Suggestions wanted

[Rocket Doctor]

I don't want this to start a lengthy discussion, but, I am looking for suggestions for what Estes should do in the future.

Remember, no finger pointing, just, concrete suggestions, what you would like to see and any positive as well as constructive criticism. No finger pointing and no personal attacks please.

Keeping in mind it's the 50th anniversary of our great hobby.

Thanks,

RD

[DaveR]

I don't want this to start a lengthy discussion, but, I am looking for suggestions for what Estes should do in the future.

Remember, no finger pointing, just, concrete suggestions, what you would like to see and any positive as well as constructive criticism. No finger pointing and no personal attacks please.

Keeping in mind it's the 50th anniversary of our great hobby.

Thanks,

RD
My number 1 suggestion would be for a wider selection of engines (motors, whatever you prefer ;) ) I would like to see the old C5-3 again.

My number 2 suggestion would be a lot less plastic and a lot more balsa.

[stefanj]

Support competition flyers by making special runs of mini-motors.

Make a line of "skill builder" kits suited for the NARTREK program; it could also be sold to home schooling market. Most of these can be re-releases of OLD kits.

[Rocket Doctor]

All good suggestions. All the data from the defunct estes forum is lost now, deleted. I'm trying to come up with a list of requests, and, see what happens from there.

[maricopasem]

No offense, but what's the point?

[jetlag]

All good suggestions. All the data from the defunct estes forum is lost now, deleted. I'm trying to come up with a list of requests, and, see what happens from there.
Doc,
I'd like to see a wider selection, sure, but I'd really like to see all those discontinued kits rereleased. Well, not all, necessarily, but certainly some. They seem to have gotten away from just about any 'scale' rockets. Forget about level 4 or 5 units as well. I must give them kudos for rereleasing the Interceptor and its new larger brother; I don't really care how long it took them, I'm just glad they did! You can see what success they had with that release. The upcoming releases shown elsewhere on this forum will be great (the Shrox designs), and this shows Estes' ability to reach out to some quite accomplished designers for some help. I realize the need to get new rocketeers into the hobby, but there was little else out there at Estes for these folks to move 'upwards' in the hobby (please, no pun!).
Why not release some advanced rockets, like the old Maxi-Brutes? Maybe even some of the old NCR rockets that were so popular and Estes owned a piece of? They could enter into some marketing agreement with Aerotech to supply the larger engines needed for the larger rockets, perhaps. Of course, it would be great if Estes made some large motors, but I think that would be an inordinately large kettle of fish. Estes does need something along the larger E or low F engines. The E9 barely flies most of their larger rockets.
Also, the Estes catalogue used to be filled with rocketry supplies, charts, and testimonials. Lets bring that back, too. 'Less plastic and more Balsa' has merit, but the plastic cones work well for the novices; they provide good finish platforms, where balsa does not unless you know how to seal and sand, etc.
Estes seems to have become a lot less user friendly than in the past. With the exception of the infamous Christine in customer service, little customer service remains.
Hope this helps!
Allen

[CoachJT]

I agree with DaveR. Eliminate as much plastic as possible, and use more balsa.

Bring back as many of the OOP kits as they can, especially the "Futuristic" kits. (I'm a big fan!) :D

Perhaps team up with EMRR for a "Design this Spaceship" contest, or, hold a similar contest themselves. There is plenty of inspiration out there.

This will probably never happen, but maybe team up with Apogee and help with the development and improvements of Rocksim and RS-Pro.

[JRThro]

Longer shock cords, made of elastic instead of rubber bands.

More through the wall fins, because I suck at lining up surface-mount fins.


And to echo another poster's question, what is the point of this?

[CJU]

In no particular order

1) Fin alignment guide (preferably the metal version)
2) More motor choices (C5 and B8 especially)
3) More 'exotic' kits (although the Shrox stuff for 2008 is a good start) My cloned NASA Pegasus is one of my favorites.
4) Scale kits. Although Semroc, Zooch, and others have some great stuff out there, they don't have the distribution that Estes has.
5) More A and B motors and fewer C's at Walmart and Target
6) Bring back some of the classic older kits. Although most are not hard to clone, make it easy for someone to grab a bag off the shelf of their LHS.
7) Bring back Model Rocket News, even if an e-mail only edition, along with a design of the month.

I don't mind the existence of the E2X and heavily plastic level one kits - they're OK for beginners to get started with. And hopefully get them hooked :-)

[CPMcGraw]

...what Estes should do in the future...concrete suggestions...positive...constructive criticism...no finger pointing...no personal attacks...

1. Create two separate and distinct kit production lines within the greater Estes:
A. One line dedicated to "the needs of the many", meaning the Wal Mart/Target/K-Mart/Sears audience. This line would deal with all of the RTF, ARF, and Skill Level 0 kits (simplified assembly compared to traditional Skill Level 1, with plastic fins and cones, pre-wrapped tubes, vinyl stickers, etc) for those with absolutely no kit building experience. Since much of the current Estes is already geared to this format, very little would need to be done. Call this series of products "Freshman Club", or "Apprentice School", or something similar.

B. A new line dedicated to "the needs of the few...or the one", meaning hobbyist builder-flyers such as ourselves. Such a line could be operated much as the "cottage industry" producers in our hobby already are. The volume of kits from this line would never reach that of the first line, but the quality of the designs and the complexity of the builds would not be limited to a "mass market" audience. An investment in one or two CNC mills and flatbeds might be all this line needs to produce batches of 20K for each design. One advantage of this line would be the very short "time to production", since nothing produced here would require overseas manufacturing (no toolings, no dies...). A design could be introduced into production and released to shipping each month. This line would emphasize balsa, paper, and personal progression through a series of skill levels. Call this line "Master's Series".

2. Greater variety and local availability of motors. It matters not what Estes may have listed in the catalog if no one can find them or purchase them. While we may know where to order them from through the internet, most of the "mass market" purchasers will not.

3. Actively seeking new designs from hobbyist-builders is the only way Estes will keep the catalog line-up fresh and interesting. The DOM competition was one way to achieve this, but setting up a program for contracting out design work to individuals would be another possibility.


For the most part, these ideas are the same as what is coming from everyone else. Estes really has a two-tiered market to deal with -- the mass market, and the hobbyist market -- and the needs of both cannot be filled by one standard production philosophy. It requires a two-tiered approach, meaning two separate groups within the company, each working on products to satisfy their respective markets.

[Rocket Doctor]

No offense, but what's the point?

The point being, the Estes forum was shut down over a year ago, many things have happened in the meantime. It's nice to know what fellow rocketeers are thinking about and what they want.

Instead of having a "debate" why not offer suggestions, hopefully, those at Estes will take an interest. I think that they should be given the opportunity to check out what we want from them and to see what direction it takes them.

[Indiana]

Plastic nose cones are the best part of Estes kits, IMHO. Most other plasic parts are undesireable (after e2x rockets of course).

I'd love to see the mini booster engines again. B8s. Kevlar and elastic shock cords. C20?

[ghrocketman]

I would be happy if they would re-release some useful SU engine choices such as:

1) Semi-port burners such as the C5-3 and 0 and B8-5,3,7,and 0

2) A decently high-thrust E engine of the overall size and total impulse of the E9...something like an E18 to E24 including a booster engine with some REAL lifting ability. The Estes quoted 14oz max liftoff weight of the current E9 is pure hogwash and EVERYBODY knows it.

3) PORT-burning B14's !!!!!! Their nonsense about it being too hazardous is baloney as the coring operation can be done in an AUTOMATED manner where humans have ZERO contact with the running process (I know they claim they will never do these again, but you asked)

4)Return of the 1/2A6-0, A8-0, B6-0, B8-0, and B14-0 booster engines.

5)Any 1/2A 13mm mini-booster

6)Modernization of shock cord attachment using the kevlar leader to elastic method and supplying the elastic in a length AT LEAST two times the overall rocket length; what they include now is PATHETIC ! Add fifty cents to the overall kit price to do it...any REAL rocket builder would appreciate this GREATLY.

7)Re-Release of many of the older "Sci-fi/Futuristic" designs such as the Manta Bomber, StarShip Nova, Star Speeder, Skytracer, BSG Viper, Scorpius, Attack Craft Orion, F-61 Starfighter, Astron Trident, Mars Snooper II (always liked that one better than the original), Rigel 3.

8) Removal of plastic from kits except where absolutely neccessary and return of "craftsman" like materials such as balsa wherever possible.

As there are tons of kit manufacturers now, and next to NO SU BP engine makers, I place a
MUCH greater priority on return of the useful "specialty" engines shown above over the kits.

[jetlag]

1. Create two separate and distinct kit production lines within the greater Estes:
A. One line dedicated to "the needs of the many", meaning the Wal Mart/Target/K-Mart/Sears audience. This line would deal with all of the RTF, ARF, and Skill Level 0 kits (simplified assembly compared to traditional Skill Level 1, with plastic fins and cones, pre-wrapped tubes, vinyl stickers, etc) for those with absolutely no kit building experience. Since much of the current Estes is already geared to this format, very little would need to be done. Call this series of products "Freshman Club", or "Apprentice School", or something similar.

B. A new line dedicated to "the needs of the few...or the one", meaning hobbyist builder-flyers such as ourselves. Such a line could be operated much as the "cottage industry" producers in our hobby already are. The volume of kits from this line would never reach that of the first line, but the quality of the designs and the complexity of the builds would not be limited to a "mass market" audience. An investment in one or two CNC mills and flatbeds might be all this line needs to produce batches of 20K for each design. One advantage of this line would be the very short "time to production", since nothing produced here would require overseas manufacturing (no toolings, no dies...). A design could be introduced into production and released to shipping each month. This line would emphasize balsa, paper, and personal progression through a series of skill levels. Call this line "Master's Series".

2. Greater variety and local availability of motors. It matters not what Estes may have listed in the catalog if no one can find them or purchase them. While we may know where to order them from through the internet, most of the "mass market" purchasers will not.

3. Actively seeking new designs from hobbyist-builders is the only way Estes will keep the catalog line-up fresh and interesting. The DOM competition was one way to achieve this, but setting up a program for contracting out design work to individuals would be another possibility.


For the most part, these ideas are the same as what is coming from everyone else. Estes really has a two-tiered market to deal with -- the mass market, and the hobbyist market -- and the needs of both cannot be filled by one standard production philosophy. It requires a two-tiered approach, meaning two separate groups within the company, each working on products to satisfy their respective markets.


DITTO!

[flygrimm]

B-14

also

Didn't Centuri make a large-ish Little Joe or Little Joe II? I would like to see more scale. Maybe the Mercury Atlas as well.

Stuart

[gpoehlein]

These have been stated here by others, but:

1) Fin Guide (don't care at this point if it's metal or decently cast plastic)

2) Lower power boosters - 1/2A3-0T, A3-0T, A10-0T, A8-0, B6-0

3) Bring back the C11-0, 5 and 7 motors.

4) Interesting 13mm kits - just about everything now is either silly plastic RTFs or 3FN-common-as-dirt rockets. You CAN be creative with 13mm models.

5) BG and RG models. Wouldn't mind seeing a decent RCRG as well.

6) A decent parts assortment - I just picked up a "Designer's Special" and the parts mix sucked! This time, instead of 2 BT-5 tubes and 2 BT-20 tubes, there was one of each, and several short BT-5s and BT-20s (the 20s were white, like the tubes from the Hi-Flier, Viking, etc). Also, let's find something creative to do with all those PNC-55 Sidewinder nose cones besides filling the PNC-55 assortment and the Designer's Special with them. Or melt them down and use them for a different style cone. Either works for me!

Greg

[Rocket Doctor]

Really great stuff, keep them coming.......

[Tau Zero]

8) Removal of plastic from kits except where absolutely neccessary and return of "craftsman" like materials such as balsa wherever possible.I'm perfectly okay with plastic nose cones. The only drawback I see is that creating molds for new ones are expensively prohibitive, especially for smaller companies.


Really great stuff, keep them coming.......However, I stand by my previous assertion that the "Thermonuclear" ejection charges have *got* to go! (Where's that "sobbing incoherently" icon?)

I recognize that Estes is the major manufacturer of black powder rocket motors. Maybe I could shrug off the occasional CATO when I was a kid. But as an adult, I'm *not* interested in having any of my rockets that I've spent hours building shredded by excessively powered ejection charges!

I've refused to engage in the "set the Wayback Machine to 1960-something" argument. (It's over. Move on.) But frankly, having my rockets blown to bits is the only complaint I have against 21st century Estes.


Here's hoping there's a "real" possibility of change, even if only in this one area alone.


Cheers, and good luck,

[Gus]

My major wish is just to see Estes survive.

It worries me greatly to see the Estes presence in Walmart and other big box stores shrinking. In Walmart there are no longer any buildable kits, only RTFs, primarily starter sets, and an increasingly limited supply of motors.

As has been discussed on this forum, Walmart's knowledge and support of their rocketry customers doesn't exactly suggest the probability of future growth. If the presence continues to dwindle to the point where Walmart dumps Estes (as my other local big box store did), I think it's questionable whether the Estes rocketry line survives at all.

Without the Walmart business, Estes would have to depend on the hobbyist market, where the retail outlets are dwindling day by day. In my area hobby stores are down to 1/3 of what they were just 10 years ago. And if you can't sell your wares in the big box stores, and your small retailers are going out of business left and right, where do you sell your product? If nothing else, the model would have to be hugely different from what Estes does today, and I'm not sure the current company would have much interest in making the transition.

So what would I most like to see Estes do? I'd like to see them figure out a way to teach the Walmarts of the world how to grow their rocketry business.

[Rocket Doctor]

My major wish is just to see Estes survive.

It worries me greatly to see the Estes presence in Walmart and other big box stores shrinking. In Walmart there are no longer any buildable kits, only RTFs, primarily starter sets, and an increasingly limited supply of motors.

As has been discussed on this forum, Walmart's knowledge and support of their rocketry customers doesn't exactly suggest the probability of future growth. If the presence continues to dwindle to the point where Walmart dumps Estes (as my other local big box store did), I think it's questionable whether the Estes rocketry line survives at all.

Without the Walmart business, Estes would have to depend on the hobbyist market, where the retail outlets are dwindling day by day. In my area hobby stores are down to 1/3 of what they were just 10 years ago. And if you can't sell your wares in the big box stores, and your small retailers are going out of business left and right, where do you sell your product? If nothing else, the model would have to be hugely different from what Estes does today, and I'm not sure the current company would have much interest in making the transition.

So what would I most like to see Estes do? I'd like to see them figure out a way to teach the Walmarts of the world how to grow their rocketry business.


Very well put, your insight in right on !!!

[mperdue]

I've refused to engage in the "set the Wayback Machine to 1960-something" argument.
I agree that it's over and time to move on but the proper name is the WABAC Machine...

Mario

[AKPilot]

I'd simply like them to listen and 'hear'.

I agree with the two line approach; one for the mass market and the other for hobbyists. Let's face it the hobbyist is their free marketing.

[Rocket Doctor]

All your comments, suggestions and constructive criticism is a start. I hope that they are listening.....

[Nuke Rocketeer]

Ditto on the mini, A8, B6, C5 and E booster engines. Maybe even a black powder F engine. I'd love to see a new B14, but it probably will never happen. Engine selection these days really sucks.

I would also like to see more of the manufacturing brought back into the US again. I get really tired of seeing "Made in China" on kits.

Joe W

[Gus]

By the way, I think Estes took a huge step forward by getting Shrox on board. Truly an amazing talent. And like Shrox, there are a number of other talented people currently producing rockets in limited distribution who Estes would be wise to partner with. Why not aquire market proven winners and put them into REALLY mass production?

Here's my short list:

Don Magness - how many Red Barons do you think Estes could sell? And Don's new Dogfight kit would also be huge. His signature line is similar to what I think Estes should do. How many of Doug Sam's Tubers do you think Estes could move? Truly great designs in really limited production. Don's stuff deserves a much wider audience.

Jim Flis - Deuces Wild, Tres, Acme Spitfire, Thing-a-ma-jig. The current Da Vinci of model rocketry. Put some real marketing muscle behind even one of those and both Estes and Jim could be on easy street. I don't know if Jim would have any interest but how Estes missed out on this guy reminds me of the ABC executive who passed on The Cosby Show. :eek: Is there anything about what Jim Flis is doing that doesn't scream "we HAVE to have that guy"?

Art Applewhite - Crank out a simple plastic frame for the Scimitar or Stealth and how many hundreds of thousands of these do you think you could sell at quintuple-cost? Same with the rest of Art's incredible designs. Amazing, exciting, really novel stuff. Producible at costs so low it would make even Chinese heads spin. And the no-prep-time aspect of these rockets means they can be flown repeatedly at an amazing rate, even in windy conditions. A Walmart natural. Burn those motors, baby!

Gordon Agnello - True craftsman scale kits at a level of detail beyond even the Estes kits of old. Really astounding stuff, incredibly detailed kits with dozens of handmade parts. Just imagine what could happen if Estes gave Sandman access to an injection molding machine. :eek: Raise the bar. Use Sandman and modern technology to make the statement that Estes is better than ever before. And nobody has a more encyclopedic knowledge of every piece of plastic and balsa Estes (and Centuri) ever produced. Why Gordy isn't an Estes designer/consultant is beyond me. Nasa uses him, so why doesn't Estes?

Scott Branche - I know Scott alread has an arrangement with "another company" but no list of great independent designers would be complete without him. The Odyssey and Fake Wulf are truly inspired, original, fantastic kits.

The rest of us - Why doesn't Estes sponsor design contests like in the old days? Do it online, offer a few Estes kits as prizes, and get folks using those Estes parts. Costs almost nothing and encourages the dreamer in all of us. Get Nick Esselman of EMRR to run it and it can't fail. Or at the very least, drop-ship Nick a few cases of kits to use as prizes in the contests he already runs. Estes products are noticeably absent from the prize lists of fun stuff devoted Estes customers routinely compete for on EMRR.

I know I've probably left some great folks off. No offense meant, this is just what immediately came to mind. But I think Estes would really benefit from acquiring proven winners and putting them into mass distribution. After all, it's a strategy that seems to have worked out well for Microsoft. :rolleyes:

[Eagle3]

Rifle through this (http://www.ninfinger.org/~sven/rockets/nostalgia/73cencat.html) and this (http://www.ninfinger.org/~sven/rockets/catalogs/estes712/712estcat.html).
Doesn't need to be "these" kits, just kits like these, motors, supplies, etc.... I've mentioned it in other threads, these designs are timeless. Estes stopped pumping out great designs in the 80's.

[dr_wogz]

As all others have said:
An actual presence or attempted placement at events.
More ‘international’ content
More ‘scale’ kits; missiles, space race, etc.. (The X-prize line was a great move! As well as a few of their missiles & bombs. But too short lived)
Water slide decals.
More contests & customer interaction / invitation to participate.
“Oddrocs” odd looking rockets; cones, ‘birdies’, etc..
Better equipped ‘designers box’
Fin Jig Or even a tool that fits into the motor mount that has a leg used to align the fin, (glue a tooth pick to a spent motor, and align the fin with the toothpick, to ensure the fin is perpendicular to the BT..)


I think there’s a common call for ‘futuristic kits that need to be built & crafted’, not just assembled. And real kits; something that requires a few tools, some effort, and a certain amount of skill. And the biggest, is to be visible to the rocketeering population: Us!! More participation and presence and commitment to the hobby

[Tau Zero]

I agree that it's over and time to move on but the proper name is the WABAC Machine...Mario,

:o Yeah, I should've remembered that, but apparently I have, "Insufficient memory at this time." :o


Wikipedia has an article for those who need the additional background on this pop culture reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine


Thanks for being my own personal Spelling Police. :eek: :cool:


Cheers,

[Doug Sams]

Don Magness - how many Red Barons do you think Estes could sell? And Don's new Dogfight kit would also be huge. His signature line is similar to what I think Estes should do. How many of Doug Sams' Tubers do you think Estes could move? Truly great designs in really limited production. Don's stuff deserves a much wider audience. :o You flatter me to blushing :D

I must say, the more I see of Don and his Squirrel Works operation, the more I come to respect his many talents. He has a keen eye for color and shape, and his wife Terri backs him up with similar talents. Talking to Don, you begin to understand his business savvy, too. He's quite good at running the numbers and making sure that he makes a nickel off his efforts while still cranking out very likable products. I give the man two thumbs up http://www.vpsingles.com/pics/2thumbs.gif

And one of these days I'm gonna give him those Uber Tuber plans I promised him :)

Doug

.

[STRMan]

2) Lower power boosters - 1/2A3-0T, A3-0T, A10-0T, A8-0, B6-0

3) Bring back the C11-0, 5 and 7 motors.


These two are slam dunks in my book. Also...

Re-release the Andromeda

[kurtschachner]

These two are slam dunks in my book. Also...

Re-release the Andromeda

But you can (like so many classic kits) build a good clone of the Andromeda. The decals will be red instead of orange-red, but everything else is spot-on. Even the mid-body foil wrap is cloneable with an Alps printer that can print using the foils.

[dr_wogz]

Oh, and blast deflectors that have the 3/16" hole.

The little 'bayonette' lugs on the plastic stand-off that fits in the current blast deflector always break off. it's just another peice of plastic that lives for a few days, then breaks, and eventually lost.

[Shreadvector]

Oh, and blast deflectors that have the 3/16" hole.

The little 'bayonette' lugs on the plastic stand-off that fits in the current blast deflector always break off. it's just another peice of plastic that lives for a few days, then breaks, and eventually lost.

It is the reult of DFMA. The previous version had 5 parts and this has 2. (Plate, lower plastic part, upper plastic part with standoff, 2 screws vs. plate and bayonet locking plastic piece).

You can replace the bayonet locking part with a brass pipe fitting plus a nut to retain it. I don't have the exact type with me at the moment but it may be this or similar:

http://www.jambrass.com/brass-hose-barbs-male-hose-barbs.gif

[dr_wogz]

Actaully Fred, I just tossed the plastic doo-hickey once it broke. I use either a spent motor, or an alligator clip as a stand off. Just the hole in the supllied blast deflector is large enough that: the plate isn't perpendicular to the rod, flops about, and allows the top of the launch pad to get a little melty.

it jsut seemed like something that was supposed to break..


A small hole, and the old spring stand-off are my requests..

[Mikus]

1) More motor choices.
2) Better parts... shock cords/chutes that aren't immediately replaced, better decals.
3) More vintage kit reissues.
4) Better communication with customers - and DON'T TOUCH Customer Support, it's about the only thing at Estes that works correctly.
5) Oh yeah, good idea... STOP supporting freaking China.
6) Uhh... a catalog that's put out in the 1st Qtr of the same calendar year?

[space_bus]

A3-6T

[space_bus]

Also, does anyone else wish for more variety and less C motors from the Blast-Off Flight Pack?

Originally, I recall when they had 1/2A6-2 motors instead of C6-3 motors. They replaced the 1/2A6-2's with C6-7's at some point in the '80s (IIRC), before settling on the C6-3's that are in the BOFP these days.

I'd like less C's and more variety, say something like:

1/2A6-2 (Qty. 3)
A8-3 (Qty. 6)
A8-5 (Qty. 3)
B6-4 (Qty. 6)
C6-3 (Qty. 3)
C6-5 (Qty. 3)
[Total is still 24 motors.]

If they want to leave the BOFP alone, maybe they can have an alternate '18mm variety pack' with no C motors, say:

1/2A6-2 (Qty. 4)
A8-3 (Qty. 4)
A8-5 (Qty. 4)
B4-2 (Qty. 2)
B4-4 (Qty. 3)
B6-2 (Qty. 2)
B6-4 (Qty. 3)
B6-6 (Qty. 2)
[Total is 24 motors, and I am assuming here that no other motors are brought back (e.g., 1/2A6-4, B4-6, B8-3, B8-5, B8-7).]

While we're on the subject of bulk packs, a '13mm variety pack' would be similarly attractive, say:

1/4A3-3T (Qty. 3)
1/2A3-2T (Qty. 3)
1/2A3-4T (Qty. 6)
A3-4T (Qty. 6)
A10-3T (Qty. 6)
[Total is 24 motors, and, once again, I am assuming here that no other motors are brought back (e.g., A3-6T).]

And, of course, we can also think about a '24mm variety pack'. Perhaps we should leave out the E motors to cut down on the purchase restrictions (maybe they could have their own bulk pack), say:

C11-3 (Qty. 4)
D12-3 (Qty. 4)
D12-5 (Qty. 4)
D12-7 (Qty. 4)
[Total is 16 motors, and I've left out other 24mm motors that could be brought back (e.g., C11-5, C11-7, D11-9).]

Obviously, there should be some cost savings with these bulk packs, ideally closer to the cost savings (percentage) you can get now from the BOFP.

[Doug Sams]

I am looking for suggestions for what Estes should do in the future. The only thing I want from Estes is more motor choices. I can already get everything else I need, at a reasonable price, from other vendors.


Why should I ask Estes for parts/kits/classics/supplies/etc when I can already get them from somebody else? What is it about having Estes' brand on a kit that somehow makes it better? Not trying to be disrespectful to Estes. I just don't get the need for them to be the king daddy purveyor of all things rocketry... I understand the volume potential, and if I had a cut of that, then sure, let them sell it. But if we're just talking about things for us to buy - that is, what benefits us as consumers - all I want is more motor types.


Doug


.

[dr_wogz]

More constests where you collect & redeem bar codes!! :D

[Rocket Doctor]

This entire thread has been passed along to Estes.

[ga1ba2]

My 2 cents worth.
Larger selection of engines more powerful E
Bring back of old kits especially the futuristic ones
Longer/better shock cords
Plastic nose cones are ok in my book
Bring back Model Rocket News even if just by E mail
Customer service is great!

[MarkB.]

I finally got my Launch magazine today (with the Ares builds) and it drove home something I mentioned in another thread -- that somebody's GOT to do . . . .

We need a 1/70 scale R-7 booster.

Yes, I know about the Cosmodrome and the Dr. Zooch. But surely Estes can talk their Chinese partners into a real, live, no-origami-required kit with injection molded lattice and mandrel turned paper strap-ons about the size of the one in Pete Alway's Scale book for 24mm power.


Please, Please?


And a 1/70 Long March . . . .


to park them all next to my 1/70 Saturn 1b.

[sandman]

I finally got my Launch magazine today (with the Ares builds) and it drove home something I mentioned in another thread -- that somebody's GOT to do . . . .

We need a 1/70 scale R-7 booster.

Yes, I know about the Cosmodrome and the Dr. Zooch. But surely Estes can talk their Chinese partners into a real, live, no-origami-required kit with injection molded lattice and mandrel turned paper strap-ons about the size of the one in Pete Alway's Scale book for 24mm power.


Please, Please?


And a 1/70 Long March . . . .


to park them all next to my 1/70 Saturn 1b.

Mine is 1/64th scale. I should have a few ready to sell at NARAM.

But there is some Origami involved.

[gilatrout]

Mine is 1/64th scale. I should have a few ready to sell at NARAM.

But there is some Origami involved.


Any chance of getting one outside of NARAM? I'm not able to attend.. <sigh />

[sandman]

Any chance of getting one outside of NARAM? I'm not able to attend.. <sigh />

I'm currently trying to get 5 kits completed for sale at NARAM.

I have 10 kits started so if these kits all sell out (which I doubt!) I can put one together for you after I get back from NARAM.

These kits take a lot of time to put together. I think at last count there are over 185 parts in the kit! :eek:

It's real easy to forget something if I rush it!