Ancient Launch Tower

[Gus]

Anybody have any idea who manufactured this launch tower? (I included the Semroc Mars Lander next to it in the photos to give a sense of size.)

It is similar to the metal towers seen in the first edition of Handbook of Model Rocketry and offered by Estes in the 1961 catalog.

But this tower is not metal, it is wood. It is exceptionally well crafted so I doubt it was home-made or a kit. The fit of the pieces is remarkable. Most of the tower is apparently glued together but on several levels there are small screws. Again, very professionally crafted.

The paint on the tower appears original and does not appear to be a home-built job. Lines are remarkably clean and crisp.

While the tower seems to be very well built, functionally it is unusual in that the rails down the middle are not adjustable and appear to have only been suitable for a four finned rocket of the proper size.

There is a holder in the base for a launch rod as well. It is slightly off-center to accomodate a launch lug on the side of a rocket but, again, only about a BT55 will fit between the rails.

Anyone with knowledge of who might have produced this tower, I'd appreciate what you know.


Steve

[Gus]

A couple more pictures.

The underside of the base has four rubber footpads which may suggest this was meant to stand on a table, like seen in several of the Handbook photos.

The photo of the internal joints of the tower give an idea of how well crafted this was. Very precise work and very precise painting. Either professionally produced or by a builder with exceptionally high-order skills.

[tbzep]

Model Missiles Inc. had a tower that looked similar to it, but I've never seen any pictures with enough detail to know if that could be one.

[Gus]

Mark Mayfield emailed me a picture of Bill Stine at the opening of the display of the G. Harry Stine collection at the Seattle Mueseum of Flight (thanks, Mark).

The tower in the case is the metal type sold by MMI. My understanding is that with the demise of MMI, their remaining towers were sold to Estes who included them in the 1961 catalog.

Note how the tower in the case has a square bottom, but the tower pictured on the cover of Mechanix Illustrated has a triangular joint at the base, presumably to adjust the tower launch angle. I presume the one being advertised by Estes is more similar to the one on the MI cover since the ad mentions it is tiltable.

The wood tower I have is 6 levels instead of 7, like the MMI tower, and is not adjustable in any way.

[billspad]

Mark Mayfield emailed me a picture of Bill Stine at the opening of the display of the G. Harry Stine collection at the Seattle Mueseum of Flight (thanks, Mark).

The tower in the case is the metal type sold by MMI. My understanding is that with the demise of MMI, their remaining towers were sold to Estes who included them in the 1961 catalog.

Note how the tower in the case has a square bottom, but the tower pictured on the cover of Mechanix Illustrated has a triangular joint at the base, presumably to adjust the tower launch angle. I presume the one being advertised by Estes is more similar to the one on the MI cover since the ad mentions it is tiltable.

The wood tower I have is 6 levels instead of 7, like the MMI tower, and is not adjustable in any way.

I have one of the MMI towers. It's slightly adjustable. There were spacers that you could change so that it would work on two different body tube sizes. Mine can be tilted.

[shockwaveriderz]

I have one of the MMI towers. It's slightly adjustable. There were spacers that you could change so that it would work on two different body tube sizes. Mine can be tilted.


pics please?

tia

terry dean

[billspad]

pics please?

tia

terry dean

Here you go.

[Gus]

Bill,

Thanks for the pics. Am I correct in that your's appears to be all red, without the alternating white sections?

In looking at some of the earlier photos it looks like some of the towers were all red. It also looks like some were taller than 7 sections.

[billspad]

Bill,

Thanks for the pics. Am I correct in that your's appears to be all red, without the alternating white sections?

In looking at some of the earlier photos it looks like some of the towers were all red. It also looks like some were taller than 7 sections.

It came unpainted. It's actually red and green. Even though it was over 40 years ago I still remember running out of red spray paint and using green, which was the only other can of paint I had, to finish the job.

[Gus]

Bill,

Did you buy it as a kit, or fully assembled?

And is the square baseboard that it sits on something that came with it or something you added?

It looks like the one Bill Stine is standing next to didn't have that type of base board.

[billspad]

Bill,

Did you buy it as a kit, or fully assembled?

And is the square baseboard that it sits on something that came with it or something you added?

It looks like the one Bill Stine is standing next to didn't have that type of base board.

It came unassembled. Lots of pieces of metal, nuts and bolts.

I added the square piece of wood on the bottom. I don't think it came with anything for a base.

[Rocketflyer]

Gus, Looking at your tower, there are two "T" rails for the model, correct? I think yours might have been built "mission specific." Are there any exhaust burn marks on the tower at all?

The workmanship on that tower is just outstanding!

[mojo1986]

Gus, I'm wondering if it might be an early MMI tower, perhaps even a prototype, before they went to the commercial metal one. Is yours 6" x 6"?

Joe

[Gus]

Gus, Looking at your tower, there are two "T" rails for the model, correct? I think yours might have been built "mission specific." Are there any exhaust burn marks on the tower at all? !

Blast plate looks like the tower was used. I really doubt this was built for a specific rocket, since it has both the rails and a launch rod holder. From what I'm seeing of the MMI towers they weren't a whole lot more flexible than this tower, and wouldn't have accomodated a much bigger rocket.



Gus, I'm wondering if it might be an early MMI tower, perhaps even a prototype, before they went to the commercial metal one. Is yours 6" x 6"?

Joe

Tower is 5 .5" X 5.5". Base is 10.5" square. As for this being a prototype, I've seen photos of early model rocket launch towers and those that I've seen were metal.

As for it being a prototype, it's possible. But take a look at the quality of the work on the tower top corners (2nd pic). The corner piece itself looks like corner molding. The cross pieces are mitered and rabbet cut, all on a piece of 1/4" stock. Very high quality joinery work on such tiny pieces. That's what makes me think this was a professionally produced product. Either that, or it was the personal launch tower of a cabinet maker. :confused:

[Old Rocketeer "II"]

Anybody have any idea who manufactured this launch tower? (I included the Semroc Mars Lander next to it in the photos to give a sense of size.)

It is similar to the metal towers seen in the first edition of Handbook of Model Rocketry and offered by Estes in the 1961 catalog.

But this tower is not metal, it is wood. It is exceptionally well crafted so I doubt it was home-made or a kit. The fit of the pieces is remarkable. Most of the tower is apparently glued together but on several levels there are small screws. Again, very professionally crafted.

The paint on the tower appears original and does not appear to be a home-built job. Lines are remarkably clean and crisp.

While the tower seems to be very well built, functionally it is unusual in that the rails down the middle are not adjustable and appear to have only been suitable for a four finned rocket of the proper size.

There is a holder in the base for a launch rod as well. It is slightly off-center to accomodate a launch lug on the side of a rocket but, again, only about a BT55 will fit between the rails.

Anyone with knowledge of who might have produced this tower, I'd appreciate what you know.


Steve

This looks like a very nicely made replica of an MMI tower - but it is NOT an MMI tower. I have several of them here in the Museum archives both assembled and in the orginal packaging. One of the nicest condition towers from the collection is currently on display at Museum of Flight in Seattle. If any of you guys want to see the current best display of early MR memorabilia, go see the exhibit. I believe it will be open for another year.

Bill

[Gus]

Bill,

Thanks for responding. By any chance would you have a photo you could post of an unopened kit and/or pics of an open kit?

I didn't think this tower was MMI, and am beginning to lean toward believing it might have been a one of a kind thing, since no one here seems to have ever seen another one like it.

Was the MMI tower designed by your dad? Any idea who actually manufactured it? I know the surplus went to Estes when MMI closed, but I wonder if prior to that they did more than one production run, and how many were made in total.

Of all the early model rocketry stuff it seems like the towers would have been the most durable, yet you rarely see them, and I don't recall ever seeing one go up for sale on eBay.

[lmerdan]

That's a pretty cool tower made of wood. Can you take some more photos of the blast plate area on the interior?

[lmerdan]

I was performing some cleanup and stumbled across instruction sheet for that recent "retro" re-release of the Aerobee-Hi and saw the metal tower was shown on the launch drawing.

[Fireman]

Question about MMI towers for Gus, Bill, or anyone else who might know.

The tower I have was purchased already built up as a floor display, but I know they were shipped as kits. What kind of packaging was used for the kits? Was it an illustrated box, a plain corregated carton, or what?

And was there an instruction sheet that came with it, or were you on your own to figure it out?

If anybody has information about this, or better yet, a picture of an un-assymbled kit, a pic of the packaging, or a copy of instructions, cold you please post them here? I would dearly love to see any of the above.

The Fireman

[Gus]

Question about MMI towers for Gus, Bill, or anyone else who might know.

The tower I have was purchased already built up as a floor display, but I know they were shipped as kits. What kind of packaging was used for the kits? Was it an illustrated box, a plain corregated carton, or what?

And was there an instruction sheet that came with it, or were you on your own to figure it out?

If anybody has information about this, or better yet, a picture of an un-assymbled kit, a pic of the packaging, or a copy of instructions, cold you please post them here? I would dearly love to see any of the above.

The Fireman
Sorry, I've never seen one of the kits.

Steve

[Old Rocketeer "II"]

They did come as kits. The only packaging I am aware of is a 3" diameter green tube. I took a quick look around for instructions and have not found any yet - but they had to exist 'cause it's just too complicated to put together without any...

[Jerry Irvine]

I think people on this site are discovering things from longer ago than before.

[JohnNGA]

Question about MMI towers for Gus, Bill, or anyone else who might know.

The tower I have was purchased already built up as a floor display, but I know they were shipped as kits. What kind of packaging was used for the kits? Was it an illustrated box, a plain corregated carton, or what?

And was there an instruction sheet that came with it, or were you on your own to figure it out?

If anybody has information about this, or better yet, a picture of an un-assymbled kit, a pic of the packaging, or a copy of instructions, cold you please post them here? I would dearly love to see any of the above.

The Fireman

The instructions for that tower can be found on a thread started by Tedster (Ted Mahler) 1-11-2012, look for "Looking for launcher parts & Info"

[Fireman]

John, Bill, Steve, et al.

Thanks so much for your info on this subject. I have loved these towers since the first time I saw one, back about 1958 or so. I finally got one from an old hobby shop in Colorado Springs that was going out of business, but it was already assembled and there were no instructions. I have always wondered what they were like.

The scans of the instructions in the post John refers to above are just what I was looking for. (Just wish they were a bit larger so I could read them better with these old eyes.)

Bill, did you ever consider issuing a modern "clone" of these towers? There is absolutely nothing like them on the market that I know of. I bet there are still a few of us from "the Sputnik generation" that would love to get one, as well as some of the "youngsters" here who missed out on them the first time. Shipping would be prohibitive for steel towers, but perhaps a clone could be made of Aluminum instead? That would also keep re-issue towers from being confused with the old MMI originals. It would be just the thing to go with thos "aniversary re-issues Aerobee kits from a while back. Just a thought.

Just one more note for anyone interested in towers. On the "Peak City" site with the tribute to William Roe, there is a newspaper clipping showing the adjustable towers that we had at the Peak City range. They were used for everyday use at the range, and were also used for a couple of the early NARAMS. These towers were hand fabricated in the Palmer High School metal shop. I have often wondered whatever happened to these when Peak City went dormant. Bill, do you happen to know what happened to them?

Anyway, I continue to be amazed by this forum, by the depth and bredth of knowlege of the members, and above all, by your willingness to share what you know with the rest of us. From MMI towers to crayon sharpeners, to old Popular Mechanics articles, it is incredible to see some of the old material re-appearing on the forum. Thank you all!

The Fireman

Mitch Meigs,
formerly NAR 2217,
Peak City section *2

[Ez2cDave]

ENJOY . . . ! ! !

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/mmi-model-missiles-inc-tower.150654/

Dave F.

[Gus]

Lots of pictures of early launch towers on the new Museum of Flight G. Harry Stine Flickr page. (https://www.flickr.com/photos/stine_collection/albums/with/72157707063068775)

It appears the earliest towers were single color. Bill Stine recently told me they came as unfinished aluminum and the builder could paint as desired. Same as mentioned above by Billspad.

The photo below from NARAM 3, however is the first time I've seen an MMI tower in a package. The package sure looks like a "3 inch tube" like Bill described above. I'm not sure if the large label on the package was what was really on the packages as sold or if it's just a big label for the NARAM prize.

Second photo shows models being placed in an MMI tower. Of more interest to me, however, are the towers further to the left in the photo. They look like pretty straightforward tower launchers, similar to what folks still use today. But the ones in the photo look fairly standardized. Not sure if they were a kit or scratch built.

Steve