The Omloidinator

[DynaSoar]

[This ia a kit bash post. Mods, feel free to place it elswhere if appropriate.]

When I first got back into rocketry not so long ago, the first thing I bought was a used Estes range kit with pad and an Alpha kit. Included were a bunch of parts, including most of what turned out to be the Estes Omloid egg lofter. The tubes and egg crate were intact.

Today I got an Estes Eliminator, to burn some E engines in. I realized that not only was it the same size, but I had enough stuff between the two to create something slightly outrageous.

I cut the shoulder off the yellow Eliminator nose and epoxied it on top the orange egg crate. I alternated the blue Omloid and purple Eliminator tubes. This all went into the yellow Eliminator fin can. Lugs went on the side of the crate and about 1/3 of the way out on one of the fins. Recovery equipment was all Eliminator stock, except for an extra 2 feet of shock cord.

To finish it off, some of the Eliminator decals went where ever the colors would clash. BUT... I cut out the second half of the name decal and stuck it along side the Omloid decal already on one tube, and it became... the omloidINATOR. (Yeah, the sizes of the letters look like that).

It's funny and hideous. It's a shame I don't splurge on a digital camera rather than making everyone wait until I get another disposable and use it up. But then I wouldn't have the cash on hand to buy these kits and bash them together. We must have priorities.

I've already had that tickle in the Murphy gland that tells me that while I'll probably lose at least one HPR bird, this ugly thing will keep hanging around.

 

[DynaSoar]

Originally posted by DynaSoar
It's funny and hideous. It's a shame I don't splurge on a digital camera rather than making everyone wait until I get another disposable and use it up. But then I wouldn't have the cash on hand to buy these kits and bash them together. We must have priorities.

I've already had that tickle in the Murphy gland that tells me that while I'll probably lose at least one HPR bird, this ugly thing will keep hanging around.

How wrong I was. At the CATO launch this bird, apparently having had its fill of my verbal abuse, leapt majestically off the pad under E power, boosted straight up at first, then weathercocked backwards -- with the wind instead of into it. When the chute came out, it caught thermals and generally hung around until it finally was able to escape forever into the Rocket Eating Swamp.

So here's the only existing pic, luckily including the spliced name decals.