NukeHavoc
Member
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2021
- Messages
- 17
- Reaction score
- 6
Greetings!
When I was a kid in the 1980s, I built a ton of model rockets and participated in a 4-H model rocketry club in New Jersey. I went to a few NAR events with my dad, who was big into model rocketry at the time.
Flash forward a few decades, and I'm getting back into model rocketry. About five years ago my friends and I built and launched a bunch of Viking rockets with our kids. That was fun, but it wasn't until the last year that I started building regularly again.
Why? While cleaning out my parents' garage, I came across a bunch of my dad's un-built Estes and Centuri rockets. Not wanting them to go to waste, I've been slowly building them. I started off with a few easy rockets (an Alpha, the Eggspress, Starship Excalibur) and then moved onto some more challenging builds (Nova and the Orbital Transport, before I learned Estes was bringing that one back).
Right now, I'm working on the original Starship Enterprise. It's been a heck of a challenge, in part because the bag was open a few pieces (thankfully, all relatively minor) were missing. I've been chronicling the build on my website.
The build is almost done; next weekend I'll probably start painting it. The most nerve-wracking part of working with these older rockets is the decals. Sometimes they work perfectly; other times they disintegrate once they're in the water. Being subjected to the hot/cold cycle in the garage didn't do them any favors, but the plastic, wood, and body tubes came through pretty well.
My ultimate goal is to build the Mars Lander - I got that rocket when I was in high school, but never got around to building it. I want to build a few more rockets before taking on that one though.
When I was a kid in the 1980s, I built a ton of model rockets and participated in a 4-H model rocketry club in New Jersey. I went to a few NAR events with my dad, who was big into model rocketry at the time.
Flash forward a few decades, and I'm getting back into model rocketry. About five years ago my friends and I built and launched a bunch of Viking rockets with our kids. That was fun, but it wasn't until the last year that I started building regularly again.
Why? While cleaning out my parents' garage, I came across a bunch of my dad's un-built Estes and Centuri rockets. Not wanting them to go to waste, I've been slowly building them. I started off with a few easy rockets (an Alpha, the Eggspress, Starship Excalibur) and then moved onto some more challenging builds (Nova and the Orbital Transport, before I learned Estes was bringing that one back).
Right now, I'm working on the original Starship Enterprise. It's been a heck of a challenge, in part because the bag was open a few pieces (thankfully, all relatively minor) were missing. I've been chronicling the build on my website.
The build is almost done; next weekend I'll probably start painting it. The most nerve-wracking part of working with these older rockets is the decals. Sometimes they work perfectly; other times they disintegrate once they're in the water. Being subjected to the hot/cold cycle in the garage didn't do them any favors, but the plastic, wood, and body tubes came through pretty well.
My ultimate goal is to build the Mars Lander - I got that rocket when I was in high school, but never got around to building it. I want to build a few more rockets before taking on that one though.