Just got a *gigantic* carpet tube...

[Dr. Quigley]

...and I have no idea what to do with it.

It is about the size of an AMRAAM. I am not kidding, this thing is taller than I am, *very* thickly-walled and about 4 1/8" OD (My calipers went on an extended vacation to the land of the lost things that you were sure you put on your desk but aren't there anymore, so I'm not sure of the actual OD/ID). Some of the basic OR sims I've been doing have shown it's a low-and-veryvery-slow type rocket. The best part? It's very close to 3.9" that LOC uses- I'm sure any remaining difference can be sanded carefully away.
The one thing- LOC wants me to pay $18 for that NC- Are there any cheaper options out there? I don't have a lathe to turn my own.
Also, there's a thick gap running down the tube where the top layer of paper wrapping didn't cover- Any suggestions as to filling it in?

[fyrwrxz]

Bondo. Then fibreglas it. Drop it in the pool to soak and scrape out the paper!! Viola!

[Rocketbuilder]

Given the cost of flying a thick-walled carpet tube the size of an AMRAAM, is an $18 nose cone that big of an issue? Of course I am always trying to find cheaper nose cones myself, so that was sort of ironic coming from me.
Fyrwrx--