Steampunk Protostar, Part 3

Where else but on the BlastFromThePast blog can one find two simultaneous build threads?
Yep, as the Lunar Patrol project winds down, it's time to get started on that Steampunk version Estes Protostar.
It is my hope that this one will progress a little more quickly than did the LP.
I suppose this first build progress post of the series should feature the obligatory photo of the kit parts laid out all nice and purty on the workbench:

The initial steps of this build will pretty much follow the basic rocket construction as outlined in the kit instruction/instrucciones/anweisungen/istruzioni/navod sheets.
The real meat of this project will lie in the myriad detailing that will be necessary for "punking it up".
As with most scratch-built rocket projects, a lot of this stuff will be done on the fly...tinker-style.
For much of the detailing, I have some ideas about which materials and techniques I will be using, but for some other aspects, I have no idea yet. 
Build by the seat of the pants, I say. 
Hey, it worked with all my competition birds back in the 70s!
That's what will make this project so much fun.
Oops - almost forgot - a scan of one of the kit laser cut balsa fin sheets alongside a ruler:

Just in case I ever need to replace a fin, or scratch build another Protostar, or upscale, or make a "Hippie-VW Microbus-Style Protostar, or a.....
Wait a minnit.... What did I just say?....A hippie VW Microbus-style Protostar?
Now where did I put my sketchpad?.....

All Bushy-Eyed and Bright-Tailed!

Hi, Folks.
By now you might have noticed that I haven't posted here in over two weeks.
Good reason for that.
Simply put, I was away from my PC.
Approximately 6169 miles away, give or take a few.
Mrs. BlastFromThePast and I took a two week vacation to In Cheon, South Korea.  She is from there, so we went to visit her extensive family and do a little sight-seeing.
This morning, I am riding on serious jet-lag and loaded up with caffeine.  As I write, it is 7:45 a.m.  My body/brain clock is still on Korea time which is 15 hours ahead of MST, so I'm thinking it's 10:45 p.m. 
Time for bed.......

MPC Lunar Patrol, Part 15 - Booster Decals

The home-print MPC decals are now ready to be applied to the Lunar Patrol Booster rocket.

I am using a brand of clear decal stock for ink jet printers purchased at HobbyTown. 
The decals used for this model are from a scan of an original MPC stock sheet.  A little size tweaking was necessary to get the black and white roll pattern to precisely fit a BT-20 body tube.

Once the sheet was printed, it was shot with two coats of Krylon clear to protect the images.

I found that this particular brand of decal material takes only 10 seconds of soaking before it is ready to move out of the water.  Any longer soak time and the decal tends to curl with a lot of nasty wrinkles that are somewhat difficult to work out when applied to the model's surface.

As has been pointed out on other build blogs, and the forums, working with home print decals takes a great deal more time and patience to get things right. 

Careful attention to placement and working the excess water and bubbles from under each decal with a Q-tip is essential.  The end result is very satisfactory.

This is the front, or 'show' side of the model.

Just for grins, I stuck a decal of my old NAR number on one of the fins.  Even though I am currently not a member, this is a re-build of one of my old-fleet models from a time when I was.

The launch lug side of the Lunar Patrol is more sparsely decorated - a small USA and the MPC logo .

After a day or so of drying time, the decals will be treated with gloss sauce (Future) to seal the edges.

In the meantime, it's off to finish getting some secondary paint colors on the gliders.

Cheers!

Steampunk Protostar, Part 2 - I Have Re-Considered

Howdy Folks!
In a previous post I stated that I am not going to do a build series on the SteamPunk Protostar, but I have since changed my mind.
"Why, BlastFromThePast?", you might ask.
After doing an extensive search of the Wonderful World Wide Web for all things Steampunk, I realized what a cool project this might turn out to be.
So, what exactly is this 'Steampunk' of which I speak?
Here is a brief definition from Wikipedia -  "Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery."
Therefore, any machine or contrivance designed in the realm of Steampunk will, of course, be powered by some form of steam engine.  The associated machinery attached to and powered by this steam engine is characterized by a lot of gears, cams, pistons, pipes, vanes, valves, dials, gauges, etc.
The primary materials of construction are steel, copper, and brass.
Human interface controls are all in the form of hand-wheels, valve handles, levers, and pull-chains.
On top of all this is thrown in a good measure of Victorian-era decorative elements.
Steampunk.
For the conversion of an Estes Protostar kit into Steampunk, I intend to construct the basic model much as the kit was intended, while at the same time, designing and adding the embellishments as I go along.
Naturally, the kit recommended paint scheme and decals will go straight out the window.
In many respects, this will be very much akin to building a regular historical scale model from scratch, as all of the external detailing will need to be custom fabricated from various materials.
The way I want to approach this build is to imagine what a spaceship dreamed up and designed by a group of 19th century steam power / mechanical engineers and tinkerers would look like. 
Sort of the product of a Victorian-era version of Space-X.
Of course, we all know that a steam powered engine could never build up enough pressure to produce the thrust necessary to lift anything in the air.  Even if it could, operation would cease once high enough in Earth's atmosphere.  Insufficient air for combustion.
Making it to the moon to see if it really is made of green cheese would be out of the question.
But it is fun to think about.
Gotta love science fiction.
Anyway, what would the Queen herself (Victoria, that is) say if she could see all of this Steampunk business?

"We are NOT amused !"
 

MPC Lunar Patrol: Part 14 - Booster Rocket Painting Completed

Saturday, May 12th .....
I finally found some time to get paint applied to a few rocket builds, the Lunar Patrol being one of them.
The model was masked for a simple two-color scheme of white for the upper body and silver for the fin/glider tube assembly.
Next step is the application of decals.  I will be using home prints of a scan of the original MPC decal sheet, sized down slightly to allow the roll patterns to fit a BT-20 tube.
This build is slowly crawling to a conclusion.....

Steampunk Protostar, Part 1 - A Marvelously Splendid New Adventure

As if I don't have enough model rocket projects in various stages of completion strewn about the BlastFromThePast workshop , I picked this up at Hobby Lobby today...

This purchase was inspired by a thread on one of the rocket forums concerning the paint scheme for the Protostar kit. 

Estes R&D designer John Boren chimed in, and pondered who would be the first to do a 'Steampunk' version of the model.

"Well, now!"  I exclaimed to myself. "This is truly a tailor-made project for me!"

I certainly can recognize a tossed gauntlet when I see one.

I probably won't do a posted build series on this model, preferring to leave that sort of stuff to the more highly experienced and able bloggers (I won't mention any names, Chris).

I shall, however, post periodic pictures of the model as progress is made.

But first,  I must be off to perform the necessary data gathering by consulting my vast library of picture books on steam engine technology and Victorian-era frillery.

Or, maybe just 'Google' the stuff.

Anyway, this ought'a be fun.

Stay tuned.

Back In The Day, Part 13 - Ridin' The Rails

Back in 1968, my folks bought a new home in the Rustic Hills area of Colorado Springs. The house was located at a T-intersection opposite a short street that went up the hill about a block and terminated in a cul-de-sac. Beyond the houses and yards on this cul-de-sac was a rocky bluff, and running along the base of that bluff were some railroad tracks.  Rock Island Railroad, to be exact.
I recall there was a great deal of freight train traffic on that line. The rail bed through that section had a fairly substantial grade, meaning that trains heading west to east ran very slowly - many times around 5mph tops!  Of course, trains heading east to west would fly down that grade.
In 1968, I was in junior high school.  During the summers my neighborhood buddies and I would be hanging out, hiking around on the bluff or riding our bikes on a pathway paralleling the tracks.  Whenever we heard one of the slow trains approaching from the west, we would make a bee-line for the tracks. 
As the train passed slowly by we would wave to the locomotive engineers and wait.  After they were safely far enough away to not see us, we would climb onto the ladders attached to freight cars as they passed by.  They were going so slowly, it was really just a matter of walking alongside the car, and easily stepping on. 
We would hitch a ride for about half a mile to just ahead of the point where the grade started leveling out and trains could pick up a little more speed.  Then we would just hop off the ladders and go on our way.  Harmless adolescent fun, eh?
That Rock Island rail line out of Colorado Springs is now long since gone.  The rails have been removed and parts of the grade have been made into a walking/biking path.
What's all this got to do with model rocketry?
Last night I was reading the interview with Vern and Gleda Estes published in the Sep./Oct. 2006 issue of Launch magazine.  I was intrigued by the part on page 29 where Vern was describing the shipment of Estes catalogs from the Penrose mail facility, in which Rock Island truck trailers were loaded with catalogs after which they were driven to Colorado Springs and loaded piggyback onto railroad flat cars to be transported to points east.
The article doesn't specify which year(s) this occurred.
Reading that interview article sparked these memories and makes me wonder if any of us kids hitching a ride on those trains did so on one of the flat cars laden with thousands of Estes Industries
catalogs bound for the East Coast...
I found a photo online of part of that same rail line in the process of being dismantled.  This pic is from the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph.  This section of track is a bit further west of where I lived.