Originally Posted by tbzep

I looked more at the instructions on JimZ's. The photos show a completed model painted like the SA-201 vehicle with white SM and white corrugated section at the top of the 2nd stage. However, the Estes logo is the more modern version that was used in the 1970 and newer catalogs and has the Subsidiary of Damon nomenclature. The 1969 kit should have an earlier Estes logo and shouldn't have the Damon name on it unless the kit was released after Estes was sold and the company had time to change the logos on the literature/plans. That makes me think that an original kit sold in 1969 may have had different decals and the SA-207 was a revision in both the plans and decals.

After several minutes searching, I found that SA-207 was originally intended to test the LM, but was canceled in 1967 after the Apollo 1 fire. Estes could have set that mission in stone guessing it might fly about the time model was released. OR...the original 1969 release may have been the SA-201 and the plans and decals were revised. Hmmmm.....

I bet Carl researched and knew all this when he released his repro of the kit.



From Astronautics:

1967 August - .

Apollo 207 (cancelled) - . Crew: McDivitt, Schweickart, Scott. Backup Crew: Cernan, Stafford, Young. Payload: CSM-101. Nation: USA. Program: Apollo. Flight: Apollo 207. Spacecraft: Apollo CSM.

Before the Apollo 1 fire, it was planned that McDivitt's crew would conduct the Apollo D mission - a first manned test in earth orbit of the Lunar Module. Separate Saturn IB launches would put Apollo Block II CSM 101 / AS-207 and Lunar Module LM-2 / AS-208 into earth orbit. The crew would then rendezvous and dock with the lunar module and put it through its paces. After the fire, it was decided to launch the mission on a single Saturn V as Apollo 9.