Plastic Model Conversion
- 56.1 Scope
- Plastic Model Conversion comprises a single event open to entries that have been assembled from plastic or resin model kits of guided missiles, rocket vehicles, space vehicles, or jets whose engines are in or spaced apart to the rear of the fuselage. The entry must be one that the manufacturer did not produce as a model to be flown; and it must be modified for flight by the competitor. The purpose of this competition is to produce a flying model from a kit originally intended as a static model and that shows craftsmanship in construction, finish, and flight performance. The entry must be representative of the kit chosen, as designed by the manufacturer.
- 56.2 Construction
- Modifications necessary to convert the model for flight are allowed. However, the basic structure and configuration of the entry must be as designed by the manufacturer of the kit. Details may be obtained from other plastic kits, or constructed by the competitor. Components necessary to convert the model for flight may be made of any safe material and obtained from any source.
- 56.3 Transparent Fins
- Transparent fins are allowed for the purpose of stabilizing an entry. The transparent fins and their attachment must be judged for craftsmanship along with the entry.
- 56.4 Flight
- An entry that does not make a safe, stable flight must be disqualified. Any flight including re-flights that are missing significant component(s) (i.e.; booster pods, fins, transitions, escape towers, payload sections, nose cones), must be disqualified. Any flight including re-fights may fly missing small surface details (i.e. non-functional lugs, antennas, landing pads/wheels, etc.), this will be scored as damage.
- 56.5.1 Craftsmanship: 500 points
- Points are awarded in the following categories:
- Neatness and care in construction: 150 points
- Craftsmanship of details: 100 points
- Degree and quality of finish: 100 points
- General appearance: 150 points
- 56.5.2 Degree of Difficulty: 300 points
- Points are awarded according to the difficulty experienced by the competitor in building the model, according to the following schedule:
- Asymmetries inherent in the model: 40 points
- Intricacy of paint pattern: 80 points
- Degree of detailing required: 80 points. This category includes such items as the number of external or visible internal components and details that had to be added or reconstructed individually by the competitor.
- Difficulty of stabilizing model: 50 points
- Difficulty of adapting the model for flight: 50 points
The judges should consider that entries exhibiting an equal degree of craftsmanship might have required unequal amounts of time and effort because of the uniqueness of the kit. To facilitate judging, the competitor should point out difficult assemblies or construction problems in a note to the judges.
- 56.6.1 Mission: 200 points
- Mission points are awarded for the entry’s appropriate and scale-like operation of the prototype during flight. Examples of such operations are staging, simulated cloud seeding, operation of electronic payload, and smoke ejection. Any such operation that does not comply with the safety standards set forth in the Sporting Code must be disqualified. The RSO is the only official who may rule on the safety of the entry’s operation.
- 56.6.2 General Flight: 100 points
- General flight points are awarded for proper operation of the entry during flight, including launch, lack of misfires, stability, recovery, and lack of damage on landing. No consideration should be given to staging or scale-like flight characteristics, as they are covered under mission points. However, if the general flight performance of the entry is adversely affected by the failure of one or more of these aspects, general flight points may be deducted.