Dr. Zarkov's Rocket Ship (1936 Flash Gordon)

Recently I made a retro-futuristic rocket ship model. That model was fairly simple in design, and it inspired me to try something a bit more complicated and a lot more retro. The model here is my attempt to recreate the rocket ship shown in the Flash Gorden movie serials from 1936. As near as I can tell from looking at the serials, and from various photographs, it appears that to me that more than one model was used in the serials, and these models do not always agree in design. In addition, the original serials are not available in high resolution (as far as I know), so details are not always clear. In short, this model is my best effort to recreate spirit of the original rocket ship to a reasonable degree of accuracy. 

The model consists of the following pieces :

1. Nose
2. Nose Cannon
3. Wings (two, Left and Right)
4. Wheels - Front, Left and Right (2 X 2 pieces each)
5. Wheel - Rear (1 X 2 pieces)
6. Wheel Boots - Front (two, Left and Right)
7. Wheel Boot - Rear
8. Tubes section
9. Body section

Assembly

Note : Many of the pieces will snap into place; however, I recommend adding a bit of glue to make sure they stay in place.

1. Start with the Nose piece, and insert the Nose Cannon into the hole in the end of the nose; add glue from the inside. Make sure the Cannon is straight!
2. Insert the Left and Right Wings into the slots in the side of the Nose piece; be sure to orient each wing with the insert part on top. These pieces will be a tight fit - be sure to support the nose from the inside to make sure it does not crack. Add glue from the inside.
3. Insert the Wheel halves into the wheel Boots by inserting one half into place over the internal nub, and then sliding the other half into place so that it clicks over the other nub. The two halves will self align, and should rotate readily - you may need to spin them a bit to get them to move into place. 
4. Insert the left and right front wheel Boots into the nose piece. Reserve the rear wheel Boot for step 5. Hold the wheel Boots straight and apply a small amount of glue from the inside. Do NOT glue the wheels - they should be allowed to rotate.
   
   This completes the Nose Assembly.
    
5. Next, glue the rear wheel Boot to the bottom Body fin. Note that there is an alignment notch on the fin. Make sure the Boot is properly aligned before the glue sets.
6. Now attach the Tubes section to the Body section. Note that there is an alignment key on the two sections. Apply a small amount of glue to the Body section and insert into the Tubes section, and stand upright on the open end to make sure the two pieces are aligned correctly.
   
   This completes the Body Assembly.
    
7. The Body Assembly can now be inserted into the Nose Assembly. I did not find it necessary to glue these two assemblies together, but use glue for a more permanent fit as desired.

Print Instructions

All parts are printed in PLA with 0.2mm layer height. I printed all of the pieces in silver PLA, except the wheels which were printed in black PLA. Use the 3mf files provided, or the guidance below:

Nose section

• 0% infill
• 3 perimeters
• variable layer height on end of nose for thinner layers
• paint on supports under middle hole
• paint on seam on bottom curve (as assembled)
• orient as shown in photos

Nose cannon

• 0% infill
• 3 perimeters
• orient pointing up

Wings

• 15% rectilinear infill
• 2 perimeters
• orient with insert tab down on build plate (see photos)

Wheel Boots

• 20% rectilinear infill
• 4 perimeters
• variable layer height on curved tops for thinner layers
• orient with bottom down (see photos)

Wheels

• 25% rectilinear infill
• top fill pattern = concentric
• 2 perimeters
• orient with flat side down on build plate (see photos)

Tubes section

• 15% rectilinear infill
• 2 perimeters
• orient with tubes pointing up

Body section

• 0% infill
• 2 perimeters
• orient with open end down

CAD

The OnShape 3D CAD files for this are here :

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/30f4450eb4ad2827ce4b715c/w/a0eb45386d84c73718e7ace0/e/90031cded37aed78a8a1989c?renderMode=0&uiState=643c3fb8ed913b416d82e201