Looking for something fun

[Pippen]

I came here looking for some help ironing out some bumpy spots on my son's fair project: an Estes Gemini DC. I am happy to say the thing is out the door as of this evening.

My son is 11 and this was a tough project for him--he's not real keen on meticulous and/or repetitive work or on requiring adult guidance but he stuck with it and is pleased with the end product. Whether it flies remains to be seen, but it sure looks good.

Does anyone have ideas for us for something relatively quick, easy, and fun to follow this up with? Oh, and cheap would be good too. To give you an idea of fun in his book, after the fair he was talking about removing the decals that came with the kit and painting the Eye of Sauron on it (it's black). And then he's hoping (planning?) for it to meet it's doom during flight or upon landing.

Thanks.

 

[kenobi65]

Originally posted by Pippen
Does anyone have ideas for us for something relatively quick, easy, and fun to follow this up with? Oh, and cheap would be good too.

The Estes Chrome Domes is a nice-looking rocket, a nice flyer, and very quick to put together (though it won't stretch your or your son's modeling skills much.) The Baby Bertha requires a little more craftsmanship, but it's still fairly straightforward, and is also a great flyer. And, since the BB comes with just one simple decal, it'd be a good canvas for your son to decorate as he'd like.

 

[DynaSoar]

Originally posted by Pippen
Does anyone have ideas for us for something relatively quick, easy, and fun to follow this up with? Oh, and cheap would be good too.

You can usually find complete starter sets and individual Estes Alphas on eBay for pretty cheap. I suggest getting a couple. If one turns out bad, you have another to not make the same mistake on. If the first one turns out OK, build them both and have drag races.

Alphas have plastic fin sections so there's no repetetive fin construction. They're pre-colored, so painting them is not needed. On the other hand, they CAN be painted any which way, or better, can have decals put on now, scraped off later, and entirely different decals applied.

You could get pretty much entirely pre-built birds, but chances are he'd not get a sense of accomplishment and therefore not stick with it. The Alpha requires enough building that one is not likely to consider destructive testing.

 

[Justin]

Get an Estes Banshee. I've built two of them. they are EX2 plastic fin kits that are really easey and work well. You can get him to build one in a half hour and then concentrate on cool finishes then cool flights..

If you don't want to finish it , just use stickers and fly.

They come with a plastic piece to go opposite the the shroud for the shock cord knot (if you get one you'll see it). It don't fit! Just put the cord in, and pitch the plastic U shaped thingy...

 

[lalligood]

A couple of suggestions:

1) Pay a visit to fliskits.com. You might something for yourself (like a Deuce's Wild!) while getting a Rhino or other Level 1 kit for your son

2) Peruse the aisles of the toy department in your local Wal-Mart. There are usually some Estes kits there for ~$9. Pick up a Fat Boy. It's a great flier that stays fairly low even on Cs & provides some new skills for the new builder.

HTH,

 

[Stymye]

annother vote for Estes Fatboy !

 

[rbeckey]

I vote for the Fliskits Rhino. The Fat Boy, or any stuby rocket, might have stability issues that a longer rocket does not. My oldest son build a Fat Boy and it is unstable about half the time on a C6 motor. Other threads on this issue have cropped up on this forum from time to time. The Rhino, however gives amazing flights. If you are more comfortable with a retail situation and can't find a Fliskits retailer nearby, I vote for the Big Bertha. A true classic and many a rocketeer's first kit.

 

[Stewart32]

would be an Estes Stormcaster at Michaels for about 7$ with a 40% coupon.

 

[stevecarr]

I'd go for the Flis Kits. You'll love the Deuce, and the Rhino is a good entry level kit.

 

[AlexM]

Pippen, I sent you a pm

Edit- Never mind, you dont accept them.

 

[Gus]

My 8 year old built a Custom Razor, an easy to build tube-fin rocket.

Very cheap, looks cool, very tough (flown about 10 times now).

See the thread Emma's Razor - All By Herself for a description and pictures.

 

[jerryb]

our hobby lobby has a clearance isle that alwasy has good deals on estes and quest stuff... I bought 3 "totally tubular" rockets there last week and paid 1.99 each for the kits.

also the 40% off michaels coupons work great for the bulk packs of motors...

 

[Pippen]

Thanks for all of the great ideas! There are lots of things here we wouldn't have thought of. A few days ago we just made the cheapest discovery of all--a box tucked up in a closet with two kits inside. One was from a garage sale and the other had a missing nosecone but he decided to salvage one off a quickie rocket he made in a 4-H class.

Originally posted by lalligood
A couple of suggestions:

1) Pay a visit to fliskits.com. You might something for yourself (like a Deuce's Wild!) while getting a Rhino or other Level 1 kit for your son
HTH,

We did pay a visit...and another...and another...and junior locked onto Long Overdue every time. As for the Deuce's Wild!, that will have to wait at least until obsessive little ol' me puts away the remains of my last hobby.