A SHOT DOG Find and a Question

This design goes back to 2008, and entry in the old EMRR Odd Ball Design Contest.

A flying Hot Dog, or SHOT DOG.

Open bun, with empty condiment packages surrounding the balsa fins.

You can read about the ups and downs of the Shot Dog here - 
https://www.rocketreviews.com/scratch-shot-dog-by-hans-chris-michielssen.html 

I was looking at some 3D parts on Makerspace and came across a 3D printed Shot Dog by Scott Dee. Scott also drew up the 3D Centuri Skylab parts I was interested in.

Scott Dee (Mills)

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3272143

Scott's model looks to be a bit taller with four fins instead of three. This would make it more stable!

3D PRINT QUESTION: Anybody interested in printing the Centuri Skylab parts for me?

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2881947

Looking for all the 3D printed parts, as smooth as possible (no real ridges). Resin print preferred.

Send a price estimate to oddlrockets@bellsouth.net

New Kit? Robot!

Had some inspiration last night - 

I've been playing around with this idea for a while. 

This is the first build of the ROBOT.

I wanted it to reflect the wind-up tin robot toys from the 1950s and 60s.

18mm powered, much like the Odd'l Rockets Little Green Man and Pigasus.

It is different with a rear eject of a 12" parachute.

The robot arms are bent to the front on the left, and turned back on the right side. This should give it some spin stabilization. 

Note I wrote "should".

The fins are based on a "track" for movement much like the Robot from Lost In Space. I borrowed the idea of the multi-fin design from the pre-production art of the Estes R2D2: CLICK HERE

In initial sketches, I couldn't get the head right! That was until I remembered Rosie the Robot maid from the Jetson's. The side set body tube works well.

New designs go through many changes before production, no balsa filling or color for now. I've learned not to spend a lot of time finishing a test model. Will it be a kit? 

Now comes the flight testing.

Viking to Cherokee T?

 

We've all got a few Viking kits in the build pile - 

Here's what Stan Huyge did with his - A Cherokee T, the "T" designates the Estes 13mm engines.

It looks like the Viking fins were used with the outside tips rounded off. The fins might not have as wide a span as a Cherokee D, but this looks good to me!

This was Stan's first try at home print decals.

Revisions to the F-18 Hornet Prototype

Trying to design a stable model rocket from a jet will present some compromises.

The two jet engines extend beyond the back end. The front of the intakes are a partial circle. The back of the tubes are full circle and notched to overlap the end of the main body. 

Four tries (and 40" of scrapped BT-5) gave me a workable design. These tubes might also help stabilize the model.

On the next prototype the engine hook will be on the top side, away from the BT-5 tubes.

You might notice the underside of the BT-50H is rough. I've cut off four intake tries and had to sand off some glue.

The decal draws are turning out very well!

Low Boom SST Design Cues?

This post is not meant to knock the design of the new Low Boom SST kit from Estes. It is a sleek model. I've been in this hobby for many years and sometimes notice similarities and maybe some design influences from 50 years ago!


When going through my old Model Rocketry binders, I came across this July, 1969 Design Of The Month winner. The Scorpion was designated as Estes Plan #68.

This is not a pop pod boost glider but had standard parachute recovery.

There are similarities in the wing shape and overall feel in the Estes Sky Dart. Did the Scorpion influence this Larry Renger design?

The wing shape on the new Estes Low Boom SST has the same feel as the wing in the Scorpion.




The Scorpion has a long tail shroud like the Low Boom SST.
The Scorpion had a single center jet intake resembling the Orbital Transport engine.
The new Low Boom SST engines are more complex in shape and construction.

SR-71 or SR-72?

On the NAR Facebook page, Frank Burke posted a picture of his latest R/C Boost Glider:

"YF-12 interceptor version of the A-12/SR-71 family. Hardly ever modeled. This was an interceptor version that wound up being used for testing the aim 47 missile and doing tests for NASA. The chines were shorter on this design because of the large rounded nose cone that held the radar system. The R/C Rocket glider uses 9mm depron, bt80 tubing and is designed for 32mm glider G-12 reloads. Currently 16 oz airframe weight. with electronics, paint, nose weight and motor it'll be about 26 and 1/2 ready to fly so it should be a pretty good performer."




I thought this profile looked familiar. I put together the (much smaller) Apogee SR-72 Darkbird a while back. 
To see the build: CLICK HERE

At the time, I asked Tim at Apogee where he came up with the name. He said: "We wanted to show the next generation of the SR-71, we call ours the SR-72."

Looks like the Apogee kit was based on the same YF-12 Interceptor that Frank built. I never even knew it existed.

Where Did The Sasha Design Come From?

On TRF, Ewomack asked about the Estes Sasha:
"Is the relatively new Estes kit "Sasha SA-2061" based on a real rocket? I can't seem to find anything online that it might correlate to. Is it just their own original design?

John Boren, designer of the Sasha responded:
"No, It is not based on a single Russian surface to air missiles. I was designing and building my NARAM 60 scale entry at the time which was a Russian SA-5 Missile. I was in the Russian Missile mood so I designed a looks like a scale model for Estes."

Here's John Boren's entry for NARAM 60:

Here's the upper stage from my Sasha build - 

If you were to drop the outside tubes with the turned out nose cones you can see the profile similarities. Well, that and rotate the four lower fins by 45 degrees. 
This is a great example of building a sport variation of a real rocket.

Salvage 1, Vulture

On the Facebook Model Rocketry Fanatics page,

Charles Fassel-Reynard De Foch asked:

"Has anyone ever tried building and flying this baby?" 

Salvage 1 (1979) TV Movie

Another reference and link from RocketReveiews.com
"Estes created a prototype flying model of the fictional Vulture spaceship featured in the TV program "Salvage 1."  A kit, however, was never produced."

Michael Hellmund tells the back story: CLICK HERE

Odd'l Rockets F-104 Fuel Tank Correction

When I posted the first prototype build of the Odd'l Rockets F-104 Starfighter, I heard about it!
Most comments were positive but a few let me know the wing fuel tanks were too small.
To be honest, I didn't have many dowels and grabbed what was handy. I bought larger dowels.

Above is the first prototype. It has quite a few stable test flights.

I cut off the fuel tanks and carved two larger ones. On the left is the size comparison.

The inset shows where the paint was scraped off to glue onto the wing.

Is this better? - hope so!

Compared to the OOP Centuri kit, this version is much closer to the truth.

Now . . . more test flights.

Another Design Inspiration

It's strange where design inspiration comes sometimes.

I'm not a religious guy but this cross pendant from Ebay is interesting.
The square angle tipped "wings" and floating black "V" shapes at the front and rear of the wings show possibilities.
Sure, it'd need a rudder at the top rear. The rear "Vs' would go.

Divine inspiration? Nah. A rocket? Maybe.

Is It Just Me?

Or does anybody else see something else in rocket designs?

Every time I see the Estes Scorpion -




It reminds me of a running Greyhound.
That's probably why I didn't buy the kit.

Flying Stovepipe Dog Toy

I saw a HurriK9 Ring Launcher ad on Facebook. To see it, CLICK HERE

 This dog fetch toy reminded me of an old Estes rocket plan, the Flying Stovepipe:



To see the Flying Stovepipe plans: CLICK HERE This was Estes Plan #56 from 1968.

This rocket is basically a old Astron Scout in the center except the fins are shaped with a one sided airfoil to induce spin during boost. At ejection there is (hopefully) enough still enough rotation to give you a gliding ring recovery. 

I always wanted to try this one but was concerned that the flight results might not be worth the effort. I remember reading somewhere that the original designer, Larry Deran was still tweaking the design. 

Which Came First?

These two designs shared many of the same design elements.
Both models were short, had solar panel fins and used an existing NASA style capsule.

I always liked the Orbital Transport Laboratory designed by Ted Nomura (Shown at the upper left). It was the June 1971 winner of the Estes Design of the Month contest. The plans were printed up in the Estes Model Rocket News. The model was also seen on the cover of the 1972 Estes catalog. For the JimZ plans: CLICK HERE

On the right is the Apollo Earth Orbital Workshop designed by Ronnie Cramer. It was featured in the August 1971 issue of Model Rocketry Magazine; CLICK HERE


These two designs are enough alike that one probably inspired the other. Which came first?
Both the Estes MRN ad Model Rocket Magazines have dated covers, they didn't always arrive at your mailbox by the posted month. A June issue could arrive in mid July! These two designs were printed within two months of each other.

Magazine submissions rarely go into print the week they arrive at the publishers. Some articles will sit for months before being used.

Here's another Apollo Earth Orbital drawing from a later Ambroid glue ad.

I doubt Ronnie Cramer ever got residuals from Ambroid copying his design.

Centuri had a solar paneled kit, "Available February 1, 1972".

The Sky-Lab fins may have been spurred by these earlier designs.

Estes Nike X Kit #1270 Inspiration

Sometimes you find design inspirations when doing image searching.

When the Nike X kit was introduced in 1975, the Estes designers didn't have access to the internet. They were going off what few pictures were released at the time.

While looking up pictures of the Sprint ABM I ran across this.
You can bet the Spartan ABM was the inspiration for the Estes Nike X kit ,#1270.
You can see the instructions courtesy of JimZs; CLICK HERE




The roll pattern was copied. The nose cone fins were made smaller and set back onto the body tube. They looked more like small conduits now. Estes instructions called them a "balsa fairing detail".
The "openings" beneath the middle fins were a simple decal wrap.
A great design based on the real thing.

Fonts Matter

Next time you pick out a type font to run down the side of your rocket . . . make sure the style fits the design.

From the Design Cuts Facebook page.

New Kit Prototype - Odd'l Rockets F-17, Part 2, Canopy

Draw, adjust, then draw and adjust again.
The first tries were too square and didn't fit the contour of the nose cone. It took six revisions to get a good fit.








To glue on the canopy it was traced and the paint scraped off the already painted nose cone.









The rocket has already flown once with a B6-4. It was sprayed white overall. It was just a test flight before I took the time to draw up the decals.

New Kit Prototype - Odd'l Rockets F-17, Part 1 Decals and Canopy

This won't be a full build thread but a quick insight into making a prototype.

I'm playing around with a new Odd'l Rockets kit based on the old Centuri fighter Fleet series. To see the Fighter Fleet, CLICK HERE

I had to draw decals from an online scan. After this first attempt there were four revisions. No matter how you try, the first decal print will be thrown away. Most details end up too large.
The Centuri kit was the F-16, mine will be an F-17.
You can't sell a decal with the name "US Air Force" without paying for the rights so I settled for "US FIGHTER FORCE".

The Centuri kit had a clear canopy, this one will be card stock.

There's no real trick to drawing a canopy, you just have to dive in knowing it'll take a few revisions to get the shape to fit.
On the left is the first try.

After cutting it out the glue tabs were held down with long tweezers while the glue dried.
TIP: One trick to gluing small tabs like this is to use very little white glue.

Fiddles and Fenders, Design Inspiration

People wonder where designs come from. Fin shapes and color schemes are usually inspired by something seen before.

I read about this one online and had to try it for myself.
The "F" holes on violins are an interesting shape.








There are some who think the shape came from a carefully peeled orange skin.






The Fender guitar head stock design was suggested by Merle Travis, the great fingerstyle player and composer of "Sixteen Tons".


The silhouette is roughly based on a side view of a violin headstock.

Why bring this up?
Rocket design ideas are all around you. You just have to keep yourself open to unconventional shapes.

Batmissile on Ebay and other Older Bats

Goodrocks sells some vintage kits on Ebay. This one I found interesting.
You can almost hear Adam West saying: "Robin, fire the Bat-missile!"

I like this one because of the TV Batman logo use on the fins. It looks like the art is simply a paper print glued onto the fins and body tube.





Those fins are thick, probably 1/8".
To see the listing, CLICK HERE

Here's an older OOP kit from Estes, The Bat.
This one built by John Bergsmith.
The review is on RocketReviews.com, CLICK HERE

I always throught this one was a little creepy. It does have the across the fins, wrap around art like the Batmissle above.












Here's my Semroc Batroc based on the old Centuri kit.
I painted this one to look like the TV show Batman costume.
It's even got a (high placed) yellow utility belt.

I haven't forgot the more recent Estes Hyper Bat.
It's two-stage, sleek and BLACK.
The facing fins make up a more current Batman logo.

Here's an short video showing the evolution of the Batman logo, CLICK HERE

Clear Body Rocket?

Cutaway display models were brought up on YORF and I remembered this gem at JimZs website: CLICK HERE

A clear ST-10 body with a ST-5 stuffer tube inside.
I especially like the spiral decor on the model on the right under "Construction Tips".
It was the second place winner in a 1968 Centuri design contest.

Just food for thought!