MPC Taurus-1
 

I just opened this kit and was going throughput the contents and instructions,checking fit and what not. The no second doesn't fit the body tube however. Thesis. of the shoulder is equal to the OD.

Too much egg nogg already? :chuckle:

Autocorrect, go home. You're drunk.

Standing in line at the DMV waiting to renew my driver's license. That's what I get for trying to make use of some wasted time. Karma don't play that game.

The Body tube for the Taurus slips over a BT-5. It has an OD of 0.61" and an ID of 0.56". The Nose Cone shoulder has a dia. of 0.60", and a base of cone dia. of 0.63".

Was this typical of an MPC kit or did I just get a fluke?

I better not be drunk at the DMV :eek:

Yes. They were a tight fit when new. Also balsa and paper do not always remain consistant in size over 30-40 yrs.

Thesis!?? Felgercarb!!!

LOL:) OL JR :)

PS. Doncha just LOVE "autocorrect"?? LOL:) Throughout the throughput of the no second nose cone... LOL:)

A friend of mine's e-mails "sounded" drunk until I had a telescoping touch-screen stylus sent to him--trying to type on his phone's tiny screen keypad with both thumbs had definite accuracy limitations... Now, regarding your MPC Taurus-1 kit (that's the one I had sent to you a while back, from an eBay seller):

MPC body tube *lengths*--at least in their Miniroc kits--often varied somewhat from the listed lengths by +/- 1/4" or so. Their T15 (15 mm O.D.--Quest sells it and uses it in a few of their kits) body tubes were sleeve-fit over Estes BT-5 size 13 mm mini motor mount tubes. The T15 tubes were/are ~0.591" (often rounded to 0.590") in outside diameter. I agree with Jeffrey that the 30 to 40 year-old T15 body tube in your Taurus-1 kit may have changed size over that time. (Incidentally, I'd love it if Starport Sagitta used the 15 mm tubing for mini motor kits, because it's easy to pack small parachutes as well as streamers inside it, and because it enables several scale diameter "matches" with Estes tubing sizes, for scale model rocket kits.) Also:

If those kits were stored in the semi-tractor trailers along with the MPC motors (which resulted in those thermally-cycled motors being CATO-prone), all of those heating/cooling, moistening/drying cycles could easily have resulted in the diameter difference you measured. (When I once sold blister-packed Estes starter sets at our local "Golden Days" festival, I was amazed at the amount of moisture condensation on the inside of the clear plastic blister packs after the Sun passed behind the surrounding buildings; the MPC kits were subjected to such cycles for months if not years.)

I built the MPC Taurus 1 on my blog.
I seemed to remember something about the nose cone diameter
being to large for the tube:

http://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot...parts-prep.html

Once again Jason, thanks for the kit.

While I didn't expect things to be pristine over such a long period, I thought I had recalled reading something about a problem with a nosecone not fitting a body tube in an old kit. Reading not as much as you, but still doing my fair share, I am sure you can empathize with my disconcerting inability to fully recall all the details. I thought that what better way to get an answer than to put forth my findings here, were most of the wisdom is located .

In regards to the kit, I believe it is the nosecone's size which has altered dramatically, since the main body tube and the engine mount tube still have a complimentary fit.