Hobby Room -

"Welcome to my dream Crafting Room."

To see the short video - CLICK HERE

This is how I feel after I finish 

a big Odd'l Rockets vendor order . . . 

Cox .049 Engine History

 A well produced and narrated history of the Cox .049 model airplane engine.

CLICK HERE 

Lots of childhood memories here - The smells and the sounds of a Saturday at the school yard.

Estes is mentioned in the video.

I have a personal tie to this box art.

My cousin's ex-husband was a graphic artist. 

Here's one he produced for Cox.

Two Stage Water Rocket?

 

I've launched a few single staged water rockets - 

This video shows a two stage water rocket 

with a parachute for the booster - 

CLICK HERE

Hairspray Powered Rocket?

It looks like a water rocket, but the propellant and controller are much different!

I'm sure this doesn't follow the NAR Safety Code, but interesting.

To see  the video: CLICK HERE

What Does This Have To Do With Rocketry?

It doesn't have much to do with rockets!

Still, a fascinating look at a pedal car restoration.

You think some rocket repairs are complicated?

Worth a watch - CLICK HERE

My Dog Dakota -

My Sheltie Dakota and I dropped off some Odd'l Rockets kits at JonRocket in nearby Oviedo, FL.

After we got home I brushed out Dakota's heavy coat.

Something was stuck to her butt.

When you know, you know. 

No Posts? I'm Camping!

Sorry, no posts for the next three days.

I'm going camping with Dakota the Blue Merle Sheltie.

A new build will start on Friday, February 13.

New Dog!

Welcome the newest member of the Michielssen family - Dakota the blue merle Sheltie!

Picked her up this afternoon with daughter Whitney's help.

One year old, very chill dog. First walk was easy, the dog already heels.

Two hours later she put her head in my lap!

Hopefully she'll make it out to a launch or two -

 

Dogs growing up - Abe, Beau, Cody, Dudley, Emily, Fern and Gertie.

My Mom named them in alphabetical order.

California Trip, Part 2

I took second place at the Musical Saw festival.

The first place winner was a great player with a real flair.

I also won funniest saw joke and farthest traveled!  

That's my High School friend Ron, his mother taught me the accordion.

He's sitting on a redwood stump. The festival was held next to the Henry Crowell Redwoods state park. 

Build posts will resume on Thursday - tomorrow I travel back to Orlando.

California Trip, August 9 - 13, 2025

I might miss a few days of build posts - 

I'm off to California to compete in the International Festival Of The Musical Saw! 

In 2022 I won a saw competition held in Barberville, FL. That's me on the right, holding the saw.

This upcoming Saw Fest is held in the shade of the Redwoods at Roaring Camp in Felton, Ca. It's known as the big, original saw competition. Felton is close by to my hometown of Watsonville, CA. 

In nearby Santa Cruz is a statue of Tom Scribner, who played Saw on Pacific Avenue.

In the late 1970s, I entertained at Roaring Camp. Banjo, Guitar, Harmonica and Musial Saw serenaded guests in the BBQ area. 

We had many Japanese tourists brought in by the busload. They were fascinated by cowboys and would often request: "Play Bonanza! Play Bonanza!"

Builds On Display!

While the epoxy dries on the Mega Initiators -

Around a year and a half back, I donated ten display builds to Colonial Hobby in Orlando, Florida.

I checked back last December and the models were still in a cardboard box, sitting on top of a file cabinet.

I let them know if they weren't going to display the builds, I'd rather have them back. They took the hint and finally put them on display!

Most all these are my builds, from left to right - 

The Andromeda, Long Tom, Sprint XL, Alien Invader, Laser Lance, Scram Jet, Bullpup, Goblin, QCC Explorer, Little Honest John. I don't know who built the others.

They did honor my one request - keep them out of reach! They are up on a shelf at the back of the store, to the right of the rocket kits.

Best Laid Plans?

The plan - Go camping!

I woke up yesterday with lower back pain.

Hitching up the small camper, the two hour drive and setting up a campsite - put a damper on plans. 

I might have been able to drive and set things up, 

but had no guarantee I could wake up in two days and break it all down. 

Trip cancelled!

If you've been through this, you know!

I'm still at home, having trouble getting up and down from a seated position.

I'll get back to the blog when I can get back to building!

Camping - for the next few days

I'm camping for the next few days.

The Florida state parks have water and electric - 

but no internet.

No build posts until Friday - 

This is a small camper, only 4' x 8'. It's impossible to stand up in it, but it has a bed, small TV and A/C.

Easy to tow. My chance to get away for a few days! 
 

In My Other Previous Life-

While I wait for the Insignia White spray paint to arrive, 

I may have to fill with other blog posts - 

"All rockets and no play makes Jack a very dull boy" 

What you find when you clean out the garage -

I inlayed this banjo neck 25 years ago but never bound or mounted it.

It's an old, seldom seen Gibson pattern.

 

Rocket Limericks, Part 2

 ROCKET LIMERICKS

Newbies ask with some caution,

What glue is best for construction,

There’s CA, white and wood glues,

So many that I could choose,

How ‘bout following instructions!

On the rocket he spent much cash,

The finish had sheen and flash,

The chute did open up

On gravel it ended up,

His shiny work now has road rash.

The forecasts say low winds are like-ly,

But at launches the breezes seem dic-ey.

High up winds can shift,

Your rocket will drift,

To the limbs of that single oak tree.

Rocket Limericks, Part 1

I'm in the middle of multiple builds, 

Duplicates take more time than a single build. I might be falling behind in daily posts.

Before anyone knocks my bad poetry - 

Limericks are supposed to be a bit tacky.

ROCKET LIMERICKS

That new Rocketeer was quite green, 

To a club launch he’d never been, 

His family all goaded, 

Biggest motor loaded 

After launch no rocket was seen.

He’d taken his time in construction,

Carefully chose spray painting options,

He sprayed with gusto,

A new can of Rusto,

Gloss finish was not in the outcome.

Splatter Paint?

Anytime I've done drywall repair I use this texture paint.

It sprays with random splatters and helps to hide uneven drywall patches.

Mentioned in earlier rocket builds - flat paint can help hide rough surfaces.

It always reminds me of a bad can of Rusto 2X Gloss White. Note the can says "orange peel". 

Not recommended as a model rocket finish.  

Why would I bring this up on a rocket building blog?

Building model rockets has given me confidence, taught me project planning and patience. Filling, sanding to surface, priming and paint. 

I would think hobbyists can read a ruler better than most!

I removed a large mirror from my master bathroom. Because I work alone and it was heavy, the mirror was cut into thirds. Look close - that diamond wheel on my ancient Dremel tool is red hot!

Here's the nearly finished project - 

Drywall repair, measuring, leveling and centering

the mirrors. I still have to mask off the mirrors and paint the frames a light gray.

Masking - more modeling techniques!

Don't You Hate It When This Happens?

You'd think after all the years I've been masking models and baseboards, I wouldn't see this happen!

Don't you hate when a rip starts and you have to toss a few inches of tape?

Laser Cut Guitar Bracing

How did we ever get by before laser cut fins? 

I once thought laser cut parts only applied to rocket and wooden ship kits.

 

The picture shows the internal bracing of a new design guitar.

Fancy guitar inlays cavities (cutting a well-fitting recess) were once "gouged" out using a Dremel and a dental bit. Lasers now cut the ebony or rosewood fingerboards for inlays.

From a Martin guitar Facebook post:

Where legendary Martin tone and innovation meet. The new GPCE Inception features skeletonized scalloped bracing and sonic channels inside the body for increased resonance and superior tone. Go behind the design with the Martin team to learn more: CLICK HERE

Back Building!

I thought I had finished up the blog on June 30. I was going to build a few wooden ship models. 

Well, that didn't pan out - yet.

I'm back building a few rockets.

Did you ever sand off your fingertips? Ouch!

I found myself with more time on my hands than I wanted. I had plenty of time to practice Piano and Accordion but something was missing. I'm not one to sit on the couch and stare at the TV for hours and hours.

So - a compromise. I'll blog when a vendor kit is built. That'll still keep new products on the blog. Finished vendor models are sent back and won't fill my shelves with models that seldom fly!

After a build is completed, there may be a break until the next vendor build arrives.

I won't say what's coming up - yet. I am building something.