Upscale Colossus?

[DarthMuffin]

One of my favorite rockets when I was a kid was my Estes Colossus. Does anyone have any info on making an upscale one? Nothing crazy, just enough to take maybe H to J or K motors.

Some research tells me the NC and Fin Can are from their big Alpha rocket. Fins probably won't be hard to replicate but does anyone have a source for the nosecone? I see that Madcow doesn't list their upscale alpha any more.

 

[jazzviper1]

Estes has the 4 inch pro series nose cone, it is a close approximation to the Maxi Alpha 3 nose cone that was used on the Colossus. That nose cone was Estes standard BT-80 nose cone and not shaped like the BT-50 Alpha cone at all. LOC has some that would work for even larger versions. Just getting the length to diameter ratio close is all you need. StickerShock already has the decals.
Go for it!

 

[bad_idea]

The original cone was the PNC-80K at about 3.2:1 aspect ratio. If the 4" Mega Der Red Max cone shares the more than 4:1 aspect ratio of the 3" Der Big Red Max, it might be too long. The LOC 4" cone is nearly the correct aspect ratio, though it may perhaps be too pointy.

 

[mrwalsh85]

If you need any stats let me know. I should have one still in kit form, kicking around the shop.

 

[viney266]

The original cone was the PNC-80K at about 3.2:1 aspect ratio. If the 4" Mega Der Red Max cone shares the more than 4:1 aspect ratio of the 3" Der Big Red Max, it might be too long. The LOC 4" cone is nearly the correct aspect ratio, though it may perhaps be too pointy.

You can always fake the length a bit on the NC by painting the line not on the body tube / nosecone seam. It worked for my 4" quark

 

[bad_idea]

You can always fake the length a bit on the NC by painting the line not on the body tube / nosecone seam. It worked for my 4" quark

Yes, paint lines can shift the apparent break between nose and body when the nose cone has a long, slow transition from parallel to sloping. I rather suspect that's what Estes have in store for the soon-to-be-released Great Goblin, which seems likely to use the DBRM nose cone, with recommended paint lines adding visual length to the body.

In this case, it might come down to whether a paint-line on a longer cone worked better than rounding off a shorter but pointier cone. Interested to learn what Darth comes up with in the end.

 

[Antares JS]

One of my favorite rockets when I was a kid was my Estes Colossus. Does anyone have any info on making an upscale one? Nothing crazy, just enough to take maybe H to J or K motors.

Some research tells me the NC and Fin Can are from their big Alpha rocket. Fins probably won't be hard to replicate but does anyone have a source for the nosecone? I see that Madcow doesn't list their upscale alpha any more.

It's a bit shorter than what true scale would be, but I used this nose for my 4" Alpha upscale.

https://www.madcowrocketry.com/plastic-4-short-ogive/

 

[DarthMuffin]

Yes, paint lines can shift the apparent break between nose and body when the nose cone has a long, slow transition from parallel to sloping. I rather suspect that's what Estes have in store for the soon-to-be-released Great Goblin, which seems likely to use the DBRM nose cone, with recommended paint lines adding visual length to the body.

In this case, it might come down to whether a paint-line on a longer cone worked better than rounding off a shorter but pointier cone. Interested to learn what Darth comes up with in the end.

With the measurement info from bad_idea I'm thinking about 3d printing one. Or I might even make a major project out of it this winter and see about printing a mold and doing the NC in carbon fiber (lay it up in there, use a balloon or similar).

Or worst case I have a hollywood prop maker friend who can probably pull one on his big vacuum former ;-)