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-   -   WHAT IN The art of scale model rocketry (http://www.oldrocketforum.com/showthread.php?t=16739)

the mole 07-21-2017 01:47 PM

WHAT IN The art of scale model rocketry
 
Can anyone here who might have a copy of Peter Alway The art of scale model rocketry give me an idea what the content is in the book?

I am most interested in what scale rockets it covers. Does it cover how to build or what material to use and size of tubes and things like this?

I'm mainly interested in how much it deals with the Saturn V and Saturn 1b.

Thanks in advance.

mwtoelle 07-21-2017 03:54 PM

The Art of Scale Model Rocketry mainly covers building techniques that are unique to building detailed scale models. It also include tips on how to prepare of scale packet for documentation scale properties for competition purposes. The book also contains data and instructions for building sport scale versions of the following rockets: the Asp (1/12 scale, based on BT-5), D-Region Tomahawk (1/9.22, BT-50), Black Brant VB (1/23.4, BT-20), Black Brant VI (1/5, BT-50), V-2 (1/40, BT-60), GIRD 09 (1/6.8, BT-50), Sparrow-HV Arcas (1/8.25, BT-50), Aerobee 150A with booster (1/9.16, BT-60), Astrobee 500 (1/12, BT-60), Juno II (1/64, BT-60), Mercury-Atlas (1/73, BT-60), Saturn I Block II (1/130, BT-70), Vostock (1/63, BT-60). Data is also included for the Terrier-Sandhawk and Saturn V. The last two state the data is produced without matching plans and to design your own or buy the Estes kit that was available at the time of publication (1994). The plans are interesting in the fact that, in the order of which I listed them, the builds get more difficult as you go along. Many of the plans require modification or fabrication of necessary parts and subassemblies form scratch. I wish Peter would republish the book again, because it shows how to deal with some of the problems faced in the construction of scale rockets.

the mole 07-21-2017 05:03 PM

Thanks, Mike,

I have always heard about this book but never knew what was offered between the cover.
Your description was great. I'm like you I wish Peter would do a second printing or what would be great do a download to buy.

Thanks again.

mwtoelle 07-22-2017 08:25 PM

It is a great book for someone interested in building good scale models. There are tips on how handle things like how to deal with prototypes with multiple tube diameters, how to handle lettering on the rockets, and a lot of other ways to make building these rockets easier. However, several sections would need updating to deal with some of the new technologies (3-D printing, for example) that have become readily available in the last 23 years.

the mole 07-22-2017 09:09 PM

It sounds like a really good book. I wouldn't mind having the planes for the Mercury-Atlas 1/73 and the Vostock 1/63 scale. I found two copies for sale but one sells for $109.00 and the other is over $300.00. I just don't think I want to pay that kind of money for them. Maybe he will reprint it one of these days and the price won't be so steep.

PeterAlway 07-24-2017 03:49 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by mwtoelle
It is a great book for someone interested in building good scale models. There are tips on how handle things like how to deal with prototypes with multiple tube diameters, how to handle lettering on the rockets, and a lot of other ways to make building these rockets easier. However, several sections would need updating to deal with some of the new technologies (3-D printing, for example) that have become readily available in the last 23 years.


This sums up exactly why I haven't reprinted it. There have been a whole lot of new developments in the past 23 years (gulp! Has it really been that long?), and a lot of the sources and supplies quoted in the book have disappeared. To produce an updated version isn't just about writing, illustration, and layout, but it's about re-learning half the content in the book. I really haven't kept up-to-date with the technology (I have no clue how to do 3-d printing, or how to avoid the very real problems I've seen with it) but just as importantly, I haven't kept up with the model rocket marketplace or the outside-world marketplace.

One example that comes to mind is the current world of spray paints. My favorite dutch boy/K-mart paints, for example, no longer exist. I know that Krylon has been reformulated and people have trouble with it. Another example is the apparent disappearance of dry transfer lettering, replaced by computer graphics. Even vinyl lettering, which used to have clean die-cut edges, now has lumpy, raised laser-cut edges. ALPS decal printers which were apparently very nice and capable of wonderful results, have apparently come and gone.

The awful truth is that I'm no longer even qualified to write a book on scale model rocketry. I really don't have the time, energy, or money to develop the expertise to be qualified again.

On the bright side, I *am* working on some new scale data!

Peter Alway

jetlag 07-24-2017 04:33 PM

Great news, Peter!
Would you be kind enough, though, to let us know which vendor(s) you sell your leftovers to, assuming there are any of course?
Your Rockets of the World really initiated me into scale Rocketry. Your work in this field is regarded as near biblical!

Thanks so much!

Allen

PeterAlway 07-24-2017 04:39 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by jetlag
Great news, Peter!
Would you be kind enough, though, to let us know which vendor(s) you sell your leftovers to, assuming there are any of course?
Allen


After NARAM, I'll post an update.

Peter Alway

the mole 07-24-2017 08:16 PM

Thanks, Peter for commenting on this thread. I understand fully what you're saying about the book being over 23 years old and out of date. I'm sure people on this forum wouldn't mind if the contents in the book are out of date. This whole forum is about the past and what was available years ago. I'm pretty sure if a lot of people had the chance to buy a copy or download a copy they would do it in a minute.

I have found 3 for sale. They are $109.00, $223.00 and,over $300.00. If I had money to burn I would buy one but I don't. Maybe you could give a copy to the NAR and have them sell them on CDs to raise money. I think they would love to do it. They have a lot of out of date publications for sale.

I'm just saying you have something that is wanted and if the book wasn't wanted they would be selling cheap, instead of going for hundreds of dollars.

Thanks again for your comments.

MarkB. 07-25-2017 09:39 AM

Comrades,

After reading this thread, I went back through my copy and I'm not sure it's as far off as Peter seems to think. For instance, all of the balsa, basswood, glue and finishing instruction are still good and are the techniques most of the guys on this web board are familiar with and use.

I think the "new edition" problem is a name brand problem - no more Dutch Boy sprays, for instance. If the references to specific brands were eliminated, the first sections of the book would be relatively timeless. (For gosh sakes, anything but Testors Dullcoat, or as I call it: a yellowing agent ).


The first 28 pages are solid. Some of the tables of available tubes might need some update/tweeking but that's about it. A new p. 28A dealing with 3D printing, perhaps as tersely worded as the casting section would be appropriate. A Finishing 3D materials paragraph mentioning high-build auto primer spray and finishing epoxy would be needed as well.

Decaling would need a paragraph on home-printed decals. Again a short section.

I wouldn't touch pages 34 to 79 at all unless it were to add a reference, where appropriate, to 3D printing, of an escape tower, for example.

The "new edition" problem shows up again on pages 80 to 85. Because it lists specific manufacturers making specific kits, it's in danger of getting out of date fairly quickly. Perhaps a listing of manufacturers with scale offerings as of the date of publication would be better, with their websites.

Ah, the Internet; possibly the single most important addition to this book. Page 86 is OK, but Pages 87 to 89 could be replaced with the single sentence: Look on the Internet. I'm kidding, but only a little. Most modelers (including myself) now spend hours looking at Internet images of rockets. Minokov dimensioned drawings and other goodies are only a click away. So an interductory paragraph or two or three on the Internet and keeping the old-school snail mail way of obtaining data and these pages are ready.

I'd leave 90 to 95 as is and call it good.

I think Peter is being refreshingly modest, he's forgotten more about scale building than the rest of us will know. I'd love to see a new edition.


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