10-12-2010, 12:16 PM
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BARCLONE Rocketry
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Mobile, Alabama
Posts: 5,357
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by hellbender
I have two assembled rockets that I bought when I was in jr high school. One is a Mars Snooper and the other is a Big Bertha. I flew the Mars Snooper a couple of times and it flew well. The Big Bertha was never flown because of the 3 engine cost and the problems of getting 3 motors to start simultaneously. Both were purchased in the 1965-66 timeframe. The MS has the original albeit slighty burnt chute intact. The BB has no chute.
Just wondering if they have any collectable value to anyone? I have contacted Estes as well to inquire about any interest as well. Not kits, they are assembled and painted with laquer paint from my g'pa's pattern shop back in the day.
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Seeing rockets built from that time period is neat. "...Thanks For The Memories..."
A 3-engine Big Bertha is actually the even-older Ranger (Big Bertha was developed as a simplified, single-engine Ranger). Getting three engines to fire simultaneously takes a bit of patience, a well-built "clip whip", and a strong 12 volt battery, like a car battery or a gel-cell.
The plans and patterns for both of these are available on the internet, if you want to restore them yourself:
Ranger Plans
Original Big Bertha MRN Plans
Original Mars Snooper MRN Plans
Mars Snooper Kit Plans
Most of us are builders on this forum, but I know several also enjoy "rescue, restoration, and renovation" projects like this. Maybe this is a good opportunity to repair those models back to flying condition yourself.
In any case, welcome back to rocketry, and welcome to our asylum!  |