Here is my first Maxi Alpha Three that I built a year ago and has been most most flown rocket so far. Don't look too closely --- its pretty banged up. Also I had to reglue the fins --- this time with JB Weld, so I repainted the fin can, and had a reaction with previous clear coat. Oh well.. it's a rocket and has led a hard life.
I was telling my nephew's girlfriend about flying rockets at the LUNAR club launch at the NASA Ames facility at Moffet field, and she was surprisingly very interested in going to see it some time, so I told her I would make her a rocket. She wanted it to be kind of girly, so this is what I came up with.
It's a Maxi Alpha Three in hot pink zebra print.
What are those D rings for?
There is an attachable shoulder strap to carry it like a high-end handbag.
Rocket purses are all the rage on the runways this spring! As they ask on the Fashion Police: Gotta Have It? Or Make It Stop?
I don't know the answer to that yet --- she'll see it for the first time tomorrow. She loves purses, so I think Gotta Have It. One thing is certain, with a rocket purse, you seldom run the risk of that other Fashion Police Game --- B!tch Stole My Look!
The hot pink zebra print is actually a wrap of Duck brand Duct Tape. It comes in all kinds of crazy patterns now, and also in big 8.25 x 10 sheets. 8.25 inches is just about a perfect wrap around a BT80 tube, with just a tiny overlap. I got the sheets at JoAnn fabrics.
Well, I can't make a cool rocket for my nephew's girlfriend and not make on for my wife, so this is her Maxi Alpha Three.
It is inspired by the logo of her business --- similar colors, similar font, and similar shapes.
There is a red line separating the words Renger and Rocket.
Here is the Rocket side.
Here it is from a heroic angle.
I really liked how it turned out, and my wife was amazed. The lettering is a vinyl decal that I had made by my local FastSigns right up the street. I didn't have time to order anything from Stickershock and have it arrive in time, so I gave FastSigns a try. The minimum job there is $20, so I got two sets of the decals for that much. I placed the order on Monday, they sent me a proof that I approved on Tuesday, it was ready to pick up at 9 am on Wednesday. That's fast!
FastSigns could do all the red as well, but it would have cost more, I wasn't exactly sure how to lay it out for them, and I wanted the red on the body to exactly match the nose cone that I had painted. So the red is all painted --- the most complex masking job I have ever done in my very limited experience. I had painted the red nosecone over white primer. So, since I wasn't sure how well the red would cover the blue, after I masked the body and fins, I shot on a layer of white, then the red over that. So my only complaint is that you can see a little edge of white, and it almost makes it look like the red is a sticker too. I'm thinking about adding a clear coat of Future to maybe smooth the edges slightly and give the whole thing more shine.
Here all all three Maxi Alpha Threes together.
The best thing about this kit is that even though it is a LPR, it is a nice big rocket and a great platform for decorating.