Looking for a Centuri Buck Rogers Earth Forces Starfighter or an Estes Blackhawk to build. That means opened bags are fine. Yes, I know all about morerockets.com, looking for an original to build.
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Found Centuri Buck Rogers Earth Forces Starfighter or Estes Blackhawk - Going to build, not just collect
- Thread starter markschnell
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GlenP
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Good luck in the search.
FYI-There are plans/templates for these models, if you find that you have to resort to scratch building one, but yeah, not quite the same as building an original vintage kit.
http://www.spacemodeling.org/jimz/cen5335.htmhttp://www.spacemodeling.org/jimz/est2053.htm
The Centuri version used a rear-eject engine mount, the Estes version had a ducted ejection through one of the nose cones.
FYI-There are plans/templates for these models, if you find that you have to resort to scratch building one, but yeah, not quite the same as building an original vintage kit.
http://www.spacemodeling.org/jimz/cen5335.htmhttp://www.spacemodeling.org/jimz/est2053.htm
The Centuri version used a rear-eject engine mount, the Estes version had a ducted ejection through one of the nose cones.
Buzzard
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Thanks, I know all about those and have cloned many models. I've even done some cardstock ones but the sheer amount of heavy cardstock required for those models is too much for me. Those are murder on the fingers to cut out, not to mention how many blades I'd go through.
Thanks, I know about morerockets as I said in my first post. I'm not sure about their licensing permissions. I've seen some things online that make me wonder about them.
user 35280
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Check with launch lab rocketry, currently out but they’ve had it before.
https://www.launchlabrocketry.com/shop/p/centuribuckrogersstarfighter5335
https://www.launchlabrocketry.com/shop/p/centuribuckrogersstarfighter5335
Tramper Al
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Are you making an ethical or legal judgement here? I'm just curious. It's not as if the owner of the Centuri Buck Rogers kits copyright is offering a competitive product at this point.
We all make ethical and legal judgments ever single day for every action we take. Morerockets doesn't sell a Centuri Buck Rogers kit, BTW.
GlenP
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I have had the Centuri plans downloaded on my computer for a while now, just pondering a scratch clone, but this is inspiring me to take this on as my next mini downscale cardstock clone. Just playing around with some of the color stripes here, possibly going to use a gradient, or might just use the original.
(I did a Colonial Viper a while back)
(I did a Colonial Viper a while back)
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I've always been impressed with your work. That'd be a challenging one for sure.
I looked through your Viper thread and, WOW, the Cylon Raider project that kept going was really something. Did you ever launch it?
GlenP
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Thanks! Did not get a chance to before the weather turned unfavorable for launches here. And, as I was swing testing the carrier, the long cardstock tube was not strong enough and buckled from the centrifugal force of the string, so I need to make a new carrier rocket. But it would have flown fine, if I had a C5 engine maybe, kind of heavy, or go with a 24mm power carrier rocket for the parasite raider.
Here's just a sample of my cardstock Buck Rogers model so far, I will post a new thread later, but if your search fails, maybe you can give this one a try when I finish drawing it up. I am just scaling to 75% so the BT50 body will be BT20 and 18mm motor mount will be 13mm. I am extending the body tube to include the straight part of the nose, and approximating the curved parts of the nose with three transitions and will put a little balsa plug at the tip to round it off. Some screen grabs from my Inkscape drawings. This one has lots of fiberboard parts, the tubes and cones are the easy parts.
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OldGuy1967
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I am also looking for a Centuri Buck Rogers Earth Forces Starfighter. I have a couple of Marauder's and would like to add this to my collection. GlenP your design looks cool. Might be interested in building it as well.
These things are much harder to come by than the Marauder. I guess not as many people wanted the bad guy. I've got a Marauder too. I like to have the good guy and the bad guy. I've got an X-Wing and the Tie Fighter and Darth Vader's tie fighter; Got an Enterprise and still need to get a Klingon; Got a Semroc Satellite Killer and Red Eye Satellite, etc.
To be honest, the Marauder is a pretty ugly rocket. I just built mine and it's tricky, but it's not easy on the eye. It ain't no Starship Enterprise!
GlenP
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I have just finished drawing it, but have not built it yet, so I might find some mistakes, but will post a new thread in the Cardstock forum here soon. It is 75% size for 13 mm power.
PS- there was an old page from a Rocket Times for a Centuri Design Contest winner for a simple X-Wing model, there are some old threads on that here too.
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GlenP
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Okay, just paid for one from a member here. Looking forward to building this oldie. I won't do a build thread since that's been done here, but I'll post some pics when I get it done.
EvryThngIsAOk
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The Starfighter is one of my all time favorites.
But it does have a tricky rear ejection setup.
Don't pack it well and the shock cord can get burnt in half, the engine pod will float down VERY slowly and the Starfighter goes beyond sublight on reentry. You end up not being able to find it Until 3 weeks after launch day when you cut back across the field on the way home from school, only to find it stuck in the ground straight down with the nose cones 4" deep in the mud.... or so I heard any way
.
The blackhawk has a resigned ducted ejection system with standard chute deployment. But what fun is that.
Oh yeah btw still have the aforementioned Starfighter complete with mud stainson the white paint. Found it in a box in parents crawl
space with 12 others when they moved into a retirement community 20 years later.
It has never flown again.
But it does have a tricky rear ejection setup.
Don't pack it well and the shock cord can get burnt in half, the engine pod will float down VERY slowly and the Starfighter goes beyond sublight on reentry. You end up not being able to find it Until 3 weeks after launch day when you cut back across the field on the way home from school, only to find it stuck in the ground straight down with the nose cones 4" deep in the mud.... or so I heard any way
.The blackhawk has a resigned ducted ejection system with standard chute deployment. But what fun is that.
Oh yeah btw still have the aforementioned Starfighter complete with mud stainson the white paint. Found it in a box in parents crawl
space with 12 others when they moved into a retirement community 20 years later.
It has never flown again.
EvryThngIsAOk
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OldGuy1967
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Interesting I have done a similar thing. I just picked up the Bird Of Pray over the holidays in Mint condition for $30 on eBay. Finding a X-Wing is tough however.
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