ESTES Outlander available

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Hi all,

All this fascinating talk about the Outlander and Renegade have me very, very interested. Especially the spiffy Mars Lander paint scheme!

So, I went to the local stores today, hoping to find one or both. Nuts! Just the usual dusty piles of the same old kits. My daughter came away happy, though. I like to buy E2X and QuickKits to build with my five year old, and she's been really wanting an Estes Skywriter. We found one, for $14.

Then we went to the other nearby hobby store and saw they had it for $8. Sigh. I could have gone through the fire drill of buying the lower priced one, and returning the expensive one, but we were in a rush. Oh well, $14 is a fair price for hours of fun with my daughter :)

Anyway, looks like I'm off to Tower Hobbies to order these kits soon.

Thanks all,

Will
 
Originally posted by Fore Check
Hey Lee:

For those of us who don't have access to VCP, is there any way to scan your shroud templates and post them here? I'd sure appreciate it... :D

Forecheck,

I could scan, but I'm worried they will not come out sized perfectly. If you are running Windows, and have a laser or inkjet, then VCP prints them just fine.

Let me know if this is a problem, and I'll be happy to scan.
 
Perhaps I'm a bit lost. I don't think I have VCP, but Lee's post indicates that I might and don't know it (????)

I'll try the shroud calculator that Sandman posted the link to - I haven't been able to get the template widget I downloaded to work either. :rolleyes:
 
Originally posted by Fore Check
Perhaps I'm a bit lost. I don't think I have VCP, but Lee's post indicates that I might and don't know it (????)

I'll try the shroud calculator that Sandman posted the link to - I haven't been able to get the template widget I downloaded to work either. :rolleyes:

Fore Check.

I did a Google search on VCP, and downloaded it. And there is also a link to it a few pages back. The shroud template is in the Tools menu (VCP is a Center of Pressure / Center of Gravity program, but has three utilities in it.) So, if you have Windows, and a printer, you're a download away from shrouds!

Let me know if printing is a problem, and I'll scan them for you.
 
Wow -- fast service -- took less than a week from ordering decals to getting them!

I ordered two sets of Outlander decals, and a set of Red Max. Never built the rocket in the past, but I've caught Max Fever recently!

Nice job, astronboy, the decals look really nice. And I appreciate the fast service. Now I just need to start building ...
 
Well now...

I just downloaded VCP and that shroud thingy works pretty neat!

I downloaded v 1.64

What is the difference between it and v 1.64sc?
 
With the "TRF Outage of '04" going on, I was able to finish up my Outlander.

Decals from Excelsior (Fred aka Astronboy)
 
Wow - great job! That model really looks good with that color scheme. I hope mine comes out looking that good! Guess I'll pick up another in case I decide to go with the stock colors.
How did you decide on your decal placement? (I also picked up a set from Astronboy).

S..
 
Thanks Bushrat.

As far as decal placement goes, I followed how stevem did his. There is a good picture of his on page 2 of this post. Stevem's looks REALLY good...he put some plastic on the capsule to give it a little more "jazz".

When mine was done, it looked a little plain so I added some decals to the horizonal tanks. I even used a few of the stickers that came with the kit.

John
 
Originally posted by rokitflite
I just heard about this site today and signed right up! I went to RMR in hopes of reading some reviews of the Outlander kit and it seems that every subject on RMR degrades into a mud slinging session started by a certain individual who must have not received enough attention as a child. STEVEM that Outlander in
Mars Lander decor looks 100 times better than the stock paint job!!! Being hopelessly addicted to collecting rockets, I just got 6 of the Outlanders and I guarantee I will build one up to look like yours. I also intend to modify the legs so that they use extension springs rather than elastic cord. It was upsetting to watch my Mars Lander start to list to one side as the rubber bands dry rotted over the years. Now it rests on its engine hook. Thanks to all for making this thread so informative!

-Scott
Scott,

I just started reading this Outlander thread today. It's incredible to me that you only found TRF a few months before I did. So here's a great big, belated, and reversed in time welcome aboard!!
 
Wow, yeah,
This was post #1 for me. After a post with Outlander in it on RMR turned into pi**ing contests on a totally unrelated subject. I found this forum and NEVER looked back!
 
Wow - here's another reminder of a project that I have yet to get started on beyond planning and purchasing. I've got the Mars-Lander style decals from Sirius Rocketry (remember the TRF special they ran when they re-launched their website?) and two kits (one for stock, one for the Lander mod) and tooooooooooo many other irons in the proverbial "rocket fire."
 
Originally posted by Fore Check
Wow - here's another reminder of a project that I have yet to get started on beyond planning and purchasing. I've got the Mars-Lander style decals from Sirius Rocketry (remember the TRF special they ran when they re-launched their website?) and two kits (one for stock, one for the Lander mod) and tooooooooooo many other irons in the proverbial "rocket fire."

Here is my outlander using the Sirius Rocketry decals. I have another kit but haven't decided how I am going to build this one.
 
Originally posted by BobH48
Here is my outlander using the Sirius Rocketry decals. I have another kit but haven't decided how I am going to build this one.


That is a great looking Outlander Bob!!! Hey, what is that angry looking man-thing attached to the rear of it?;)
 
Originally posted by rokitflite
That is a great looking Outlander Bob!!! Hey, what is that angry looking man-thing attached to the rear of it?;)

Angry? :confused: That's my "Happy Face" ;)
 
I flew my Outlander on an E18-4 WL today. Amazing boost on this thing! Unfortunately, it did not stick the landing. It landed on all four feet, snapped a leg, bounced back into the air and fell over.

Here's a smoky ignition...
 
Here's touchdown on all 4 legs...Unfortunately, it broke a leg on impact. It bounced back up and fell back on it's side...
 
Sounds exactly like my original Mars Lander -- snapped the leg on its first landing. At least the Outlander has most of the leg exposed so that it is easier to repair.
 
Originally posted by BobCox
Sounds exactly like my original Mars Lander -- snapped the leg on its first landing. At least the Outlander has most of the leg exposed so that it is easier to repair.

Hi Bob,

This Outlander has flown 12 times. Probably 50% of the flights have had legs or leg housing break. I just keep stiching it back together and flying it some more. The E18 is worth fixing it again.

For this repair, I might try to splint the leg with some rod...Any ideas out there???
 
What size chute is it going to take to get the Outlander down without breaking a leg? Reinforcing the legs will make it heavier...we have to deal diminishing returns. Hmmm...

Was the Mars Lander light enough that it didn't break as often?

Just curious. I've got four Outlander kits waiting to be built in some sort of kitbashed fashion.
 
Right now I am using a 22" nylon chute. The first flight that broke leg housings and legs was one where the chute got hung up on the model and didn't fully deploy. It came down nearly ballistic, feet first, and broke most of the housings and a couple legs. I would expect that! I think that flight weakened the model so much that it hasn't fully recovered. I'm now breaking old breaks!

The two tips I would have, build it for an E motor. You can always add a motor block and fly it on D's. The other is definitely build the aft end so you can get easy access to the legs for repair work!

Jason
 
IOT, I need to build it light, build it strong, build it for E's, modify for access to the stern, and do what I can to get a clean recovery every time. :D
 
Originally posted by tbzep
IOT, I need to build it light, build it strong, build it for E's, modify for access to the stern, and do what I can to get a clean recovery every time. :D

You forgot a step, jam a 36" nylon chute into a tube designed for a 18" plastic chute, and get the chute to deploy perfectly everyime...;) Wait you covered that with the "clear recovery every time"...Ignore me...I'm in vacation mode...

Yeah, the Outlander is high-maitenance, but despite that I love flying it.

I also have a Tango Papa 3.9" Mars Lander clone that I haven't finished yet. Compared to the Outlander it is far more robust, heavier, and more expensive. I know if someday the Outlander bites it, I can go to Hobby Lobby and get a replacement for a low price (especially when they run a sale).

So....4 kits eh??? What kinda bash you thinking about???
 
Originally posted by jjnodice
.......... Probably 50% of the flights have had legs or leg housing break........(snip)

That sounds about right. My Outlander is waiting for another broken leg repair.

I built mine for D motors but I can always throw an E18 or an F24 in it.

I have another Outlander to build and I think that I'm going to replace the forward tube with one that a few inches longer so that I can get a larger chute in it.
 
Originally posted by jjnodice

So....4 kits eh??? What kinda bash you thinking about???

I was going to make a couple of Mars Landers with two of them. The other two would have been Outlanders with the Mars Lander decal set. With two of each, I would have a display model of each that never gets damaged, and a couple of flying workhorses.

Now that Semroc is planning to release a kit, I'll go with them for the Mars Landers. I'll probably build a couple of the Outlanders with ML decals and save the other two kits for something down the road.
 
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