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  #1  
Old 05-04-2012, 11:13 AM
Bill Gibson Bill Gibson is offline
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Default HELP! Need ideas for my Redstone!

Hope im in the right place for this one! Awhile back i launched my Mercury Redstone (Estes kit#1921, plastic capsule, plastic LES tower)AND it went up great, both chutes deployed and it appeard to land just fine....however when i got to the capsule, the tower was DESTROYED! Now im trying to come up with a SIMPLE way to make a new tower.......any ideas?? Is there a kit? Everytime i walk by this thing and i see no tower on it, i just kinda BUGS me! Just doesnt look right! Maybe a detachable tower for when i launch it? I just dunno!!
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Old 05-04-2012, 11:59 AM
RWmarlow RWmarlow is offline
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Some plastruct rod..tenax bt-3 and pins and wax paper on cardboard will get ya started!
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Old 05-04-2012, 12:13 PM
Scott6060842 Scott6060842 is offline
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There's always the K-41 way! .... OK you said simple
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Old 05-04-2012, 01:16 PM
Bill Gibson Bill Gibson is offline
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Okay..........im FARRR from what one would consider to be ......bright?..........as i have little to no idea what you guys are talking about, soooooooo could you please elaborate a little bit? I DO appreciate your help, but im just not that sharp ! Many Thanks for your efforts!
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Old 05-04-2012, 01:29 PM
Scott6060842 Scott6060842 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott6060842
There's always the K-41 way! .... OK you said simple


Sorry, lame attempt at humor. The K-41 is the old K kit from the 70's were you build the tower out of little pieces of dowel that you have to cut, hand sand and angle. VERY difficult.

I'd like to hear of easier ways too...
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  #6  
Old 05-04-2012, 01:56 PM
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luke strawwalker luke strawwalker is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Gibson
Okay..........im FARRR from what one would consider to be ......bright?..........as i have little to no idea what you guys are talking about, soooooooo could you please elaborate a little bit? I DO appreciate your help, but im just not that sharp ! Many Thanks for your efforts!


At your local hobby shop you should find an assortment of plastic rods and stuff under the "Plastruct" or "Evergreen" parts or building supplies department. Most of it is styrene. You can get some plastic rods for a buck or two a pack (with several rods in each one) in various sizes to approximate the size/shape of the tower... you'll have to cut the pieces out individually and glue them together to build a new tower.

There is no "quick-n-easy" way, per se, to make an actual framework tower... if some enterprising modeler wanted a neat side business, he could make the Mercury and Apollo towers in various scales from photoetched brass and sell them as kits, but the cost would probably be fairly high...

The "cheap-n-dirty" method used in the Dr. Zooch Merc-Redstone kit is to use three wood dowels to hold the LES rocket motor up above the capsule, and use a cardstock wrap, with graphics printed on to represent the crossmembers and zigzag parts of the tower attached to the legs, folded into a triangle that is then wrapped around the wooden legs and glued on with white glue... fast and easy to build, and it looks better than nothing, but it's not as pretty as a regular tower with all the fiddly bits between the legs...

If all you want is *something* to give the impression of a tower, that's probably your best bet...

Later and good luck! OL JR

PS. My Estes Merc Redstone had C6-5 listed as an engine option, which I used on the first flight (not thinking about the 'plastic brick' effect from the big honkin heavy plastic fin unit, plastic capsule, and tower) and it promptly took off, flew anemically to a couple hundred feet, nosed over, and impacted about a half second after the ejection charge went off... lost the top inch or two of the tube to accordioning, and the tower was in a billion pieces... Later I leared that the Estes Merc-Redstone is ONLY supposed to be launched on a C6-3... but of course the packaging DID list the C6-5 and even the B6 as optional motors! Given how wimpy the flight was on a C6 I'd be surprised if it got over 50 feet in altitude on a B motor... pretty disgusting experience and I learned the hard way to NEVER trust the motor recommendations on the package at face value...
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Old 05-04-2012, 02:39 PM
Bill Gibson Bill Gibson is offline
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Scott, now i get it! I actually built that kit like a hundred years ago....all wood....the tower was a PAIN! I remember NOT doing a very good job on it, but it DID fly!
Luke, i set my Redstone up to fly on D/E engines....the first flight was on a D12-5 and it really launched GREAT! Maybe i should have used a larger chute for the capsule.....i will check into the plastic rod n stuff for the tower....unless someone comes up with an easier way.....guess im gettin lazy in my old age! Thanks for the input guys!
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Old 05-04-2012, 02:41 PM
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ghrocketman ghrocketman is offline
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The K-41 way to build a Mercury Redstone tower is the CORRECT way !
Wimps, slackers, and schlocks need not apply.
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  #9  
Old 05-04-2012, 02:51 PM
Bill Gibson Bill Gibson is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ghrocketman
The K-41 way to build a Mercury Redstone tower is the CORRECT way !
Wimps, slackers, and schlocks need not apply.


Oh its TRUE...so VERY TRUE! I remember cutting out fins with a paper pattern on SEVERAL of my early rockets (i was 10 or 11..GOD im old)no punched or lazer cut stuff back then........ building Guillows model airplane kits with AMBROID cement (wonder if they make that stuff anymore...GREAT FUMES)cutting out each and every rib for the wings, bulkheads for the fuse.......OLD SCHOOL!
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  #10  
Old 05-04-2012, 05:06 PM
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jharding58 jharding58 is offline
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The best way (and I doubt short of someone casting the kit legs you would ever get easy) is to replicate it using styrene rod and tube. The main legs are going to be 3/32 rod. You will need sections of 3/32 ID tube to create the wider sections at the junction of the legs and braces, and 1/16 rod for the aforementioned braces. Did you retain the top of the antennae can or did that go bye bye?

The lower struts will need to be epoxied together since the initial thrust loads will want to collapse them outwards. You can replicate the escape motor with tube, and motor bells with balsa or soft wood dowel turned in a pencil sharpener. Unless you are going to go nuts you can forego the tower jetison motors nested within the main motor bells. If you still have the remnants of the tower you can use that for dimensions, otherwise let me know - I built a couple of the scratch variety over the years until I got rich enough to buy them on ebay.

Some dimensions:

Main legs: 3" 76mm
Main legs doubler tubes: 1/4 8mm
Lower "V" attachment struts: 9/16th 13mm
Lower bay diagonal members: 17/16th 25mm
Lower transverse members: 9/16th 14mm
Mid bay diagnonal members: 1" 24mm
Mid bay transverse: 9/16th 12mm
Upper bay diagonal members: 15/16th 24mm
Motor pedestal diameter: 3/4" 18mm (tube mounts at 120 degrees)
Motor casing length: 1 1/2" 36mm
Motor casing diameter 1/2" 13mm
Aerospike: 1" 25mm
Casing straps (x3): 3/32nd 2mm
Upper casing strap: 7/32nd 5mm
Motor casing conduit: 1 3/8th 35mm
Motor bell diameter: 5/16th 9mm
Motor bell length: 9/16th 19mm


If you want to become extra careful you can drill into the main leg doublers with a 1/16th drill at the transverse strut attachment points. This replicates the original kit legs with the holes corresponding to the other legs struts. The "doubler" here is the short length of tubing slipped over the main leg to replicate the thicker section where the struts all attached.

If you talk nice to Gordy you might be able to get him to add a decal for the escape tower motor (Grand Central Rocket Company) as shown in the Rocket City 1/12th scale kit.
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