Rocket Launch Lamp

Being a long time Tintin fan, and an amateur woodworker, I just had to build the famous rocket that took Hergé's characters to the moon back in 1954. After building the rocket, I decided to put it in "action" during its launch by adding some "smoke" and lighting effects.

The inspiration for the smoke cloud came from the produce section at my local grocery store when I realized a cauliflower has the perfect shape. Making a mold of the cauliflower out of plaster of Paris, some flashing led lights and epoxy, and we're ready for launch.

A wood lathe is necessary to reproduce the rocket out of wood, every thing else can easily be ordered online or from your local crafts store.

You'll need:

• wood to make the rocket in the wood lathe of the size you want. I made the main body of mine about 8 inches, which brings the whole rocket close to 12 inches tall.
• Instant glue (cyanocrylate adhesive)
• cauliflower (medium size)
• plaster of Paris - 4lb
• bucket to hold the plaster and make the mold
• set of flashing LED lights (thin copper wire waterproof type) (I used a set of 100 lights)
• 1 sheet of medium thickness plastic to roll up for the mold of the jet coming out of the rocket
• vegetable oil (or non-stick spray)
• glue gun
• one wood screw
• 2-parts clear epoxy (~32 oz)
• color powder or dye for the epoxy (I used white with some glitter)

The amount of plaster of Paris and epoxy will depend on the size of the cauliflower and how large you want to make the smoke cloud. Adjust accordingly.

I started with some scrap pine I had laying around and glued some together to get the right length and diameter for the body of the rocket and the three pads. Since I had made a rocket before, I decided to create a template and make a replica all in the one piece of pine. The advantage of using the template is that every pad comes out the same size since I'm not that good replicating pieces free hand.

I made the pieces holding the pads out of some 1/4 inch plywood I had around. I used a cardboard template to cut out the three pieces and rounded the edges on my belt sander. The pads were glued to the pieces and then glue to the body of the rocket using the instant glue. I used some small wooden biscuit to help hold the pieces in place but this is probably over-killed as the instant glue is very strong. Attention needs to be taken to make sure once glued, the rocket sits vertical on the three pads

And now you have a rocket ready to adorn you favorite colors and patterns.

Starting with a medium size cauliflower, make sure your bucket is large enough to hold the plaster and the submerged cauliflower.

Generously cover the cauliflower with non-stick spary or vegetable oil. This will help in removing the cauliflower from the mold later on.

Mix enough plaster of Paris (at least 4 lbs) as per the instructions. Stir until the texture starts to harden and become like thick syrup. Submerge the cauliflower to the desired depth and volume and let dry overnight.

The next day remove the harden plaster from the bucket and start breaking up and pulling the cauliflower from the back in pieces. It should come out easily and leave the plaster mostly free of vegetable particles. Clean up any small persistent pieces.

With the mold in hand, make a small hole in the middle (about 1.5 inches). Roll up the sheet of plastic so that it fits in the hold and tape it along the seam so it will hold its shape. The plastic tube can be shaped as a simple cylinder or as an elongated cone.

I used both a glue gun and plumbers putty on the inside and outside of the mold around the plastic sheet to make a seal. Trim the extruding plastic sheet to the desired height of the jet. I used a hot glue gun again and plumbers putty to seal the top end of the plastic tube and to hold a wood screw in place that way. The screw will get embedded in the epoxy and will hold the rocket in place for the final assembly.

The mold needs to be held in place upside down with the plastic tube aiming down. Non-stick spray or vegetable oil needs to be applied to the inside of the plaster so it can come off cleanly from the epoxy.

Fold the string of LEDs and feed then in the plastic tube and all inside the cloud cavity, trying to spread them somewhat evenly. I used a pair of chopsticks to hold the electric cord out of the reach of the epoxy.

Now come the epoxy: mixing as recommended on the bottles, you'll have plenty of time before the epoxy starts to hardens (hours), so there's no rush is positioning everything just right. I added some white colored powder and some red sparkles to my mix. It turns out I needed quite a bit more white powder since, when fully cured the epoxy was still mostly clear and the red sparkles made the whole cloud look pinkish. Lesson learned.

Wait at least 24-hours for the epoxy to cure. I would recommend not to wait too long to break the plaster mold, it is easier to take apart if not fully cured (within 48 hours but closer to 24 hours is better).

Now the fun part, un-molding the cloud. Break pieces of the plaster off, being careful of not damaging the epoxy. It should come off fairly easily in chunks. You can dry brush the remaining plaster off the epoxy. I even brushed it submerge in warm water to help dissolve any remaining bits of plaster. The LED lights are waterproff as long as you don't submerge the controller.

Since my cloud turned up pinkish, I lightly spray painted it white for a more realistic cloud and still let lots of light shine through.

I made the base out of a piece of log on my wood lathe. I drilled a hole to let the electrical cord through, stained and varnished it. I then hot glue the cloud on the base. I pre-drilled a hole in the base of the rocket and screwed it to the top of the jet.

Enjoy.