What's so special about the Estes Leviathan?

eggtimer rocketry
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Wildman Rocketry
The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
morlock

morlock

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2014
Messages
630
Reaction score
4
I saw quite a few posts since I'm on TRF tooting the Leviathan's horn as a great MPR rocket.

What makes this one rocket so special that a lot of people are recommending it?

BTW, I tried to order one during the Estes sale but they will not ship to Canada... :(

Anybody knows of a good deal for the Leviathan in Canada? Best I find is 54$...
 
It's a cheap widely available kit, and complete.

Nothing special.
 
Estes might not ship to Canada, but I will... All I ask for is postage to Canada. PM me if you're interested in getting one.

BTW it looks pretty cool with an extra body tube segment :cool:

attachment.php
 
Its also a great starting point for several upscales, or a ProSeries Patriot Missle (same nose cone, or close enough). All the PSII kits are can be kitbashed easily into something else, like a Partizon to a Cherokee-D.
 
Ipostage to Canada plus taxes will be more than buying it local :)
 
The pro series during the sales ($75 for the 4 kits) was a great deal. I paid more on earlier ones, so have them already. Price point is the main reason. I think the Leviathan was just the largest diameter. I like the Partizan best, then the Argent. Poor Ventris is the bottom of the list for me.
 
I ordered the Leviathan first, then I ordered the Ventris. Love the look of a slim body with a wider NC.
 
It's "special" because it is a 3" kit, that on sale is $20-25, and includes everything you need except glue, wadding, and a motor to get your Level 1 cert.
 
The real sale was Hobby Lobby 40% off & store pickup, they got real popular fast back then. They're also conventional construction, more modifyable than Aerotech kits. LOC is good but probably heavier and you'd probably have to adapt down to 29 mm from 54 mm or something ;) .
 
I think it was a gateway MPR kit for a lot of people. If you had come into the hobby flying Estes, didn't know much about other kit brands, and had never flown MPR, this was a way to try MPR with a familiar brand. And you didn't have to go online to find them --- you could get them at Hobby Lobby, Fry's, and other shops.

I remember how excited I was when I first got mine. I had always flown Estes, and the Leviathan was my first MPR kit. The size of it and the materials were so much bigger and heavier than anything I had ever seen in person. Big heavy tubes! Plywood parts! Nylon chute! Screw-on retainer! I felt like I had entered a whole new level of rocketry, and I had. That was the first kit where I tried any kinds of mods and upgrades. And that's when I first started flying with clubs.
 
ThirstyBarbarian said:
I think it was a gateway MPR kit for a lot of people. If you had come into the hobby flying Estes, didn't know much about other kit brands, and had never flown MPR, this was a way to try MPR with a familiar brand. And you didn't have to go online to find them --- you could get them at Hobby Lobby, Fry's, and other shops.

I remember how excited I was when I first got mine. I had always flown Estes, and the Leviathan was my first MPR kit. The size of it and the materials were so much bigger and heavier than anything I had ever seen in person. Big heavy tubes! Plywood parts! Nylon chute! Screw-on retainer! I felt like I had entered a whole new level of rocketry, and I had. That was the first kit where I tried any kinds of mods and upgrades. And that's when I first started flying with clubs.
Click to expand...

Nailed it right here!
 
Thanks all for your replies. I see better now that this is just a cheap solid all around MPR kit that you can also modify.

I'll be wanting one (or two ?) :)
 
K'Tesh said:
https://www.rocketryforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=174279&d=1435055547[/IMG]
Click to expand...

The stretched Leviathan looks great and reminds me of Centuri's Centurion, which was Centuri's Big Bertha-esque rocket (but with better lines IMHO).

72cen030.jpg

Greg
 
All of the Estes Pro Series II kits I generally get for my kids. I do the high power stuff and they have been building various model rockets but they see what I build and want to do something similar so they are building the PS II kits now. My twins are 11 and they think it is really cool to build rockets that approach or exceed their height. They are not so powerful that the rockets require epoxy so the kids can use Titebond wood glue without any of the issues of epoxy. I generally end up doing the fillets and paint but they have fun doing the build.

Here's my son with his Leviathan:

FB_IMG_1438092353520.jpg
 
Last edited:
FrothyChimp said:
All of the Estes Pro Series II kits I generally get for my kids. I do the high power stuff and they have been building various model rockets but they see what I build and want to do something similar so they are building the PS II kits now. My twins are 11 and they think it is really cool to build rockets that approach or exceed their height. They are not so powerful that the rockets require epoxy so the kids can use Titebond wood glue without any of the issues of epoxy. I generally end up doing the fillets and paint but they have fun doing the build.
Click to expand...

I think it's really cool to build rockets that exceed my height, too! Fortunately, I'm 5'4" so that includes a lot of rockets! :grin:
 
I want to buy two and kitbash them into a streched one and a 29mm Big Daddy. Just waiting for a proper deal here in Canada.
 
"What's so special about the Estes Leviathan?"

It's the Big Daddy, but Bigger!
 
cavecentral said:
The pro series during the sales ($75 for the 4 kits) was a great deal. I paid more on earlier ones, so have them already. Price point is the main reason. I think the Leviathan was just the largest diameter. I like the Partizan best, then the Argent. Poor Ventris is the bottom of the list for me.
Click to expand...

I actually like the Ventris because for some reason it reminds me of the Centuri Minimax rockets. As for Leviathan, I'm thinking some epoxy and a baby H and it's a very feasible L1 rocket!
 
cletusjones said:
I actually like the Ventris because for some reason it reminds me of the Centuri Minimax rockets. As for Leviathan, I'm thinking some epoxy and a baby H and it's a very feasible L1 rocket!
Click to expand...

That was the primary reason that I bought one.
 
That's why I got mine, to get my L1. Anyone ever hear of anyone using other PSII for their L1, or is it primarily the Leviathan?
 
I've done multiple attempts with the PS2 rocket flyers. They really go high so you need a tracker or several good eyes to get it back. The lighter cardboard translates into a lot more altitude then a similar LOC product. Of course, their heavier cardboard will allow for many, many more flights. It's a trade off....
 
noffie79 said:
That's why I got mine, to get my L1. Anyone ever hear of anyone using other PSII for their L1, or is it primarily the Leviathan?
Click to expand...

The Mega Der Red Max works really well. It is heavier and has a lot more drag, so it doesn't go as high as the other PSII kits. Also the 4" body tube lets you get your hand all the way into the body tube, so it's very easy to attach and detach a recovery harness to/from an eyebolt in the forward centering ring. And there is plenty of room to fit a chute and nomex blanket in there with no problem at all. If I were picking a PSII for L1, that's the one I'd pick. But it's also the most expensive, so the cost is not much more for an LOC kit like the Minnie Magg or LOC-IV. Or you could probably find an Aerotech G-Force for about the same price.
 
bill_s said:
The real sale was Hobby Lobby 40% off & store pickup, they got real popular fast back then. They're also conventional construction, more modifyable than Aerotech kits. LOC is good but probably heavier and you'd probably have to adapt down to 29 mm from 54 mm or something ;) .
Click to expand...

How do you figure that the real sale was the HL deal at 40% off?

List price is 64.99. 40% off makes it 38.99. The Estes sales over the last year at 20-25 bucks is a much larger discount.
 
tab28682 said:
How do you figure that the real sale was the HL deal at 40% off?

List price is 64.99. 40% off makes it 38.99. The Estes sales over the last year at 20-25 bucks is a much larger discount.
Click to expand...


Not all HL's or other places were charging the same prices, never mind full list. Often some stores, in some areas, will discount things and then allow you to use the coupon as well. It pays to shop and ask.

Don't forget taxes and upwards of $10 shipping on the Estes deal, too! For some of us, local minus discount works out as good as or better than waiting/hoping for a sale plus the taxes and shipping costs.

And let's not forget that early buyers and flyers got to enjoy their rockets while the rest of us waited years for the sale. :(
 
Last edited:
Banzai88 said:
Not all HL's or other places were charging the same prices, never mind full list. Often some stores, in some areas, will discount things and then allow you to use the coupon as well. It pays to shop and ask.

Don't forget taxes and upwards of $10 shipping on the Estes deal, too! For some of us, local minus discount works out as good as or better than waiting/hoping for a sale plus the taxes and shipping costs.

And let's not forget that early buyers and flyers got to enjoy their rockets while the rest of us waited years for the sale. :(
Click to expand...

Sorry, but none of that makes the HL deal the "real" sale. I proclaim that the Estes sale is the real sale based on the extremely low price...:)

I got my two from Estes on the "real" sale with no tax and no shipping charge. One was part of a personal order that was large enough to get free shipping and the other was a shared order with a buddy that was large enough to get free shipping.
 
I'm lucky enough to live close to the border. I have a place in WA state where I can receive packages. I ordered from Estes and specified delivery to that address. It worked fine. I still paid with a CDN credit card. Champlain seems to be about an hour or so south of Montreal. I can see that there are postal outlets there that might work for you. That's a pretty far hike to make but it might be worth it once in a long while.
 

Similar threads

86mustang408w
Estes Leviathan and Partizon fixes and finishing touches.
Replies
9
Views
1K
86mustang408w
86mustang408w
RocketGeekInFL
For Sale Update ***** Medium Power Kits For Sale Estes Pro Series II, LOC, Madcow Rocketry
Replies
1
Views
766
RocketGeekInFL
RocketGeekInFL
Skyfall
Estes Cosmos Mariner - what to do with it ;-)?
Replies
22
Views
770
Skyfall
Skyfall
A
Estes Doorknob to V2 Conversion?
Replies
12
Views
1K
GusGrissom
G
gdjsky01
For Sale Rockets for sale
Replies
11
Views
3K
gdjsky01
gdjsky01

Latest posts

Back
Top