Two more reissues from Estes

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EXPjawa

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I take this as a sign that things are still on a roll at Estes, despite the change of hands. Their website is showing two new kits on the "Coming Soon" page, both reissues. The first is the Mean Machine:

https://www.estesrockets.com/coming-soon/001295-mean-machinetm

New livery, apparently. I always thought the black scheme was dull anyway. Looks to still have the mid-split coupler:

001295_main_2018.jpg
001295_parts_2018.jpg


The second reissue goes back to the early '80s - the Black Brant III. I cloned this myself a couple years ago, and flew it a lot until it crashed hard. The boat-tailed Black Brant II gets a lot of attention, but I like the III better. I'm glad this is reissued.
https://www.estesrockets.com/coming-soon/1293-black-brant-iii

1293_main_2018.jpg
001293_parts_2018.jpg
 

One of the centering rings is already cut for the engine hook, nice touch.

When I was a kid, you had to cut your own centering rings to make way for the engine hook!
(While walking home from school, uphill, in the snow, barefoot...)

EDIT: both of these will be "Coming Soon" to my build pile...and hopefully the launch pad soon after that.
 
Now I feel okay building the Mean Machine I got right before they stopped production before. I don't care about kit collecting, but was nervous that I couldn't replace it if I liked it and crashed it (if something special like the breakdown coupler broke).
 
I take this as a sign that things are still on a roll at Estes, despite the change of hands. Their website is showing two new kits on the "Coming Soon" page, both reissues. The first is the Mean Machine:
https://www.estesrockets.com/coming-soon/001295-mean-machinetm

The second reissue goes back to the early '80s - the Black Brant III. I cloned this myself a couple years ago, and flew it a lot until it crashed hard. The boat-tailed Black Brant II gets a lot of attention, but I like the III better. I'm glad this is reissued.
https://www.estesrockets.com/coming-soon/1293-black-brant-iii

I like the look of both.
Mean Machine looks like a longer and 4-finned Star Orbiter, which I helped my son build a few months ago.

The only warning with that one is that the long 1.64" (42mm) paper Estes body tubes are rather fragile.
We kinked ours a few times, between the motor mount and the mid-section coupler. First time it just fell sideways on the floor after a breeze knocked it over. After repairs, it developed more kinks in the same area after a few landings. Fixed that by cutting it open, and adding more spare couplers forward of the MMT, and strengthening the body tube:

Star Orbiter repair.jpg

Consider doing so pro-actively as you are building yours (SO or MM).

YMMV,
a
 
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It is good to see a few more classic kits come back out.
 
We have had at least four or five Mean Machines at our school rocket club over the last eighteen years.

One has been coming back for four years and has flown over a dozen times. This year it ejected the motor due to a bent motor hook and lawn darted. Luckily I had a top half of an old Mean Machine in the Bone Box (leaned up next to the Bone Box, actually) and so it is still going strong!

When I mentioned it was being rereleased three kids (my son one of them) piped up that they were ordering one next year...

In my mind the Super Big Bertha is the only current Estes kit that rivals the MM for awesomely slow liftoffs.
 
Was the BBIII the same cone/nozzle as the BBII kit they made, just a fin difference or decal difference? I don't remember the BBIII kit.
 
Was the BBIII the same cone/nozzle as the BBII kit they made, just a fin difference or decal difference? I don't remember the BBIII kit.

No, the BBII (two) was built around a BT-55 airframe, while the Black Brant III (three) kit uses a BT-50 airframe.

James
 
I scratch built a 1/3 scale Black Brant III, so a smaller scale version sitting next to it will be fun. I could also see Estes releasing a larger PS II version of the BB II. (Hint, hint).

I always wanted the Mean Machine when I was younger, and finally built one a few years ago with my elder son. Had a great first flight, and it lawn darted on (I think) the second flight. IMHO, there is too much volume in the tube for the motor ejection charge to work if everything isn't optimal. I'll get one, but I'll probably block off the upper 1/4 of the fuselage and have that whole section eject instead of just the nose cone. And FWIW, having the mid-section coupler for ease of transport was genius. Golf clap for that feature.
 
Also, the BBIII has a nozzle, whereas the BBII has a boat tail. Different profile. The III is smaller, but proportionally taller. It was designed to loft lighter payloads higher than the II.

As a side note, I built a 1.6" Black Brant III after I crashed the Estes kit clone. If I were rebuilding, why not go bigger? Flies great on composite E or F motors. I think I got about 1800' out of an F44. I am now planning a Black Brant IV that's the same scale. The IV was a 2-stager that used the BBIII as the sustainer. Needless to say, I like this rocket.
 
One of the centering rings is already cut for the engine hook, nice touch.

When I was a kid, you had to cut your own centering rings to make way for the engine hook!
(While walking home from school, uphill, in the snow, barefoot...)

EDIT: both of these will be "Coming Soon" to my build pile...and hopefully the launch pad soon after that.

We fans of the Crossfire ISX now know where the original nose/tailcone mold came from ;)
 
As a side note, I built a 1.6" Black Brant III after I crashed the Estes kit clone. If I were rebuilding, why not go bigger? Flies great on composite E or F motors. I think I got about 1800' out of an F44.

Here's a 1/8.6 scale Black Brant III that I built around a 30mm hand-laid glass airframe. It has flown in excess of 1500' on an Aerotech C3.4-6 motor. BBIIIs are a hoot to build, as there are several documented markings options floating around.

IMG_2686.jpg

I'm actively working on another BBIII right now, although this one will use a different paint scheme.

James
 
I've got a design on the table (well, in Rocksim) for a 54mm version. But I haven't found a nose cone for it yet.
 
Nice thing about the Mean machine, is it can be considered a 'typical' rocket with spare tubes! That's how I see it! I always though t it was too long, too fragile, and a transport nightmare (especially on the bus when I was rocketering in my early teens..)
 
I scratch built a 1/3 scale Black Brant III, so a smaller scale version sitting next to it will be fun. I could also see Estes releasing a larger PS II version of the BB II. (Hint, hint).

I always wanted the Mean Machine when I was younger, and finally built one a few years ago with my elder son. Had a great first flight, and it lawn darted on (I think) the second flight. IMHO, there is too much volume in the tube for the motor ejection charge to work if everything isn't optimal. I'll get one, but I'll probably block off the upper 1/4 of the fuselage and have that whole section eject instead of just the nose cone. And FWIW, having the mid-section coupler for ease of transport was genius. Golf clap for that feature.

Just put a nose block in the middle tube joint. It is much easier to transport the Mean Machine in two 3' sections than a single 6' length.
 
Just put a nose block in the middle tube joint. It is much easier to transport the Mean Machine in two 3' sections than a single 6' length.

That's what I did with mine. That and I painted it up like a super-stretch Der Red Max, with 3 fins instead of 4.


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