Estes Nova Scout Ship #1392 Scaling Questions

I have a client who wants a Starship Nova and it's sister ship the Nova Scout Ship built.

Now that Estes has re-released the Starship Nova with the drop-down nose cone, the Nova Scout Ship can be cloned.

I posted on TRF and YORF but so far, nobody has a Nova Scout Ship to check the fin dimensions. All I really need is the root edge of the main wing fins and everything else could be sized.

If I can't get sizes from an original kit, what is the next step?

The instructions can be found on oldrocketplans.com - CLICK HERE

There are fin tracings but no 1" reference square. I printed the fin patterns but am not sure they are the correct size when printed out. They seemed large.

PLEASE: For the benefit of all the rocket clone builders out there, please draw a 1" reference box on all submitted fin tracings!

Catalog and face card pictures are usually taken at an angle, not very valuable for fin sizing.
On page four of the instructions there is a decal placement picture, two shots, straight on. While the resolution isn't great, I can get an idea how close the fin templates are.


I copied the page and dropped it into my Corel Draw software.
A box was drawn with a height of .976" or the outside diameter of a BT-50. The rocket picture was enlarged until the body tube was the same height (diameter) as the .976" high box.
This also enlarged everything else in scale and gave me close to the top intake tube length at 3.5" long. That also gave me the standoff length, close to 2.7" long.

The overhead view is a second chance to get more sizes.
Again the picture was enlarged to the body tube diameter of .976". That enlarged the main fin root edge to 4.17".

These approximate sizes were a double check to see if the PDF sizes were close. They weren't! I'll have to cut off about 1/4" from all sides.
The wing fin at the bottom shows the outline closer to the correct size.

You can use this method to get an idea of the original fins sizes when you clone a model rocket. (If the online PDF doesn't include a 1" reference square) While it may not be exact, it's much closer than what the PDF printed out.

EDIT: BAR Geezer pointed out something obvious in his comment below. The top fin root edge is the same length as the 3.5" long tube at the top rear. I didn't see this and it would have made my scaling problem much easier!
I loaded the art into Corel Draw and reduced it until the root edge of the top (rudder) fin was 3.5" long. Done!