Mike, thank you very much for posting this information! If by any chance you can see this on the instructions sheet through the bag (please *don't* open the kit to find this!), how far back on the 6" body tube do the instructions say to locate the forward plastic ring?I once had a 10.25" long Leprechaun kit, and its body tube was brown kraft paper. That (the color difference from yours) and the odd diameter figure given in the catalog citation make me wonder if Estes might have been "using up" old Centuri #5 tubing in the Leprechaun kits?Indeed!...And Semroc sells BT-5 and/or #5 tubing in 9" (as well as 6" and 8") lengths, so cloning the Sprite would be easy! Do you know offhand how far back its forward plastic ring is supposed to be located on the body tube?Heartily seconded! Also, like John I would be interested to know if the Leprechaun's 6" body tube is natural (brown) kraft paper or has a white outer wrap instead.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

All,

Unfortunately, it is already open (had some younger help one day), so this was easy to do. The tube included is a brown tube and I have attached scans of the face card and the directions.

Mike

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Mike;

The info is just terrific and is greatly appreciated; between you and Jason, you've isolated a unique variant. I'll make sure to get this info into the next update of the Book of Tubes.

From this we can conclude that the initial release of the Leprechaun used the 030303 BT-5 (6.00") as its airframe, the same part that was used in (for example) #0866 Mini Tri-Pak. It means that Estes hadn't created a special part for this not so special (at the time) model.

I must apologize for my earlier skepticism; it's really not all that often that an exception or variant is dug up (I think this is like the second one brought to my attention since the Book of Tubes was created), but it's comforting to see that the real article comports with what the analysis says would have to be the case to fit the data. Congratulations to the both of you again.

I especially appreciate the face card scan, and one notes that the airframe diameter is published correctly in this version of the kit.

Jason should note that unlike what the photo suggests, the instructions place the aft end of the airframe 3/8" beyond the end of the fin can (instead of flush), and that the forward launch lug ring is located in the same place as the later version of this kit, as well as the Gnome. This has implications for the location of the kit name decal - the name decal is 2-15/16" long, and with the fin can and launch lug ring placed as described in the instructions, the kit name decal just fits in the open space (3/32" clearance on either side, once placed). Maybe that's why the fin can and launch lug ring were placed where they were, as shown in the photo.

Speaking of the decal, I see that Scott could use a scan and since mine is kit bound, any chance Mike that you might still have yours loose, and could possibly scan it for Scott? Chances are that Scott might also want that face card scan, for the sake of completeness.

__________________
John
YORF #003
SAM #004

Mike, I very much appreciate your help with this (as does John and, I'm sure, all other students of the history of the hobby)!You've nothing to apologize for. While the different stated weights for the first-year Leprechaun and Gnome (0.4 and 0.42 ounces, respectively) suggested differing lengths for the two rockets, they (like the odd diameter figures appear to have been) might simply have been typos. Only Mike's Leprechaun kit with its 6" BT-5 body tube "cinched" the case.Oh yes...and even today, Estes' photographs of the Gnome (see: www.estesrockets.com/gnometm ) with its new silver-and-blue "Hanukkah gift wrapping paper" color scheme do not show the 10 mm (3/8") length of the body tube protruding behind the plastic fin unit, although it was visible in the catalog and kit insert card images of the original white, green, and red Gnome kits. Also, looking at Mike's Leprechaun kit card scan (as well as a print-out of it), I can *just* make out a short section of the dividing line between the rear edge of the nose cone and the front edge of the body tube (it is perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline of the Leprechaun image), and it is in the right location for the forward ring to be located 38 mm (1.5") back from the front edge of the body tube. (Interestingly, Mike's Leprechaun kit instructions reused the drawings of the Gnome's longer body tube, which caused no problems since the three pencil marks [and the two cut slits, for the shock cord and the engine hook] were in the same locations on/in both kits' body tubes.)Agreed! Also, the Leprechaun decal sheet would be an easy one for Sandman to duplicate, because its "Leprechaun" name decal, forward circumferential band decal, and four Shamrock decals are all just one color--green. In addition, this morning I ordered six 6" lengths of BT-5 from Semroc to make my own "aerodynamic clones" of the Leprechaun. With the white body tubes and blue nose cones & fin units, they would look nice with Shavit-style IAI (Israel Aircraft Industries) and Israeli national insignia decals and spiral body stripe decals (see: http://www.iai.co.il/17644-15689-en...au nchers.aspx ).

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Mike,

If you don't mind, could you re-scan your Leprechaun goodies including decals using the settings found here?

http://www.oldrocketplans.com/sendscans.htm

I can then get them up on Ye Olde Rocket Plans for all to share. Thanks!

Send them to scott at rocketshoppe dot com and include your full name so I can give you credit. Thank you!

Scott

__________________
Scott D. Hansen
Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe - Your One Stop BAR Shoppe!
Ye Olde Rocket Plans - OOP Rocket Plans From 38 Companies!
Ye Olde Rocket Forum
WOOSH NAR Section #558

John,

When I go to post Mike's scans on YORP I'm assuming I should list this as the early variant of the kit?

__________________
Scott D. Hansen
Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe - Your One Stop BAR Shoppe!
Ye Olde Rocket Plans - OOP Rocket Plans From 38 Companies!
Ye Olde Rocket Forum
WOOSH NAR Section #558

Hi Scott;

Thanks for checking in on what has been, for the most part, a rather tortured expedition in model missile minutiae. By almost any measure it's hard to characterize the Leprechaun as a "classic" Old Rocket, but it does seem that Jason and Mike have uncovered a real legitimate variant of the kit. So it should be captured as part of the record, and I appreciate you updating YORP with the info once you receive it. Maybe we can bother Mike to scan the other side of the instructions for the sake of completeness (sorry for all the work, Mike!).

Yes I would agree - what the guys have dug up here appears to be the initial version as released in 1988; what we have on YORP today is what the kit was changed to, starting in 1989. It's a real find, and I appreciate the guys making the effort to first flag the question and then furnish the proof. Good forensic work.

My initial skepticism arose mainly from what the record shows. In the vast majority of cases, Estes created new designs from various combinations of parts taken from the then current-in-production set. The number of designs with unique, one time in use parts is a fraction of the total kit set. So it was hard to imagine that the scenario Jason flagged would include a special part (a white 6.00" BT-5) for such an un-special kit. As it turns out, thanks to Mike's physical evidence, we now know that Jason in fact caught a real variant but one that still sits within this parts use axiom (no special part; re-used the already available 6.00" brown kraft tube).

Again, well done guys.

__________________
John
YORF #003
SAM #004

The built Leprechaun in this photograph (see: http://208.77.146.85/attachment.php...26&d=1173782991 *and* attached below) looks like it might be the "short body tube" one. It was originally posted on TRF by "Micromeister" (see Reply #5 here: http://208.77.146.85/showthread.php?p=407942 ).

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__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Here is my build
http://www.rocketryforumarchive.com...ead.php?t=34313

Scigs;

Very nice build. If you still have the decal scan Scott could use it for YORP.

It appears from your build that your model used the 8" airframe, same as the Gnome.

__________________
John
YORF #003
SAM #004