Colored Stars

The perchlorate can be substituted by chlorate without changing the color.

Dissolve shellac in boiling ethanol, add the other ingredients and proceed as usual. The stars take unexpectedly long to dry. They can be dried in the sun or in a vacuum. Smaller stars dry faster.

Dissolve shellac in boiling ethanol, and add the other ingredients.

Dissolve shellac in boiling ethanol, and add the other ingredients.

Add water. For priming "priming composition #7" from the chapter with miscellaneous compositions can be used.

Contains both sulfur and a chlorate. Bind with shellac dissolved in ethanol.

Produce as a cut star.

Produce as a cut star.

Crackling stars can be made with this composition. The poster used large pistol primers (idea from Best of AFN II), coated with 70%KClO4/30% Dark aluminum for cores, and rolled these into stars with the star mixture. The stars were hard to ignite and needed priming.

The magnesium must be coated with linseed oil. Use an acetone or alcohol solvable binder.

A simple but nice (somewhat yellowish) green. Dissolve shellac in boiling ethanol.

The composition leaves lots of ash. Ammonium perchlorate improves it (- Green star #4). Mix Parlon with magnesium. Add 50 volume parts of acetone, mix well and mix in the other ingredients. If PVC is used, add the correct amount of the solution in THF to the other ingredients.

Mix Parlon with magnesium. Add 60 volume parts of acetone for Parlon, mix well and mix in the other ingredients. If PVC is used, add the correct amount of the solution in THF to the other ingredients.

This mixture can be improved using ammonium perchlorate (Green star #6). Add acetone. Prime with black powder. Aluminum should be very fine, preferably dark pyro grade.

Fierce burning. Add Acetone. Prime with "Priming Composition #7"

Beautiful green. Direct substitution of barium nitrate with strontium nitrate produces a nice red. Preparation: Dissolve shellac in boiling ethanol. Prime with potassium perchlorate based strobe prime

Bind with alcohol.

Bind with alcohol.

This formulation is based on one given by Clark, who’s work is suspect.

Original name: 'Emerald green'. The mix is not very sensitive although chlorates are present. Preparation: Dampen with 75/25 water/alcohol and cut or roll into 10mm stars. The red gum can be replaced with shellac. If shellac is used, dampen with 50/50 water alcohol.

The magnesium must be coated with linseed oil. Use an acetone or alcohol solvable binder.

The magnesium must be coated with potassium dichromate.

LNiksch :"These stars burn much faster and more blue than any mix containing copper carbonate I have tried" Preparation: Dampen with alcohol/water 70/30 to make cut or pumped stars.

Add 25 volume parts of water to dextrin and mix in the other ingredients. Use more water if necessary.

Mix red gum or shellac powder with Parlon. Add 50 volume parts of acetone, mix well and mix in the other ingredients.

Add the PVC solution to the other ingredients. Allow some THF to evaporate, form a cake 1 cm thick and allow it to dry on a plastic plate (check that it doesn't dissolve in THF!). Remove the dry cake and cut it into stars with a pair of scissors.

Dangerous mixture since it contains both sulfur and a chlorate. Bind with dextrin in water.

This one is inferior to "Blue star 6". Dangerous mixture since it contains both sulfur and a chlorate. Bind with dextrin in water.

Crackling stars can be made with this composition. The poster used large pistol primers (idea from Best of AFN II), coated with 70%KClO4/30% Dark aluminum for cores, and rolled these into stars with the star mixture. The stars were hard to ignite and needed priming. The color is a bit pale blue.

This composition seems just a slight modification of "Blue star #1".

Makes a bright, robins-egg blue star, with a bushy flame.

Moisten with water, and cut into 6 mm stars. Do not prime with meal powder. Use a potassium perchlorate based prime instead.

Fimo is a PVC based modelling clay. The stars are brilliant blue ("Cop-lites blue"), with edges of flame tinted salmon. The stars need priming. Warm the Fimo slightly, to make it more mixable and mix it with the ammonium perchlorate without using solvents. Then mix in the malachite. Screen it several times and make pressed stars.

Dangerous mixture since it contains both sulfur and a chlorate. Bind with dextrin in water. The ingredients must be very pure.

Dangerous mixture since it contains both sulfur and a chlorate. Bind with dextrin in water. The ingredients must be very pure.

Mix dextrin with 4 volume parts of water and mix in the other ingredients.

Bind with shellac in ethanol or dextrin in water.

Bind with alcohol.

The magnesium must be coated with linseed oil. Use an acetone or alcohol solvable binder.

The magnesium must be coated with potassium dichromate

Dangerous mixture since it contains both sulfur and a chlorate. Bind with alcohol.

Sculpy is a PVC based modelling clay - "FIMO" will also work, but is more difficult to mix.

Sculpy is a PVC based modelling clay. The result is a salmon-berry (reddish-orange) color. Warm the sculpy slightly, to make it more mixable and mix it with the ammonium perchlorate without using solvents. Screen it several times and make pressed stars. The stars can be baked in an oven at 135°C for 20 minutes, which will result in much harder, more ignitable, more intensely colored stars. Heating the stars is not recommended though, since it could cause the stars to ignite.

Bind with dextrin in water

Meal powder priming should be sufficient.

Bind with dextrin in water

These compositions are part of a matched set invented by Robert Veline. The compositions mix compatibly to produce a wide range of other colors. Examples are given below. The wood meal in the prime (see miscellaneous compositions) makes the stars a little 'fuzzy', making the stars much more easy to ignite. Without the wood meal prime the stars are often blown blind.

These compositions are part of a matched set invented by Robert Veline. The compositions mix compatibly to produce a wide range of other colors. Examples are given below. The wood meal in the prime (see miscellaneous compositions) makes the stars a little 'fuzzy', making the stars much more easy to ignite. Without the wood meal prime the stars are often blown blind.
Summary of Robert Veline's own comments: "Potassium perchlorate is a fine powder. Parlon is Hercules brand or Superchlon brand from Ishihara co. ltd. Red gum is a fine powder. Copper(II)oxide may be substituted by copper carbonate without much change in performance. Calcium carbonate is 200 mesh, 'Whiting'. More pure forms slow the burn rate and degrade the color."

These compositions are part of a matched set invented by Robert Veline. The compositions mix compatibly to produce a wide range of other colors. Examples are given below. The wood meal in the prime (see miscellaneous compositions) makes the stars a little 'fuzzy', making the stars much more easy to ignite. Without the wood meal prime the stars are often blown blind.

These compositions are part of a matched set invented by Robert Veline. The compositions mix compatibly to produce a wide range of other colors. Examples are given below. The wood meal in the prime (see miscellaneous compositions) makes the stars a little 'fuzzy', making the stars much more easy to ignite. Without the wood meal prime the stars are often blown blind.
Summary of Robert Veline's own comments: "Potassium perchlorate is a fine powder. Parlon is Hercules brand or Superchlon brand from Ishihara co. ltd. Red gum is a fine powder. Copper(II)oxide may be substituted by copper carbonate without much change in performance. Calcium carbonate is 200 mesh, 'Whiting'. More pure forms slow the burn rate and degrade the color."

These compositions are part of a matched set invented by Robert Veline. The compositions mix compatibly to produce a wide range of other colors. Examples are given below. The wood meal in the prime (see miscellaneous compositions) makes the stars a little 'fuzzy', making the stars much more easy to ignite. Without the wood meal prime the stars are often blown blind.
Summary of Robert Veline's own comments: "Potassium perchlorate is a fine powder. Parlon is Hercules brand or Superchlon brand from Ishihara co. ltd. Red gum is a fine powder. Copper(II)oxide may be substituted by copper carbonate without much change in performance. Calcium carbonate is 200 mesh, 'Whiting'. More pure forms slow the burn rate and degrade the color."

These are a few examples of the colors that can be obtained by mixing a few of Robert Veline's set of star compositions.