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  #1  
Old 07-21-2017, 01:47 PM
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Default 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.
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  #2  
Old 07-21-2017, 03:54 PM
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mwtoelle mwtoelle is offline
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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.
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Old 07-21-2017, 05:03 PM
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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.
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Old 07-22-2017, 08:25 PM
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mwtoelle mwtoelle is offline
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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.
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  #5  
Old 07-22-2017, 09:09 PM
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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.
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Old 07-24-2017, 03:49 PM
PeterAlway PeterAlway is offline
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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
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Old 07-24-2017, 04:33 PM
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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
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  #8  
Old 07-25-2017, 12:52 PM
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tbzep tbzep is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PeterAlway
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


While your book is somewhat dated, the mindset that it helps create is not. My son took my TAOSMR book's Aerobee 150A gap staged plan and built a gap staged Aerobee Hi just a few years ago. IIRC, I turned the nose cone for him on my wood lathe. However, the information about turning cones with a drill would be good for folks without a lathe.

Kit bashing and general part sourcing info can be covered by us folks at YORF. Several of the source kits you mentioned aren't in production anymore, but odds are there's a Semroc part or a newer Estes kit that uses the equivalent nose cone. If it isn't made anymore, several of us will have the part that we can measure, photograph, diagram, and dissect for the good of the project. Some folks even have extras that they might trade, sell, or even pay forward.

Maybe you could consider doing an electronic version with the customer's knowledge up front that it's a 20+ year old book. Without having to deal with printing costs, the E book would be inexpensive and you would probably still make as much per copy if not more. It's just a thought. I have my hard copy that I scooped up the minute you published it!
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  #9  
Old 07-25-2017, 10:17 PM
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blackshire blackshire is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PeterAlway
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
There is an alternative: re-publishing "The Art of Scale Model Rocketry" as an ^historical^ work, with a one-page notice at the beginning that explains this, including the changes in kit and supplies sources. Many old books, even ones that are up to (and over) a hundred years old, are re-published in this way--at *zero* cost to the authors (or the other people who re-publish them)--as POD (Print-On-Demand) published books, through CreateSpace.com (see: www.createspace.com ) and Lulu.com (see: www.lulu.com ). I have a couple of such POD reprints of 19th century and early 20th century books. Also:

A good PDF scan of a copy of "The Art of Scale Model Rocketry" (plus a separate PDF scan of its front and back covers) is all that you need to POD publish the book. CreateSpace.com and Lulu.com handle all of the order-taking and shipping. They make a percentage on each book sold, and the rest of it goes to the author, who retains the full copyright to the work. Plus, CreateSpace.com--which is owned by Amazon.com--automatically advertises their POD published books on Amazon.com. Lulu.com does this as well, via an arrangement with Amazon.com, but Lulu.com POD published books must have ISBNs (which aren't expensive) in order to be eligible to be advertised on Amazon.com.
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