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  #1  
Old 02-07-2018, 04:05 PM
blackshire's Avatar
blackshire blackshire is offline
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Default New SpaceX rocket model!

Hello All,

SpaceX not only offers their $29.00 "Falcon 9 and Fairing Flying Model Rocket Kit" *here* (see: http://shop.spacex.com/accessories/...rocket-kit.html [hopefully they'll add a Falcon Heavy kit, with an optional fairing and Dragon spacecraft]), but they now also have a 32" (80 cm) tall, molded plastic "F9 Desktop Model" (see: http://shop.spacex.com/accessories/...ktop-model.html ), which comes with both a payload fairing and a Dragon V2 spacecraft, as well as a display stand. Although it's pricey ($140.00), it might make a satisfactory PMC (Plastic Model Conversion) flying model rocket, *OR*:

This model's parts could be used--with no harm to them, or to their surface finishes--as "mold masters" to create RTV (Room Temperature-Vulcanizing) rubber molds, which could then be used to cast polyurethane resin (or epoxy casting resin) parts for flight models (see: http://www.ninfinger.org/models/rms...resin_cast.html ). Epoxy casting resin--which is more expensive but produces heavier, harder, stiffer parts--is excellent for casting "secondary master" parts, which can be used to create new RTV rubber molds when the original molds wear out (or to make multiple molds at once, if larger batches of polyurethane resin flight parts need to be cast simultaneously [for school projects, model rocket companies, etc.]).
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http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
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  #2  
Old 02-07-2018, 07:38 PM
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  #3  
Old 02-08-2018, 12:38 AM
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blackshire blackshire is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by the mole
Thank you--yes, I was shown that Falcon Heavy kit on YORF recently; it's more like a Semi Scale kit. It's perfectly possible--although a little expensive--to kitbash a Falcon Heavy out of three SpaceX "Falcon 9 and Fairing" kits. It would probably fly stably with four of the clear plastic fins (with two on each outboard booster, to create an "X" fin configuration).
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
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  #4  
Old 02-09-2018, 07:27 AM
scott_mills scott_mills is offline
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The cheapest build would be to start with a F9 paper model that you can probably download for free. Resize the model to be wraps for standard body tube sizes. As for the fins I personally prefer a removable fin tube similar to Estes space shuttle or Dr zooch flame fins. Now the real challenge here for this model is to find a matchbox , hot wheels style Tesla roadster appropriately scaled, to use as a nose weight. And descending separately would be cool also.
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Old 02-09-2018, 10:16 AM
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blackshire blackshire is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scott_mills
The cheapest build would be to start with a F9 paper model that you can probably download for free. Resize the model to be wraps for standard body tube sizes. As for the fins I personally prefer a removable fin tube similar to Estes space shuttle or Dr zooch flame fins. Now the real challenge here for this model is to find a matchbox , hot wheels style Tesla roadster appropriately scaled, to use as a nose weight. And descending separately would be cool also.
There would be plenty of room for the payload's parachute, and the Tesla did not separate from the Falcon Heavy's final stage (the spent stage, below the car and its payload adapter frustum, isn't visible in pictures like *this* http://spaceflightnow.com/2018/02/0...earview-mirror/ final, striking one). For a model, the parachute--which might be made of clear plastic, if desired--could be packed below the separating upper stage/car combination (which would constitute the "nose cone" in the model rocket; the fairing halves could separate and flutter down under streamers, as in some FAI scale Ariane, Atlas V, and Soyuz models) and lower it to the ground in a horizontal attitude (using a 'triangular'--when deployed--support harness made of thread or clear, mono-filament fishing line). The upper stage could have a Vacuum Merlin (MVAC) engine and thrust frustum at the rear (these could be hand-made and/or vacu-formed [or 3D printed]), and:

For added reliability, the upper stage/car's parachute could be packed *below* the main rocket body's parachute, so that it would, if necessary, pull the rocket body's parachute out with it. (Sometimes dual-'chute rockets, whose components descend separately under their own parachutes, eject the payload's parachute while the main body's parachute remains stuck inside the body tube [due to a too-tight fit, ejection charge leakage, etc.]. Putting payload's 'chute below the main body's parachute ensures that they'll both leave the rocket's body tube, and while tangling of the two 'chutes is very uncommon, one or both 'chutes can be wrapped in a square of wadding [which strips off at deployment] to prevent this possibility.)
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR
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  #6  
Old 02-09-2018, 02:14 PM
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rocketguy101 rocketguy101 is offline
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I know a lot of you don't do TRF...but there is an interesting build thread on a Falcon Heavy, so you might find it interesting... FH TRF Build thread

I thought it cool they found the fairing nose and transition used by the SpaceX kit "in the wild" and used Big Bertha nose cones for the side boosters. Might not be as pricey as 3 SpaceX kits. There are some nice AXM paper model files that could be used as a source for wraps, legs, and grid fins (note FH #1 used the smaller aluminum grid fins on the center core, and the larger titanium grid fins on the side boosters)
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