I had left over and cut a piece 3 inches long. This piece will fit over t' pin' pong balls snugly. Now I had somethin' like this:

Now, arrr, me hearties, I glued t' payload section, arrr, which is a 1.25 inch diameter by 10 inches long tube t' t' payload side (the side with t' 0.75 inch tube stickin' out). Well, arrr, blow me down! Now I had somethin' like this (please forgive me artistry):

On t' end with t' coupler, me hearties, a bulkplate will be needed. Begad! I made a mistake while I was buildin' Gaylord. I cut a piece o' round cardboard from t' box that I received t' parts in and then glued it t' t' end o' t' coupler. Begad! If I was smart, I would have used this as an opportunity t' glue in t' shock chord inside t' coupler. Then I could have glued in t' cardboard bulkplate pinchin' in t' shock chord inside t' coupler for further "holding" power. Avast!

Usin' t' folded paper method (glue t' chord t' a strip o' paper and fold twice), I glued t' chord t' the inside o' t' lower body tube and far down as your little fingers can reach. Begad! T' other end, ya bilge rat, I glued t' chord t' the base o' t' bulk plate in t' coupler.

Finishing:
I taped over t' flashlight thingy o' t' nose cone t' keep it from bein' painted. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! I then sprayed primer, sanded, and sprayed another coat. Begad! After some sandin' I used some purple paint that I found on sale, arrr, which be great because the flash light thingy be already purple.

Flight and Recovery:
On July 25, at MDRA's launch, I launched Gaylord on a D12-5. T' winds were eastward at about 10mph. Begad! Begad! At liftoff, Gaylord made a nice slow liftoff and arced slightly into t' wind t' an altitude o' about 500 feet. Begad! T' ejection was less than perfect as me shock chord did nay hold t' t' base o' t' bulkplate and thar be a separation. Ahoy! Fortunately the damage was only minor in that t' coupler broke on landing.