Who you gonna call? CLOUD BUSTER!

[GlenP]

I ain't 'fraid of no clouds.

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
Three body tubes,
Two transitons,
And a cardstock boat-tail.

And a through-tube engine-mount... ba dump dump dump.

This came from the heap of cardstock paper and some cardboard in the recycling bin, all because I had a left over nose cone from an Estes pack and had to make something to go with it. The venerable Centuri Design Manual plan for the
"CLOUD BUSTER"

 

[GlenP]

I am splitting this at the upper transition, since there is plenty of room in the ST-8 body tube for the chute. I put in a baffle in the ST-7 engine mount/through tube in the lower section. Nice clean lines with the fins and boat tail. Not sure on a color scheme yet, might try portions in metallic chrome.

 

[GlenP]

I got a couple of coats of sanding sealer on the fins and paper body tubes, then a couple of base coats of primer. Still trying to come up with a color scheme. I tried using open rocket to make some images, but it keeps crashing on me when I switch to the 3D views. I was not clever enough to figure out how to put fins on a boat tail also. Still cold and rainy, so painting sessions are going to be hard to fit in. For inspiration I am thinking that a Cloud Buster rocket might be something that came out of the laboratory of the inventor who made the flying car, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, so I am going with some metallic chrome and red/yellow fins. I may need to launch this thing into the clouds to stop the rain so I can actually paint it.

 

[Daddyisabar]

Old School all the way. TRULY SCRUMPTIOUS!

 

[GlenP]

Truly Scrumptious, indeed!


This was my initial attempt, I need to spend some more time going through the OR tutorials and example models, not very good at this yet.

Not quite SteamPunk, but a fun walk down nostalgia lane.

 

[BABAR]

Truly Scrumptious, indeed!

View attachment 307889 ]

Is it supposed to fly sideways?


Looks cool!

 

[Ccolvin968]

That looks great!
I have extra parts laying around.
Guess I gotta do something with them now too.
Haha!

 

[GlenP]

I feel like such a heel, I guess I caught "The Bug" for these Centuri Design Manual plans, I just ordered some balsa nose cones and body tubes so I can build the Bug and Achilles next. I already hit Pay Dirt earlier this year.

 

[GlenP]

I decided to make these mini powered. The bug has a rear eject 13mm engine mount, I can fit a small streamer on it.

 

[GlenP]

Now that I look at it, I think that the model rocket on the cover of the old Centuri Designers Manual would be a fun challenge...

hard to tell, but I would guess it had an 18mm engine mount in that boat tail fairing. has anyone built one of those? Almost looks like something from a plastic VAC-U-FORM machine.

 

[TangoJuliet]

That would be a neat challenge to undertake. Is it possible that there are two ventral fins on that boat tail fairing and that's what's making it look more like a vac-u-formed part? I'm also curious to know if the Centuri Chute Powder was anything more than Talcum powder? Centuri wasn't around when I started in 1980 or so.

 

[GlenP]

I found an older thread here, and in the second edition of the manual with the Orion, or Taurus, on the cover, there is a section that shows that rocket and the cross section and explains how to carve a body from two halves of balsa, hollow it out and put an engine mount tube in the middle. Rosco Racer made some measurements and layouts for the body and fins, but the thread only shows the thumbnails, the attachments seem to be unavailable. I was initially thinking of trying to make it built up from balsa frame and cardstock like the Asteroid Hunter construction, but carving and sanding a solid balsa block might be an interesting way to do it.


I just found the later build thread, not sure how I missed it in my initial search..
https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?96328-Centuri-s-Early-Concept-Rocket
Awesome!

 

[TangoJuliet]

Cool!

 

[hcmbanjo]

I'm also curious to know if the Centuri Chute Powder was anything more than Talcum powder? Centuri wasn't around when I started in 1980 or so.

It probably was just talcum powder.
I was talking with Bob DelPrincipe (Centuri Designer) years back at a NARAM and asked him what made their Centuri Superbond Model Rocket Glue so special.
He turned aside and said: "We buy Titebond in big jugs and pour it in little bottles with a Centuri label on it."
This isn't an exact quote, but it's the gist of what he said.

 

[GlenP]

Centuri wasn't around when I started in 1980 or so.

https://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/nostalgia/80cencat.html

The Flying Saucer and Buck Rogers kits were some of my favorites from back then, and the Thunder Hawk, Bird, & ROC! The Thunder ROC was as tall as me at that time.

 

[TangoJuliet]

They weren't in the Belmonte's department store in New Haven, IN. :wink:

 

[GlenP]

I was lucky enough to have some of them in my local hobby shop, but I have Boy's Life magazine to thank for my first purchase, via one of those greeting card sales programs. I got the Big Shot combo launch set with the Screaming Eagle and Excalibur (with engines!) from selling 10 boxes of greeting cards to my mom.

https://boyslife.org/wayback/