Via the University of Alabama, Huntsville archive, a 1942 cutaway diagram of the German A-4 (“V-2”) ballistic rocket.
I’ve uploaded the full rez version into the 2024-06 APR Extras folder for subscribers/patron at the $4 level and above.
So after having the 3D printer for a while and running a *lot* of resin through it, I have achieved some good things. I’ve learned enough to know that there are some things that I plan on producing as full 3D-printed kits, some to be converted into metal castings. I have a few product lines that I want to do:
1: 1/285 (wargaming scale) “minis” of a range of appropriately sized unusual, rare, interesting and projected aircraft/spacecraft
2: “Mini”-sized, but of various scale, aircraft and spacecraft to go with each issue of US Aerospace Projects
3: 1/18 scale models of each American nuclear bomb/warhead/re-entry vehicle. This will range from the downright dinky to the “I’m not sure how to squeeze this out of the printer,” like the Mk 17 and the Flashback. I’ve successfully printed prototypes of the Fat Man and Little Boy A-bombs in 1/18, but they need to be revised.
4: Just whatever strikes my fancy by way of interesting aerospace/sci-fi concepts.
The eventual 3D printed kits will be pricier than if they were cast resin “garage” kits, but this will allow me to make them on demand. I hope there is interest in this sort of thing. To that end, and to help refill my depleted coffers, I’m making available a “crowdfunding” project with three levels. What you will receive are the actual 3D printed components. Each level builds on the prior… Level 2 gets you the Level 1 stuff, Level 3 gets you 1 and 2. No additional postage is required for continental US address… Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, the rest of the world, contact me and I’ll work out the additional postage cost.
Note: many of these are “prototype” kits, with revisions and improvements possible or even probable. And some of these are not planned to be released further. This will be your only chance to get them, at least in this format.
Level 1. You will receive:
1/285 X-20 Dyna Soar spaceplane
1/285 XF-103 Mach 3 interceptor
1/285 Project Pluto nuclear ramjet
1/285 X-15 set (X-15, X-15A2, X-15A3, X-15/SERJ)
1/18 Davy Crockett battlefield atomic warhead w/stand
Crowdfund level 1: $60 in the continental US:
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Level 2. You will receive:
1/18 US Atomic Artillery Shells w/stand
1/144 X-20 Dyna Soar
1/18 M61 Vulcan Gatling Gun w/stand
1/18 Mk 72 Nuclear Warhead/Re-Entry Vehicle
Crowdfund level 2: $100 in the continental US:
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Level 3. This part will not ship immediately, as some of it remains unfinished. You will receive:
1/285 XF-103 w/missiles
1/350 Orion Nuclear Pulse Vehicle (with stand… not yet finalized)
1/2000 Aldebaran Concept Vehicle
Cast Metal 1/285 X-20 + XF-103 + X-15 + Pluto: Depending on the success of the casting process. Not all are guaranteed.
Crowdfund level 3: $200 in the continental US:
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1/350 War Rocket, 1/18 Pulse Units, 1/18 Atomic Artillery Shells.
The War Rocket was modified & printed from a file created for Fantastic Plastic. Their version – currently available – is in much larger 1/144 scale. I was impressed with the tiny details that this smaller print picked up, but the wings are mutated. Two have been printed, both with mucked-up wings. Another round of printing is planned with the models standing straight up to see if that fixes the issue; but since that’ll be a *16* *hour* print job, it’s a low priority.
Buttons horned in on the photography. He’s allowed. He’s old, he was unwell last night, he wanted attention, he gets it. He’s at this moment making typing a challenge for me.
The “pulse units” are actually failed Casaba Howitzers. The telescope components failed rather spectacularly. But with some minimal mods, they’ll make great pulse units for the 10-Meter Orion.
The 1/18 Atomic Artillery Shells have printed numerous times fantastically. They’re basically in production, but the rather simple stand I created for the set refuses to print right. Weird.
I’ve been running the 3D printer, with mixed results. Failures and disappointments are the fault of the CAD models; the printer itself (Anycubic Photon Mono X 6Ks) is working as advertised. Printing is not a fast process; some prints took 12 hours.
Some early results with the 3D printer.
First up: some 1/144 and 1/285 X-20 Dyna Soars. Once I got the angle right, the results are pretty spectacular. The 1/285 ones will definitely be used to make metal castings; probably the same with the 1/144. pic.twitter.com/1O2fBWxy2P
— Unwanted Blog (@UnwantedBlog) April 27, 2024
As a lark, I threw in the M61 Vulcan in 1/18 scale, in two orientations. Both seem to have come out looking pretty spiffy, though I haven't trimmed off the supports yet.
Did this just because I wanted to. But if anyone wants one – or more – I can provide. pic.twitter.com/E5NdGp8eCS
— Unwanted Blog (@UnwantedBlog) April 27, 2024
The Casaba Howitzer in 1/18 scale. The original CAD model was created solely to create line diagram illustrations and was in no way optimized for 3D printing, thus the telescope shroud printed funny and fell off. Impressed that it did as well as it did. Model needs revision. pic.twitter.com/XIvNrtSdtT
— Unwanted Blog (@UnwantedBlog) April 27, 2024
Another one thrown in Just Cuz, a 1/350 North American Aviation Mars Excursion Module. Clearly failed, but again the model was not made for printing. The printer made a valiant effort to reproduce the RCS system, with is on hair-thin struts. Not much point in this at this scale. pic.twitter.com/fq6k2hM11k
— Unwanted Blog (@UnwantedBlog) April 27, 2024
1/18 Little Boy, again printed from a non-optimized model. Even so, I'm impressed… the tail was modeled as 3mm thick sheets, and the printer fully replicated that: 0.167 mm thick. Clearly too thin. So currently printing is an updated version. These would make great kits. pic.twitter.com/0D92hWuc0s
— Unwanted Blog (@UnwantedBlog) April 27, 2024
Lastly, two shells from a 1/18 Fat Man. The tail struct has the same issue as little Boy, so it'll need to be fixed before printing. Again I think this'd make a great kit. pic.twitter.com/OoxMmuUpHl
— Unwanted Blog (@UnwantedBlog) April 27, 2024
This is a little outside the usual for APR, as it is satire rather than actual aerospace design. But I thought it appropriate nonetheless; I remember dreaming up just about the exact same ideas when I was twelve. There was something about the design of those pens that just *screamed* for them to be envisioned as spaceships and missiles and whatnot.
The full-rez scan of the article, and a few more bits, been made available as a thank-you to APR Patreon and Historical Documents Program patrons at the $4 and above level, placed in the 2024-04 APR Extras Dropbox folder. If interested in this or if you are interested in helping to fund the preservation of aerospace histgory, please consider becoming a patron, either through the APR Patreon or the Monthly Historical Document Program.
For all the documentaries and such about the 1960’s Gyrojet “rocket gun,” this is the first time I’ve seen rounds fired with this sort of clarity. The rounds cost $200 each… which once again makes me wonder why someone hasn’t decided to put them into production. If there’s a market for them at $200 each, you can bet there’d be a market for them at $20 each. And the thing is… they’re not that complex. I imagine the biggest thing holding back someone from making them is legalese and bureaucracy… many layers of government to jump through to build and sell something that I’d bet good money the US FedGuv would slap an ITAR label on for no good reason, as well as whole armies of attack lawyers lining up to line their pockets the first time a round goes off course or rapidly disassembles.
A Gyrojet round is basically four parts: a body made out of machined or extruded steel; a base made of machined steel; a propellant grain; a conventional primer. The base might be manufacturable from modern ceramics.
Giggity:
And…
Said it before: this is some sci-fi stuff right here.
From one perspective, this was another failure. The booster failed at the end… it had difficulty with engine restart for the final landing burn and either kerploded just before hitting the water, or smacked into the water going *real* fast. Starship itself broke apart during entry. So both recoverable stages failed to demonstrate recoverability. But it *did* achieve the low orbit that was intended. It demonstrated the ability to serve as an expendable launch vehicle. An incredibly capable expendable launch vehicle, much more powerful than even the Saturn V. It could start throwing massive payloads into orbit even while attempting to perfect recovery. Large numbers of Starlinks, of course… but also large numbers of, say, Brilliant Pebbles, or tanks of water, or rolls of sheet aluminum and beam builders and PV arrays.
But not on ebay yet. If any of these are of interest, let me know.
Getting ready to sell a batch of stuff on ebay. But before I do… anyone hereabouts interested? If so, email/DM. A short thread of some stuff. First: a lot of three Matchbox toys… the SpaceX Dragon capsule the SpaceX Starship and the Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser. pic.twitter.com/oxwHtTQm1l
— Unwanted Blog (@UnwantedBlog) March 6, 2024
Third: Dragon X-15, still in unopened box. pic.twitter.com/57UvKjW5Ie
— Unwanted Blog (@UnwantedBlog) March 6, 2024
Fifth: "Ultimate Soldier" 1/18 scale M41 Walker Bulldog Tank, in unopened box. pic.twitter.com/hdiDs3C9hh
— Unwanted Blog (@UnwantedBlog) March 6, 2024
Seventh: "Action Fleet" "Series Alpha" Naboo Royal Starship from Episode 1, including both the on-screen version and a concept art version in an unopened box. pic.twitter.com/SJ2nFrEQlv
— Unwanted Blog (@UnwantedBlog) March 6, 2024
I’ve just uploaded a 1986 article on the “Midgetman” road-mobile Small ICBM developed but not deployed by the US at the end of the Cold War to Dropbox for above-$10 APR Patrons/Subscribers.
This is of course on top of the monthly rewards packages and the “Extras” posted rather irregularly. If you’d be interested, consider subscribing:
In 1992 NASA had a flurry of PR about the “First Lunar Outpost” concept which would see the US return to the moon using large lunar landers launched by a single Saturn V derived heavy lifter. A fair deal of concept art was released; much of it used the relatively new technology of computer generated imagery. Five of these images recently appeared on ebay as 16X20 prints; what the heck, I went ahead and bought them. They arrived today and I was pleasantly surprised at the production quality. They weren’t simply printouts glued to cheap foamcore, but instead are very glossy, hard plastic bonded to higher quality foamcore.
I believe I’ll have these professionally scanned and made available to APR Patrons/subscribers.