Going Viral - literally

I found a polystyrene icosohedron, so what else could I do with it but make a virus? I don't play D&D anymore, so can't use it for attack rolls.

I've mounted a coupler to the icosohedron for the head (nose cone). The body will be a BT-55, and the fins will be long, spider-like spindly legs. It'll have a 24mm MMT. Will post more as build progresses-

Well, This is definitely classified as a "odd-roc"!

Go for it! I wanna see this fly!

Cool! Is that a T4 bacteriophage? (No, I didn't Google it. )
Looking forward to seeing this build. Post lots of pics, especially when when you get that thing up in the air!
Oh, and you must make it land on those leg thingies.

Got the "legs" cut out of foam board. Don't think i'm gonna glass em, i'll take my chances

jeffgeraci said:

Got the "legs" cut out of foam board. Don't think i'm gonna glass em, i'll take my chances

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It is hard to tell the scale of the legs from the photo, but I'm afraid they may not be effective enough to compesate for the large frontal area of the "nose". I have a long history as an odd-roc builder (in the 80's I was (in)famous!) so I have a pretty good sense of what works.

You may have to do clear plastic within the legs to make them more effective as fins. When people used to flight-convert Lunar Module plastic models, that was the preferred technique.

LW Bercini said:

It is hard to tell the scale of the legs from the photo, but I'm afraid they may not be effective enough to compesate for the large frontal area of the "nose". I have a long history as an odd-roc builder (in the 80's I was (in)famous!) so I have a pretty good sense of what works.

You may have to do clear plastic within the legs to make them more effective as fins. When people used to flight-convert Lunar Module plastic models, that was the preferred technique.

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The legs have 3 "segments", and I believe the first segment (the widest one at top) is sufficient for stability all by itself. The other 2 segments will actually make it over-stable- I'm not concerned about the fins at all. Thanks for the heads up though, the scale is hard to see in the pic. Oh yeah, and there's plenty of weight at top to add to satbility

Just finished the "coils". I was going to use rope, but I wanted something smooth and light, so I went with drip irrigation line (HDPE) and secured it with epoxy putty. Next, I'll mount the MMT.

shiny!

Rocketbuilder said:

Cool! Is that a T4 bacteriophage? (No, I didn't Google it. )

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Phages are among the coolest, if as yet underutilized, 'good' bugs!

Phages are among the main reasons people along the Ganges, Nile, Amazon, et al are able to drink and bathe in the water without dying wholesale of 6 strains of simultaneous fulminating dysentery. :y:

So technically this would be what; a 5000X upscale? Talk about a Macro Virus.

Viruses just freak me out. They grab on to their host cell, inject their DNA (instead of the cell reproducing itself, it follows its new "blueprint" and reproduces the virus instead) then the cell explodes because it's full of new 'baby' viruses who all go out and do the same thing! Ooh, I'm weird'n out, must go to a happy place.

Anyway, here's the nose cone painted. I used tropical spray blue, then I used true blue; I depress the nozzle just a tad so that it just spatters droplets.

That looks great! We learned about Viruses in Biology class a couple of weeks ago. I see no reason for them to exist...

Finished painting the fins, and now I'm attaching them through the wall. I typically don't paint the fins first, but it's too troublesome to hand paint after mounting them. The specks are actually green glitter, and the dots in the centers of those black spider lookin things are yellow. Camera didn't pick up the actual image.

I can't decide what color to paint the body and the coils?????????????????

IDEAS???????????????

Oh yeah... if you're wondering why the fins look different on one side, it's cuz they are. The detail was getting too tedious, and since I don't plan to launch this more than a couple times, there's no point in putting more effort in it. This rocket is just a "beater" rocket.

OK, this is a sick rocket.

JPVegh said:

OK, this is a sick rocket.

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:lol: HAR!

OK, I went a little overboard with the glitter, so I have to change the name.

This rocket is now called the "Liberace virus"

Anyway, I did something very, very stooooooooooooooo-pid; I forgot to add the launch lugs!!!!!!!!! :y:

jeffgeraci said:

OK, I went a little overboard with the glitter, so I have to change the name.

This rocket is now called the "Liberace virus"

Anyway, I did something very, very stooooooooooooooo-pid; I forgot to add the launch lugs!!!!!!!!! :y:

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The Byrum-moment aside, that is a very fun oddroc. Good job! I love the juxtaposition of color and glitter with the somewhat creepy looking silhouette.

Now you need to make a clear plastic 'chute and decorate it to look like a mucosal cell.

jeffgeraci said:

OK, I went a little overboard with the glitter, so I have to change the name.

This rocket is now called the "Liberace virus"

Anyway, I did something very, very stooooooooooooooo-pid; I forgot to add the launch lugs!!!!!!!!! :y:

Click to expand...

I don't think that's the virus that got Liberace...

LW Bercini said:

The Byrum-moment aside,

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ahem.....

Gary Byrum said:

ahem.....

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People have often heard me say, and have begun to quote me: "When it is a Truth, it cannot be considered a judgement"

:tongue:

eggplant said:

That looks great! We learned about Viruses in Biology class a couple of weeks ago. I see no reason for them to exist...

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Upward pressure on the rest of us.

If you can get it to land on a huge bacterium made out of garbage bags...

New Ocean said:

If you can get it to land on a huge bacterium made out of garbage bags...

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It will script its provirus into the genes of the host cell, then take off with a puff of smoke.

I'm afraid this is one of the most gawdy and awful looking rockets I've made to date. Hope it flies better then it looks, but we'll see april 14......... weather permitting.

Did you get a launch window on the 14th?

Super creepy looking project - super creative too!

New Ocean said:

If you can get it to land on a huge bacterium made out of garbage bags...

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I just had a hilarious mental image of someone running around a field holding a big pile of garbage bags in their arms, trying to get it under their rocket! :roll:

If you launched it, let us know how it went!

What a cool project! AND, you may have solved a problem for me. I've been working on a rocket with some long/stringy fins and the right material has been a challenge. The foam might just be the ticket,had'nt thought of that! Easy to use too.

jeffgeraci said:

Viruses just freak me out. They grab on to their host cell, inject their DNA (instead of the cell reproducing itself, it follows its new "blueprint" and reproduces the virus instead) then the cell explodes because it's full of new 'baby' viruses who all go out and do the same thing! Ooh, I'm weird'n out, must go to a happy place.

Anyway, here's the nose cone painted. I used tropical spray blue, then I used true blue; I depress the nozzle just a tad so that it just spatters droplets.

Click to expand...

Great technique! Now I have to build something to use it! Thanks ( I think...)

I plan to launch this on Saturday May 5 at Plaster City.... and if all goes well, I'll be launching "Suicide King" too! Will post launch video of virus rocket on this thread