I've been thinking about doing a set of Goonified Apollo rockets, because sometimes really bad ideas seem interesting.
It started with thinking there should be a Goony Saturn 1B. But then it became obvious that there should really be three rockets: a Saturn 1B, a Saturn V, and a Lunar Module. Cuz if you're doing Apollo stuff you should really do all the Apollo stuff.
That kind of put a stop to the project because I couldn't figure out a good LM design that I felt really captured the spirit of the vehicle. I kept trying different combinations of the classic Bertha nose cone with different fin shapes. Nothing really worked, they all kind of felt more like the Estes Mars Lander than a real LM.
So I was safe for a while.
Then yesterday I figured out that a standard Ping Pong ball is almost exactly the right size to fit a BT-60. So theoretically you could build the ascent stage of the LM out of a ping pong ball.
Today I went for a walk, just to get out of the house, down to the corner store. I could just drop in and see if they've got ping pong balls for sale, just to see if the size is really right...
The Saturns I'd need to order parts online for, so maybe I can still avoid making those. But now I've got the balls, so I can make the entire LM out of scraps I've already got lying around. I guess now I have to build it.
Here's some rough designs for the family. I'm thinking there should also be first stage engine fairings on the Saturn V made from halves of the same elliptical nose used for the command module, but OpenRocket can't model those easily so they're not in the rendering.
It started with thinking there should be a Goony Saturn 1B. But then it became obvious that there should really be three rockets: a Saturn 1B, a Saturn V, and a Lunar Module. Cuz if you're doing Apollo stuff you should really do all the Apollo stuff.
That kind of put a stop to the project because I couldn't figure out a good LM design that I felt really captured the spirit of the vehicle. I kept trying different combinations of the classic Bertha nose cone with different fin shapes. Nothing really worked, they all kind of felt more like the Estes Mars Lander than a real LM.
So I was safe for a while.
Then yesterday I figured out that a standard Ping Pong ball is almost exactly the right size to fit a BT-60. So theoretically you could build the ascent stage of the LM out of a ping pong ball.
Today I went for a walk, just to get out of the house, down to the corner store. I could just drop in and see if they've got ping pong balls for sale, just to see if the size is really right...
The Saturns I'd need to order parts online for, so maybe I can still avoid making those. But now I've got the balls, so I can make the entire LM out of scraps I've already got lying around. I guess now I have to build it.
Here's some rough designs for the family. I'm thinking there should also be first stage engine fairings on the Saturn V made from halves of the same elliptical nose used for the command module, but OpenRocket can't model those easily so they're not in the rendering.