Barry's decision to deep-six the Dark Star is at least comprehensible (although not excusable) in light of the fact that Estes and AeroTech were competitors in the motor market. The AeroTech D13 reload would have been a direct competitor to the Estes D12, but in a different form factor. One can well imagine the reaction from Estes when they saw one of their new kits being used in advertising by one of their competitors to market a product that directly competed with one of their own. Especially without any prior notice or request for permission. I am not taking sides in this story, which is about something that happened 20 years ago, nor am I trying to defend Estes' action regarding the Dark Star. Quite the contrary; that's a nice looking rocket and it is a shame that it was discontinued so quickly. I am sure that something could have been worked out between the two parties that didn't cause the customer to come out on the losing end.

Thanks for the story, Bob. It's always entertaining to hear about some of the stranger episodes from the business side of our hobby.

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SAM # 0011