Estes "The Dude" pricing?
Hello Doctor (and everyone else),
The owner of a store in my neighborhood that carries model rockets was offered seven unopened Estes "The Dude" kits (the inflated aluminized mylar rockets) by one of her customers, who found them in his garage. She has no idea of what price to sell them for, and I wasn't able to give her even a ballpark figure. While "The Dude" is an out-of-production kit, I don't think it is one of the "more missed" ones, nor was it (if memory serves) said to be a great flier. However, I told her that it might make a satisfactory demonstration rocket for her teacher customers. Many thanks in advance for any price suggestion(s) that you (and/or anyone) can suggest! |
They range on Ebay from $19.99 to $29.99. I believe that The Dude was only ever sold as a starter set and went for $40.00 or so MSRP but Walmart had 'em for half that.
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They seem to usually go in the low 20's on fleabay.
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There are three on ebay now, one for $20 and two that are $25.
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I saw two "fly". Both ended the day deflated because the burning particles rebounding off the blast deflector burned multiple holes in the rearmost end of the Mylar. I wouldn't pay $5 for one unless it came with custom "TROJAN" decals.
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I thank you all very much for this information! I didn't know whether a collectible-type price might be appropriate for them (although I doubted it). I suspected that, like the old balloon-tank Atlas, The Dude might be on the fragile side... :-)
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We sold four on eBay last year for $7.99, $16.00, $18.00, and $18.50. Fragile, maybe, but fun to watch. And isn't it all about fun?
- Rich |
The scuttle was to tape the rod about six inches from the base to keep the mylar away from sparks.
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Using a flat metal can (like a cat food tin) filled with water instead of a regular jet deflector might prevent sparks from the engine's exhaust plume from being deflected upward against the rocket's mylar balloon/body.
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Quote:
Feh. It's like blowing up a long balloon and letting it go, but with a measure of smoke and flame from the wasted engine. I thought they were an insult to our collective intelligence when they first came out and nothing I've seen since has changed my mind. Glad THAT version of Estes is no more. Those were some bad days. |
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