Blackhawk vs. Buck Rogers Starfighter?

[PaulK]

I was perusing through a '93 Estes catalog, and the twin hull blackhawk caught my eye. I recently came into ownership of a Centuri Buck Rogers Starfighter, and gee, they sure look similar. Does anyone know if in fact these are the same kit with different decals? Thanks!

-Paul

[ghrocketman]

I have owned both in the past, and the builds/parts seemed exactly the same to me.
They were built about 5 years apart however.
I no longer have either....the Blackhawk was a victim of a CATO and the Starfighter wound up in a tree during a launch over 100mi from my home.
I find that the decor of the Buck Rogers kit looks better.

[John Brohm]

I was perusing through a '93 Estes catalog, and the twin hull blackhawk caught my eye. I recently came into ownership of a Centuri Buck Rogers Starfighter, and gee, they sure look similar. Does anyone know if in fact these are the same kit with different decals? Thanks!

-Paul

Paul;

They're similar, but not identical. The Centuri kit is based on ST-8 tubes; the Estes kit uses BT-50 tubes. Nose cones to match.

[htgaines]

another difference between the two: the starfighter had a rear-ejection design, and stored the chute in a open area behind the cockpit fairing. The Blackhawk had a more complex ducted ejection system and the chute was more conventionally in 1 of the 2 forward body tubes. it required marking and cutting holes in 3 tubes. more challenging, but I preferred the original design for its simplicity. However, centuri had used the ducted approach before in the Fireflash.

See the instructions on all three at Jim Z's site.

http://www.dars.org/jimz/cen5335.htm

http://www.dars.org/jimz/est2053.htm

http://www.dars.org/jimz/km-5.htm