New Estes kits for 2008. The cat's out of the bag!
 

It looks like Tower Hobbies has updated their RocketFun website with some new Estes kits/products for 2008.

Several look to be Shrox or Shrox inspired models (Lancer, Daedalus). Skill Level 3.

Another kit is the MIRV. Skill Level 3.

Two launch sets are the Solar Flare and Fracture (Derrived from the MIRV?).

A 'Mongoose' kit is listed but no details or picture. Skill level 1.

Very interesting...


Bob

Heh, you beat me to the post by a couple of minutes. I was just gathering up the links to put in my post I was going to make. I'll just add them here.

The only "bringback" I see so far is the Mongoose. Whoopity-do. :(

Here are links to pics of the new kits.

Lancer
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bi...p?&I=LNTZN1&P=G

Daedalus
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bi...p?&I=LNTZN2&P=G

MIRV
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bi...p?&I=LNTZN3&P=G

Solar Flare Launch Set
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bi...p?&I=LNTZN5&P=G

Fracture Launch Set
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bi...p?&I=LNTZN6&P=G

A couple others I found elsewhere on Tower's site are:

US Army Patriot RTF Starter Set
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bi...p?&I=LNTFU5&P=G

Astrobeam Launch Set
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bi...p?&I=LNTWC5&P=G

You gotta be kidding me? These can't be from Estes! Come on....April's Fools Day is just on the first....not the entire month!

OK, so THAT explains all the growling and hissing that I'm hearing. :D

Which may die down to low purring after looking at those new kits. ;)


I more or less agree with you on the Lancer, but it also reminds me of some of the Custom kits from the 1990's. The Daedalus, on the other hand, looks to me like a true-blue Estes-inspired (in a positive way :)) design. Kind of like the kit in the upper left hand corner here.


Holy Stellar Dimensions! :eek: Is that an octagonal body tube? :D


I like the Solar Flare - it looks to me like sort of a cross between the old Custom Satellite Drone and the Dynamic Carrier. Again, a good thing. :)

Mark

I direct your attention to the ping pong ball on the Daedalus... a Daed giveaway!

Shrox was inspired by the '79 Estes rockets, but it is definitely a Shrox design.

Barone's right! These are way too far out of the box for Estes! Where's the typical BT-56 RTF? There must be some mistake! :D
'Course I'll believe it when I see one at the hobby shop, or I see a build thread.

You are correct on the Shrox designs, there eventually should be about ten designs total.

As far as the name Solar Flare, that was a name I had for one of my desings that was passed by.

How exciting???

Wtf ?????????????
 

* stands with jae wide open, drooling *

now muttering over and over to self .. must be a dream... can't be estes... must be a dream .... time to wake up ....

~ AL

Whoops! You're right - I missed that detail! :o


But it still looks a bit "Atlantis-ish" to me; anyone else see that? I'm not saying that it is anything like a close resemblance, only that, in my mind, it conjures up images of that classic kit.


There is no question that Shrox's designs are truly unique and original, and that they are well-deserving of all of the accolades given to them.

Mark