Brief:
This was an experiment in making a paper mache rocket using a latex mold. I built a mold from a Toypedo pool toy using 2-part latex. I had originally planned to make fiberglass shells. However, my first attempt turned out poorly. Soon, my mind wandered and I got the harebrained idea of making a pair of shells from paper mache.

The quality of the surface continued to deteriorate as, I guess, the middle layers totally dried. I started to try to clean it up but ended up throwing in the towel. I then started wondering about paint and a name. Motivated by the movie Caddyshack. I was thinking about painting it brown and naming it Is that a Baby Ruth in your pool? Or, maybe just Baby Ruth. I found that my existing brown paint was unusable and went with a camo scheme. The name became Stink Bomb.

Construction:
The needed parts include:

• Newspaper
• Scrap junk tubing (roughly BT-60)
• Thick card stock (for rings)
• 18mm Estes motor mount (tube, block, sleeve, hook)
• Clay nose weight
• Foam board
• Telescoping inside tube from a 3” mailing tube
• Elastic shock cord

The body is two paper mache half-shells joined by more strips of paper mache. Each half-shell was formed from multiple layers of newspaper soaked in Mod Podge, which is a thin white glue. When they seemed to have dried, I removed them from the mold and trimmed the edges with a pair of scissors.

I found a junk tube that fit in the shell nicely so I built an inner structure from that tube. The motor mount is surplus from an Estes kit and the rings were made from thick card stock using a circle cutter. I glued this in one half and carefully trimmed off the nose section flush with the tube. I added the second and sealed the edges with more layers of paper mache. I sectioned a piece of the tubing to make a shoulder for the cone section and soon had a decent cigar shaped rocket body.

Initially, things looked OK but, as the paper mache continued to dry, it continued to warp. I started filling and sanding but soon realized this was a losing proposition. It was then that I named it as described in the intro, above.

However, once I had a body completed, I though I should fly it. I played with V-2-like fins, built a RockSim Model, added some clay as a nose weight, and decided making it stable would be a problem. I could add more weight, add bigger fins, etc. But suddenly, I had an epiphany! A ring fin would help stability a lot and I had recently found how well the inside telescoping tube from a 3” mailing tube fits inside a 3” window tint tube (plastic, kind of like Quantum tube – but free). After another round with RockSim, I had my design – an ugly, ring-finned, tube-launched rocket!. This was a really junky el-cheapo design, so foam board seemed to be a quick and easy source for the fins.

When I can’t decide on the color scheme for a rocket, I find myself falling back on a camo scheme. I used three colors from the Rustoleum camo set. Finally, I touched it up with some day-glo green ‘Mr. Yuk’ poison warning stickers

Flight:
The launch tube is a piece of window tint tube with a Firstfire igniter tube duct taped on. This fits on a standard 3/16” or 1/4” rod.

For the first flight, I chose a Quest ‘long burn’ C6-3. It was windy on launch day and it weather-cocked soon after it left the tube. What should have been ejection was a tad late. Didn’t matter much since the cone stuck. It core sampled, totally destroying the cone section.

But, I wasn’t going to give up. I replaced the cone with half of a pink plastic Easter Egg. Now, the Stink Bomb really looks goofy! I also made a cap for the bottom of the tube.

On the second flight, I opted for a good ol’ Estes short burn C6-3. I used a Quest Q2G2 igniter and twisted on some scrap wire to extend the igniter through the launch tube’s cap. This time, the flight was great. Ejection was early and it recovered unscathed. There is even a movie here.

Summary:
There is not much you can learn from this build, except maybe how poor a material paper mache is for rocketry. On second thought, it may be poor for ‘normal’ rockets but may have a place in odd-rocketry. This one actually flies well and I think I may make more rockets to launch from my tube launcher.