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Evoking Emotions Make Memorable Rockets
Continued on page 7
Model Rocket Design and Construction
By Timothy S. Van Milligan
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When I fi rst read Vince’s article about paint schemes, it
reminded me of something that I wrote a million years ago
when I worked as a rocket designer at Estes Industries.
As a new product designer, I wanted to learn what
made the difference between a good rocket and a great
one. I did like Vince, and started writing down the different
paint schemes that I could identify. I came up with many
similar ones to what you’ve read in Vince’s article.
What Vince is getting at is that the paint scheme you
use on your rocket sparks a specifi c type of emotion. And
that is important, because it is the “emotions” that your
mind generates that make the rocket memorable. The
stronger the emotions that are evoked, the “greater” the
rocket appears compared to other rockets that have differ-
ent paint schemes.
So in this article, I’ll pick up where Vince left off, and try
to tell you what kind of emotions that various decorations
evoke in people. I’ll list my personal classifi cations of the
different themes of rockets and the feelings that they create
in others. This list is by no means complete, and will prob-
ably be different from what you come up yourself. After all,
my emotions are going to be different from yours.
1. “Art Deco” or “Retro space.” In this theme category,
you try to make the rocket look like it came from the sci-fi
movies of the 50’s. They are characterized by having a very
sleek and graceful shape, without much detail. Rockets
with curved boattails are big in this theme category. Think
By Tim Van Milligan
of the German V2 missile shape (not the color pattern). It
would be in this category. The feeling that is trying to be
evoked is one of optimism for the future.
2. “Real-life space program.” In real space-faring
rockets, the vehicles are not swoopy at all. They are rather
simple geometric shapes. For example, the nose cones
tend to be cone shaped instead of in gradual curves. But
they have lots of surface details, like corrugations, hatches,
rivets, and rough texture. (To add texture, see my YouTube
video at: www.ApogeeRockets.com/Rocketry_Videos/Rock-
etry_Video_37.asp).
These rockets rarely have boattails, but they may
incorporate conical transition sections that allow for body
tube diameter variation. Strap-on pods and booster engines
would also be common, along with generally small-sized
fi ns. Color and decal patterns play a big role in this theme
type. You’ll see a lot of national insignia and geometric
block patterns, like checkerboards and stripes. The feeling
that goes along with this category is one of national pride.
Most scale models of vehicles that carried men into space
fall into this theme category.
3. “Military styling.” The feeling here is one of power
and might. This rocket has a seriously bad-attitude, and you
better watch out. An example might be an SR-71 airplane
that is modifi ed for rocket power. Or it could be something
like a scale model of an air-to-air missile. The paint scheme
with its decals, and not the shape, are the key factor in this