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Old 11-02-2005, 12:02 PM
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Quasar Quasar is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Western North Carolina
Posts: 106
Default Estes Quasar variations

My first model rocket was the Estes Quasar that came with the Citation starter kit that I got for Christmas in 1971. Naturally, I have a special fondness for this rocket and over the last 6 or 7 years I've acquired several examples and have done Internet research for whatever I could find on the Quasar. A few days ago, I was looking at the Estes kit list here:

http://www.rocketshoppe.com/info/es...ed_kit_list.htm

Quasar variations listed are as follows:

Chrome NC and clip-tip fins
White NC and clip-tip fins
White NC and non-clipped fins

However, my limited research differs. The only pictures of White NC/clip-tip fin Quasars that I've found have been on the face card for the kit and in the catalogs. I've never seen one on eBay, either. All of the pictures that I've found of White NC/fins Quasars have non-clipped fins. Also, I have in my collection a version that has Gray NC/non-clipped fins. A friend also has one of these Gray versions.

I have a theory on the clipped fins. I examined my Chrome Citation version's fins and found that there are mold lines along the edges of the fins EXCEPT the clipped section of each fin. This leads me to believe that the fins were originally regular Alpha III fins that were clipped manually and then chromed, which would work for a small production run like the Citation boxed version. However, for the presumably higher production bagged version, it would probably not be practical or economically feasible to manually clip the fin tips. But I'm just speculating.

So, my question is: Has anyone here actually seen a White NC/fin Quasar that had factory-clipped fin tips?

Thanks.

Mike Fields
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