What kits should Estes bring back?

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I second the Maxi-Brute Pershing 1A- one just sold a few months back on Ebay for $260 bucks. I would buy several!

I would like to see some more upscales like they did with the Super Big Bertha- bigger versions of Estes classics like Mars Snooper, Cherokee D, etc. would be awesome (like Hawks Hobby did). While I'm on a roll, the Bomarc, Jayhawk, Maxi Icarus, Omega would be great to see.

Didn't Estes parent company own the Centuri/Enerjet line too? Maybe a few old Centuri kits too.
 
I'd like to see the F-61 Starfighter too.

I remember that as my first "complex" kit (for a 12-year-old, it was kinda complex...especially building with ESG, single edge razor blades and emory boards; and painting small detail stuff with your mom and sister's nail polish).
 
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I should just clone it, but I’d love to see this back in a kit.


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I built, and sadly crashed one of these. It’s high on my list of high power upscales I need to do, and I’d love to see the kit again

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This is a no brainer.


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Always wanted this one, would be cool to see it back.
 
I completely agree with the Strikefighter. Honestly, I'd be interested lots of the classic kits, particularly if they were upscaled to PSII-size.
 
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I should just clone it, but I’d love to see this back in a kit.


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I built, and sadly crashed one of these. It’s high on my list of high power upscales I need to do, and I’d love to see the kit again

View attachment 362478
This is a no brainer.


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Always wanted this one, would be cool to see it back.
Explorer Aquarius is already back - https://www.estesrockets.com/new/007253-explorer-aquariustm
 
Stealth! That was the first rocket that I built with my grandfather. Unfortunately it didn't survive. Since then I've bought several from ebay and hoard them.

I like scale but I would build one of these if they brought it back!

-Bob
 
Please bring back the Interceptor-E and the smaller Interceptor. These fly great on RMS E18 and the F24.
 
Please also know you cannot go wrong with more Pro-Series Builder kits!

It seems like they have either eliminated most or all of this series, which is unfortunate. There are some kits in that series that appear to be very popular, MDRM and Leviathan being a couple of them.
 
Current and future real-world rockets and launch vehicles would be awesome - hopefully there’s no problem with copyrights and licensing. Otherwise I know I’d love a model of the new Space-X BFR spaceship - with the option to fly the ship alone or on top the Falcon booster.

As far as a bring back...Maxi Brute Pershing! Though if memory serves me Estes doesn’t have an in-house motor that’ll fly it per their current safety requirements.

F15-4 would work, especially with a 1/4" launch rod. would need either more nose weight (not a good idea), larger aft fins (also not so good) or additional clear plastic fins in the rear (possibly best option).
 
Please also know you cannot go wrong with more Pro-Series Builder kits!
I have the Panavia, Sahara, and the Scion. Love the builders kits, but they weren't heavily promoted. I think they were offered to get rid of excess parts. For example the Scion used the Leviathan fins, 3 instead of four, and in reverse. When I opened the Scion kit, there were four fins taped together, but only three slots in the body tube.
 
I have the Panavia, Sahara, and the Scion. Love the builders kits, but they weren't heavily promoted. I think they were offered to get rid of excess parts. For example the Scion used the Leviathan fins, 3 instead of four, and in reverse. When I opened the Scion kit, there were four fins taped together, but only three slots in the body tube.
Unless the new management at Estes has something else in mind I doubt we see many designs that don’t fly on Estes BP motors. Star Orbiter is a good example - flies great on Estes 29mm BP motors and 24mm motors with an adapter.
 
Unless the new management at Estes has something else in mind I doubt we see many designs that don’t fly on Estes BP motors. Star Orbiter is a good example - flies great on Estes 29mm BP motors and 24mm motors with an adapter.

There’s plenty of empty space in the 29 mm F15 casing for more propellant. They aren’t even close to full, like a 24 mm D12. I wonder if Estes could make 29 mm high thrust F or lower thrust G BP motors with their current equipment.
 
Been looking at the old Estes catalogs from the 70s. A bunch I would like to see
  • Bandit
  • Available from Semroc/eRockets
    [*]Star Blazer (TK-31)

    [*]Scissor-wing Transport
    [*]Star Lab
    [*]USS Atlantis
    [*]Andromeda
    [*]Starship Vega
    KC-4 (0653) version available from Semroc/eRockets
Of course, the entire US man space program
[*]Mercury Redstone
Centuri KS-1 (5131)/Estes 1921 version available
[*]Mercury Atlas
[*]Gemini Titan (2-engine cluster version)
[*]Saturn 1B
[*]Saturn V
Reissue teased in Estes 2018 Catalog
[*]Space Shuttle

If you really wanted to get crazy, you could even include the Sci-Fi Collection
Reissue of any kits unlikely due to licensing fees. The Cylon Raider was never released at all; Universal did not like the prototypes.
  • Star Trek Enterprise
  • Star Trek Klingon Battle Cruiser
  • Battlestar Galactica Colonial Viper
  • Battlestar Galactica Cylon Raider
  • Star Wars X-wing
  • Star Wars TIE Fighter
  • Star Wars R2D2
  • Star Wars Imperial Cruiser
That would keep me busy (and poor;)) for a while:):):)

If the Scissors Wing was reissued again, I would like to see the original (1265) rather than more recent release with the plastic parts. The problem that I had with it was the thin BT-50 used for the body. I have heard rumors of of Mercury Atlas and Saturn IB (probably 1:100 version of the early 1990s) being in the reissue pipeline.
 
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There’s plenty of empty space in the 29 mm F15 casing for more propellant. They aren’t even close to full, like a 24 mm D12. I wonder if Estes could make 29 mm high thrust F or lower thrust G BP motors with their current equipment.
Now that’s an intriguing question! Though I’m not sure if they can get a higher powered 29mm BP motor to produce higher acceleration along with more total thrust. Regardless, a BP G motor would be awesome.
 
Pretty sure trying to go bigger on the BP just increases the odds of a Boom
 
Pretty sure trying to go bigger on the BP just increases the odds of a Boom

+1. I remember reading something about a physical limit to the size that hobby BP motors can go. Something about increased risk of fractures in the grain increasing the risk of catastrophic failure, IIRC.

EDIT: Not the same article I read before, but here's an explanation of why motor sizes for bp haven't gone beyond 29mm, from Wikipedia:


The physically largest black-powder model rocket motors are typically E-class, as black powder is very brittle. If a large black-powder motor is the upper stage motor of a rocket that exceeds the maximum recommended takeoff weight, or is dropped or exposed to many heating/cooling cycles (e.g., in a closed vehicle exposed to high heat), the propellant charge may develop hairline fractures. These fractures increase the surface area of the propellant, so that when the motor is ignited, the propellant burns much faster and produces greater than normal internal chamber pressure inside the engine. This pressure may exceed the strength of the paper case and cause the motor to burst. A bursting motor can cause damage to the model rocket ranging from a simple ruptured motor tube or body tube to the violent ejection (and occasionally ignition) of the recovery system.
 
If a large black-powder motor is the upper stage motor of a rocket that exceeds the maximum recommended takeoff weight ... the propellant charge may develop hairline fractures.
This particular claim is so far off I have no idea what the Wikipedia author was trying to say.

Maybe they were trying to talk about too many G's or something? I don't know if anyone's studied that, but it's plausible maybe.
 
There’s plenty of empty space in the 29 mm F15 casing for more propellant. They aren’t even close to full, like a 24 mm D12. I wonder if Estes could make 29 mm high thrust F or lower thrust G BP motors with their current equipment.

Remember, a hobby rocket motor becomes an HPR motor (With all the sales/shipping/use issues) once the amount of propellant goes over a certain mass. The type of propellant does not make a difference.
 
Stealth! That was the first rocket that I built with my grandfather. Unfortunately it didn't survive. Since then I've bought several from ebay and hoard them.
So... You're the one that I keep getting to spend lots of money on those. As much as I hate losing those auctions, I have to admit it's fun to see how much people will spend on them.

Put me down for a Cineroc/Omega combo. Even if the kit didn't include a working Cineroc... Just a black *BLOWMOLDED* nosecone and aft transition, a chunk of body tube with the OD of the recently (relatively) OOP D-Region Tomahawk, and an injection molded camera shroud. and I'd be cool. Better still if it included a "tray" for attaching an 808 camera to it. Call it the CinerocDV... OH, and this time include the body tube decal for the Omega.
 
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Put me down for a Cineroc/Omega combo. Even if the kit didn't include a working Cineroc... Just a *BLOWMOLDED* nosecone and aft transition, a chunk of body tube with the OD of the recently (relatively) OOP D-Region Tomahawk, and an injection molded camera shroud. and I'd be cool. Better still if it included a "tray" for attaching an 808 camera to it. Call it the CinerocDV... OH, and this time include the body tube decal for the Omega.

Hmmm...now that I think about it, kinda surprised we haven’t already seen this... As popular as it is to strap key chain cameras to a rocket a new Cineroc seems an obvious move for Estes.
 
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