Estes Great Goblin Advertisement

[turbofireball]

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 Brant XII. Assume Estes will make their own announcement on social media and by email when closer to the availability date.

 

[Scott_650]

It’s coming with waterslide decals and a nylon chute - and most likely one piece fins…sorry team Red Max, the Great Goblin is on a higher level than the DBRM

 

[Pinetree]

I'm in.

 

[Rob Campbell]

Does Rustoleum make s "Sinus Infection" green paint? Asking for a friend.

 

[mh9162013]

Nose cone looks a little off. Could be the "camera" angle, though.

 

[smstachwick]

Does Rustoleum make s "Sinus Infection" green paint? Asking for a friend.

Code Milky Green!

 

[Honest John]

What are the odds that the price is $89.99?? Oh well, I'll probably get it regardless.

 

[kuririn]

What are the odds that the price is $89.99?? Oh well, I'll probably get it regardless.

I'm guessing that the price point will be more in line with the Der Big Red Max at $55.

 

[bad_idea]

It’s coming with waterslide decals and a nylon chute - and most likely one piece fins…sorry team Red Max, the Great Goblin is on a higher level than the DBRM

I concur on the decals and chute, both big upgrades. Have you heard something about the fins? I'd been assuming they'd be multipiece just like DBRM.

 

[GlenP]

Why did they change the orientation of the number 3 decal? The original K-55 instructions have it rotated in this orientation, so that when on the pad the number 3 almost looks like a bat swooping down!

https://www.spacemodeling.org/jimz/k-55.htm

 

[Scott_650]

I concur on the decals and chute, both big upgrades. Have you heard something about the fins? I'd been assuming they'd be multipiece just like DBRM.

I’m just guessing based on the size - the Goblin fins aren’t as exaggerated as DRM fins.

 

[Back_at_it]

It’s coming with waterslide decals and a nylon chute - and most likely one piece fins…sorry team Red Max, the Great Goblin is on a higher level than the DBRM

Lets all hope you're right. Estes couldn't possibly screw this one up as badly as they did the DBRM.

 

[mh9162013]

Lets all hope you're right. Estes couldn't possibly screw this one up as badly as they did the DBRM.

I wouldn't call the DBRM a screw up because they were ok with it selling for so cheap for so long. I would like to think that had Estes built/designed the DBRM "correctly," they would have quickly put a stop to the low, low price it sold at on Amazon.

In other words, it balanced out.

 

[NOLA_BAR]

Lets all hope you're right. Estes couldn't possibly screw this one up as badly as they did the DBRM.

I agree, the DBRM was basically a box of parts, mainly the nose cone. I guess I was expecting a 3” version of the MDRM. Built up balsa fins like the Mega Mosquito, the same waterslide decal set as the MDRM (but scaled to 3” of course), not stickers. The parachute was a good idea, but printed thin nylon, and not that thick plastic.

Obviously I was way off, but whatever. I guess they had reasons for what was in the box.

 

[Pinetree]

I'm currently building my second DBRM.. it is what it is but I do get a few compliments at the field when it goes up.

Really looking forward to this Goblin though.

 

[James Duffy]

It’s coming with waterslide decals and a nylon chute - and most likely one piece fins…sorry team Red Max, the Great Goblin is on a higher level than the DBRM

I wouldn't count on the one-piece fins, as that would require plywood or the use of 4" wide balsa stock. Both would be expensive, and there are probably regulatory issues with the current thin ply supply.

We could get lucky, though!

James

 

[Back_at_it]

I agree, the DBRM was basically a box of parts, mainly the nose cone. I guess I was expecting a 3” version of the MDRM. Built up balsa fins like the Mega Mosquito, the same waterslide decal set as the MDRM (but scaled to 3” of course), not stickers. The parachute was a good idea, but printed thin nylon, and not that thick plastic.

Obviously I was way off, but whatever. I guess they had reasons for what was in the box.

Exactly. Would have been a lot cheaper to just buy the nose cone, motor and body tube as that was all that was usable from that kit. The self stick decals were a joke, paper centering rings in a 3" rocket and those fins. I ended up buying plywood upgrades and stickershock for vinyl. I literally only used the tubes nd nose cone.

 

[bad_idea]

paper centering rings in a 3" rocket and those fins.

I rebuilt and stretched one I crashed. Fins are epoxied to the motor, so the centering rings aren't carrying all the load, but in any case it works fine with the I200 on stock paper rings.

I agree it's a pretty disappointing kit at MSRP though. Glad I bought mine from Amazon and the Estes near-giveaway.

 

[ep29030]

The multi-piece fins on the DBRM were great. They reminded you why you put typing paper on fins to strengthen them.

 

[ep29030]

I’m OK with paper centering rings if we have TTW fins. On DBRM, there were more inches of surface along the fin edges than the two centering rings. The engine thrust is transferred to the fins and the centering rings can then be lighter in weight. Keeping the aft end light helps minimize the need for nose weight.

 

[Scott_650]

Not to go too deep in the weeds on the DBRM but we, the hard-core enthusiasts, tend to loose sight of Estes’ primary customers - kids building rockets and the people who buy rockets for those kids. I just finished my first DBRM (I have 3 more on hand courtesy of the Estes pricing snafu) with low-buck plywood fins and rings from our local library maker space - probably going to be too heavy for either of the Estes 29mm BP motors after it’s painted so that explains the paper rings and balsa fins that come with the kit. John Boren related that the self-stick decals are there because Estes figured younger builders would have problems with big waterslide decals - again, focusing on their primary market. My biggest personal disappointment was the thick plastic chute, a printed thin fabric would’ve been better. And my problem with the fins is they’re a bit fiddly to build, could be a challenge to the younger builders Estes says they’re aiming at. But overall, now that it’s built and primered I’ll say it’s an impressive looking critter - not sure how I’m going to finish it, though probably not going to use the included stickers…

The GG will be a fun companion to the DBRM - it’s on my buy when I find one at the right price list

 

[ep29030]

Not to go too deep in the weeds on the DBRM but we, the hard-core enthusiasts, tend to loose sight of Estes’ primary customers - kids building rockets and the people who buy rockets for those kids.

Aren’t we all just a bunch of kids here? Maybe older kids, but still kids. Same toys, more money to spend.

 

[tsmith1315]

Not to go too deep in the weeds on the DBRM but we, the hard-core enthusiasts, tend to loose sight of Estes’ primary customers - kids building rockets and the people who buy rockets for those kids

An excellent point.

In looking in my DBRM kit for the first time and seeing those fins, I was transported immediately back to 1970’s youth at our ping pong table work desk. At that moment, I was suddenly looking through my 10 year old eyes at this cool challenge of how to make big fins from balsa.

In light of your comment, I’d say the kit is right on target.

 

[Pinetree]

Launch Lab/Vander Burn are probably firing up the laser as we speak.

 

[Scott_650]

I wouldn't count on the one-piece fins, as that would require plywood or the use of 4" wide balsa stock. Both would be expensive, and there are probably regulatory issues with the current thin ply supply.

We could get lucky, though!

James

I haven't done the math on what the fin dimensions should be 2.25X bigger than the originals but you're probably closer to right than me

 

[Honest John]

I'm guessing that the price point will be more in line with the Der Big Red Max at $55.

I hope you're right. It's a little pricey at that point but cheap enough that I won't feel too guilty for buying one...or two.

 

[Pinetree]

Or three.

 

[bad_idea]

Maybe we'll get lucky and Amazon will mistakenly list it for the MSRP of the original-sized Goblin.

 

[Initiator001]

I have re-discovered some information I was given about the Great Goblin kit many months ago.

The Three-inch diameter body tube will be 20.375" long.

The fin slots will be the same size as on the PSII Doorknob kit. I do not know if the fore-aft fin slot placement on the GG body tube is the same as on the Doorknob.

 

[bad_idea]

I have re-discovered some information I was given about the Great Goblin kit many months ago.

The Three-inch diameter body tube will be 20.375" long.

The fin slots will be the same size as on the PSII Doorknob kit. I do not know if the fore-aft fin slot placement on the GG body tube is the same as on the Doorknob.

Thanks for confirming the body tube. Interesting. That's dead-on for scale of the original. I would have thought they would have chopped an inch off the body to account for the longer aspect ratio of the DBRM nose cone (which itself is already slightly longer than a strict Der Red Max upscale would have). If I'm calculating correctly, DBRM cone will be 9.5% longer than a strict Goblin upscale, with the rocket as a whole being about 3.5% longer than scale. In the end, that's probably lost to the eye on the range, but I guess we'll see.