Konstrained Kitbash Korner
 

You guys seem to have an inexhaustable supply of rocket design ideas oozing out of your melons!!!!

How about some designs that are constrained a bit for us lazy people who hate to cut tubes to a custom size, cut fins to any size, and print out custom decals.

Basically a kitbash design using the pre-cut fins, tubes & decals from whatever kits that are currently available. Mix & match several kits if needed.

The Renegade, the Screamin-Mimi, the Enduring-Freedom kits, the X-Prize kits, and heck, even the small kiddies kits like the yankee! (I love that cone).

Thats one heck of a pile of parts to kitbash from.

Just trying to come up with something to use up all these kits that I got at half-off sales.
The older I get, the less creative I become.
You guys don't seem to have that problem.
Must be the power of cheese!

Screaming MIMI, minus extra fins, but put the tubes (with or without whistles) on the remaining fins. You could get more body tube from the Storm Caster for a longer body.

I took the Viking kit and instead of the 3, 4 or 5 precuts, I made 3 sets (canard, main and trailing) fins. Looks like a mini guardian, but no transition to a smaller tube. That's a fun one to play with.

As far as cutting tubes, I personally try not to. Not that I don't think it is hard, but usually unnecessary since there are so many precuts out there.

check out Semroc, and try out RockSim (they have a free demo that is pretty cool). It lets you put all kinds of tubes and nose cones and fins together. Thats how I built the NuB-1ST. I did make my own fins though, and I could have cut some of them from the StormCaster kit that it first came from.

Oh, the decals came from a kit too. See if you can guess which one.

Cool color scheme!

Later,
EV

Nice :)

Those decals look like they came from the Estes 220 Swift .....

righty-o!

HannahMonster had a 220 Swift painted light purple and covered in Disney Stickers.

I found those in my rocket box and added them to the NuB-1ST. Now I could make stuff like that with some TrimKote and a swivel x-acto. You should see the repair that I did on the Skywriter.

I used Chrome TrimKote to make the "2" and the Eraser Band. Mixed my own paint color to make the eraser. I personally think that it looks better than the original colored tube that came with it. Testors yellow is really pencil colored. I may have to replace the top tube as well (though it wasn't damaged) since Carl's tubes are better than Estes'. I didn't bother trying to fill any of the non-existent spirals, though the precolored Estes tube had visible ones in it. Since I had to paint the repaired tube, I just painted them both then added my "pencilization"

I'll post a pic later.

Hope you enjoy my messy desk.

Please check out my Gemini DC done in Chrome. First time out with TrimKote. I still used most of the stock stickers from the kit. I trimmed the fins with a Permanent Marker to bare wood. Came out looking pretty good I think.

Chrome doesn't photo too well but up close even my wife is impressed.

And of course my Mini Guardian (AKA Viking with Card Stock fins). Wife thought she would suprise me with a kit from Michaels. 3 times I have taken it out, and each time something happens that gets us a "failure to launch." That and the NuB-1ST both got tread on by HannahMonster. No tube damage, just fins/Wing. All better now except for the cosmetics.

The "Wisconsin" Connection
 

(stage whisper) "*Dang.* He figured it out." :rolleyes:

(tapping foot in mock disapproval) Okay, which one of you guys told him? :eek: ;) :D


Cheers,

--Jay

Not me! :rolleyes: I was too busy this evening stuffing my face with Culver's fried cheese curds. [cue Ace Ventura voice] YUMMY!!!

Later,
EV

The chrome Gemini DC really looks great :D Good job on that one BG!

Alright Chris,

since I was the one that thought this was a cool enough idea to warrant an extra thread, here's my first crack at it.

I call her the "Reneceptor". It's simply an Estes #2109 Renegade converted to look like an old K-50 Interceptor. You could use either the original decal style, or for my example I used the decals from the Interceptor II.

The only change you'll have to make is two cuts to turn a couple of sustainer fins into lower stabilizer fins.

Enjoy!

Later,
EV