Info on the Estes PNC-56 nosecone

[K'Tesh]

I'm working on a sim that calls for the Estes PNC-56 nosecone, and OR's simulation of this isn't doing it for me.

My .pdf copies of the catalogs don't have it listed separately (that I can find). I need to know the exposed length, shoulder length (the part that would come into contact with the body tube, the conic transition behind that would be a bonus, but not necessary). I also need to know the diameter of the hemispherical blunt section of the tip.

Thanks!
Jim

 

[Cabernut]

I have one handy - I'll measure with calipers and maybe I'll try scanning it with a ruler...

 

[Cabernut]

PNC-56
Exposed length: 16.2cm
Shoulder length: 1.6cm
Shoulder width: 3.28cm
Shoulder cone length: 0.8cm
Shoulder cone width: 1.65cm
Hemispherical Blunt tip width: 0.7cm
[edit] for the exposed width right next to the shoulder, I'm getting exactly 3.4cm

Here is the best scan I could get to verify the measurements:

 

[lcorinth]

I picked up a bunch of these, and I love 'em.

 

[K'Tesh]

Thanks for the info...

Here's what I did with it...

 

[caveduck]

This post is being kept up to date as new information appears.

Origins and what "PNC-56" means:

This is a blow-molded polyethylene rounded-tip ogive nose cone shape of about 6.4" long, fitting Centuri ST-13 (and the equivalent Estes BT-56) paper body tubes. It appears to have originated at Centuri in 1976.

The Estes PNC-56 nose cone appears closely similar in shape and length to the Centuri PNC-136 #5466 as used in the UFO Invader (appeared 1976) and Phoenix Bird that had its debut in 1977. That nose cone was never listed in the parts section of the Centuri catalogs, but appeared on p. 10 of the 1980 catalog right next to the Phoenix Bird along with the ST-13 fin can F-413L #5467. The UFO Invader instructions clearly show that the nose cone was blow molded.

John Brohm's Estes Nose Cone reference v 10.1 (last updated circa 2005-2007) listed 4 separate variants for the "PNC-56A", described as blow molded. Brohm has no entry for a "PNC-56", though "PNC-56" was used by Estes in the #2029 Converter instructions, where it is cross referenced directly to PN 72013. I have not found any authoritative upstream online docs from Estes confirming the "A" suffix in "PNC-56A".

After additional research in December 2016 we now know of 5 different color variant PNC-56 versions, each with their own PN, plus an add-on helicopter rotor hub without a known PN that has been seen both as a user-assembled part and a factory-glued assembly. Finally there is a nose cone 4-pack that has been seen with different variants.

The Variants with their Numeric PNs

There are at least five different versions of the PNC-56, all molded in different colors. There is evidence for an additional orange color variant with the same PN as the yellow one.

P/N 072015, molded in black plastic(#2077 Sky Winder, #1262 Cosmic Cobra, #2130 Mach-12, #2128 Long Shot, #303164 nose cone 4-pack, #1465 Helicat). This PN is used both for the nose cone itself and an assembly with factory glued-on heli blade rotor hub.
P/N 072013, molded in yellow plastic (#1950 Eliminator, #2029 Converter, #1330 Challenger II, #1995 Helio Copter, #1440 Discovery). Also occurs with and without heli blade rotor hub.
P/N 060312, chrome plated over black plastic (#2168 Metalizer, #2180 Chrome Dome Silver), and over white plastic in #1417 Astrobee (photo later in this thread).
P/N 060340, gold plated over [probably black] plastic (#2181 Chrome Dome Gold)
P/N 072017, molded in dark blue plastic (#2091 Maniac, #2445 Splendor, #303164 nose cone 4-pack)

Research Notes

Conclusive data from primary sources indicate the the following corrections/additions to Brohm's list are needed:

1. We have confirmed Estes usage of "PNC-56" (ref #2029 Converter instructions) but not for Brohm's term "PNC-56A".
2. The NC for the #1330 Challenger II and #1995 Helio Copter is molded in yellow; Brohm fails to mark these. Ref. for Challenger II the 1982 Estes catalog pp 28-29 "No painting required with...yellow nose cone...". For Helio Copter, see elsewhere in this thread where Tramper Al posted a photo of a Helio Copter kit with yellow nose cone. Note that kit #1330 for the Challenger II has been re-used; it also refers to #1330 Free Fall. See later discussion about yellow/orange color variation*.
3. PN 072015 is definitely the molded in black version. (Ref #1262 Cosmic Cobra instructions https://www.estesrockets.com/media/instructions/001262_COSMIC_COBRA.pdf and catalog photos)
4. Neither the Long Shot nor Mach-12 instructions are available online. Use of a black molded cone in #2130 Long Shot was confirmed in https://www.rocketryforum.com/archive/index.php/t-62733.html by user 'snuggles' who reported the Long Shot had black nose cone and fins. At this point we have no confirmation on the Mach-12 type other than from Brohm.
5. Brohm omits the #1440 Discovery for PN 072013. It was only available as part of a starter set (1987-1988 catalogs) that included a rocket with fin can and described as having a white tube and a "bright yellow nose cone". The instructions give no PNs. The Discovery was never sold separately from the starter set, making it a very scarce kit.
6. The chrome version was plated over black plastic. Ref: I have one in my possession. It's unconfirmed whether the gold version was also plated over black plastic.
7. The PN for the blue molded version comes courtesy of the #2445 Splendor instructions and the 2014 catalog that show it as blue. The Splendor was released after the last revision to Brohm.
8. The PN 303164 "NC-56 Nose Cone (4 pk)" has variable contents. Documented examples include 4 identical black 072015 (Rocketarium site 2016), 3 black 072015 + 1 blue 072017 (photo elsewhere in this thread), and an all-black assortment of apparently differing shapes (Estes website 2016). Discount Rocketry's 2016 site explicitly says the contents vary. See further discussion below**
9. There is an additional part - PN unknown - used with these nose cones that forms the blade attachment hub for the helicopter models #1995 Helio Copter and others***.

* Based on Tramper Al's post elsewhere in this thread, there may be color variations in the yellow molded PN 072013, which could stem from either manufacturing changes or aging effects. It's not known whether there was a different part number associated with the orangish variant. The 1980 Estes catalog describes the Challenger II as having a "yellow" nose cone; there are photos on this forum showing very yellow (Fishhead in the Challenger II gallery) and very orange (Tramper Al in this thread and Initiator001 in the gallery) nose cones.

** Estes currently sells an "NC-56 Nose Cone (4 pk)" as P/N 303164. The official Estes photo as of 2016 does not make it obvious that all 4 are the same type but does show that they are all black; the top one looks a bit different, but the description does not say "assortment". Nor does it give P/Ns for the cones themselves. There is a different photo of the NC-56 pack on Rocketarium in which they do all look identical. TRF user Tramper Al posted a photo later in this thread showing an older NC-56 4-pack with 3 cones in black and one in blue. Discount Rocketry says on their site "Note: the nose cone shapes vary from batch to batch...". Other vendors' descriptions use the word "assortment" and indicate that both 1-piece and 2-piece types were included. I am inclined to discount the latter because none of the blow molded cones were ever referred to as "2-piece", and think that some of that verbiage may have been copied from the official Estes descriptions of other nose cone assortments containing injection molded cones where it is true. Non PNC-56 shapes that may appear in the 4-pack have not been confirmed.

*** The Cosmic Cobra and Helicat instructions make it look like the blade rotor hub is an integral part of the nose cone, but in all available photos it's a separate glued-on injection molded part in black or white plastic (both colors documented by online photos). At some point Estes changed from furnishing the blade hub separately and having the builder glue it on to pre-gluing it onto the 072015 cone. This build page describes the DIY assembly of a Cosmic Cobra from the 2000s: https://www.seed-solutions.com/gregordy/Rockets/Cobra.htm More recent kit instructions and photos of actual parts show the rotor hub is now factory-glued, but the 072015 PN is still used for the whole assembly (ref E2X Helicat instructions). To date no separate PN is known for this rotor hub. The #1995 Helio Copter [1988-1996] had a yellow PN 072013 cone with rotor hub. Though the Helio Copter instructions are not available online, there is a picture of an open-bag kit on Ebay that shows the hub was separate and also that the instructions did not have PNs.


See also this old TRF thread: https://www.rocketryforum.com/archive/index.php/t-17958.html

Measurements:

I have a vintage 2011 #2168 Metalizer with its P/N 060312 chrome plated NC over black plastic, which I measured as follows:

Main outside diameter at base: 1.346" = 34.2 mm (OR value: 34.18 mm)
Diam at 1.0" up from base: 1.346" = 34.2 mm
Diam at 2.0" up from base: 1.300" = 33.0 mm
Diam at 3.0" up from base: 1.160" = 29.5 mm
Diam at 4.0" up from base: 0.985" = 25.0 mm
Diam at 5.0" up from base: 0.731" = 18.6 mm
Diam at 6.0" up from base: 0.375" = 9.5 mm
Exposed length: 6.410" = 162.8 mm (OR value: 161.9 mm)
Diam of blunt tip section: 0.320" = 8.13 mm
Shoulder outside diameter: 1.289" = 32.75 mm (OR value: 33.0 mm)
Shoulder cylindrical section length: 0.620" = 15.75 mm (OR value for total shoulder length: 19.0 mm)
Shoulder cone section length parallel to axis: 0.363" = 9.2 mm
Shoulder cone section central hole diameter: 0.577" = 14.7 mm
Thickness of loop (transverse direction): 0.100" = 2.5 mm
Mass: 19.0 g (OR value: 17.0 g)
Wall thickness (value to make mass come out to 19.0 g with density of polyethylene HDPE)

This is all in good agreement with Cabernut's dimensions. The OpenRocket v15 mass is 2 grams too low, but its fundamental dimensions are OK. In my OpenRocket files I adjust the estimated plastic thickness to make the mass come out right, making the moments of inertia more realistic than if you use a mass override and omit the thickness.

OpenRocket Presets File Code

Here is the XML definition I've got now in my tricked out Estes component .orc file:

        <!--
            PNC-56 ref John Brohm Estes Nose Cone Reference List v10.1
            Brohm calls this "PNC-56A" but I cannot find any upstream source for the "A" sufffix.
            The only known usage of "PNC-56" is in the instructions for the #2029 Converter,
            where it's cross-identified as a PN 72013.


            Numeric PNs for "PNC-56" are as follows: (Note that Brohm's list is not correct in all respects)
               072015   : molded in black plastic, #1262 Cosmic Cobra, #2077 Sky Winder, #2130 Mach-12, #2128 Long Shot.
                          Has separate heli blade attachment structure, molded in white or black.
                          Ref: Cosmic Cobra instructions, which (incorrectly) make it look like the NC has an
                          integrated heli blade hub (it's just factory-glued)
                          https://www.estesrockets.com/media/instructions/001262_COSMIC_COBRA.pdf
                          Ref: This Cosmic Cobra build page with photo showing the black NC and separate white heli hub:
                          https://www.seed-solutions.com/gregordy/Rockets/Cobra.htm
                          Ref: TRF thread where user 'snuggles' confirms that the Long Shot had a black nose cone and fin can:
                          https://www.rocketryforum.com/archive/index.php/t-62733.html                          
               072013   : molded in yellow plastic, #1950 Eliminator, #2029 Converter, #1330 Challenger II, #1995 Helio Copter
                          Ref: Eliminator instructions
                          https://www.estesrockets.com/media/instructions/001950_ELIMINATOR.pdf
                          Ref: Converter instructions, where it's cross-listed as "PNC-56"
                          https://www.estesrockets.com/media/instructions/002029_CONVERTER.pdf
                          Ref: 1982 Estes catalog pp 28-29. Challenger II #1330 "No painting required with...yellow nose cone..."
                          So it is evidently a PN 072013; Brohm errs by not designating it as molded in yellow.
                          Ref: photo of Helio Copter kit with yellow NC and separate white heli blade hub posted to TRF at
                          https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?137939-Info-on-the-Estes-PNC-56-nosecone&p=1651303#post1651303
                          Estes has used kit #1330 more than once:
                          Challenger II is #1330 in 1982 catalog, Estes site has #1330 instructions for the Free Fall
               060312   : chrome plated over black plastic, #2168 Metalizer, #2180 Chrome Dome Silver.
                          Ref: Metalizer instructions https://www.estesrockets.com/media/instructions/002168_METALIZER.pdf
               060340   : gold tone plated (black plastic?), #2181 Chrome Dome Gold
                          Ref: Chrome Dome instructions https://www.estesrockets.com/media/instructions/002181_Chrome_Domes_Gold.pdf
                072017   : molded in blue plastic, #2091 Maniac, #2445 Splendor.  Splendor instructions on Estes site give PN and the 2014 catalog gives blue color.
               
               There is a PN 303164 "NC-56 Nose Cone (4 pk)" on the Estes site showing
               black nose cones that look to not be identical.  Discount Rocketry states
               that the contents of PN 303164 change randomly among varaious shapes.  To
               date we don't have any information on the variants except that 3 black + 1 blue has been seen.
               
             Physical data here was measured from a PN 060312 from a #2168 Metalizer, mass 19.0 g
        -->
        <NoseCone>
            <Manufacturer>Estes</Manufacturer>
            <PartNumber>PNC-56A, 072015</PartNumber>
            <Description>Nose cone, plastic, PNC-56A, black, blow molded, PN 072015</Description>
            <Material Type="BULK">Polyethylene, HDPE, bulk</Material>
            <Shape>PARABOLIC</Shape>
            <OutsideDiameter Unit="in">1.346</OutsideDiameter>
            <ShoulderDiameter Unit="in">1.289</ShoulderDiameter>
            <ShoulderLength Unit="in">0.983</ShoulderLength>
            <Length Unit="in">6.410</Length>
            <Thickness Unit="in">0.0730</Thickness>
        </NoseCone>

Whew.

 

[Cabernut]

That's cool. I may have to check that out.

Seems like the BT-56 is the most popular oddball size.

 

[Initiator001]

Estes BT-56 was originally Centuri/Enerjet ST-13.

Estes gained the Centuri molds for PNC-56 nose cone and the four-fin 'Enerjet' fin can after the merger.

Many Estes kits used that nose cone and fin can.

Enerjet 1340s/Nike Rams anyone? :wink:

 

[gpoehlein]

FWIW - I used this nose cone and body tube (at one point, you could get this cone and BT cheap in the Cosmic Cobra with a coupon at Hobby Lobby) to build a slightly upscale version of the Goblin (at the time, the BT-55 used for the Goblin was not available except from Semroc and BMS and I liked to source my parts locally when I could). Flew great until it came down hard in the feed lot at the dairy farm we fly at! Gotta glue that fin back and flynit again! That PNC-56 is actually a really nice cone!

 

[K'Tesh]

Thanks for the info caveduck... BTW, IIRC, the Maniac nosecones is blue [Edit] a check into photographs of the kit seem to back this up. The Helio Copter's was yellow (or maybe goldenrod). I also seem to remember that they are polyethylene (as is the nosecone for the Scrambler/Eggspress) and they refuse to take paint (go ahead... ask me how I know that).

 

[caveduck]

Yes you're right, the blow molded NCs are mostly if not all polyethylene. I have to go get a good density for it and adjust things in my file a bit. At least I have ways of getting paint onto them

The Maniac is on the Brohm list but without any asterisks for a special molding color. The kit card photo strongly implies that the NC and fin can are blue...an actual P/N would be even better but the instructions are no help for that. Since the evidence seems strong, I'm updating my main post above to include a blue variant with no known PN.

 

[Initiator001]

The Maniac fin unit and nose cone were molded in blue plastic. I built and flew several of them.

 

[Tramper Al]

Yes, the Maniac cone is definitely blue. I got a (yellow) Eliminator cone and cloned the Challenger II, but when I recently got a hold of an old Challenger II kit, I found the cone to be somewhat more orange-yellow. The black version is of course in a lot of kits. I think most if not all of the helicopter BT-56 nose cones are different than the usual Maniac-Eliminator type in that they need attachment points for the blades.

 

[Tramper Al]

Thanks for the info...

Here's what I did with it...

Now, I have to ask you about this one. I have been cooking up a plan for a two stage booster for a lookdown Astrocam, as suggested in the couple of Art Nestor articles from 1993-1994. I have been thinking about going with a standard Delta II tube and black fin can on top and then a black 1340-Maniac type fin can on the booster - if I can work out the coupling logistics. I am trying to stay with the plastic fin - BT-56 theme of the old Delta II, and will probably build it from a 2nd generation yellow tube Astrocam kit. But what exactly have you done here? Is it two 1340 fin units? That would be much like a Long Shot carrying the lookdown module, though with shortened body tube. Or are these just balsa fins?

 

[K'Tesh]

Now, I have to ask you about this one. I have been cooking up a plan for a two stage booster for a lookdown Astrocam, as suggested in the couple of Art Nestor articles from 1993-1994. I have been thinking about going with a standard Delta II tube and black fin can on top and then a black 1340-Maniac type fin can on the booster - if I can work out the coupling logistics. I am trying to stay with the plastic fin - BT-56 theme of the old Delta II, and will probably build it from a 2nd generation yellow tube Astrocam kit. But what exactly have you done here? Is it two 1340 fin units? That would be much like a Long Shot carrying the lookdown module, though with shortened body tube. Or are these just balsa fins?

The body tube is an 18" BT-56, the fins are balsa copies of the Estes Sentinel missile (not the strakes of course). Staging is based on the Estes Magnum (1422).

 

[Tramper Al]

The body tube is an 18" BT-56, the fins are balsa copies of the Estes Sentinel missile (not the strakes of course). Staging is based on the Estes Magnum (1422).

Nice! I am going to try to make my lookdown Astrocams using just black plastic and same-color BT-56 tubes (so white or yellow). Right now I am tracking down a copy of the Michael Banks Advance Model Rocketry booklet that was mentioned in the Astrocam 2014 thread - hoping there are some worthwhile plans/ideas in there too.

 

[Woody's Workshop]

K'Tesh, I've got 3 of the 4 black cones out of a batch some time ago. They don't have a sharp point, about 3/16" round at the point.
The 3 I've got are all the same. Estes may change from time to time, I don't have any others right not to compare.
But I'll be darned if I can find the 4th one from that package.
The only thing I can think of is that the tree gods claimed it.
Nothing in inventory right now in the BT-56/ST-13 Range, which strange...
I have to remedy that right quick and in a hurry!

 

[caveduck]

Most of you probably know this but e-rockets/Semroc now lists 29, yes 29 different varieties of #13/BT-56 compatible balsa nose cones ranging from very stubby to a 7.1" ogive. The #SEM-BC-1364A is spot on with the Estes 072015 PNC-56A profile at 6.4" long with a rounded off nose. Randy Boadway is now the king of nose cones! And of course he has the tubes also in lengths up to 30". I may have a new favorite LPR tube size.

 

[caveduck]

I've made one last (I hope) update to my main research post #6 above after finding an actual reference to "PNC-56" in the #2029 Converter instructions, proving that the Challenger II had a molded-in-yellow cone, and finding that PN 072015 is tied to the version with heli blade mounting points, leaving the PN unknown for the black-with-no-blade-mounts version. If somebody can find Long Shot or Mach-12 instructions that might get resolved. I also noted Tramper Al's comments about color variations in the yellow ones and added a short bit of history about the origins on the Centuri side from the UFO Invader and Phoenix Bird.

 

[Tramper Al]

What an informative thread, thank you. I am going to try to post a pic or two from my BT-56 annex. On the bottom is a nose cone from an Eliminator, installed in my Challenger II clone. Just above that is an actual Challenger II kit, showing the more orange-yellow nose cone. To the right is a Converter kit, whose nose cone to my eye looks identical in color to the one from the Eliminator.

I do plan before long to open and build both the Challenger II kit as well as one of the Long Shot kits. I can scan and photograph anything in those kits that might be helpful. I also have 2 or 3 of the different BT-56 helicopter kits, though I don't remember which ones by name. And a Mach 12 which I plan to bash soon for a yellow lookdown Astrocam build.

EDIT - For some reason I am unable to post pictures here today, though I know I have in the past. I go through the select and upload steps, but nothing shows up in the actual post. Still working on it.

I've made one last (I hope) update to my main research post #6 above after finding an actual reference to "PNC-56" in the #2029 Converter instructions, proving that the Challenger II had a molded-in-yellow cone, and finding that PN 072015 is tied to the version with heli blade mounting points, leaving the PN unknown for the black-with-no-blade-mounts version. If somebody can find Long Shot or Mach-12 instructions that might get resolved. I also noted Tramper Al's comments about color variations in the yellow ones and added a short bit of history about the origins on the Centuri side from the UFO Invader and Phoenix Bird.

 

[K'Tesh]

What an informative thread, thank you. I am going to try to post a pic or two from my BT-56 annex. On the bottom is a nose cone from an Eliminator, installed in my Challenger II clone. Just above that is an actual Challenger II kit, showing the more orange-yellow nose cone. To the right is a Converter kit, whose nose cone to my eye looks identical in color to the one from the Eliminator.

I do plan before long to open and build both the Challenger II kit as well as one of the Long Shot kits. I will scan and photograph anything in those kits that might be helpful.

EDIT - For some reason I am unable to post pictures here today, though I know I have in the past. I go through the select and upload steps, but nothing shows up in the actual post. Still working on it.

Using flickr still works (for images), however there's something not quite right with adding attachments at this time. ADMIN has been made aware of it.

 

[K'Tesh]

Now, I have to ask you about this one. I have been cooking up a plan for a two stage booster for a lookdown Astrocam, as suggested in the couple of Art Nestor articles from 1993-1994. I have been thinking about going with a standard Delta II tube and black fin can on top and then a black 1340-Maniac type fin can on the booster - if I can work out the coupling logistics. I am trying to stay with the plastic fin - BT-56 theme of the old Delta II, and will probably build it from a 2nd generation yellow tube Astrocam kit. But what exactly have you done here? Is it two 1340 fin units? That would be much like a Long Shot carrying the lookdown module, though with shortened body tube. Or are these just balsa fins?

IINM, the fin unit you're referring to slides over the BT-56 (or ST equivalent), and using a tube coupler to attach your booster to the sustainer should be doable (much like any other 2 stage rocket that has an interior body tube to accommodate the motor inside the body tube. However, I'd suspect it'd be quite heavy with the plastic fin unit, and there's the risk of damage to it depending on the landing zone.

 

[Tramper Al]

IINM, the fin unit you're referring to slides over the BT-56 (or ST equivalent), and using a tube coupler to attach your booster to the sustainer should be doable (much like any other 2 stage rocket that has an interior body tube to accommodate the motor inside the body tube. However, I'd suspect it'd be quite heavy with the plastic fin unit, and there's the risk of damage to it depending on the landing zone.

Yes, I'll have to watch the weight, though it should be substantially lighter than the tail (and booster) of the Longshot. The main engine mount I'll probably keep stock 18mm. We've got a Longshot sim, I believe, but probably not a lookdown Astrocam / Longshot combination, though the extra nose weight may help.

 

[Tramper Al]

I managed to get the yellow and orange-yellow nose cone pics uploaded above. It may have been unintentional, but it looks to me as if these color batches were mixed differently. No. 1330 Challenger II was 1980-1985, then I think the next yellow PNC-56A kit after that was No. 1440 Discovery in 1987. I do not have an example of that one.

Also, the later (1989) Helio*Copter had a yellow (not black) cone, at least in the first livery edition. See photo.

 

[caveduck]

Thanks for the pic Tramper! That makes it clear the heli blade attachment fitting (in the Helio Copter at least) was a separately shot piece from the nose cone. More edits made to post #6 above.

 

[Tramper Al]

Thanks for the pic Tramper! That makes it clear the heli blade attachment fitting (in the Helio Copter at least) was a separately shot piece from the nose cone. More edits made to post #6 above.

Sure thing. Now, I haven't spent much time inspecting the helicopter nose cones, but I will point out that the early Helio*Copter in the pic above is one of the few that wasn't E2X (it was Skill 2 at first release in 1989). It may be that the later PNC-56 helicopter nose cones came with the rotor base pre-attached - as can be seen in the E2X Helicat and Cosmic Cobra instructions, for example.

 

[caveduck]

I actually found proof that the Cosmic Cobra instructions illustration is misleading. This build page https://https://www.seed-solutions.com/gregordy/Rockets/Cobra.htm (ref'd in my XML code above) has a photo showing that the heli blade hub was in fact separate and molded in white, despite the illustration. Of course it's still possible that it got changed later on, or that they started pre-assembling the NC and hub. From what I know about blow molding, it would be pretty hard to incorporate something like that into the base of the PNC-56. In the Helicat instructions I noticed right after the PN a rev date of (3-11) that might indicate a "stealth" change in which the original PN was kept.

 

[caveduck]

Bump for editing: found the PN for the blue version in the #2445 Splendor instructions.

 

[K'Tesh]

Now I've seen the Estes Challenger-1 (1416) in catalogs (found with the starter kits) from the early 1980s that have a red nosecone and fin can. What I can't tell is if the Challenger-1 is a BT-56 based rocket, or not. A search for instructions on JimZ, Estes, and plans.rocketshoppe.com turned up nothing. However if it is a BT-56 kit, then we have another color option.

 

[bobby_hamill]

Woody

Maybe the 4th cone was a new "clear" version ?

Bpbby