Estes Vintage D.A.R.T build

Here is my recent vintage build from Estes, the D.A.R.T. All parts in great condition other than the die crunched soft balsa. Built in a matter of hours and ready for primer.

FYI... The nosecone (PNC-60B) apparently was originally intended for the Estes SS-1C SCUD-B missile. It was also used on the Mach 2 rocket. I don't have any of these kits, so I have no idea on how to create an accurate .ork file for it.

Ah, the German "D.A.R.T." in all it's color glory

I want one!!!
Very cool!

This rocket looks cool but the color scheme is ugly. I was going to paint it a different color, but it is a vintage build so I will keep it as shown.

SCIGS30 said:

This rocket looks cool but the color scheme is ugly. I was going to paint it a different color, but it is a vintage build so I will keep it as shown.

Click to expand...

I agree, bizarre. And why the Federal Republic of Germany decals ? Leo, what do you know ??

I am still on my building fast kick and this was no exception. Of course in one day I had it built sealed and ready for paint. Of course the weather did not agree so I had to wait a few days for it to clear up and today it was sunny. I sprayed one coat of primer followed by the top coat. I will let the gloss white dry overnight then mask and paint the red tomorrow. I keep my freeflight and rc builds simple since I have a lot of them to build and also learning how to speed up my plastic builds. I pretty much build my plastic kits out of box no mods and try to fill and sand as little as possible. I am also getting away from my airbrush and back to hand brushing, a skill all in its own. My 1/72 Corsair was hand brushed, still need more practice but I like it.

D.A.R.T is all done and ready for flight and onto the next build. I started painting yesterday, and she is all done today not bad. At this rate I should be able to speed up my builds and make a dent in my stash of kits. I went with the catalog scheme and in person she does not look that bad. The decals were super thing and a challenge to use, you can see how transparent they are against the dark blue rocket.

MAN!!! That looks killer!
If I ever happen upon one of these I'll snatch it right up.
It's very 80's looking and reminds me of 8 Bit Nintendo games.

FWIW, I'm pretty sure that I saw that cone cloned on Shapeways, and decals for both this and the SCUD missile from Excelsior. So either ought to be able to be cloned fairly readily. I never gave this one much thought when it was new, but it seems interesting enough that I might want to do that before long...