Scans of Estes Alpha (1225) in the mid-late 1980's colors.

Looking for scans of the Estes Alpha (1225) from the mid-to-late 1980's. The plans I found on JimZ's are of an older version, and plans.rocketshoppe doesn't have it at all.

Specifically, I'm looking for the decals (preferably with a ruler in the scan), and instructions. I also want to verify the length of the root edge of the fins (the rest of the measurements should scale accurately with that).

Thanks!
Jim

Not to stick my toe in shark infested waters, but there was a huge discussion/debate about the correct Alpha fin dimensions over in the archive at https://www.rocketryforum.com/archive/index.php/t-15600.html Down at the bottom the outcome is that Bill Simon personally confirmed that the SP-25 pattern sheet shape is definitive for the Alpha. I can't help immediately with the decal scan but it's pretty likely that I have a 1990-ish (possibly slightly later) Alpha buried somewhere in my bins o' kits.

Non-archive link here: https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?15600-vintage-astron-alpha-fin-pattern RexB posted a PDF of SP-25 in one of the first few posts in the thread.

Now whether the die-cut fins of the vintage kits which K'Tesh is looking for match SP-25 or not is another shark in the waters....

Jim,

In going through a box of donated-to-the-club rockets/parts/bits/pieces this evening I have come across instructions for a 1225 Alpha, a set of die cut fins and from elsewhere in the lot the decal that is called out on the instructions. However this is a slightly earlier version that you were seeking because it has a BNC-50K (balsa nose cone) called out, not the blow-molded nose cone that came later. A quick perusal of Estes catalogs posted on line on the Estes site tells me that the Alpha went plastic on the nose cone beginning with the 1983 catalog. So..... this stuff dates to 1982 or earlier.

It does appear to be the same black/red decal that is shown in Estes catalogs through the 1990 edition (went blue/red in 1991). And I expect the die-cut fins are the die-cut fins (I'll have to compare to the SP-25 shape if I pop one out of the sheet) at least until the kits started coming from China.

So..... do you want me to scan this set?

added: more catalog perusing online tells me that 1982 was also the first year for that style livery for the Alpha - so it only appeared that one year with the black/red stripes and a balsa nose cone. Interesting....

Hi BEC,

If the color scheme matches the 1983 catalog, then I'd be happy to have it. Heck, I'll take any of 'em, but the 1983 version is what I have in my collection, and it's what I'm modeling.

Thanks!
Jim

Scans of instructions, fin sheet and decal with ruler....all in one .pdf. The color bits are at 300 dpi.

View attachment Alpha_1225_1983.pdf

Perfect! Thanks for all that BEC!

I'll get it printed up, and get to work on it. Oh, wait, the print shop is closed today (it's Sunday here), and the school's printer is out of ink. Monday then.

I got lucky! The print shop was open today... Here's the results.

BEC said:

Now whether the die-cut fins of the vintage kits which K'Tesh is looking for match SP-25 or not is another shark in the waters....

Click to expand...

Since Fred linked back to this from the "why is there a hole in the fin?" thread I thought I'd answer this question now that I know the answer. And it is that the die cut fins (at least all the ones I have checked) lay exactly over the SP-25 fin pattern. So....no fin shape change until they started laser cutting them. The laser cut fins have a slightly reduced span and a slight change in the angle of the tip to bring it exactly parallel to the root.

Yes, I know, a year-and-a-half old thread.....

You might think I would be smart enough to make a copy before I built, launched and lost mine in a tree this weekend, but you'd be wrong.
I had the version with the blue decals not black.

Dimensionally, both are the same (blue vs. black). I didn't have a ruler in this scan. Sorry about that. There is one in the file in post 7.

I just won one (black decaled) last week on eBay. Fortunately it wasn't a fortune. When I get to building it, I'll certainly do scans w/the ruler. I have two of the newer versions (white nosecone and the slightly older blue fin/red nosecone version (but mine had no facecard as it was part of a educational package set)). A few things I'll point out.

1) I *LOVE* the old "fat ogive" nosecone of the 1980s, the new shape for me is "meh". I wish Estes would retool the old shape and bring it back.
2) I *LOVE* waterslide decals and hate the stickers. I wish that Estes would give us this option again.
3) IMHO, the old red, black, and white looks a lot better than the red, blue, and white... Blue is a B1+ch to match in paint, and there are likely less issues with foreign customers shunning a "patriotic" American color scheme. Mind you, I know that it has its place, but that's my preference.

K'Tesh said:

I have two of the newer versions (white nosecone and the slightly older blue/red nosecone

Click to expand...

Con you post a pic of the red/blue nc?

Correction... The instructions for it call for a red nosecone, and red fin, the catalog and facecards had a red nosecone and blue fin.

From the 2016 catalog:


From the instructions:


Going to have to look for my white noseconed facecard version, I believe that they didn't change the instructions fro that.

I like that original plastic nose cone as well - it is very close in shape to the original BNC-50K nose cone that the Alpha had from its first appearance in a late-1965 MRN to about 1982. But something must have happened to that mold as there was a period of three years or so (1989-1992 catalogs) where the kit might come with that nose cone or it might come with an Alpha III nose cone. The current shape appeared just before the "Beta" series did, in ~1992 (I have one kit that is pre-Beta Series that has the US-made version of that pointier nose cone and red/blue decals). So the "new" nose cone has been with us for 27 years, or about half of the Alpha's total existence.