Houston, We Have Failure To Launch

Its been a wonderfully retro xmas, with some presents that have taken me right back to childhood. Conversely, some of my gifts were seriously modern such as a neat little spy cam, about an inch square. Working via wifi and a special app, the device records video and hi definition photos. Naturally, this little beauty appealed to me immensley and the possibilities for toy photography were clear.

The first thing I wanted to try was launching it into the air via a rocket, so despite its small size, I needed something that could contain the device and a chute for recovery. The obvious first choice was the 1976 Action Games toy 'Thundershot'. This is a large version of the air powered pop rocket and consists of two cardboard tubes, one inside the other and a plastic rocket. Pulling down on the tubes compresses the air and shoots the rocket away with a satisfying pop.

The rocket comes with a small drogue chute to slow down descent, but I wanted something a bit larger to recover the camera and to endure stability as it came down. A few rubber bands round the camera would act as shock absorbers. I fitted a chute and packed the camera and chute into the nose cone. Thundershot comes with two, an Interceptor and a Parachute one. At first glance, apart from a slight ridge, theres no real difference, so I selected the Interceptor. This was a mistake, as it fits more tightly on the body. My first attempt wasn't great as while I was fiddling about with preparations, the weather had turned to rain, so I didn't want to hang around in wet weather with a cardboard tube. A quick test and the rocket made a good twenty feet, bouncing off the garage roof, but without deploying the chute.

I retired to the pavilion again, thinking the new chute was too large for the cone, but then realised the parachute cone might work better.

As rain has stopped play for now, its time for a quick preview of a future project, with Hot Wheels special camera car 'Zoom In' - which is intended to hold a GoPro camera on the back with a dedicated clip. As my spy cam is a bit smaller, I will have to tether it, but it sits nicely with an unobstucted view! Roll on the dry weather!