New Estes Scale Kit?

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dr wogz said:
And so now we're all pouring over this thread, tallying up what's been mentioned!! :D


If I had one choice, bring back the Sentinel. Loved that one... (And yes, I've long been planning an upscale..)
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Ohhh! The Sentinel one of my favs as well, I still have it and fly it occasionally.
 
Estes has so many great scale kits in the archives that would be prime for a re-release in the future. 1/35 Mercury Atlas, BT-70 Gemini Titan, and Saturn 1B (both 1/100 and 1/70) immediately come to mind. I can also think of some ideas for scale kits that would be great builds, assuming you don't have to pay licensing fees to a defense contractor:

AIM-7 Sparrow
AGM-84 Harpoon / SLAM
1/48 scale Atlas-Centaur, Atlas-Agena or Titan II (based on 2.5" diameter Pro Series II tube)
AIM-4 Falcon
1/35 scale Redstone missile PGM-11
Nike Hercules
 
LW Bercini said:
Wasn't that just "fantasy" scale?
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Yes, it was, as was the Stiletto.

BTW, John,

The Stiletto would make a good subject for an upscale. You could make it a two stage, payload rocket. While not scale, it has a military styling.

And since we've swerved slightly off topic...

The Cineroc/Omega would make a good scale subject... A nice 1/1 scale model of the first commercial available rocket launched movie camera would be a great addition! You could even create a nosecone/payload section that mimics the Cineroc. The D Region Tomahawk has the right diameter for the camera's body tube, and you could even make a simulated fairing for the camera (complete with first surface mirror). I'd suggest adding in the Cineroc/Omega decal so those of us who care, could add that decal to ours to represent what we saw in some of the Estes Catalogs from the early 1970's. Don't worry about adding an actual camera, leave that to us. Hint... Hint... Hint...
 
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This is a great thread. Another thought would be the venerable IRIS. There is a BT-50 available (and the LOC versions), but a larger 24 mm (BT-70?) model with the right scale treatment could be a lot of fun. Adding the scale booster would really up the cool factor and potentially the skill level.
 
burkefj said:
Minuteman missile with clear plastic fins and plastic transition, wood or plastic conduit.
Or a nice size falcon missile or standard missile
Frank
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+1 to MM but I'd do MM II. Bring back LTV Scout.

A larger scale Mercury Atlas or Gemini Titan perhaps.
 
Hard to think Estes would be able to hit a price point with a detailed N-1 that could sell well enough to justify tooling up for all those odd detail parts. OTOH the cone shaped first stage might mean no clear plastic fins.
 
I just watched this again, and it wouldn't be real-scale (and there would likely be licensing issues), but I'd love to see a flying model kit of the MAV from The Martian. It'd be a bit of a stubby rocket, but the landing legs could serve as fins and protrude backwards. So, maybe it wouldn't be too bad...
 
May I cast a second vote???

Licensing issues aside, how about an Astrobee 1500? BT-80 or BT-70 versions would be perfect to allow us to modify the strap-on's for adding canted motors!

Cheers,
Michael
 
Considering Saturn Press had a kit of this, I kind of doubt there is a licensing issue.
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Don't know if there would be licensing issue on this subject or not, but that doesn't mean subjects that can't legally be done by Estes aren't being done by smaller rocket companies.

John Boren
 
USAFmissileer said:
+1 to MM but I'd do MM II. Bring back LTV Scout.
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Having worked on satellites that were launched by Scout-G, Minotaur I and Minotaur IV, I have selfish reasons for wanting to Estes kit all of them! Minotaur I / Minuteman I/II/III on a four-motor cluster would be pretty epic.
 
JumpJet said:
Just wanted to let you know that 3 of the subjects mentioned in this thread should be coming out sometime next year. I've already built and test flown two of the subjects mentioned. So in addition to the NEW model I would like to work on, 2017 should be a good year for Scale Kits coming from Estes.

John Boren
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Thanks John, really looking forward to seeing what appears. Hope one is the Scout!
 
I flew a 3" dia. prototype Honest John on a our 29mm F15-4 motor on Sunday at NARAM the last time it was in Pueblo CO. I even showed it at the Manufactures forum. It flies great. There was a lot of plastic in this model which means a lot of tooling, which means lots of money to produce the kit. Not sure it will ever become a product.


John Boren
 
Wow, I bet you'd sell plenty of those guys, though maybe not enough to justify the tooling cost. Are you able to say how many of a kit like that you would need to sell to be worth producing? I've always wondered about that stuff, but I understand if you can't say.
 
A huge thanks to Estes for producing new scale kits and bringing back great old classics.

My strong preference would be for classic space boosters, including the Mercury Atlas, Atlas-Agena, Atlas-Centaur, Gemini Titan II, Saturn 1B, Titan III-C, D, or E, Titan III MOL, LTV Scout, Thor, Thor-Able, or Thor-Agena. Newer boosters including the Delta II, Delta IV, Delta IV Heavy, Atlas V, Atlas V heavy, and the STS would also be great. Of the military models, I would be most excited about the Titan II ICBM (used to be a crew member years ago), and the Falcon and Sparrow AAMs. A re-release/ update of classic Pershing 1A Maxi Brute would be fantastic (more robust fins would be great).

I know that that is a huge list (and the Deltas and Atlas V's are families with many models), so I will put down my top 5:
- Mercury Atlas
- Gemini Titan II
- Titan II ICBM
- SLS
- Atlas-Agena.

The Atlases would be great because they are so unique, and they are difficult to scratch build. A re-release of the 1/35th scale Mercury Atlas would be great, but needs more than an E12. This possibly could be redesigned as a 3-motor cluster. A 1/48th scale or BT-80-based model would do well on an E12.

If a rocket that is part of a family is chosen, than a variation could be released in a future year (example, Titan III-D to Titan III MOL, Mercury Atlas to Atlas-Agena, Atlas-Agena to Thor-Agena)

As far as the fins go-- it all depends. Fins that are relatively flat on the real rocket can use balsa (single sheet if thin, or built-up if the scale fin would be more than 3/16" thick). Fins that have bevels are best made from injection-molded plastic. Details and corrugations can be made from vacuum-formed plastics. Conduits can be made out of wood if they are simple, but detailed items are best made from injection-molded plastic.

Thanks for asking for our input!
 
brewster_rockit said:
Having worked on satellites that were launched by Scout-G, Minotaur I and Minotaur IV, I have selfish reasons for wanting to Estes kit all of them! Minotaur I / Minuteman I/II/III on a four-motor cluster would be pretty epic.
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That would indeed be epic. Now to make a silo for the MM to launch out of.... 😎
 
Everyone's mentioned many of the ones I'd like to see, but my two most desired:

Gemini Titan
Saturn 1B

I need those for my Redstone, Atlas and Saturn V....plus upcoming Little Joe.

How about a new Cameroc/Astrocam for the digital age? Something with an inexpensive camera/video and a mini USB for immediate connection and download after flight right there on the field. It's time and the tech is cheap and available. Yes, many build their own or adapt available parts....but a production offering from Estes would be cool.
 
On the subject of the Mercury Atlas... I was lucky that I didn't remove the finger tab from its engine hook back in the day. I was able to use pliers to straighten it out, and lengthen from the short 3.5"/8.9 cm E motors that came out in 1995, and fit the modern 3.75"/9.5 cm E motors (which first appeared in Estes 2002 catalog).
 
A BT-60 or BT-70 clear fin unit could open up a whole vista of possible scale kits.
 

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