funkrobotik Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I've recently purchased an Alps Rocket Man from a toy fair . Luckily he still has his original rockets but the springs are no longer present so this is the thing,,,, could any of you Rocket Man owners upload a picture of the type of springs that were used,, I've tried various springs but to get the system to work its not as simple as you might think so that's why I could do with a slight clue. Thanks in anticipation . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kirk Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 They're stuck up inside, so a picture would be hard! They are about three and a quarter inches long. They come within a quarter inch of where the rocket widens. I would guess seven thirty-seconds (or a tiny bit fatter, nearly a quarter) of an inch in outside diameter. I was surprised they're so thin. I would have expected them to fill the inside of the rocket, but they don't. They are also not all that fine a wire, as they need to pack quite a bit of punch to launch that rocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kirk Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I stuck drill bits up inside to get that diameter. It's about right. a 3/16 bit slides easily inside the spring with a bit or room and the 7/32 inch bit seems to just about cover the outside of the wire. I can't count the coils, or wait, maybe a strong light? Yes! The sun is out, and it's about fifteen coils per inch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Hi I have a couple of unsprung repro rockets and would love to know has anyone successfully drilled them out and fitted springs, and details if possible. Thanks to David for the size info, i was going to have a go at drilling cheers Chilli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kirk Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I always heard those rockets were like egg-shells and you wouldn't dare launch them. Maybe they've improved? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Must admit one of the fins broke off when i only dropped it. But they were not expensive and it bugs me no end when things dont work. ( got them from the American fella on ebay, great service by the way) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkrobotik Posted January 15, 2015 Author Share Posted January 15, 2015 That's brilliant Dave. Thanks a million, now I have some idea of what I need to achieve. Do your rockets fire off well ? In fact Dave,, how high do the rockets fire up ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetalRobotHead Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Hi Ian, this Youtube video gives an idea of how much flight the rockets have, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bclmd2EcC1I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkrobotik Posted January 15, 2015 Author Share Posted January 15, 2015 Ahhhhh thanks Dave. Actually not as far as I thought they should go. I saw a different video on the tube and although you couldn't see how far the rockets went the recoil on the robots body gave the impression they would have hit the ceiling. Perhaps expecting too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kirk Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 I'll look through the spring bins next time I'm out and about and see if I can find anything that would work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Spring bins!!!! How wonderful that would be find in the U.K. my best option was to buy soap dispenser bottles from Aldi's and remove the springs,they were too weak though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kirk Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 That's shameful! Any hardware store, especially the big box ones now, have zillions of spring variations. Who knows if they'll have any like this, but it's worth a look. Still, I'd rather live in England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Shame but the British as a whole have forgotten how to fix things up. Cars go on forever now,so kids dont have to get there hands dirty and never learn to hit things with big hammers. I like my hammers!!! cheers Chilli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Yes Chilli,I could not agree more.My daughter has a toyota yaris,never misses a beat,hardly anything ever goes wrong with it (touch wood).When I was her age I was forever fixing my British made cars,forever breaking down.I used to carry a workshop in the boot,you never knew what would go wrong next but you knew it would! I have a good selection of hammers too,the British screwdriver!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Ha, the best satisfaction of repairing a robot is your finger nails are not black afterwards and you still have finger prints on your fingers. British bangers of in the 70s ehh!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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