A post by Mark A. Schnell ,in the Estes Model Rockets group on Facebook, has a number of good points, I think:


"The Estes Space X Falcon 9 RTF Rocket
I've seen so many responses online about this rocket. So many people act disgusted and confused. Some people are ashamed of Estes for getting in bed with Elon. Honestly, as a fairly serious model rocketeer, I personally don't like this kit. I wouldn't buy this in a million years. The price point is ridiculous for what I'm used to paying, and building is as much or probably more important than launching to me. But there's more to it than that. I thought I'd share a few thoughts in my own post.
A few thoughts about this kit:
1. This ain't for you. It ain't for us. It never was. This is not a rocket for the loyal Estes fanatical rocket nerd. You know, people like us who are actually spending their finite supply of time on this Earth to read something on a rocketry forum. Yeah, it ain't for us.
2. It's not for the regular RTF fliers either. You know, a fourth grader using b-day money to buy a starter set because he saw one of us flying in a park somewhere and thought rockets were cool. There's no way a beginner could afford this kit. Sooooo....
3. This is a SpaceX thing, it's a collector's item, if you're a collector/reseller then buy as many as you can afford. SpaceX went with a company that knows how to do this stuff and do it big. This is about SpaceX and they were smart to partner with an expert in the field like Estes. Estes knows how to get it done, they know production and marketing and testing.
4. Think big picture. Estes' name is now connected to something that is huge and getting bigger all the time. People, and high profile people, will see Estes' name for the first time, or they'll see the name and remember when they built Estes rockets as a kid. They'll say, "Hey, I remember those. They're still around?!" Think of all the new potential buyers that will be exposed to the Estes name because of this. I feel like James Earl Jones in Field of Dreams, "Oh, people will build Estes rockets again, Ray. People will most definitely build Estes rockets again."
5. Instead of complaining and sniping Estes we should be happy for them, for the exposure this brings to them. Ultimately, THIS IS GOOD FOR PEOPLE LIKE US. Because when Estes gets more exposure, when people are impressed by this product, then Estes will make more money. Then...wait for it...They'll be able to make more kits for people like us rocket nerds. This kit that you might turn your nose up at will surely benefit you.
6. Think bigger picture - Estes grows, interest in rocketry grows, then all the other smaller companies that we love to give our money to, they grow too. This is a good thing for all rocketry people, but you gotta think bigger picture.
7. (Added after the fact) Some of you rockets nerds will certainly buy this kit. Some will buy one to fly and one or more to save and I'm glad you will. Enjoy it!
"People will buy Ray, people will most definitely buy."

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Mr. Schnell's analysis makes a lot of sense to this rocket nerd.

As long as this thing isn't the drag on Estes Industries that the Star Wars Episode I things were said to be (I wasn't active in rocketry then and have only heard the stories in places like this, but apparently it wasn't too pretty, financially, for Estes), then I think I'll just be quiet and hope that it sells like crazy to SpaceX fans and more.

(....and noting that this message is being sent to the internet over Starlink....)

Oh, and I hope the publicity/name recognition that Estes gets for this Falcon-9 is rather better (and longer-lasting) than the little flurry we saw around the release of the New Shephard RTF not that long ago....

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Bernard Cawley
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FYI, read this article to the end, and save 10%:

http://www.collectspace.com/news/ne...del-rocket.html

Yes, it's legit, and it works.

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Paul
If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane - Jimmy Buffett
NAR #87246 www.wooshrocketry.org

At even 50% off this thing is still HIGHWAY ROBBERY for $1.98 worth of plastic.

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And it appears to work for anything - nice!

I must admit I'm conflicted on this one.
$150 for a RTF plastic model does seem rather excessive - especially since it's not particularly big at 1/100th scale (IIRC, the nearly assembled Dragon 1/72 Saturn V was about that price, but it was huge).
OTOH, it does appear to be a very nicely detailed model (the scale accuracy of the Dragon Saturn V was not good), and it would be a great addition to my (static) 1/100th scale display which currently consists of:
Jupiter C
Mercury Redstone
Mercury Atlas
Gemini Titan
Titan IIIC
Vostok
Little Joe II
Saturn 1B
Saturn V
N-1
https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...5lA&oe=6375517F

It's a one time coupon, so use wisely!

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Paul
If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane - Jimmy Buffett
NAR #87246 www.wooshrocketry.org

By selling direct, Estes does not have to do the DEEP discount they have to give to dealers.

Although, I thought I saw some mention of rocket dealers who ware supposed to carry it.

As for Musk and model rockets, I am pretty sure I read about, long ago, that he took his kids out to fly some models at one of the well known lakebed launch sites in California or otherwise out West.

And of course, for a few years, SpaceX directly sold their own Falcon-9 kits, made by a "Grade B" kitmaker (tube not so great, I heard. Never got one).

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Contest flying, Sport flying, it's all good.....
NAR# 18723 NAR.org
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Georges'CancerGoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-geo...ay-fight-cancer

They weren't that bad, really. The first Falcon 9/Dragon was a little difficult in that you had to apply a full length body wrap to a rather thicker-than-necessary body tube. That version was later re-released with a thinner BT that was already wrapped. This was a simple-to-build and decently performing model.

The later one, with the big payload section, was better, and had a 24mm mount.

From some of the details in the kits (the second version of the Falcon-9/Dragon, which was the only one I've built) I'm quite certain the supplier is modelrockets.us. Some parts of their kits are pretty distinctive: a very nicely-made motor hook, parachutes of a thicker-than-usual plastic sheet with very bright colors and a unique shroud line material, for example. The Falcon-9/Dragon that I built clearly shared those parts with other modelrockets.us releases.

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Bernard Cawley
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I've got a SpaceX Falcon 9 with Dragon Crew capsule from Boyce Aerospace. Yes, you have to buy some of the parts separately, but the 3D printed parts are really good quality. Layer lines are so tight I didn't even bother to sand them (as recommended). And the cost maybe half that of the Estes one (after getting additional parts). It's not RTF, you have to build and finish it so it meets the requirements most of us want from a model rocket (build and finish/detail). I flew it for the first time last month. I'm going to be flying it more often. Satisfies another requirement (fly it).

With that said, I pulled the trigger and bought the Estes RTF version (using the 10% off coupon that was so graciously provided by a fellow YORFer). No, I'm not going to fly it. My 1/89th scale from Boyce fills that niche perfectly. I probably won't even open it. I bought it because I know that in 5 years I'll be kicking myself in the butt for NOT buying it when I had the chance. And now, my collection of 1/100 scale manned space flight vehicles continues. Unfortunately, Artemis is a 1/200 scale. But I've got one that I can use to build 1/100 scale. Anyone know whereI can get 1/100 space shuttle system.....

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