Even More New Estes Kits

[Ltvscout]

Here are pictures and specs for two new, upcoming Estes kits. The #2029 Convertor (which I showed you a picture of earlier but had no specs) and the #2027 Pop Fly. I still don't have any info on the rumored Pigasus rocket.

Convertor #2029
The Converter™ rocket is a collection of four screw together body tubes that can be assembled into a two, three or four section rocket! Take a selection of engines to the flying field to launch a variety of rocket configurations from one easy kit! Which ever length you choose, the Converter™ rocket shoots high into the air on B or C engines, returning on a pre-assembled 18 inch (46 cm) parachute for re-launch.

Skill Level: E2X
Length: 38.5 in.
Diameter: 1.35 in.
Weight: 4.7 oz.
Recovery System: 18 in. Parachute
Max. Altitude: 750 ft.
Engines: B4-2, B4-4, B6-2, B6-4, C6-3, C6-5


Pop Fly #2027
The Pop Fly™ rocket is unlike any other rocket! The ball actually sits on top of the rocket during flight and “pops” off at apogee (the peak of its flight) to create a major league pop fly! How high it goes depends on the engine you use. Play catch all day long if you want! This Estes original model rocket comes with pre-colored parts, so no painting is required. The great looking decals, clear fins and plastic detail make this rocket look like a real baseball bat. The pre-assembled 12 inch (30 cm) parachute carries the bat (rocket) back to a soft landing while you’re shagging the fly ball.

Skill Level: E2X
Length: 24.0 in. (61 cm)
Diameter: 2.0 in. (51 mm)
Weight: 1.79 oz. (51 g)
Recovery System: 12 in. (30 cm) Parachute
Max. Altitude: 300 ft. (91 m)
Engines: B4-2, B6-4, C6-3

[John Brohm]

Here are pictures and specs for two new, upcoming Estes kits. The #2029 Convertor (which I showed you a picture of earlier but had no specs) and the #2027 Pop Fly. I still don't have any info on the rumored Pigasus rocket.
... Much stuff gratefully snipped...


Oh boy; I guess I must be slowly but surely falling out of the modern model rocket demographic.

[propbeany]

If this is the modern rocket demographic, I'm not falling out. I'm jumping out head first!

[sandman]

Oh boy; I guess I must be slowly but surely falling out of the modern model rocket demographic.

The Pop-Fly, The Rock-it, Porta Pot Shot, Pigasus.

Why in my day rockets looked like rockets...and we liked it! :mad:

[Ltvscout]

The Pop-Fly, The Rock-it, Porta Pot Shot, Pigasus.

Why in my day rockets looked like rockets...and we liked it! :mad:
Don't kill the messenger! :eek:

[stefanj]

I doubt I'd buy any of these, but I think novelty rockets have a role: They get people into the hobby and keep 'em buying.

Sure, most of these will be "fair weather" one-summer flyers, but a few will buy the bigger stuff and someday become . . . Old Rocketeers!

[propbeany]

... but a few will buy the bigger stuff and someday become . . . Old Rocketeers!

And then Estes can drive them to the competition too!

[jonrev]

Estes is slowly becoming a toy company :(.

[CPMcGraw]

Estes is slowly becoming a toy company :(.

E's new around 'ere, mates... :D

He'll learn that Estes stopped being a true model rocket company about -- oh -- sixteen years ago...

One good lookie through the Ninfinger catalog collection will show that...:rolleyes:

[CPMcGraw]

And then Estes can drive them to the competition too!

...In a stretch limo...

[dwmzmm]

That Pop-Fly rocket should be a winner here in the west Houston area. The Challenger 498
club's launch site would be perfect avenue for sport launches (Rushing Park, which is a girls
softball arena anyway). Will have to get one of those when they start showing up at Wal-Mart soon...

[Ltvscout]

That Pop-Fly rocket should be a winner here in the west Houston area. The Challenger 498
club's launch site would be perfect avenue for sport launches (Rushing Park, which is a girls
softball arena anyway). Will have to get one of those when they start showing up at Wal-Mart soon...
On TRF, a guy that goes by the name of RoguePink who works for Estes, said that the Pop Fly will only be sold in hobby shops.

[andrew scott]

OK that it's as far as Estes go, if thy sell pop fly in Australia, I'm going to burn all my estes rockets and I start buying semroc, quest, us rockets en one but estes (who is Cuming up with this stuff) :eek: :eek:

man are they have lost the plot or wot :confused:

[CPMcGraw]

OK that it's as far as Estes go, if thy sell pop fly in Australia, I'm going to burn all my estes rockets and I start buying semroc, quest, us rockets en one but estes (who is Cuming up with this stuff) :eek: :eek:

man are they have lost the plot or wot :confused:

Did they ever try to sell "The Dude" in Australia?

You know, the Flying Inflatable Sausage? [I'm being nice and "G"-rated here... I've got another name for it, but it's not appropriate for young ears...:o :eek: ]

[Eagle3]

On TRF, a guy that goes by the name of RoguePink who works for Estes, said that the Pop Fly will only be sold in hobby shops.

He needs to rephrase that. They may be on shelves in hobby shops. Whether any will actually be sold is a bit of a stretch. If was Vern I'd be pounding about a fifth of vodka a night knowing my name is on that crap. Novelty items have a place, but if your entire line consist of novelty items that place is Spencers in the mall. BTW - is Spencers still around? :confused: :rolleyes: :p

[Ltvscout]

He needs to rephrase that. They may be on shelves in hobby shops. Whether any will actually be sold is a bit of a stretch. If was Vern I'd be pounding about a fifth of vodka a night knowing my name is on that crap. Novelty items have a place, but if your entire line consist of novelty items that place is Spencers in the mall. BTW - is Spencers still around? :confused: :rolleyes: :p
They sure are. The one that was in the mall since I was a kid is still there. My favorite novelty store when I was little was a place called the Moon Fun Shop. All kinds of neat gags and stuff there.

[CPMcGraw]

...burn all my estes rockets...

Try to separate the "good" Estes from the "bad" Estes first, Andrew. We're not downers on everything the company has come up with, just most of their recent stuff. As I mentioned to someone else, take a look at the Ninfinger catalogs and you'll notice that from about 1991 to the present, the line changed from hobbyist-oriented kits and accessories to non-hobbyist-oriented ARF and RTF products which sell typically in the large department stores. The product line before this critical year is reasonably good, if somewhat boring and uninspired...

[Kadet]

I'm new to this forum and a new BAR. In my humble option, BAR seems to be a growing trend. Having said that, if the Estes headshed or whoever now owns Estes would think that BAR is a potential market why not start reproducing a lot more of the old classics? I know I'd be buying the kits instead of cloning. I would think that if they came out with kits such as the Mars Lander, the old Maxi-Brutes, Interceptor, Der Red Max, & Goblin amongst others they wouldn’t last long on the hobby store shelves. I can remember one of my best rocket hobby memories is going to a hobby shop that use to be located in Springfield Mall, VA and seeing two whole walls full of Estes and Century model rocket kits and wishing I had a $100 bucks to my name to buy one of each. I know there's good repros and clone parts that are on line now, but I'm sure some of you know old "wow" feeling when you looked at those hobby shop walls full of the old classics.

[ghrocketman]

You can buy brand new kits of the Mars Lander from Semroc for $35.00
You can get Goblin and Der Red Max kits from Thrustline Aerospace.
You can regularly pick up the X-Wing, V-2, and Honest John Maxi-Brutes on Ebay, albeit for a premium.
As far as the Interceptor, Saturn 1B and Pershing 1A Maxi-Brutes, those show up fairly regularly on ebay too, but those demand BIG $$$$ !

[andrew scott]

HI Craig

Try to separate the "good" Estes from the "bad" Estes first.

If I were Vern I'd be pounding about a fifth of vodka a night knowing my name is on that crap

Well all my "good Estes" kits are still in their boxes:)
The bad, well lets see, is space ship one a bad one ??:rolleyes:

btw is the space ship one RTF kit selling in the US?

It's selling here for 130 aus dollars and it's BAD.:eek:

As for "The Dude" yes it was selling in Australia
But I can tell you it's a flop, it got a bad rep one shot rocket, lunch it then go back to the store and get a new one (if your crazy) it was selling for 80 to 120 aus dollars.

[PaulK]

My favorite novelty store when I was little was a place called the Moon Fun Shop. All kinds of neat gags and stuff there.The Moon Fun on hwy 100? Seems to me they sold some real interesting stuff there. At the back of the store. Or so I heard :rolleyes:

[CPMcGraw]

HI Craig

btw is the space ship one RTF kit selling in the US?

It's selling here for 130 aus dollars and it's BAD.:eek:

They're available, I have one of the "build-up" versions in my queue, and I've seen at least one of the foam versions in the stores. Haven't purchased one yet, but it doesn't 'look' bad; foam is still foam, though...

I'm looking to modify the build-up version to flip the wings at deployment instead of using a parachute. I figure, if it worked for Rutan, it should have been a feature of this kit to begin with...

As for "The Dude" yes it was selling in Australia
But I can tell you it's a flop, it got a bad rep one shot rocket, lunch it then go back to the store and get a new one (if your crazy) it was selling for 80 to 120 aus dollars.

I've seen a few of 'em here in the Hobby Lobby chain, (out-of-production now, thankfully, and the numbers are dwindling...) but even with their half-price sales you couldn't get me to buy one. I'd rather spend the money on two more #1406 starter sets (that would give me six pads...), or send the money to Carl for parts and stuff...:rolleyes: :cool:

[Ltvscout]

The Moon Fun on hwy 100? Seems to me they sold some real interesting stuff there. At the back of the store. Or so I heard :rolleyes:
Yes, there was one on Hwy 100 as well. The one I went to was at the old Southgate Mall on S. 27th St.

[Tweener]

I have the Space Ship One "foamy", mainly because I needed a new launch system and this one came with the bonus rocket. I've launched it with both B and C power. The B power was rather lackluster, though it would be just fine for a small launch area. The maiden C launch was spectacular! I even got a major "roll rate" starting at about 50'. :D Talk about a scale looking flight!

[Tau Zero]

I'd rather [SNIP] send the money to Carl for parts and stuff...:rolleyes: :cool:Ooh, ooh! :D Did that last week! :p :cool:


Cheers,

[Shreadvector]

back in the 1970's I converted a plastic baseball bat to fly with a D13-3 motor. It was called "The Slugger" . The plans were published in the NAR magazine. It was possibly the most popular demonstration model I ever had. (I also had converted the ball to fly on it's own with an A10-3T motor)

If this thing flies properly, it could be extremely popular and sell in huge numbers.

Why is a Fat Boy so exciting and this model met with negativity?

Or were some folks expecting a Soccer ball rocket?

[CPMcGraw]

back in the 1970's I converted a plastic baseball bat to fly with a D13-3 motor. It was called "The Slugger" . The plans were published in the NAR magazine. It was possibly the most popular demonstration model I ever had. (I also had converted the ball to fly on it's own with an A10-3T motor)

If this thing flies properly, it could be extremely popular and sell in huge numbers.

Why is a Fat Boy so exciting and this model met with negativity?

Or were some folks expecting a Soccer ball rocket?

Possibly the track record of the company has something to do with it, Shread. Now we're realizing not only is it not an original idea (you were doing the same thing 35 years ago), nor even their idea (you were the one doing it), but it's not even a new idea (at least 35 years old). The idea has come and gone, and nobody else seemed to pick up on the idea. It's a novelty rocket, meaning it will appeal to a few folks and not to others, maybe enjoy one complete production run, then never get produced again. Space Filler, not much else at this point.

Fat Boy rockets are popular since they can be Goonied, Modded, Kitbashed, or flown as-is. They're not "locked in" to being only one thing.

[JRThro]

Why is a Fat Boy so exciting and this model met with negativity?
Because the baseball is made of plastic instead of balsa, of course.
;)

[Eagle3]

They'll be sold by the case on ebay for $.99* within a year.

*shipping and handling = $39 :p

[JRThro]

Here are pictures and specs for two new, upcoming Estes kits. The #2029 Convertor (which I showed you a picture of earlier but had no specs) and the #2027 Pop Fly. I still don't have any info on the rumored Pigasus rocket.

Convertor #2029
The Converter™ rocket is a collection of four screw together body tubes that can be assembled into a two, three or four section rocket! Take a selection of engines to the flying field to launch a variety of rocket configurations from one easy kit! Which ever length you choose, the Converter™ rocket shoots high into the air on B or C engines, returning on a pre-assembled 18 inch (46 cm) parachute for re-launch.

Skill Level: E2X
Length: 38.5 in.
Diameter: 1.35 in.
Weight: 4.7 oz.
Recovery System: 18 in. Parachute
Max. Altitude: 750 ft.
Engines: B4-2, B4-4, B6-2, B6-4, C6-3, C6-5

Isn't the Converter the same rocket as the OOP Deluxe Super Shot Screw Machine, as seen in this EMRR review?
http://www.rocketreviews.com/reviews/oop/est_deluxe_super_shot.html#LK

[Ltvscout]

Isn't the Converter the same rocket as the OOP Deluxe Super Shot Screw Machine, as seen in this EMRR review?
http://www.rocketreviews.com/reviews/oop/est_deluxe_super_shot.html#LK
Yup. Fred (Shreadvector), had made mention of this fact when I had posted the original photo a few weeks ago. I think the coloring/decals may be a bit different, but the rest appears to be the same.