In the near future I need to start on a new scale model for Estes. Right now Im thinking of a Military style rocket but it could turn out to be a new Space style rocket. Most likely it will have a single 24mm motor mount for our E12 motor.
I was just wondering what you would prefer for those that purchase kits instead of scratch building.
Molded plastic scale shaped fins or thin sheet balsa fins where you either leave it flat or layer sheets together for a thicker fin which then pretty much forces you to shape the fins like our 7240 Honest John kit has you do.
Paper transitions or blow molded or injection molded plastic transition.
Wood conduits along the sides of the body that need to be shaped by you or molded plastic conduits.
If its a multi stage model in real life, with fins on both stages would you prefer the model to actually stage, be a one piece model or maybe be flexible enough in its design to allow the modeler to make it a multi stage model with some extra design work that they need to come up with.
Do you have any suggestions on a scale model you would like to see?
John Boren
I am always a huge scale style rocket fan. I understand your looking at new kits, but don't miss out on old kits also.
I'd love to see the Nike Ajax return. Actually, any of the Nike projects would be nice. The Nike-Zeus or Nike-Hercules would be great kits to finally have. The Terrier-Sandhawk and SM3 Seahawk would be great returns also. A non-E2X Nike Arrow based around a BT-60 or BT-70 booster would be nice also.
I'd love to see these in two-stage configurations. It would be very interesting to see a hybrid design. The SM3 Seahawk was a single stage. The Terrier-Sandhawk was a single stage but could be flown with or without the booster. The design would take some work, but a kit that could be flown single stage with and without the booster and two stage with the booster would intrigue me greatly.
I wouldn't mind seeing a re-release or preferably a redesign of the Little John. Upscale it to BT-60 to match the newest HoJo.
There's also the HARM, Lance, Hawk, and PAC-3. We haven't seen many BT-80 kits recently. These kits in that size would lend well to lower skill levels and be good candidates for the E12. And a large BT Jayhawk is always a crowd pleaser.
I'd be very happy to see the larger BT kits return. Not very much has really been done with the BT-70. There's never been enough BT-80 kits for me. And let's not forget the Maxi V2. Huge kit and it flew on 24mn motors.
Personally, I much prefer blown-molded or injection molded cones and transitions over paper shrouds. I have never been good at shrouds.
I'd prefer plastic fins if they're going to require beveling. It's just a skill that I don't have. The Seahawk and Sandhawk are very good examples as is the PSII Nike Smoke. I enjoyed these a lot.
As for conduits, I can go either way. Vacuum formed parts can be cheap and easy to produce, but can be easily damaged by novices. Wood shaping can require skills some don't have, but if we mess them up, we can replace them with stock from a LHS. I'd prefer the plastic as it allows you to offer us more detail than can easily be reproduced in wood.
In the past, Estes kits have lacked a lot of the small details to really get a scale feel. The 2056 Patriot lacked proper fin shape and the tail cone. The 2153 AMRAAM also lacked it's tail cone. The 1972 Bullpup did have the tail cone. I liked this fact. Plastic tail cones, even if it requires us to cut and modify an existing nose cone, are a good choice.
I'd also like to see more of the small details such as launch guides. I believe it was the K-27/1227 HoJo. It had the pieces to replicate the launch guides. The PS Terrier-Sandhawk included the antennae pieces. As did the PS Jayhawk.
I think you'll find that the majority of us are also willing to pay more to get this level of detail.
Thanks for asking us what we want. I like having input into what I'll be buying from my favorite manufacturer in the near future.
