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MPC LUNAR PATROL
Skill level: 3
THE KIT:
The Lunar Patrol rocket
from MPC is one of the most unique and interesting rockets I’ve ever built.
It’s one of the Mach 10 series of kits. In addition to having two 7inch
gliders the booster uses two tubes and two modified delta wings instead of
conventional fins. The tube and delta wing fins also serve as the mounts for
the gliders.
It’s not an easy kit to
build. It’s designed for the advanced modeler. If you’re up to the challenge
though, you’ll have one of the coolest looking rockets you’ve ever owned or
seen, and your friends are sure to be envious.
It’s a shame this kit is
out of production. Sure, there are lots of model rocket kits that have
gliders that detach at apogee, but none are quite like this one. It’s silver
and bright orange paint scheme not only looks great it helps you see and
track its three aircraft.
The Booster rocket has a
plastic nose cone, and the gliders have balsa cones and nose weights. The
booster has parachute recovery and the gliders are engineered for long slow
gentle spiral descents. |
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BUILDING IT:
The engine mount on this
kit has an easy release clip and an engine block. These were glued into
place and allowed to dry. Then the completed assembly was pushed into the
12” long booster tube with a liberal amount of glue which is smeared inside
the booster tube first. The engine mount should be flush with the end of the
booster tube.
As this was drying I
measured and marked the 3 inch side fin tubes so that they would extend
exactly 1 inch from the end of the booster rocket. Mounting these side fins
to line up perfectly is easily done by running a 2 inch line of glue up
opposite sides of the booster tube. Make sure the engine clip is offset. I
laid the side tubes into the glue, making sure the one inch marks were lined
up with the end of the booster tube. The entire assembly was then laid on a
flat surface that was covered with wax paper. Make sure everything is laying
flat and the alignment with be right on.
As this was drying I
started on the modified delta fins. These fins lay flat across all 3 tubes.
One on each side. They extend past the sides of the side tubes to serve as a
cradle for the glider bodies. Each delta wing is composed of two trapezoidal
pieces of balsa stock which are sanded feathered and glued together to form
a chevron. Once each of the 2 chevron’s sides were glued together I added
more coats of glue to the seams, smoothing and sanding between coats to get
a good strong bond. Once these were finished they were glued to the rocket
so that the seam was aligned with the centerline of the booster and so that
the leading tip is even with the leading edge of the side tubes. These delta
fins should extend past the sides of the side tubes evenly on both sides. To
complete the booster, the launch rod guide tube was glued into the one of
the delta wings seams. I used a sharp razor to carve a shallow V channel in
the seam for a neater and stronger fit.
Next the gliders were
built. This of course is the toughest part of this rockets assembly. None of
the balsa stock is die cut and the wings of the gliders are curved and only
the glue edges are straight cuts. Once I carefully cut out the gliders wings
and rudders they were pinned and sanded to insure that all of them were of
identical size and shape. Ailerons are cut from the trailing edges of the
wings and these were also pinned and sanded. The rudders were given compound
leading edges, and all but the glue edge of the wings and ailerons were
sanded into nice aerofoil shapes. A card stock template for getting the wing
dihedral and aileron angles correct ,is included, and was cut from its
sheet. If you have some extra balsa stock you might want to make balsa
templates like I did. They are less prone to bending and make fitting with
wings a bit easier.
The wings were glued on
first, using the dihedral template, and once dry, the rudders were
installed. The ailerons were then glued on using the angle template to get
them on correctly. I increased the angle on one aileron on each of the
gliders to get a nice spiral flight on their way down. This is optional and
not mentioned in the instructions.
The mounts for the
gliders are glued to the nose cones. They consist of a small curved piece of
flat balsa that has a ½ inch of balsa dowel glued to it. This two piece
assembly is glued to the side of the nose cones. Once they were well glued
and dry I sanded them to seem as if they flowed into the nose cone like it
was all one piece. A small sanding drum on a dremel is perfect for this. The
nose cone is then glued into the glider body tube so that the dowel mount is
lined up between the wings on the underside. To complete the glider mounts,
small lengths of launch rod guide tubes are glued inside the booster rockets
side tubes, as far outboard as possible. When everything is lined up
correctly, the glider bodies, when mounted, should lay flat along the side
tubes with the booster’s delta wings cradling the glider body.
I finished up by building
the parachute and mounting the shock cord. Everything was given another good
sanding and prepped for paint. A couple good coats of clear coat first, or
using some other sanding sealer, will not only save you some paint, but it
also helps get a nice smooth finish for better aerodynamics.
KIT FEATURES:
This kit comes in a
cardboard box and does not have any plastic or vacuum formed detailing
parts. They are not needed nor wanted if this bird is going to fly, and not
just sit on display. There are two sheets of waterslide decals to dress up
both the booster rocket and both gliders. This rocket also comes with a
block of permanent flameproof wadding and a 6 sided 10 inch parachute.
As mentioned this is a
very challenging kit. It takes some skill and patience, and fin jigs and
guides are useless on this kit. Do a good job building this rocket and you
will have the pride of your collection and the envy of your rocketeering
friends. |
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Microsonde 3 Payloader
Skill level: 3
THE KIT:
The MPC Microsonde 3, is
a 3 stage rocket capable of attaining heights of more than 2000feet. It’s
one of the Mach 10 series of MPC rockets. It has a clear plastic payload bay
for carrying electronics or experiments aloft. The first and second stages
of this rocket have tumble recovery and the main booster tube has a
parachute. Take your time when building this rocket and it will be one of
the most prized rockets in your collection. If you build it in a rush
you will end up with a clumsy looking rocket that will be even more clumsy
in flight. |
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BUILDING IT:
I started this kit by
building the engine mounts first. Pay close attention to the measuring and
placement of the engine tubes into the booster tubes. They serve as tube
couplers as well as engine mounts. Only the third stage has an engine block
in its engine mount tube. As the glue was drying on the motor mounts, I
marked out the fin lines on the body tubes. This is best accomplished by
putting all of the stages together and then measuring out, and drawing the
fin lines down the entire length of all of the tubes/stages at the same
time. A paper fin template can be wrapped around the body tubes to mark out
their positions, but I use the plastic Estes fin marking guides. Once this
was done I started working on the fins. The fins were carefully cut from the
balsa stock. The balsa isn’t die-cut so they require more care in cutting
them from the balsa sheets. Use a straight edge like a ruler to get nice
straight uniform cuts. Once they were all cut out I pinned together the 3
fins from each of the 3 stages. When they were pinned together I sanded the
3 fins from each of the 3 stages together, till the fins for each stage were
all identically sized. When each set of fins were sanded to be identical
they were unpinned and the flat sides were all sanded smooth. Then all of
the fins edges, with the exception of the glue edge, were sanded into
compound angled edges to cut the air better. When mounting the fins on this,
or any other, multistage rocket, I’ve found that it is best to do it while
all of the stages are fitted together. I start with the last stage and work
my way up the rocket. When all of the fins are secured to the last stage I
move to the next progressive stage making sure each fin is lined up with the
fin behind it. This makes for a very neat and precise appearance. It also
insures that the rocket will have very stable flights. Once all of the fins
were secured to the body tubes I go back and lay in glue fillets with a glue
covered fingers. I make sure there are 3 good coats so that it is a good
strong bond holding the fins on.
It’s crucial to get the
engine mounts/tube couplers seated to the proper depths or else the stages
of the rocket won’t fit together properly. The instructions do a good job of
outlining the dimensions for the proper fit of these components. They should
extend exactly 3/8ths of an inch from the body tubes.
In addition to being a
multistage rocket the Microsonde also has a payload bay. The payload bay is
a clear plastic tube slightly larger than the body tube. The nose cone and
the reducer are plastic as well. These were assembled with a good quality
clear plastic cement. Don’t use white or wood glue for these connections.
The nose cone must be left unglued for access to the payload bay. If it is
at all a loose fit, wrap the shoulder with clear scotch tape till it fits
snug.
I completed assembly by
gluing the shock cord in and then putting the parachute together. I decided
to go with a multicolor paint job. The body and staging tubes were painted a
bright metallic silver. The fins on the first stage were painted blue, the
second stage fins are white, and the third stage sports fins that are red.
The nose cone was painted red to match the third stage fins.
KIT FEATURES:
This rocket kit comes
with some nice features not found on many of the other MPC kits. It can
attain heights as high as 2000 feet. The shock cord on the Microsonde 3 is
an elastic one. It is threaded through 3 holes on a small rectangle of card
stock and then glued into the body tube far enough in so that it will not
interfere with the payload bay/nose cone. In addition this kit comes with a
block of permanent fireproof wadding. Because the kit comes in a cardboard
box, it doesn’t have the extra vacuum formed detailing parts that the kits
that come in the plastic packaging do, It has plenty of waterslide decals to
fill out all 3 stages. It has a 10inch 6 sided parachute and comes with a
separate instruction sheet that has directions on how to set up the engines
for multistage flights. It also comes with a count down and safety card, and
like all other MPC kits it has a couple of “if found please return to”
stickers.
The
assembly of this rocket can be tedious and time consuming, but when it is
built with patience and care it will be one of the nicest rockets in your
collection. It’s not really that difficult to build. If you take your time,
and line up the fins carefully with the fins on the previous stage, you will
have one great looking, and performing rocket. |
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Zenith 2 Payloader
Skill level: 3
THE KIT:
The Zenith 2 Payloader is
a high flying 2 stage rocket with a clear plastic payload bay. It still
lives on today as a slightly larger Zenith 2 Payloader rocket from QUEST
Rockets. This was one of the molds that Quest bought from MPC when they went
out of business.
It’s a fairly straight
forward design with 3 slightly larger fins on the first stage, and 3 smaller
sharper fins on the 2nd stage boost rocket. The nose cone and
coupler that joins the booster to the clear payload bay are both made of
balsa.
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BUILDING
IT:
Assembly began by gluing
the booster joiner tube into the first stage tube. Once again correct
measurements on these parts and the engine mounts is critical for getting
all of the stages to fit together properly. The engine mounts were assembled
and glued and set aside to dry. It’s very important to follow the
instructions to get the engine mount centering rings in their proper
position so that the stages will seat together correctly. As they were
drying both sets of fins were cut from their sheets. Each set of 3 were
pinned and sanded to be identically sized. Then they were unpinned and
formed by sanding compound angles into the leading and trailing edges. The
booster and 1st stage tube were put together and the lines for
the fins were measured and drawn on both stages together. When the fins were
ready to be glued on I followed what I normally do to get multistage rockets
to look and perform their best. Which is . When mounting the fins on this,
or any other, multistage rocket, I’ve found that it is best to do it while
all of the stages are fitted together. I start with the last stage and work
my way up the rocket. When all of the fins are secured to the last stage I
move to the next progressive stage making sure each fin is lined up with the
fin behind it. This makes for a very neat and precise appearance. It also
insures that the rocket will have very stable flights.
I painted the payload
tube coupler before gluing it into the payload tube. Use plastic cement, not
wood glue, to join the coupler to the plastic payload tube. The metal eye
screw was then screwed and glued into the center of the bottom of the
payload coupler. The nose cone is not glued on but it must have a nice snug
fit. To get the best fit, Sand it or add scotch tape as you may need. You
don’t want it popping off at apogee and spewing your payload bay’s contents
out at 2000 feet AGL. I assembled the 10” six sided parachute using the
latching swivel hook and it gets attached to the eye screw on the payload
tube coupler. The shock cord is also tied to the eye screw and mounted to
the booster tube by, again, threading the cord through 3 holes in a piece of
card stock and gluing it into the booster tube far enough in so that it
won’t interfere with the chute or nose cone. I gave this high flying bird A
Great yellow and red paint job in keeping with it’s classic scheme.
Kit Features:
The Zenith 2 Payloader is
one of the Mach 10 series of MPC rocket kits. It comes in a card board box
and doesn’t have vacuum formed detail parts that the plastic packaged MPC
kits have. It does come with a block of permanent flame proof wadding and a
good amount of water slide decals. It has some roll patterns and you can
choose to deck it out as a NASA bird or an Air Force bird.
After having built many
Quest produced Zenith 2 Payloader rocket kits, I really enjoyed getting my
hands on the original. It’s a lot of fun working with the older style balsa
parts like the nose cone and coupler. Most of these types of parts are
plastic on modern kits. It takes a little bit of skill and a lot of care to
get the fins lined up just right, but it is not too difficult to do. Once
you do get them all lined up nicely, and get a smooth shiny paint job on
it, you may agree with me that it’s one of the best looking rockets in the
MPC line-up. |
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Delta Katt
Skill level: 3
Wing surface 17.65
Glide Weight 5grams
THE KIT:
The Delta Katt is another
MPC Miniroc that blasts aloft on 13mm engines. It is technically a front
engined canard Boost Glider. It was designed by G. Harry Stine for the MPC
Miniroc series. A small booster rocket attaches to a delta winged front
canard glider by way of a 3 piece sandwich of balsa that encloses a balsa
pin. This pin fits into a cut on the nose of the glider. This connection
needs to be tight enough to hold the booster and glider together but not so
tight that they can’t separate. At apogee the glider detaches and glides
home and a red white and blue streamer is deployed from the Booster. |
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BUILDING IT:
The plans call for a
slight dihedral in the front canard and a flat wing, but I built mine with
a matching dihedral in the main delta wing as well. I did this to add
stability and decrease any roll oscillating. Just looking at the glider you
would tend to think that it flies with the body below like a high winged
aircraft when in fact it’s a low winged glider. The Body itself is assembled
by first cutting a paper template from the template sheet and drawing out
the body on a strip of 1/8” thick balsa. The pin that holds the glider, and
the middle piece of balsa that holds the pin, in the balsa sandwich that
forms the booster mount are also 1/8” balsa stock and must cut out using
paper templates. The rest of the glider is made from die-cut 1/16” balsa
sheets. This is necessarily thin stock so that wing loading and weight can
be kept to a minimum. Try to keep this in mind as you are carefully cutting
it from the sheets. It will keep the frustration level down if any little
bits of the parts come apart. I’ve found that when you finish a cut never
finish it on a sheets edge. For example If a cut is made across a sheet of
balsa start the cut at one edge, cut half way through, stop turn it around
and start a new cut on the other edge. Always cutting towards you. If you
end a cut across an edge it is sure to chip little bits of wood off the
edge. This applies to any model but is especially crucial with this thin
stock.
Once I cut the body and
other 1/8” stock parts from their blanks I sanded them to their exact shape.
I Pin the templates on and leave them on till the parts are sanded to the
exact shape I want. Once I got all of the wing and canard parts cut from
their sheets and got any pieces that broke off back together. I started the
sanding process. On the wings and canards it’s better to just use a 45
degree angle that runs to the top surface of the wings on all of the leading
and trailing edges. This is more efficient on an aerofoil than the typical
compound angles sanded into the edges of a rockets fins, or even the
vertical stabilizers on this glider. After a crude 45 is sanded with a
sanding block or dremel try to soften the edges a bit by hand. When
everything was ready for glue I started with the wings. You’ll be using a
lot of wax paper for doing the gluing. Although it doesn’t mention it
because the Delta Kat was to be a flat wing, I sanded a slight angle into
the glue edges so they would match up better for the dihedral I decided to
add.
They were laid out on
waxed paper and their identical size was confirmed. I glued the edge on both
and pressed them together. I then used match books to raise each wing tip up
about ¾” to create the wings dihedral. I followed the same procedure for
the canard wing. Once the glue had set I hand fingered into the seams 3
coats of glue fillets to strengthen the connections. When the wing was
finally ready it was measured and marked for the proper placement of the
glider body. Once it was connected the canard was glued on to the body,
forward of the wing. It’s essential to get the measurements for the
placement of the glider body onto the wing, and the canard onto the body,
exactly as indicated in the instructions. If you are off even a little bit
your glider won’t fly properly. Once the glider was together I added the
wings top and bottom vertical finlets. The top fins are put on to have a
slight outboard slant and the bottom ones are put on to hang straight down.
I accomplished this all using the mark1 eyeball. Once again all glue seams
were reinforced.
The booster rocket it a
straight forward affair. It’s a simple short mini rock with an engine mount
that has no retainer clip and just an engine block. The nose cone is balsa
with a metal screw eye for the shock cord. The booster’s glider mount
consists of 2 trapezoidal pieces of thin stock around the pin and pin
holder, that was cut with templates from the thicker 1/8” stock. Once this
assembly is formed and glued together it is glued to the trailing edge of
the booster. The launch rod guide is glued along the seam where the glider
mount is glued to the booster. The streamer that the booster comes down on
is simply tied to the shock cord which is just string. The shock cord is
mounted to the booster in the typical MPC manner. It is threaded through 3
holes in a piece of card stock and then glued into the body tube far enough
in so is doesn’t interfere with the nose cone.
After everything was
completely assembled it was given a final sanding and then it headed to the
paint shop where it was clear coated, sanded and clear coated again. This
before any paint was applied. The paint scheme called for a battleship grey
covering both the booster and glider. I used a nice high gloss enamel grey
because the smoother and shinier it Is, the less drag it will have. One last
note. Be sure to paint the booster and glider assembled as one piece and
paint them that way together for each coat, and once the glue is tacky
enough separate them between coats. You don’t want to get glue on the body
of the glider where it fits into the mount or get paint inside the mount. It
can bind your glider when it is supposed to detach.
KIT FEATURES:
The Delta Katt is another
of the MPC kits that comes in a cardboard backed plastic blister pack.
Incorporated in the plastic blister itself are many vacuum formed
customizing detail parts. These can be carefully cut from the blister,
trimmed and then glued to the rocket to simulate things such as cable
shrouds, vents, scoops, pilot canopies and the like. Be sure that if you use
these parts you only use Enamel paints for finishing your rocket. I don’t
recommend using them for this rocket, and didn’t. For a rocket of this type
you want to keep the aircraft as aerodynamically clean as possible.
There’s a small water
slide decal sheet that comes with the kit. They are for the most part air
force markings and a strip of red that is applied to the booster just
forward of the glider mount.
It’s a challenging kit to
build perfectly, but the outcome more than makes up for all the time and
frustration you invest in building this kit. And if you are worried about
loosing it. Like all MPC kits it also comes with a small “please return to”
sticker with places to put your name and phone number should you loose it
and some one else finds it. I’m not sure it would work too well in today’s
world but I’m sure it was a good idea 30 years ago. |
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ASP-1
Skill level: 1-2
Length: 13” Dia: 0.591” weight: 17grams
THE KIT:
The ASP-1 kit from MPC is
one of their Miniroc series of kits that use the smaller 13mm minijet type
rocket engines. It’s a 1:11 scale replica of a US sounding rocket. The real
sounding rocket was originally designed in 1955 by Horning-Cooper, Inc.
under Navy contract. It was used as a way of making measurements inside the
mushroom clouds of thermonuclear explosions in the Pacific at Bikini Atoll.
The full size version was
6.50” in Diameter and 144.0” long. It was powered by a solid rocket motor
that generated 5850 pounds of thrust for 6 seconds. This motor accelerated
the real ASP-1 to speeds in excess of 5350 feet per second and pushed 25
pounds of scientific instruments to over 200,000 feet. It was first flight
tested at White Sands proving grounds in February of 1956, and then used in
operation Redwing at Bikini in mid 1956. Following this operation the ASP
was used as the second stage of the Nike-ASP rocketsonde by NASA.
The
MPC ASP-1 model Rocket had set several performance records here in the US
and it also set an international world record as well.
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BUILDING IT:
It’s a very easy kit to
build that has a number of different build variations. When building this
kit you have the option of building the “super detailed” version. This
version will require some extra balsa and/or card stock and a small piece of
thin dowel rod that are not included in the kit.
Regardless of which way
you decide to build this kit, you will have to be very careful with the
balsa stock. Some MPC kits have die cut balsa stock and some do not. The ASP
does have die cuts in the balsa stock. It is quite thin at 1/16th
of an inch thick, so it requires a little more care when cutting out the
fins and sanding them. The fins are also quite small since it is a Miniroc,
so again, be careful when sanding and mounting them.
I cut out and pinned
together the 4 fins and sanded them to be identically sized. They were then
unpinned and the leading and trailing edges were feathered into compound
angles for better aerodynamics. The engine mount is a simple 2 piece
assembly with just an engine block that is glued into the forward end of the
mount. The whole mount is then glued into the body tube flush with the end
of the booster. I used an Estes fin marking guide to lay out the position of
the fins and the launch rod guide. If you don’t have one of these there is a
paper fin location template that you wrap around the booster tube to mark
the fins proper positions.
Once the fins were
mounted and secured with 3 coats of glue fillets, I decided to go for the
super detailing by cutting out the paper templates used to fabricate the
detailing parts.
I used extra balsa stock
I had laying around to make the fins trailing edge spinerons, and the scale
fin locating tabs. A small length of balsa dowel rod was cut to make the
nose spike which I glued into a small hole that I drilled into the point of
the nose cone. Never use a nail or wire or any other kind of steel to
fabricate this piece. If you do, this rocket could become a deadly weapon.
I assembled the 6 sided
10” parachute and mounted the shock cord in the booster tube to finish off
the building of this cool little rocket.
The real ASP sounding
rockets were flown with 3 different color schemes. These different paint
schemes are shown in great detail in the build instructions. They are rather
simple painting instructions, but it will require some careful masking to
get the model rocket to look like the real thing no matter which scheme you
decide to paint your replica.
I choose the black and
orange check pattern for mine.
KIT FEATURES:
Like many MPC kits the
ASP-1 comes in a cardboard backed plastic blister pack. Incorporated in the
plastic blister itself are many vacuum formed customizing detail parts.
These can be carefully cut from the blister, trimmed and then glued to the
rocket to simulate things such as cable shrouds, vents, scoops, pilot
canopies and the like. Be sure that if you use these parts you only use
Enamel paints.
The ASP-1 uses a 10-inch
6 sided parachute for its recovery. This is a bonus, in my view, as most
rockets of this size only use a streamer for recovery. I recommend using a
small dab of glue in the chute gripper tabs to make sure that this 30+ year
old parachute doesn’t come apart during descent. A small lead nose cone
weight is included for better stability. The eye screw is screwed through
this and then into the balsa nose cone. Use a dab of glue to make sure it
stays secure.
There is a nice little
card of water slide decals included with this kit but the real ASP sounding
rockets were sparsely adorned with just a few markings. These markings were
the rocket type, serial number, and contract number, but you can, of course,
decorate it anyway you want. There are many extra decals in addition to the
above mentioned decals that are required for an accurate scale replica.
There isn’t an engine
clip for this rocket so a couple wraps with masking tape around the engine
is recommended to keep the engine secure before launch. Just make sure there
isn’t too much tape so that the engine can eject properly.
The ASP-1 is a very fun
kit to build. With a nice smooth finish it will really scream to very high
altitudes with the more powerful 13mm engines available. If you have the
extra balsa stock, build the super detailed version for a great looking
little scale rocket that was once used to fly through thermonuclear mushroom
clouds. |
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Taurus-1
Skill level: 1
Length: 9” Dia: 0.591” weight: 11grams
THE KIT:
The Taurus-1 model rocket
kit is one of the MPC Miniroc series of rockets. It uses the smaller 13mm
Minijet type rocket engines. It was designed as both a sport rocket and a
high performance competition rocket. Which type it classifies as is
dependant on whether you build it with or without the side booster rockets
that are included with the kit. Its appearance resembles the much larger
NASA Mercury Redstone rockets but it is not a true scale replica.
When this kit was in
production John M. Kennedy used a booster- less version of this rocket to
set an all time altitude record for model rockets while flying on an A3-4m
Minijet type engine. He flew his Taurus-1 to over 660feet.
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BUILDING IT:
The Taurus is a simple
kit to build with balsa fins and nose cone, and a fiber body tube. There are
4 small balsa fins and 2 small booster rockets. The booster rockets must be
assembled from the 2 included T-5 fiber tubes and from plastic nose cones
and engine nozzles that are included. The instructions are easy to follow
and well detailed.
I started by building the
engine mount which is a simple 2 piece affair consisting of an engine tube
and an engine block. Once the engine blocks glue has set, the engine tube
with the block is inserted flush with the end of the booster tube. While the
glue for the engine block is setting the lines for the 4 fins are measured
and drawn. I used marking guides but a paper guide can be cut out from the
instruction sheet and wrapped around the rocket’s booster tube. It’s
important to always get the fins identically sized. Do this by carefully
cutting them from the balsa stock and then pinning them together. This way
they can be sanded without worrying about them slipping out of place as
you’re sanding. Once they are all sanded to equal size, unpin them, sand the
flat sides smooth, and then sand sharp compound angles into the leading and
trailing edges. The mounting edge of the fins are one by one given a light
coat of glue and then mounted to the booster tube. Once they are all aligned
correctly and the glue is set, start a series of 3 coats of glue fillets.
These are applied by running your finger down each fin/tube joint while it’s
filled with glue.
To mount the small side
booster rockets, for each T-5 tube I used plastic cement to glue the nose
cones and engine nozzles on the thin tubes. Mark each one so that exactly 1
inch of the rear of each side booster rocket protrudes from the Main Tube,
then add thruster nozzles to the main tube. These are included along with
other plastic detail parts that can be added optionally. The shock cord of
this kit is just plain string. It is mounted to the inside of the main tube
with a piece of cardboard stock that has 3 holes in it. The string is
threaded into this card stock and then glued into the tube far enough in
that it will not interfere with the nose cone. It’s actually a stronger
connection type than the typical Estes and Custom method of folding the
shock cord into a tri folded piece of regular paper.
The nose cone is as
mentioned, balsa. A small eye screw is included like any other balsa nose
cone kit. This is screwed into the center of the bottom of the nose cone and
then removed. A drop of glue is put into the hole and then the screw is
screwed back into the nose cone tight. The Taurus-1 uses a 10inch 6 sided
parachute for its recovery. This is a bonus in my view, as most rockets of
this size only use a streamer for recovery. I recommend using a small dab of
glue in the chute gripper tabs to make sure that this 30+ year old parachute
doesn’t separate from its shroud lines during descent. Each shroud line is
inserted into a hole in a small rectangle of single sided tape. The shroud
line is then folded over on the sticky side and then the not so sticky side
of the tape is folded over the edge of the parachute corners. Instead of
tying the parachute directly to the nose cone screw I tied it to a latching
swivel hook so that it can be mounted and removed after flights. Since it is
such a high flyer a metallic silver or other very bright color is
recommended for the finished rocket so that it can be more easily seen.
KIT FEATURES:
One of the nicest
features of this kit are 2 plastic sprues of customizing detail parts. The
booster rocket nose cones and the engine’s nozzles are on these sprues as
well as several other cool little parts that can be used to really customize
your Taurus. Parts such as side thruster nozzles, engine shrouds, antennas,
tracking flares and others, allow you to make your Taurus as wild or mild as
you want. For even more detailing options the Taurus comes in a cardboard
backed plastic blister pack. Incorporated in the plastic blister itself are
many vacuum formed customizing detail parts. These can be carefully cut from
the blister, trimmed and then glued to the rocket to simulate things such as
cable shrouds, vents, scoops, pilot canopies and the like. Be sure that if
you use these parts you only use Enamel paints for finishing your rocket.
The decals for this
rocket are the water slide variety. Included are black and white “roll
pattern” decals. Like the real rockets flown by NASA, these permit
photographic analysis of the rolling or spinning of the rocket.
Like all MPC rockets this
one is a blast to build and fly. Its ease of assembly makes this a great
first build, starter rocket, which can also be used for competition. |
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Flare patriot
Skill level: 3
Length: 18” Dia: 25mm
THE KIT:
The Flare Patriot sport
rocket is one of the MPC Mach 10 series of kits and utilizes balsa fins,
plastic nose cone and plastic tube coupler, and fiber tubes. It’s a great
rocket for customizing and can be built with a variety of construction
options. You can choose to build it with or without a functional payload
bay. Use parachute or streamer recovery, or both can be used together if you
want. There are also five different fin patterns you can select from for a
Flare Patriot that’s uniquely yours.
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BUILDING IT:
This is a four fin single
stage rocket that will take some skill in building. The fins are balsa and
the stock is printed with one of the 5 fin shapes but it is not die cut
stock. This is because included in the kit is a paper fin template with 4
more fin designs that you can choose to build your custom rocket with. If
you choose a fin design from the template you will have to cut it from the
paper template and trace it onto the balsa stock. Make sure that you adhere
to the way the grain should run in the custom fins. The template for each
fin type shows grain direction in relation to the root edge. Just match it
up with the grain of the balsa stock as you are tracing the design.
Once the
fins are cut from the stock pin the 4 of them together and sand them till
they are all identically sized and shaped. Once this is accomplished and
they are unpinned, I always recommend sanding the leading and trailing edges
into compound angles to decrease drag and increase aerodynamic stability.
There is a pre cut paper fin placement guide that you wrap around the main
12inch long 25mm booster tube to mark where the four fins and launch lug
should mount. For best results I use a plastic fin marking guide and a fin
gluing jig. This 7 dollar investment can sure save the builder a lot of time
and effort. After all four fins are secured to the booster always add
another 3 or more glue fillets to strengthen them. This is especially
important for all rockets with surface mount balsa fins.
Building the engine mount
is done the same as with most others. It consists of an engine compartment
tube for 18mm engines, 2 centering rings, an engine clip and an engine
block. The instructions call for notching the inside of the rings to
accommodate the engine clip but this wasn’t really necessary. Besides
anytime you start cutting into a centering ring you run the risk of it
delaminating. Once the engine mount is complete, it is glued into the main
25mm booster tube so that it is flush with the fin end and so that the
engine clip lines up with the launch lug, and is centered between two fins.
This rocket also has a
2.75 inch long 20mm payload tube which rides on top of the main 25mm booster
tube. They are connected via a plastic reducer/coupler that the recovery
systems are also attached to. This payload section can carry up to 1 ounce
of payload. You can opt not to build it as a Payloader by gluing the nose
cone on permanently. Regardless of which configuration you choose, you still
have the choice of using the parachute for recovery or the bright orange
plastic streamer. Both are included and both can be utilized together by
cutting the shock cord in half and attaching the parachute to the booster
tube with one half and using the other half to tie the streamer to the
payload section. In this configuration the rocket will separate into two
pieces at apogee and they will descend separately. I prefer to keep my
rockets together so there are less pieces to chase after. So, I mounted the
shock cord to the booster tube and tied the other end to the payload
section’s reducer/coupler. I then assembled the chute and streamer with
latching swivel hooks so that I can interchange the two depending on
payload, field size, wind conditions, and just how fast I want the rocket
back on the ground.
I chose to build this
rocket as a Payloader with the standard fins. I gave it a nice visible gold
paint job with silver fins, cone, and trim.
KIT FEATURES:
The MPC Flare Patriot
comes with the standard countdown safety sheet, and a return to label like
all other MPC kits. This kit features both a plastic streamer and a plastic
parachute, and an elastic shock cord. MPC has included a block of permanent
flame proof wadding for use with the Flare Patriot, and the standard sheet
of assorted decals is also here.
Aside from being a
vintage collectible, the MPC Flare Patriot is a cool rocket because you have
several choices for customizing it to your own tastes and missions. Only the
MPC Pegasus Mk2 rocket kit has more construction options to choose from. |
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Nike Patriot
Skill level: 1
THE KIT:
Length: 22.5” Dia:
35mm
This vintage rocket kit
is one of the Astroline series of MPC rockets. It still lives on today as
the Quest Nike-K rocket kit.
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BUILDING IT:
The Nike Patriot is a
fairly easy rocket to build. It has a one piece plastic fin assembly that
houses the engine mount. The engine mount was at the time, a new
“breakthrough” for MPC which used 2 plastic centering rings that snapped
onto the T-19 fiber engine mount tube and wire engine clip. This completed
assembly is then glued into the one piece plastic fin assembly with plastic
cement.
The nose cone and the
launch lug are also plastic, as is a 35mm to 25mm tube reducer/coupler. The
shock cord connects to the rear of the reducer/coupler plug. The nose cone
can be glued to the top of the 25mm body tube or as an option it can be left
unglued so that the 25mm tube can be used as a payload bay. This is how I
opted to build it. Since all of the major components are plastic, Plastic
cement is all that’s needed to glue everything together.
The plastic fin assembly
has two holes in the top where it mounts to the 35mm body tube. Instead of
gluing the shock cord to the inside of the body tube with a piece of card
stock., which is the MPC method, I decided to go with the Quest method of
tying the shock cord into one of the holes in the fin assembly. This is a
much stronger and more reliable means of connecting the two halves of the
rocket together.
The parachute is easy to
assemble but a drop of glue should be used on the shroud tabs to secure them
better. This kit included a snap swivel for attaching the chute to the
rocket.
KIT FEATURES:
The MPC Nike Patriot
sports a large 14 inch 8 sided parachute for gentle recoveries. It features
a one piece plastic fin assembly, plastic nose cone, and plastic
reducer/coupler for very easy and quick construction. It comes with a count
down card and a “return to” address label.
This is a great semi
scale rocket design which has been in production for over 30 years. |
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Pioneer 1
Skill level: 1
THE KIT:
Length: 12” Dia: .75” weight: 1oz
The
Pioneer rocket kit is one of the Astroline series of MPC rockets. It’s a
small easy to build starter rocket with plastic fins and nose cone, and a
fiber-tube rocket body. It will fly on any A, B, or C engine, and can move
out at up to 300mph.
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BUILDING IT:
Building this rocket is a simple matter of gluing the engine mount tube,
with the engine clip and block, into the main body tube. Due to the diameter
of the body tube no centering rings are needed.
The
fins are a one piece plastic unit that has a launch lug molded into one of
the three fins. I painted the plastic fin unit, nose cone and body tube
first, and then the fin unit was glued, using plastic cement, onto the body
tube so that both were flush at the end.
The
nose cone is a two piece plastic one that consists of the cone and a plug.
The shock cord is tied to the plug and mounted to the inside of the body
tube with a small piece of card stock that has 3 holes. The cord is threaded
through the holes and then the card stock tab is glued far enough down
inside the body tube so as not to interfere with the seating of the nose
cone.
I
then applied the decals and the rocket was finished.
KIT FEATURES:
The
MPC Pioneer-1 uses a thin plastic streamer for recovery. It comes with a
block of permanent reusable wadding material. It has water slide decals, a
count down card, and a “return to” address label. This rocket is a snap to
build, and aside from the painting, it takes all of about 10 minutes to
build. |
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Tomahawk
Skill level: 1
THE KIT:
Length: 18.5” Dia: 20mm
The
MPC Tomahawk is another of the Astroline series of model rockets. It is a
1/12th scale replica of the TE-416 Tomahawk sounding rocket
produced by the Astro-met division of the Thiokol Chemical Corporation. More
than 40 of the TE-416 Tomahawks have been launched by NASA and the Atomic
Energy Commission. They are a single stage solid fuel rocket that is a
little over 17 feet long and 9 inches in diameter. At launch it weighs 661.1
pounds and can haul 130 pounds of scientific payload to over 50 miles above
the earth.
The
MPC Tomahawk model rocket is actually a version of the Thiokol TE-416
Tomahawk flown by the Sandia Corporation for the Atomic Energy Commission at
the Tonopah, Nevada range.
Almost all model rocket kit manufactures have produced a scale version of
the Tomahawk Sounding Rocket. This particular version of the Tomahawk model
is still being produced by Quest Rockets today. Quest bought the molds when
MPC folded some 30 years ago and their modern version is nearly identical to
this original Tomahawk.
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BUILDING IT:
The
assembly of the MPC Tomahawk is simple and quick due to its one piece
plastic fin unit. You will need both plastic cement and white/wood glue. The
engine compartment serves as both engine mount and tube coupler. It is
assembled by gluing the engine block in to the forward end of the engine
tube with white glue and then inserting the engine clip into a small slot
that you cut into this tube just below the engine block. Once the engine
block has dried, the engine compartment, with the clip, is glued, using
plastic cement, into the plastic fin unit so that an inch or so of the
engine compartment protrudes from the plastic fin unit. This serves as the
tube coupler for the main 12 inch long body tube. Use white glue to join the
protruding engine compartment to the main body tube.
To
assemble the payload bay a plastic tube coupler with a plug is cemented into
the 4 inch long body tube. For a functional payload bay do not glue the nose
cone in place, but insure that it fits snugly into the 4 inch body tube
section. Use scotch tape around the shoulder of the nose cone if it is a
loose fit.
To
finish assembly of the Tomahawk, mount the launch lug and shock cord to the
main body tube, assemble the parachute, and attach the shock cord and
parachute to the plastic tube coupler. Although the MPC box shows the
Tomahawk decked out in a bright white and red paint job, the full sized
TE-416 was done up in a gold and silver paint scheme with 2 black fins. This
is how I opted to paint the one I’ve built.
KIT FEATURES:
The
MPC Tomahawk has a 6 sided 10 inch parachute for recovery, and an elastic
shock cord. Not all MPC kits have elastic shock cords and there doesn’t
always seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why some do, and some do not. A
standard MPC decal sheet is included with both NASA and Air Force insignia.
However, the only markings on the full sized TE-416’s were a black stripe
down its length, and a small block of numbers which denoted its contract and
ID numbers. Like all MPC kits there is also a count down card and safety
sheet and a small decal that you can write your name and contact info on in
case you lose the rocket and someone else finds it and is good enough to
want to return it.
No
rocket collection is complete without a scale Tomahawk in it, and this is
THE Tomahawk sport rocket to have. Since just about every model rocket kit
manufacturer has produced a scale Tomahawk Sounding Rocket you can build
quite a fleet just by collecting all of the various versions of this popular
scale rocket.
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Pegasus mk2
Skill level: 2
THE KIT:
Length: 22.75” Dia: 20mm weight 1 Oz
The
MPC Pegasus kit is actually a two in one kit. It’s one of the Astroline
series of rocket kits that can be built in several different ways. You can
build the Pegasus as two separate and complete nine inch single stage
rockets. It can be built as one single stage rocket, with or with out a
payload bay. Or, you can build it as a single two stage rocket with or
without a payload bay. If the kit is built as two separate rockets, one will
have balsa fins, and one will have a one piece plastic fin unit. You also
have the choice of building one of the rockets as a Payloader. The small
Payloader utilizes the balsa fin configuration.
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BUILDING IT:
I
choose to build the Pegasus Mk2 as a single, two stage rocket, with a
payload bay. When it’s built in this configuration there will be a few left
over parts. These left over parts, such as an engine block, shock cord, and
nose cone, are needed when you build the Pegasus as two separate rockets.
The kit has a 9 inch a 6 inch and a 2.75 inch body tube. There are also 2
nose cones, 2 complete engine mounts, a plastic fin assembly, and plenty of
other parts for building a single or two custom rockets.
The
first stage, of the two stage configuration, has balsa fins and must be
assembled by cutting out the fins and gluing them to the first stage fin
can. The second, or boost stage, of this rocket uses a one piece plastic fin
unit. This plastic unit has a built in launch lug so that even when it is
built as a two stage rocket, it can still be flown as a single stage rocket
if you so desire.
When
the Pegasus is built as a two stager with a payload section, the 9inch long
tube is used for the main body, and a 6inch long tube is used to construct
the payload section. They are joined with a balsa coupler that must be
sanded down a bit to get a good fit. A metal eye screw is included in the
kit which must be secured to the bottom of the balsa coupler. This eye screw
is for attaching the recovery system of the rocket. There are several
options for the recovery of the Pegasus. Two streamers are included in the
kit and you can choose to have the main body tube and payload section
recover as two separate pieces, each on its own streamer. You could also
choose to tie the two sections together and have them recover as a single
unit under a parachute or under one of the streamers. The first stage fin
can/engine mount will tumble recover.
KIT FEATURES:
The
Pegasus Mk2 with its many construction options is a great bargain. There are
so many different ways to build this rocket that it takes almost as much
time to decide how you want to build it as the actual construction time
takes. Regardless of how you decide to build your Pegasus it is fairly
simple to assemble it and get it flying. This kit features elastic shock
cords, a block of permanent flame proof wadding, and plastic nose cones.
There are also nose cone weights for use in keeping the single, tall rocket
configuration more stable. One set of fins is a plastic one piece unit, and
the other set are balsa fins which must be cut and assembled manually.
This
kit includes some of the features found in all MPC kits. There’s an address
sticker, thread through shock cord mounts and a nice sheet of decals let you
decorate this as an Air Force or a NASA bird or one of each. |
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