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Old 05-11-2013, 07:10 AM
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blackshire blackshire is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
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Default MPC Minirocs as xKits?

Hello All,

Having never had any of the MPC Miniroc kits (please see the attached images and the links below) when they were available, I have purchased duplicate parts (including custom nose cones) for the Miniroc kits from Semroc. (The Minirocs' 15 mm [0.590"] O.D. tubing is available from Quest and from the Euclid Spiral Paper Tube Company.) Since Sandman (Excelsior Rocketry) makes the MPC Minirocs decal set, Semroc could (if Carl and Sheryl thought it worthwhile, of course) offer the MPC Minirocs as xKits. Scans of their instructions are available online (I've included the links below). What do you all think? Would you be interested in buying these kits if they were available? I know I would! Also:

Below are links to both the illustrated catalog listings of these MPC/AVI Miniroc kits *and* to online scans of the plans, fin patterns, and decals for most of them. They are:

Super Star (a high-performance streamer-recovery rocket), Pipsqueak (a low-drag design), Taurus-1 (a scale-like, low-drag sounding rocket design with two optional simulated boosters [more on these boosters below]), Astrobee D (a scale model of the Aerojet-General sounding rocket), Delta Katt (a delta-winged boost-glider), and ASP-1 (a scale model of the Cooper Development sounding rocket), see: http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/nostalgia/74avi07.html and http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/nostalgia/74avi08.html . Here below are links to scans of these kits' instructions, fin patterns, parts lists, and decals:

Super Star kit (plans, decal scan, and fin pattern): http://www.oldrocketplans.com/mpc/m...0/mpc3-0910.htm

Pipsqueak kit (parts list, decal scan, and fin pattern): http://www.oldrocketplans.com/mpc/m...5/mpc3-0915.htm and
http://www.oldrocketplans.com/mpc/mpc3-0915/03-0915.pdf

Taurus-1 kit (plans, decal scan, and fin pattern): http://www.oldrocketplans.com/mpc/m...0/mpc3-0920.htm

Delta Katt kit (plans, decal scan, and fin pattern): http://www.spacemodeling.org/JimZ/mpc0930.htm and http://www.oldrocketplans.com/mpc/m...0/mpc3-0930.htm As well:

Here are links to illustrated reviews of several MPC Miniroc kits (see: http://www.rocketreviews.com/mpc-ta...n-lee-1114.html , http://www.rocketreviews.com/mpc-su...-jeff-lane.html , and http://www.rocketreviews.com/mpc-de...red-nardei.html ). Lastly, here is scale data on the Astrobee D (see: http://www.designation-systems.net/...4/astrobee.html ) and the ASP-1 (http://www.postwarv2.com/asp/drawings.html and http://www.postwarv2.com/asp/ ). Peter Alway's book "Rockets of the World" (which is available from NARTS, see: http://www.nar.org/NARTS/ ) also has scale data on the Astrobee D and the ASP-1. In addition:

It -might- be possible for them to make turned-dowel simulated boosters for the Taurus 1. In the MPC Taurus 1 kit, the two boosters were each made using a length of tubing (5 mm in diameter and 76 mm long), with a plastic nose cone and a plastic nozzle that were glued into the tube. Maybe the booster could be turned as a single piece? Below are the dimensions of the plastic booster nose cone and nozzle, and here (see: http://www.rocketreviews.com/mpc-ta...n-lee-1114.html ) is how they look. Here are the booster nose cone and nozzle dimensions (many thanks to John Lee for all of the dimensions!):

Booster nose cone length: 9.34 mm (23/64")
Booster nozzle shoulder length (exposed): 3.4 mm (9/64")
Nozzle throat diameter: 2.71 mm (7/64")
Nozzle exit diameter: 3.78 mm
Nozzle length: 3.7 mm

I hope this information will be helpful.
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