The Antares - RSX - A Burning Man Art Car
The Antares - Rocket Ship Experience (RSX).
We would like to provide the Burning Man participants an escape from the norm of everyday life and let them pretend to be Buck Rodgers or Flash Gordon like they did as a child. The exterior of the rocket will look like something that Bugs Bunny rode to the moon in. The interior will have pressure gauges, crank wheels, pipes and hoses to add to the effect that you are inside a rocket. We will have music playing along with the occasional sci fi effect. (laser cannons, clips from famous movies/tv) This will not be a “sound” art car however. The music/sounds are just there to add to the enjoyment of her passengers and crew. We will operate during both day and night hours at the crews pleasure. When parked The Antares will be stationed at the Booby Bar within Terminal City Village.
Terminal City Village
The Crew
David Rockett - Bryon Calhoun-Jones - Shelly Calhoun-Jones - Ben Hallert
[Captain Proton] - [Commander Spilboi] - [Cadet Happi]
The base vehicle is a '78 Dodge Sportsman B200.
1971-1992 Sportsman - Maxiwagon
Door opening-side door height 47.2"
Door opening-side door width 49.2"
Door opening-rear door height 47.2"
Door opening-rear door width 49.2"
Height-Maximum passenger area 53.9"
Length-rear door to seat-back 131.2"
Length-rear door to engine cover 153.3"
Overall length 212.0"
Overall width 79.0"
Width-maximum inside 69.9"
Overall height 80.8"
Front Tread 65.18"
Rear Tread 65.12"
Turning Radius: B200 43.3'
Measurements taken from http://www.allpar.com/trucks/b-vans.html
Concept Art!
Early conspet. (Aircraft boarding door, Streamers/yellow/red?, Bright lights to illuminate streamers, Simulated flame.)
Full conspet now with deck.
The Engine Room
Basic deck design. (Bolts 3in Long attached to the railing. Apx 1.5in to go into pvc pipe.)
PVC Frame and Deck Consept.
PVC frame consept covered in silver cloth cover.
Night lighting concept
3D framing in SketchUp
Unzip and open with Google SketchUp.
THE MASTER PLAN
The top of the van will have a deck that extends apx. a foot out on both sides. There will be a railing for safety and support. This will all be made out of plywood, 2x4s and 4x4s. To secure the platform to the van we will attach a wooden frame atop the rain gutters and use metal bracets to secure the deck to that. One of the side doors will be removed to allow access to the inside of the rocket. The other will have a ladder attached to it and the deck to gain access up top. Around the whole Van will be a skeleton of ¾ in pvc to form the outer shape of the rocket. This will extend from the base frame of the van to the top railing of the wood deck. A fabric will then cover the pvc skeleton. The outer wind shield will be out of a clear plastic / pvc to allow ample visibility or not have anything there at all depending on how it looks. The engine will use a fan and Red/Yellow/Orange fabric to create flames. The fins/wings will also be made out of pvc and covered in cloth. At night the rocket will be illuminated by lights under the fabric exterior. This will be done by using rope lights attached to the sides of the van and the use of the head lights. The "engine" will be lit with red lights to add to the fire effect and to show that's the rear of the MV. The inside will have seating for at least 6 people. The seats will face each other to allow easy access in and out of the rocket. The back of the van will have a plasma ball on a stand with hoses and knobs coming off of it.
Work work work
Sep 26th 2009
The gang got together to strip out the interior of the rocket. All carpeting and side pannels are now removed.
Feb 10th 2010
Capt Proton has been doing minor maintenance on the van to make sure it's in good mechanical shape before starting on its mutation. Oil and filter has been changed. A new battery was just installed as well. The next day or so the spark plugs will also get replaced.
Mar 25th 2010
Well a few weeks ago we took the van for it's "test drive" We drove it up Hwy. 58 for about an hour and then back to town. I am happy to report that it did great so we are good to go on acutally turning this is to a art car. I have picked up all the lumber we need for the upper deck. I also picked up a small swich, a Oil psi guage, and a plasma ball. Here are some pic's.
Mar 27th 2010
Ben came over and together he and I build the deck. Here are some pictures.
May 18th 2010
We have been working on the rocket, I swear. Not as much as we should but doing what we can. There is now a wooden frame of 2x6's around the roof of the van that will support and attach the deck to the van. Once the deck is secured, we can add the railings, followed by the pvc skeleton.
May 22nd 2010
The Deck is now atop of the van. It is notched into the van and so can't move forward or backward. We need to secure it to the sides still however so people can stand on the edge of the van with out risk of it falling. This would be a good thing.
June 1st 2010
Over this last weekend I was able to cut and put up the railing around the deck. The deck is now pretty much completed.
June 7th 2010
I created the engine core and I'm damn pleased with myself about it. I need to figure a way to attach it to the van so it doesn't knock over and break the plasma ball.
June 26th 2010
Today we did alot of work on the pvc frame. The ribs are done and work has begun on the front and rear cone.
July 1st 2010
The fabric for the hull of the rocket has been orded. It will be made out of jersey knit that is dandelion yellow. We also will put some sliver swoops on the sides.
July 12th 2010
The fabric came in yesterday. That is one big bult of fabric. I also worked on the nose of the rocket. I think its almost done.
July 19th 2010
The frame is complete. Here are some picks.
July 26th 2010
We have begun work on the hull.
Aug. 2nd 2010
Work continues on the hull. Less then a month till the Burn.
Aug. 4th 2010
Finishing up the nose.
Aug. 9th 2010
Worked on the back and the fins. We also pulged in all our lights and the stereo into the Geni
Aug. 11th 2010
Continued to work on the backend hull, added the fuel tank\silver things on the sides.
BURNING MAN 2010
Well the van made the trip down just fine. We arrived on playa on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent building the rocket. That took alot longer then I thought. Thursday morning we took it out and got it licensed for Day use. Then we took it out for a tour around the deep playa. Spilboi and Happi then took it out with their camp for a wedding cruse. I hear we had 15 people up top during that. That night they finished putting lights on it to be ready to be licensed for night. I got too drunk to do it that night however. The next day the trouble started. First we took it out again to see the open playa. It was very windy so after a while we turned back. After a time the front nose was ripped out of the connections. We stop and roped the nose up so I could see out. But then we couldn't start the engine. After getting a jump by the ranger (THANK YOU RANGERS!!!) we drove back to camp. We found out the water level in the batter was at about half way. I filled it up and changed the battery. That night we took it down to the DMV to get night licensed. We stopped and the guy came out to give the inspection. We again passed with just needing to add some small lights to the wings. He gave us our sticker and said to add them when we get back to camp. Extremely happy we go to start the engine only to have it not start again. We charge up the batter again and start to drive back to camp. Half way home it dies mid drive. So we abandon ship. There is a white out going on so you can't see shit but we find our way home just fine. The next morning I expect to see beer cans in it or sharpies or thing damaged/stolen. Nothing was messed with or taken... burners can be sooo cool sometimes. However the rear of the rocket was run into by another art car putting the rocket out of commission. Again Rangers saved my ass and gave me a tow. Here are pictures of the rise and fall of the Antares.
