Thanks Jeffrey!

That is the one I am going with. It is slighly smaller than the one upscaled from Harry's plans, with slighly different angles. It is nothing close to the later full size Aerobee 350. Even though they added the conduits, they most likely kept the fins shape and size from the original Astrobee 350 kit.

__________________
Carl McLawhorn
NAR#4717 L2
semroc.com

You're welcome. Please keep in mind that they were cut from a printed sheet by a twelve year old! They are traced off my model, and each side is a different fin. IIRC the lines were about they width of what you'd draw with a sharpie, definately room for error. I'm not sure if I stacked and sanded them, It was about 40 yrs. ago!

I agree that the fins are the same as the Astrobee 350.

Of course, the pdf should be printed actual size.

__________________
Jeffrey Deem
NAR16741
CIA section 527

Jeffrey, I thank you very much for taking the time to retrieve and measure your Astrobee 350! I have sent a copy of your conduit description & measurements and a link to your fin dimensioned drawings to Carl. [ADDENDUM--I didn't see that Carl already saw your posting this morning! I feel like the "running-down-the-hallway" government employee in Washington in the movie version of Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff." :-) ]


-- Jason

__________________
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

I have an idea that may appeal to a few people. Perhaps Carl at Semroc would like to make his Astrobee kit into a dual kit, offering ether the Astrobee or Aerobee option for the build. I bought his Astrobee kit specifically for the purpose of converting it to the Aerobee 350 that I had built so long ago. The kit turned out very well. I may even buy another in the future since it was one of my favorite models. Just a thought.

Don't have the model right handy to trace fins or compare to the ones posted, but here is a photo of my original , 1960s version, still can read the 'root edge' printing on the fins..... not sure how close they're cut to the lines.

~ AL

Attached Thumbnails

 

That's an interesting idea. Since the later "Aerobee-350" version appeared to have no decals (the color separations being achieved by masking during painting), the only new parts that would be needed for such a "customizable kit" would be the spruce or basswood conduits.

__________________
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

The upper corners of the fins look a bit "curvy," but since they all look that way I imagine that was an intentional "bench modification." Also, the Astrobee 350 can be used with the booster from the Arcon-Hi to fly it as a two-stage rocket. In the 1967 Centuri catalog, they offered the Arcon-Hi booster separately for use with the Astrobee 350 and the Payloader II.

__________________
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

Sorry, I don't remember that scene, must be time to watch the movie again! I'm glad I was of some help to you and Carl.

I think the idea of a dual kit is good. If I'm not mistaken there was an "Aerobee like" kit in the stellar line that used the same conduits, but, the name escapes me now. I know it was discussed recently.

A trace of the earlier version would be helpful, my fins were slightly rounded on the tips too, I think from airfoiling. I extended the lines to a proper corner before I scanned them.

I'm 60% sure the fins still had Astrobee 350 printed on the sheet. I remember being confused "back in the day" about the similarities in the models. My goal at the time was to build only scale and sci-fi models, and to obtain all of them that were available...........Come to think of it, It still is!

__________________
Jeffrey Deem
NAR16741
CIA section 527

He was a member of some federal agency (I forget which) who thought he had fresh news of the early Soviet space spectaculars. Every time he ran down the hallway to inform his superiors of the latest Soviet achievement, he would find them already watching TV coverage of it.That was the Stellar Lancer (see: http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/ca...75rt/75rt8.html , on the right-hand page). This same rocket--without conduits--was called the X-7, and it was part of Centuri's "Power System Outfit" (see: http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/ca...pshandbook.html and http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/no...a/79cen008.html ). The X-7 also came with the Stellar Lance Corporal booster. Semroc has the parts (including laser-cut fins) for the Lancer/X-7 (and the Lance Corporal booster) and the large X-16 cluster motor mount/single motor mount "switchable" rocket from the Power System Outfit.Good. In the catalog photographs, the fin edges were all straight.I wouldn't be surprised--changing the name on the pre-printed fin sheet would have cost money, and a lot of modelers wouldn't have noticed the change anyway. Did your Aerobee 350 come with decals? Unlike with the earlier ("conduit-less") Astrobee 350, the catalog photographs and illustrations of the later Aerobee 350 give me the impression that its differently-colored sections were achieved solely through masking during painting.I used to be that way until I contracted "accuracy fever"--if I couldn't build a scale model to be within a hair of perfect, I didn't do it at all...which resulted in my building very few of them. :-) Now I can enjoy Sport Scale, Semi-Scale, and even Scale-like model rockets--like an impressionist painting, a good scale model need not be correct down to exact-scale corrugations in order to look good and be enjoyable to fly.

__________________
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

[That was the Stellar Lancer (see: http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/ca...75rt/75rt8.html , on the right-hand page). This same rocket--without conduits--was called the X-7, and it was part of Centuri's "Power System Outfit" (quote)

Yep that's the one, ithink someone measured the proper thickness of the conduits

.Good. In the catalog photographs, the fin edges were all straight.I wouldn't be surprised--changing the name on the pre-printed fin sheet would have cost money, and a lot of modelers wouldn't have noticed the change anyway. Did your Aerobee 350 come with decals? Unlike with the earlier ("conduit-less") Astrobee 350, the catalog photographs and illustrations of the later Aerobee 350 give me the impression that its differently-colored sections were achieved solely through masking during painting(quote)

No decals, the paint job was poorly masked and brush painted, It is well below my standards even at the time. I must not have had the money to buy the proper supplies. I was finicky even then.

I used to be that way until I contracted "accuracy fever"--if I couldn't build a scale model to be within a hair of perfect, I didn't do it at all...which resulted in my building very few of them. :-) Now I can enjoy Sport Scale, Semi-Scale, and even Scale-like model rockets--like an impressionist painting, a good scale model need not be correct down to exact-scale corrugations in order to look good and be enjoyable to fly.[/QUOTE]


I well understand this, now!

__________________
Jeffrey Deem
NAR16741
CIA section 527