My lucky Kijiji find - Canaroc starter kit (bits)
 

Hi all, just wanted to share my latest find and purchase. I lucked out and found a guy selling a Canaroc starter set, mostly intact. It has the pad, minus the deflector and launch rod, no real loss there. Doing some research on the pad, it looks to be one of the earlier releases as the controller connects to the launch pad by means of a spring connector (think of those radio Shack electronics kits), and there would be some alligator clips that would be connected to those springs. All of the pictures I have seen of the controller have the clips soldered onto the leads, and does not includes the springs. I also found out that these pads were originally made by MPC. And yes, it came with the controller too. Everything looks almost new.

It also came with 6 motors, 4 of which were used. There were plans and decals for the Antares spaceship, a motor mount, and two fins for it. There was a nose cone and parachute I guess from the Challenger rocket that came with the starter kit. There were also some Canaroc books and instructions.

For those who have seen these launch pads, it has a small wind indicator, which I always thought was cool, but looked weird. It turns out that it the angle adjuster for the pad, and I guess MPC just added the wind indicator on top so you won't poke your eye out. :-)

I started building (quite a while ago) an Orbitron rocket, and I thought this would be a good way to display it. I am considering actually using the controller though, I've wanted a 12v launch controller for a while, and was going to make one. This one just looks cool!

More pics
 

A few more pics.
Notice the new engines, the nozzle end is covered in a black substance. The ejection side is simply capped off with white paper, instead of the ceramic type of Estes, etc.

Estes motors did not get the clay ejection charge caps until the early 1970s.

Ahh, didn't know that. For what it is worth though, these motors are dated 1979 (Oct 15 to be exact!, lol), and some of the used ones are dated 1980.

Any idea what the black chemical coating would be?

It is not a coating.

Canaroc used a resin for their motor nozzles.

The Canaroc launch controller was originally made by Cox for their rocket launch systems.

Canaroc bought the Cox mold just as they bought the MPC launch pad mold.

Initiator001: Thanks for the updates, kinda neat to know where all the moulds came from. I wonder if they are still out there somewhere. Someone recently stumbled across the Commodore 64c case moulds, and actually ran a production of new cases in various colours.

As for the engines, a quick look at it looks like someone just brushed on some kind of sealant or coating. Looking at the expended ones, I can see it does look like a resin nozzle.

I really need to finish my Orbitron now! :-)

Thank you for posting the photographs! I too hope the MPC launch pad and Cox launch controller (and launch pad) molds are still out there (in usable or serviceable condition) somewhere. But even if they aren't, there is another way to bring those GSE (Ground Support Equipment) items back:

Boyce Aerospace Hobbies http://boyceaerospacehobbies.com has already produced 3D printed duplicates of the Cox launch pad, the Cox Little Joe II, and the Cox Nike-Zeus (I bought a Nike-Zeus from their eBay store page--it's very well-made!). They may also have made 3D printed Cox launch controllers (I don't recall--they may come with the 3D printed Cox launch pad).

Nice piece of history you found. The Orbitron looks great on there.