GI Joe Space Program

[ATC]

I ended up making the base bigger for stability. Originally it was going to stand up about a foot off the ground and I was going to have three big rocket cones sticking out underneath like on an old Atlas rocket. With the fins increasing the footprint by 10 in on each side, it should be stable, even if a kid decides to climb it! ;-)

[ATC]

More progress in the GI Joe space program.

Yesterday I cut out my fins. I used 5/8-in plywood, and using a combination of the table saw and jigsaw, i cut out the three fins. In order to make sure they were identical, I screwed together three layers of plywood with deck screws before I started sanding and shaping. I think they came out pretty well. I still need to spackle them to make them smooth before painting (and fill in my screw holes) and then I need to add the hardware to affix them to the rocket ship frame. Will post more pics as I progress.


It's nice to start seeing some progress!
- ATC

[RX-79G]

Nice going!

You should consider putting some things in other orientations, like putting pilots on their backs with their feet pointed up, or even have the bridge oriented like it is spinning. See 2001 for what I'm talking about.

The figures could even be suspended for zero-G action by fishing line, stiff wire traveling up a pants cuff or hidden braces.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...gQYdM&usqp=CAU

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O4uOZnao7JM/maxresdefault.jpg


Will there be an airlock for EVA spacesuit action?????

[ATC]

I can't get too creative with my orientation of things because this is a toy for my grandson. Everything has got to be simple enough to be manipulated by a child. I'm going to have a cargo hatch on one side to get the adventure team vehicle in and out. We will have a regular old-school hatch and ladder on one side as well. Naturally, it will have an airlock. The air lock will also be the 1-man transporter. It represents a pre star trek era, so it is a more primitive spaceship. The electronics will be the most difficult part of the project. I'm just so slow completing projects, I hope I get it finished before he graduates from college!
- ATC

[ATC]

Sanded, cut raceways for wiring, and installed vertical braces for the main hatch, cargo bay door, and my service access hatch (where the battery and whatnot will be). Picked up (almost all of) the hardware fixtures to attach the fins. Sanded it all down and got it ready for painting. Doesn't seem like much progress, but I'm closer.
:-)
- ATC

[ATC]

Found a perfect warp drive. Ordered the odds and ends necessary to tinker with transporter options...
Progress is slow, but it's progress!
:-)
- ATC

[ATC]

Figured out how to do the crane for the ATV. I'm using a heavy-duty "under drawer" slide with roller bearings. It'll be able to slide out far enough to get the ATV clear of the rocketship body to lower it to the ground. Haven't worked out a winch arrangement yet. I'm thinking that I'd rather make it a kid-powered crank instead of an electric motor. It's pretty heavy, though, so I'll have to work out some pulleys and mechanical advantage so a kid can crank it without too much effort. Not sure what to use as a crank mechanism. Will have to ponder that for a few weeks, I guess.
But it's (slowly) progressing.
:-)
- ATC

[GeekDragon]

We need pictures!! But, it is sounding really cool.

[TNshooter]

Considering the cargo bay was the level above the engine room, I figured you would do a ramp set up. I didn't expect a winch system.

[ATC]

This project is full of perplexing little problems I didn't foresee or expect. I finished the warp drive radiation casing, and worked out how to make the airlock. The airlock door will slide out from behind the warp drive on the bottom level of the rocket, isolating the hatch from the rest of the spaceship. Depending on what light effects I can come up with, I might make that same spot a single-person transporter as well. I'm kind of designing this as I build it. I decided to use an old, obsolete tablet is the main screen on the command deck, so I can throw up video of stars passing by, asteroid fields, planetary orbit, etc. I found six or seven videos of different things online that I thought would be useful and loaded them onto the old tablet. The tablet's operating system is so obsolete I can't even use it on the internet anymore, but it will run videos just fine. Reuse, recycle!

After I get the rocketship done, I'll photograph the heck out of it and post pics.

Hey Scott - once I get this done you'll have to come over and check it out! Provided I get it finished before we're both dead of old age, that is... ;-)

- ATC

[ATC]

Second coat of paint on the decks and rib structure tonight. It's slow, but it's progress!
ATC

[GI Defender]

Dave I would love to see the progress. Been keeping quiet here these days, taking care of "Dad" stuff while the girls are home. Basically 3D printing and model building. I am 2 Marine helmets short of completing two more jar heads so I am pretty stoked about that. Kentucky in a few weeks I should take care of that there.

[ATC]

A bit of progress: I manufactured the fin support brackets. These will slide over the ribs, through the hull "skin" and straddle the fin itself. A small diameter bolt through the bracket and rib on the inside, and another small diameter bolt through the fin on the outside will secure it. 3 fins, 3 brackets per fin, so I had to make 9 of them. Thank goodness I had a big vise and anvil!
Next step is to run wiring for lights to each deck (red and white). Then I can wrap the frame with a skin and mount the fins. At that point, I can make some headway on the interior.
Here's a pic of 6 (of the 9) brackets, with "Shorty" (the Joe Space Program's chief mechanic).
- ATC