...Which is clearly how they want it.

Hard to say what the deal with WM is. Perhaps they are severing rocketry ties with the big box stores? So many times people have been bashing Estes for catering to WM, which was not exactly something I wanted to participate in. Sorry, but I like buying discounted motors, so I didn't complain. Sure the selection could have been better...but so what? They aren't a hobby store and weren't trying to be. And now, when things start disappearing off the shelves, we feel slighted? If Estes is trying to downscale their rocketry dept. and move away from the large box stores, is that necessarily a bad thing? Seems like they are ****ed by us if they do use WM for marketing and ****ed by us if they don't.

I also had a feeling they wouldn't be at NARAM. It's almost a good thing IMO. First off, it already seems as though there is some bad blood between (BT's)Estes and NAR. Plus, it also allows some of the smaller vendors more time in the spotlight, more sales, etc. Would it change peoples opinion after being absent so long? Maybe a little. It would be a good start, but I'm not convinced it would have been the be all to end all. I can't say I missed their presence all that much. It would have been a nice bonus, but ALL the other vendors made sure everyone was happy and well taken care of. Special props to Quest, Semroc, Fliskits, Launch mag, BMS, etc.

When Shrox started asking for pics of his designs in flight, I knew then that things weren't going according to plan. Time will tell. When an artist sells off their design, they take that risk of never seeing their idea being used. Ideas get shelved all the time unfortunately. It's a crying shame if we never see these designs released.