Originally Posted by Gus

A bit more info on the Alpha II.

Educator's kit only, never appeared in an Estes catalog.

Only sold in bulk packs, so no header cards.

Differed from the original Alpha in that it had a plastic nosecone (balsa at that time on the Alpha), balsa fins were die-cut (vs. cut-them-yourself with the Alpha) and the body tubes came pre-marked with fin placement lines. The fin lines look like ballpoint pen. Somebody who has access please ask Vern if he build a jig or machine to do that. I can't imagine how labor intensive that must have been to put those lines on the body tubes. And I don't recall ever seeing them on any other Estes kit (although Starlight did this for years).

I have no idea how many years the Alpha II was sold.

Steve

(Pic of the Alpha II below from a listing on eBay)