Did Estes Discontinue the Honest John 7240?

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lowga

A.K.A. 'Mr. HoJo'
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My Estes 2022 catalog arrived in the mail yesterday, and flipping through the pages I don't see the Honest John 7240 rocket listed anywhere. It's possible I missed it but I looked twice after first noticing it missing from the lineup. It's still being offered for sale on the Estes web site (at a discounted price) but if they've decided to stop production I'd really like to know.

https://estesrockets.com/product/007240-honest-john/

The mini-Honest John is still pictured in the "scale" section of the catalog. Sure hoping they haven't decided to discontinue one of the longest-lasting products in their inventory. I buy and build at least four a year. It's my favorite rocket by far.

Anyone have any additional information? Honest_John.jpeg
 
The production list that is maintained on YORF shows 2021 as the last year for the #7240 HoJo
 

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NO!!!!!!!! Please join me in asking Estes to reconsider. The Honest John was America's first nuclear-capable missile and was actually free-flight (not guided) meaning that our models match the prototype in terms of flight performance much more closely. So much history in that rocket, and a perfect introduction to scale. Not only that, it's a terrific flyer.
 
Kits go in and of production regularly - the HoJo has been discontinued before and reintroduced so I’d guess we’ll see it back again in the future. Until then buy a few to hold you over 😉

Or, if the NOS Estes kits shift into the overpriced “collector market” there’s always Boyce Aerospace or eRockets.
 
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Attempting to do that today--but the Estes server is running so S---L----O--------W. Not sure if this is due to the flash sale they are having on the Universal Astrocam (half off) or just server issues. Been trying to complete an order for over an hour.

Sure hope they will reconsider removing the 7240 Honest John from the lineup. It's a total classic and such an important part of rocketry history.
 
Attempting to do that today--but the Estes server is running so S---L----O--------W. Not sure if this is due to the flash sale they are having on the Universal Astrocam (half off) or just server issues. Been trying to complete an order for over an hour.

Sure hope they will reconsider removing the 7240 Honest John from the lineup. It's a total classic and such an important part of rocketry history.
I’m sure ac supply has a good stock of them currently,
https://www.acsupplyco.com/estes-mo.../skill-level-3/estes-honest-john-model-rocket
 
Thanks for posting the alternatives. Trust me...I'm a HoJo fanboy. Have ordered and built literally every commercial kit, variation, etc. But I've been building a "fleet" of the 7240 and painting them in all the various schemes that were used on the prototype. This includes the many variations used at White Sands, foreign military versions, even paint jobs from static displays at high schools, VFWs, and fireworks companies. Have about thirty or so now, and have collected photographs of at least a dozen more paint schemes to do in the future. Currently have five of these kits in the build pile here. It never occurred to me that Estes would discontinue the kit before I could finish.
 
Estes kits come and go, it’ll be back. There’s plenty of other options out there. The mini Honest John has been selling on the wally world website for $3.13 each, on and off, the past couple of weeks.
 
The Mini Honest John while a fun little flyer is hardly a substitute for the scale 7240 kit. And while Estes has discontinued HoJo kits in the past only to bring them back--I don't think we can assume they will do that forever. If we want any product to continue to be available, we have to support it with orders. I ordered three more this morning and wrote an email to Estes asking them to reconsider.
 
My Estes 2022 catalog arrived in the mail yesterday, and flipping through the pages I don't see the Honest John 7240 rocket listed anywhere. It's possible I missed it but I looked twice after first noticing it missing from the lineup. It's still being offered for sale on the Estes web site (at a discounted price) but if they've decided to stop production I'd really like to know.

https://estesrockets.com/product/007240-honest-john/

The mini-Honest John is still pictured in the "scale" section of the catalog. Sure hoping they haven't decided to discontinue one of the longest-lasting products in their inventory. I buy and build at least four a year. It's my favorite rocket by far.

Anyone have any additional information? View attachment 499934

Build your own... With G Harry Stine's help.. honest-john-plans.jpg
 
Have scratch-built many HoJo's, and have the Harry Stine blueprint blown up, laminated, and placed on my workbench. The value of the 7240 for me is that it's a quick easy build, especially after doing it a couple of dozen times. Also, it allows for a fleet of the same model with the various paint schemes, which I really enjoy having.

Life will go on regardless, I just think it's a mistake for Estes to drop the rocket. Anything that has been a consistent seller for decades seems worthy of a place on the shelf. Especially since they have many rockets that come and go very quickly.
 
I've still got the Honest John I build 50 years ago: paper transition to the base of a balsa nosecone, paper nozzle, and paper spin thrusters. That and the orbital transport were the two builds I was proudest of when I was a kid. After replacing the trifold shock cord mount, the 50-year old HJ was launched once last summer.
 
That's awesome. I have a whole collection of my rockets from the late 1960s through mid-70s. They get a lot of attention when I bring them to club launches. None of them are slick and beautifully finished which is the norm now. They're mostly hand painted with Testors and a brush--but they flew great, and have survived countless launches.

The Honest John has always been my favorite. Still have the original Centuri HoJo from years ago.
 
That sure looks like the right nosecone.

Note that there is an error in the description of that part:
The nose cone has a ridge at the bottom (the HJ kit included a paper shroud was glued to the bottom of the nose cone just above the shoulder).

The shroud/transition wasn't glued to the bottom of the nose cone. It was glued to the top of the body-tube.
 
Have scratch-built many HoJo's, and have the Harry Stine blueprint blown up, laminated, and placed on my workbench. The value of the 7240 for me is that it's a quick easy build, especially after doing it a couple of dozen times. Also, it allows for a fleet of the same model with the various paint schemes, which I really enjoy having.

Life will go on regardless, I just think it's a mistake for Estes to drop the rocket. Anything that has been a consistent seller for decades seems worthy of a place on the shelf. Especially since they have many rockets that come and go very quickly.
Was it not a big mistake for OOP 'ING the original.kit which was around 24 inches in height. Bring that baby back.
 
I prefer to print my own nose cones. It makes it easier to up and down scale.
 
I just think it's a mistake for Estes to drop the rocket. Anything that has been a consistent seller for decades seems worthy of a place on the shelf. Especially since they have many rockets that come and go very quickly.

I have been told by people in a position to know that most hobby products have a surge in sales at release, then taper off over time. For scale models that taper can be very abrupt.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder" would seem to apply to rockets.

James
 
That's awesome. I have a whole collection of my rockets from the late 1960s through mid-70s. They get a lot of attention when I bring them to club launches. None of them are slick and beautifully finished which is the norm now. They're mostly hand painted with Testors and a brush [...]
Yep, if you look at the photos I posted of my old HJ, it's pretty obvious it was painted with Testors and a brush by an 11-year old.
 
You can create a HoJo fin can with the parametric fin can SCAD model I just loaded into the 3dPrinting repository. The nosecone file I previously loaded does a reasonable likenss of the Ho Jo nosecone. Obviously there's none of the added detail. Shouldn't be too difficult for you guys. You can size to fit post tube. At that size you'll want to be launching with a G. G64 has that lovely crackle.......
Norm
 
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