Actor Billy Bob Thornton Places First Order

ANN 04.01.07 SPECIAL EDITION: Attention, NASA... you have some competition, and it ain't from the folks in Russia, China, or even the Mojave Desert.

Cartoonist and amateur rocketeer Wes Oleszewski tells ANN after years of exhaustive studies, several failed test launch attempts, and literal mounds of incinerated ant carcasses... his "Dr. Zooch" model rocket enterprise has brought to market the first, fully-operational, full-scale model of a Saturn V lunar rocket.

"I wanted to do something big... and nothing is bigger than the Saturn V," Wes said. "Yeah, the shuttle kit is pretty cool... and the scale models of the Titan II rocket and Saturn I are impressive in their own right. But I felt we weren't "reaching" high enough.

Test flights of the balsa-wood-and-cardboard Saturn V kit have demonstrated the ability to achieve high Earth orbit. That's admittedly less than the "real" Saturn V, which sent astronauts to the moon, could achieve... but Wes said he is satisfied with results.

"There's really only so much you can do with five bundled sets of 250 C6-7 motors," he said. "And that's just the first stage. Eventually, you have to say "that's good enough."

At least one enthusiastic customer agrees. Actor Billy Bob Thornton -- recently seen by approximately 38 people in the movie "The Astronaut Farmer" -- says acting in the movie about an aspiring spaceman convinced him to splurge on the Dr. Zooch Saturn V.

"I've wanted to go into space ever since playing that character in Armageddon no one ever remembers," Thornton told ANN. "My recent role in 'The Astronaut Farmer' only whetted that appetite. Thanks to Wes, I can make my dream a reality -- that balsa wood Apollo capsule up top is real comfy."

Rumors of Thornton signing to play the lead in the forthcoming Klyde Morris movie, "Spring Loaded To Number 18 At The Box Office," could not be confirmed by press time.

FMI: www.drzooch.com