About ten years ago, when I was still living in the Bay Area, the KB Toys chain was blowing out Estes Star Wars starter sets. They were really cheap; for $10 or $15 (from memory) you got 18mm motors and a launch system. Oh, plus one or two heavy plastic Star Wars kits.

When I moved to Oregon I gave away a lot of these sets. Just no room.

One of my friends just told me that he and his kids are building the kits and getting ready for a launch.

Now, I'd like to be able to give him the low-down on these models. What to watch for, whether they need more nose weights, that sort of thing.

The have a Tie Fighter (the one with the long probe) and a Tie Fighter.

These aren't the mini-models that came out during Phantom Menace.

Any advice appreciated.

thanks

Stefan

X-Wings are prone to having the recovery system get tangled in the laser cannons. I don't know anything about the Tie Fighters.

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I love sanding.

The Star Wars Episode 1 kits were produced in MASSIVE numbers and at the time Estes had huge orders from multiple mass merchandisers. As a result, they discontinued some motor types so they could devote all of the production time on their motor making machines to the B6-2, C6-3 and A10-3T (and a few other main-line motors like the D12-3 and D12-5 and C6-5).

They also dove into the "POOPY CLAY" for the motors, which was a disaster when combined with the overweight palstic Star Wars rockets. The "Poopy Clay" would erode at ignition and during the thrust phase of the motor. This resulted in loss of thrust and/or delfected thrust (asymmetric erosion). The models would then sometimes/often go unstable or veer into a sideways cruise missle trejectory. We tried everything to solve the problems, including use of longer stiffer launch rods.

Estes responded to the problem by switching the clay - and they went beyond switching to the origianl good clay they used for decades - they changed to "Strong Like Ox" clay that NEVER has any sort of erosion problem. The C6 motors now give you a good repeatable thrust level for the heavier models. Ditto for the D12 motors.

The answer is simple: Use modern motors with "Strong Like Ox" clay nozzles and use a 4 foot long steel launch rod with a launch pad that has weights on all the legs to hold it steady.

And watch out for the ejecting steel pin from the mini X-wing as it can punch through your skull and into your brain. That will require more tha Bactine.

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-Fred Shecter NAR 20117 (L2)
Southern California Rocket Association, NAR Section 430

There's one Tie Fighter review and some flight data on EMRR: http://www.rocketreviews.com/review...rth_vadar.shtml

There are a bunch of other reviews on other Star Wars related Estes kits on EMRR also. Just search on "star wars" and you will see the list.

I built the Trade Federation Battleship. It is a terrible performer.

I've recently flown the all-plastic, 18mm, needs-to-be-assembled X-Wing that came in a starter kit - this is the later version, not the one with the balsa wings (sorry, I don't have the # right here). If built well, it will fly well on a C6-3, on a calm day. No additional nose weight, beyond what comes in the kit is needed. Expect maybe 400'. Keep the plastic glue to a minimum, and pack the chute carefully. Make sure it finds soft grass to land in, it has only a 12" chute, which is really too small, but that is all that will fit in the tube.

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