New Scans of Estes D-Region Tomahawk (1944)(BT-60) Fins w/ruler
 

For clarity, this is a request for the BT-60 based D-Region Tomahawk (1944)(ca. 1985-1986), and not the 1.8" OD version (2037) (with plastic fin can from a few years ago). At this time, the later version is beyond my ability to simulate properly due to the nature of the plastic parts (unless someone has one they can send me ).



I've been to JimZ's site , and the scans of the fins are incomplete. There's no indication of what the dimensions of the fins are (except for the fin gussets, which is contained in the instructions). I need to know the width of the balsa, and the length of the fin root. Ideally, someone has an opened, unbuilt one that they can scan the fins for me (preferably with a ruler to ensure accuracy).

Also while the scans of the decals on JimZ's are large and well done, there's no indication of scale for them. I can use them as is, if someone could measure the width of one of the wraps. There's one issue that I'd like to confirm with someone... The "brown band" looks to be black from the scan is this an accurate observation?

If a plastic fin unit and a nose cone & payload section for a BT-50 size D-Region Tomahawk would interest you, Aerobotix (on the Shapeways www.shapeways.com 3D printing website) has them--and many other rocket parts, too! The listings for the D-Region Tomahawk parts are *here* (see: www.shapeways.com/shops/cespedesign-multimedia ), about one-third of the way down the "screen-page." Our member "Raygun" owns and runs Aerobotix ("YORFers helping YORFers"). While everyone has different scale size preferences (some model railroaders like HO gauge, while others prefer N gauge), for me a BT-50 size D-Region Tomahawk is just right.

Your root is 4" right on the nose.

Tip is 1.8125"

Thiokol on the decal is a shade more than 1.25" across the top.

Balsa stock is 1/8"

I don't know the length of the wraps. Mine came apart in water and I ended up painting the bands.

The June 1971 issue of Model Rocketry magazine contains scale data for the D-Region Tomahawk...the dimensions of this model should correspond, especially the bands, and yes that is brown.

Thanks for the info.



Nice! Thanks for that!

Funny thing... I just looked at my sim, and I had the length of the fins as... 4.0 inches exactly!

Cool!

Yes! That 1971 article is also listed as a reference for a later D-Region Tomahawk scale article which was published in an early 1990s--either '92 or '93, I believe--issue of "American Space Modeling" (or was it "American Space Modeler?"), as the NAR's journal was titled back then (I can't remember the exact year or the volume number [it was published either bimonthly or quarterly], but I have photocopies of that article stashed away in one of my many boxes of books and papers). The D-Region Tomahawk article was the cover article of that issue, which showed a color photograph of the vehicle on its launcher at Wallops.

You're welcome. That same D-Region Tomahawk "faceted fin can tail assembly" (or one very similar to it) was also used on the Tomahawk upper stages of some (if not all) Taurus-Tomahawk sounding rockets (one of these vehicles is covered in Peter Alway's "Rockets of the World") and on some Taurus-Nike-Tomahawk vehicles as well (some Taurus-Nike-Tomahawk rounds also used the older-type Tomahawk upper stage tail assembly [the one that MPC/AVI and Quest used in their single-stage Sandia Tomahawk kits; Quest still sells this plastic fin unit]).