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There is an hobby show starting tomorrow for hobby shops and hobby distributors (no general public) in Las Vegas. I have heard that Estes will be taking orders for the Black Brant, the Great Goblin, and also the RTF Space Shuttle. All are due to arrive for the holiday selling season, which is a...

On FB, Aerotech/Quest posted a link to their new 2023-2024 online catalog. Inside is info on the Enerjet Nike Ram kit due out in the fall !

Just an assumption, but looking at the picture, the paint detailing suggests it is plastic. Maybe similar to the blow molded technology of the DARC-1 kit that Estes made.

Estes has begun advertising the RTF 1/200 Space Shuttle. Image of the ad is attached. The ad appeared in Hobby Merchandiser, an industry magazine. Estes advertises in it every month. More info will appear in the 2024 Estes catalog. No delivery date or pricing has been announced. Assume Estes...

This image is from an email just received from Estes. I guess this is the rumored 1/100 or 1/200 RTF Shuttle.

Estes has begun advertising the Pro Series Great Goblin to hobby shops. Scanned image of the ad is attached. The ad appeared in Hobby Merchandiser, an industry magazine. Estes advertises in it every month. More info appears in the 2023 Estes catalog. Assume this will be available after the Black...

I once did a project for a manufacturer determining costs for producing a BT60 size plastic nose cone. This was about 10 years ago. The cost of the metal tooling in the USA was 8 times more expensive. The cost of molding 5000 nose cones (minimum quantity) out of that tooling was 10 times more...

The Starship has not been seen yet in its final form on the launch pad, thus I would doubt the expense of RTF tooling has been invested. And the retail price for that would be close to $300. As for the New Glenn, the same issue exists of no complete rocket yet until 2024 (and that the New...

The $320 model you mention has this description on Everyday Astronaut: "Primarily Metal Construction with some Injection Mold Plastic". Looking at the photos, the legs and grid fins are all plastic, along with a lot of the detail parts. Since the tube areas are heavier metal, the chances of...

Why guess? The image I posted states E16-6 and F15-6. If you need more info on dimensions, check out page 55 of the 2023 catalog. Diameter is 2.22" with a length of 54.6".

Estes has begun advertising the Pro Series Black Brant XII. Image of the ad is attached.

A short run of 100 would come close to $5 each, or more. Realize Penrose is a town, so no print shops, that is why vintage Estes did their own printing. All print shops have a setup fee, and it's the same for 100 or 5000 pieces. The face card is glossy, and approximately 24"x4". That size...

Estes has a new advertisement in Sport Rocketry, and it seems that engine packaging has changed.

F The pricing issue you do not address is this, when the Ventris first came out years ago, it was prices around $80 msrp because hobby shops, distributors, and I think Fry's Electronics stocked the kit. Thus a nice profit margin had to be built in to the $80 so the shops and distributors would...

For those of you who don't do the rocketry groups on FB, here is what Randy Boadway posted: "Hello everyone, I wanted to let the rocketry community know that Estes is making a change to their pricing strategy. Effective 4/1/23 retailers are no longer allowed to advertise Estes Rockets for less...

I was in my local hobby shop yesterday, and they told me that their main distributor notified them of 5 more discontinued Estes kits. They are: #2169 Dragonite #2452 Athena (still available in the #5304 launch set) #7283 MAV (currently in the Estes warehouse sale) #7297 Mars Leaper (we all knew...

Counterpoint: The new items for 2023 are 3 Pro Series Kits. It states in the catalog "for adult rocketeers". Now you could argue that these kits are for Adult Beginners, but the skill level for these 3 kits are listed at A, E, and I. Nothing for beginner adults. The Estes catalog for 2023 came...

The new items you mention are good, but they were added last year, or the year before that, or the year before that. And the issue is not what they will add in the future (that is unknown, it could be a lot, it could be none), the issue is what is in the catalog right now. That is what beginners...

This is just an observation to the comment of "Plus a solid selection of beginner stuff that's absolutely essential to the future of our hobby". Back in the 2018 catalog, just a short 5 years ago, there were over 60 kits aimed at the beginner (ARF, RTF, SL1). In the 2023 catalog, that number has...

Not completely true. I worked as a Senior Buyer for hobby products for a very large distributor for over 10 years, and as a VP Buyer for an even larger online presence for more than 5 years. All that time I was the buyer for Estes products. I have purchased through different entities more than a...