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BUZZROCK.JPG -In the creator's words:
This is a digital photo of a Buzz Lightyear flying model rocket. The rocket itself is based on an Estes kit from the 60's, the "Astron Spaceman." I built it from a copy of the old kit plans (available on the Web) and patterned it after Buzz, adding the backpack and wings. The markings were drawn with a CAD program and printed on decal stock. A paper tube inside the body holds the rocket engine.The wings are just for show, I'm afraid--they'd make the rocket unstable. They drop off at launch and are left behind on the ground. Once the engine ignites, the rocket is just a blurred streak anyway, but this way Buzz still looks good on the launchpad (that's launchpad, not Launchpad).
Once off the pad, Buzz blasts up to a couple of hundred feet altitude. The spent rocket engine casing (a thick cardboard tube) ejects and falls back on its own. Buzz comes down by "featherweight recovery," as the model rocketeers call it, though around Andy's room it's known as "falling with style." Buzz flies quite well--he goes up straight and comes back undamaged. Of course, instead of a countdown, you have to shout 'To infinity--and beyond!'
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