my buddy Tom

[Pappy]

many years ago, i was spending a Saturday morning hanging out with my not yet famous buddy Tom Petty, building model rockets. not many people know that he was an avid model rocketeer, but yeah. he was working on a big bertha and i was banging away at an interceptor. i was frustrated because i was having difficulty with paint blistering.

"Y'know Tom," i said, irritated, "after all this prep and stuff, sanding and whatnot, i always f* it up with the paint."

"I know what you mean." He replied with his easy, smokey voice, not looking up from his work.

"yeah, definitely..." i continued, "the painting is the hardest part."

i don't think he heard me clearly...

 

[fyrwrxz]

Now THAT's funny! (dammit, now it's playing in my head and prolly will be all day-drat!) R.I. P. Tom and thanks for the music.

 

[Sandy H.]

Back in the day (1st Bar'dom) I read a lot about using an inkjet printer, decal paper and clear spray paint to make amazing decals. I ordered some decal paper and while waiting, did some graphics.

Being a fan of Tom Petty and noticing that Quest had a rocket named the Full Moon, I made a decal file. (Not the Bad Boy decal above, which was for a 3x 24mm Fatboy cluster rocket and not part of the Full Moon Fever Rocket plan).

Anyway, I didn't have much luck with the decal paper/clear coat paint method (crazed immediatly) and never bothered to apply the decal to the rocket. But, as a good rocketeer, I apparently not only kept the failed experiment, I knew exactly where it was, even though I moved since I made it. No clue why I can't find my dial calipers, but apparently I have selective forgetfulness and the failed Tom Petty decal is higher on the list of things not to forget than the dial calipers I use 2-3 times a week. . .

Anyway, cool joke. And here's my contribution to the thread related to it.

Sandy.