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#1
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When did the Alpha go from a balsa nose cone to a plastic one?
I was just curious when the Alpha kit lost the balsa nose cone in favor of the plastic one it has now? I'm thinking of cloning one and I want something as close to the old K-25 as I can get with Semroc (or other currently) available parts...
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#2
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Quote:
The catalogs show the change took place with the 1984 catalog. The 1983 catalog (page 16-17) still calls out a balsa nose cone in the blurb. The 1984 catalog (pages 18-19) says plastic in the blurb. 1983 catalog pages 1984 catalog pages
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Craig McGraw BARCLONE Rocketry -- http://barclone.rocketshoppe.com BARCLONE Blogsite -- http://barclone.wordpress.com BARCLONE Forum -- BARCLONE Forum BARs helping BARs SAM 0044 AMA 352635 |
#3
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Well, the mold was recently damaged and needs repair.
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#4
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Mark S. Kulka NAR #86134 L1,_ASTRE #471_Adirondack Mountains, NY
Opinions Unfettered by Logic • Advice Unsullied by Erudition • Rocketry Without Pity
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#5
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WOW! Thanks everyone for the fast replies!
So can I use the current kit's body tube or has there been a length change? Don |
#6
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Quote:
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#7
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Quote:
Look at one of the earliest versions of the Alpha from this insert in the 1969 catalog to get the tube length and the fin pattern. Tube was the BT-50H, which the 741 Parts Catalog calls out as 7.75" long. SEMROC has the tube to the correct length.
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#8
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Agreed on the Semroc BNC-50K. And current Alpha kits with the plastic NC have the same body tube length as the original.
There's also the slight fin shape change from the earliest days....you may or may not want to start chasing THAT down .
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Bernard Cawley NAR 89040 L1 - Life Member SAM 0061 AMA 42160 KG7AIE |
#9
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I could be wrong, but way back in the early 70's I had an Alpha that I could have sworn had a plastic NC and fin can... no?
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#10
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The only Alpha in the 80's that had a plastic cone and the fin can was the Alpha III, not the regular Alpha.
The change from balsa to plastic happened the same time they redesigned the kit graphics and included decals; basically when Estes was starting to go to hell....mid 80's.
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