Originally posted by jflis
I come from "old school" where there was no such thing as plastic fin units and the like. I try to match the skill levels of our kits with the skill levels that appeared on rockets from the 60's and 70's. I truely beleive that, with laser cut fins, that this would have been a SL1 rocket in 1972, for example.
Fair enough. I was four years old in 1972, so I'm a little fuzzy on what rockets were like back then.
(Though I have to admit that reading the old catalogs on Ninfinger's site is very entertaining
and educational.) My first rocket, in middle school, was a Alpha III, though the body tube was just plain white back then. I specifically got the Alpha III because I didn't want to mess with trying to get fins on straight the first time around.
I kind of think of the EX2's and Quick Kits as "Skill 0"... the only skill you really need is the ability to read and follow instructions. (Okay, and that one bit of experience that says, "model glue really
doesn't bond styrene to cardboard, no matter how much Estes and Quest think it does.")
I tend to think of Skill 1 as "this would make a good first rocket" which probably doesn't match up with the rest of the world's view. But I get the feeling that Estes has "diluted" its skill ratings over time.
I would love to have you expand your review to include your views on the entire construction and submit it to EMRR. Also, any other feedback you may have I would love to hear.
I figure that EMRR already has two reviews, and I'm not sure I have anything more to add. Other than I tied the shock cord around the motor mount because I really didn't like the looks of an external shock cord on an otherwise Very Nifty Rocket. I'll go back over the whole experience and see if there's anything I can add.
Maybe it's just me, but I wasn't thrilled with the balsa nose cone. I had a heck of a time sanding it and keeping it from developing a "frizz" at the very tip. As a Gen-X'r, I tend to like plastic. I figure a rounded nose in balsa shouldn't be so bad, but it's hard to keep a well-defined tip in a true cone at that size. (I also have to admit that this was my first and only balsa nose at this point.)
I really liked the look of the markings, and I knew I had to figure out how to reproduce them. I looked at making decals, but inkjet decals aren't opaque enough to really look good in this situation. I'm glad I started looking around and discovered the Ultracote products. So by something as simple as giving the drawing of the rocket some detailed markings, you led me into discovering a new product and technique for decoration.
That's why I decorate my rockets in the package livery... it pushes me to learn how to reproduce something someone else has done.
