Kitless Contest - 2015 Summer Extravaganza

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Brian have you tried the Russian used rocket parts website? They should have some value priced nose cones you could use.:biggrin:
 
Brian G said:
I'm struggling to find a V2 rocket to salvage a modified nose cone. This kitless stuff is hard. :frown:
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Hi Brian - Mike's suggestion on russian surplus is pretty good. You could also contact Elon Musk and see if he has any spare spacex stuff he might be willing to sell to raise some cash...or maybe they salvaged something from the last rocket that blew up that might be useable for pen making.

But none of that will get you vintage V2 material. I was reading last week that they found some guy in Germany that had a WWII panther tank, torpedos and anti aircraft gun in his cellar. Maybe he had a few V2 laying around as well. Some of our german members might be able to help you inquire.....

I wonder how hard it would be to import something like that these days? Might be a good opportunity to sell a whole new line of law enforcement themed pens to the swarm who would descend on you for questioning if you try. :biggrin:

Ed
 
Spanx said:
Get this contest started already,I just got my first kitless done and it's ready for the show.
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Wow!!! This is a first. I don't know how to handle this. I'm used to trying to think up encouraging and motivational things to say to members who don't think they will be able to get something done in time.

I would say to go ahead and send in your entry early, but what if you come up with a better idea in the meantime? You have enough time to create a couple more possible entries. Seems like it might be a good idea to wait a bit before submitting (and keep working on new kitless designs).

Maybe we need to come up with a special overachiever award?

Congratulations on completing your first kitless. Can't wait to see it.

Ed
 
Brian G said:
Geez, now I need to learn new languages? :eek: It won't matter if my bauxite doesn't smelt.
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Well....I know it would be a major disappointment, but you could always consider buying a piece of aluminum. 200 years ago aluminum was rarer and more precious than gold. Much easier to get and much more affordable these days. Almost certainly more cost effective to buy it than to smelt your own. Still smelting your own aluminum for your pen would have to score you some votes in the polls.

It's funny, a pen made from silver will commonly be considered to be much more valuable than a pen made from aluminum. The actual difference in the cost of the metal in a custom silver pen vs a comparable aluminum pen is probably less than $30. When you are paying thousands for a pen that's a rounding error. Still, silver has that cachet that aluminum lost long ago. When you consider weight and routine maintenance I think aluminum has distinct advantages. That can be a hard sell some times.

Sort of got off track there. Back to our regularly scheduled program.

We have one contender who has their entry already finished. We have another who only has to overcome a couple challenges (smelting and finding vintage rocket parts) to be ready to go. As for the rest of you, what say ye?

Ed
 
Spanx said:
Your right,there's plenty of time to try another.I'll post it up.
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wait. Wait. WAIT!!!!!! Let's not get hasty here. Why not wait until you are sure you have a better entry before you go posting up what you currently have. Better to be safe than sorry.

Ed
 
Spanx said:
First you wanna see it,now you don't.I'm getting mixed messages here.:smile:
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It's a tradeoff. Curiosity vs need to have contest entries. Our need to have contest entries wins. It's a matter of self preservation for all members. I believe that if Derek's contests get more entries than my contest it will trigger a zombie apocalypse. We don't need a zombie apocalypse. So, it's important that you have an entry for this contest, even if that means we have to wait to see that fantastic pen you have created.

Ed
 
so I know we can't show pictures of the finished pen anywhere online, but what about progress pictures?

I'm making a pen for a customer right now that might be a good candidate for the contest, but I also am showing him progress pics along the way.
 
Carl Fisher said:
so I know we can't show pictures of the finished pen anywhere online, but what about progress pictures?

I'm making a pen for a customer right now that might be a good candidate for the contest, but I also am showing him progress pics along the way.
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Hi Carl - I like the idea of progress pictures, but there has always seemed to be a strong preference for anonymous voting amongst the IAP members to make sure people are voting for pens and not pen makers. But when it comes to kitless, many pen makers have a very distinctive design / materials / and or technique and the pictures may not be as anonymous as some would prefer when it comes time to voting. I also happen to think that the membership is mature enough to vote for the best pen and not factor the maker into their decision. But that's just my opinion.

I'll ask Mike R and the other contest managers what they think about allowing progress pictures / teasers in the kitless contest.

Stand by.

Just out of curiosity, how do others who plan on entering the kitless summer extravaganza feel about progress pictures. If you honestly don't plan on entering then send me your comments privately. If you do intend to enter, either public posting here or private is fine.

Ed
 
I'm not bothered either way :) though you could end up with people wanting to submit a replacement pen at a later date when they've measured up the competition lol.

Personally... If I see a stainless wonder.... I would look at one person

If I see a beautiful cast silver work of art with Stone inlays I will be looking at someone else

If I see an etched pen I'd wonder if I'd been drinking and forgot sending it in... I don't think this category is too anonymous to begin with :wink:
 
If you see a horribly constructed and mediocre effort, that's mine! :redface:

I did find a commercial advertising pen with a funky click mechanism, so I have that going for me. The whole V2 rocket nose cone, extrusion press, and smelting kiln thing fell through. Thought maybe I could score all of that in the Amazon Prime super sale coming up, but nope.
 
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This contest seems like it will be a lot of fun. Just being able to create an entry will be an accomplishment. You will be able to call yourself a Pen Maker, which is an big evolutionary step above a Pen Turner. At least, I think that's what Derek said.....or was it something like "those who can will go kitless and those who can't are turning challenged."??? I probably have that wrong, but it sounds right.

Ed
 
Prizes have been added to the original Contest Rules post.
Make sure you thank our generous sponsors!
 
firewhatfire said:
While yall are all standing around wondering which additional contest to enter after you have finished your KITLESS WONDER, I think this is the the one to consider.
http://www.penturners.org/forum/f299/2015-se-pen-stand-compititon-133477/ But make sure you finish your kitless entry before you get going on your stand. The pen is the star of the show and the stand should bend to its will. Not the other way around!!!
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Hi Phil. It looks like part of your post got mangled. Maybe Derek hacked you or something. Anyway, I restored it to your original intent in the quoted text above. I think a finely crafted pen stand would be a great complement to a finely crafted kitless pen. But you can't think about a stand until you have a pen!!!

Ed
 
Greetings
Just sent my submission today. I was hoping there would be only two other participants so I could possibly win something. Oh well, I'm looking forward to seeing all the fantastic pens.
 
Penultimate said:
Greetings
Just sent my submission today. I was hoping there would be only two other participants so I could possibly win something. Oh well, I'm looking forward to seeing all the fantastic pens.
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Fantastic. I haven't downloaded the entry yet. I'll get to it this afternoon. Right now (unless I've missed some entries) you would have a pretty good shot at getting at least second place. There still 2 weeks for entries, but you could claim to be a top two entrant for the time being.

Ed
 
Spanx said:
I've got 2 pens done that are both worthy,how do I decide which one to use?
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TWO pens!! That's great Dale. With these IAP contests, it's a about the pictures when it comes to voting. I would take pictures of both of them and whichever one looks better on your computer screen is the one to enter. Of course, if they both look equally great on the computer screen then you could just flip a coin.

Ed
 
Carl Fisher said:
Haven't even started anything for this. Not sure if I'll have the time unfortunately.
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Well, that would be a major disappointment. There is almost 2 weeks left to go. I hope you can find the time to pull something together. Even if you don't have time to create a once in a lifetime masterpiece, I bet any pen you would create would be a huge inspiration to the IAP membership and start more than a few members down the road to kitless. Don't deny those members the inspiration they need to advance their art!! You can do it Carl. I know you can.

Ed
 
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Hey if you needed another reason to jump up and make a pen to submit I have another one for you!

Thanks to the generosity of the members and vendors here at IAP we will be adding a prize to be awarded in a random drawing from any non winning entries into this contest.

The random Prize for this contest is from Elkhorn, a Ceboplast slab worth $45.00
 
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