Ye Olde Rocket Forum - WTB Estes Rigel-3 kit

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- - WTB Estes Rigel-3 kit (http://www.oldrocketforum.com/showthread.php?t=18811)

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghrocketman

I'm DEFINITELY doing the "Drink in the hand, toes in the sand" deal right now.
Actually spending more time poolside than in the ocean.
Consuming plenty of Glenmorangie, Macallan, and Glenfiddich in addition to Don Julio Anejo.
Lots of delicious seafood, Steaks, and Lamb Chops.
Pure paradise !

It's rough, but somebody has to support the tourist economy here....

Ok, well, I just snacked on some Cheez-Its! Ha! Take that!!

Wait a minute...on second thought that doesn’t really stack up too well, does it? :o

Earl

Quote:

Originally Posted by Earl

Was she female in the strict biological sense, or was it more obvious than that?

Earl

I didn’t ask, but I surmise “female at birth and female at present time”.

The pic is my better half, Joanna.
She does our travel planning and always does a great job at it. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Brohm

I hope the search for the kit turns out well for you. It really is a nice model once finished.

Not wishing to hijack your thread, but I offer a word of caution about the kit - when I built mine a few years ago, I found there were some fit problems with the die-crushed pieces that make up the fins. I wrote about the problem in a YORF thread at the time, but for convenience, I've reposted the article here (slightly edited).

I also found that the dowel stock that was to be used for those cool looking struts was a bit warped; I remedied this problem by substituting carbon fiber tubes. Worked great.

And then the (by now) ~ 40 year old decals: for the most part they were ok (a few struggled to get off the sheet due to some aged, overly aggressive decal adhesive), but I had a few back ups from Gordon, just in case.

So apart from these issues, the kit was great. Depending on your building goals, even with the kit you may find yourself at least doing a bit of scratch-building, if not cloning.

Good luck, and hope you find a good condition kit.

John, very nice document on your build! And beautiful execution. I was out of the hobby and we were starting a family in the early 80s, so I missed out on this one (plus a lot of other cool kits). Also, I didn’t realize it was a two-stage. Your staging picture is really cool.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbzep

IIRC, the cone for the Astron Explorer (and Dark Energy) is from a new mold with some minor changes compared to the Odyssey and Rigel-3. Not enough changes to prevent a nice clone model, though. I've never had my hands on the vintage cone so I couldn't say what the changes are.

Edit: Here is John's explanation of the nose cone.
https://oldrocketforum.com/showpost...735&postcount=3

It looks like that nose cone is part of the Sci-Fi set. AC Supply sells it for $10.19.

https://www.acsupplyco.com/estes/es...scifit_asst.htm

Great staging pic, John !
I see you have it on a table appropriately next to the other Estes futuristic two-stager, the USS Pleiades. I have two of those kits.

GH-

In case you have not seen this listing, here ya go: Link- https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Es...AAOSw18BfgNs l

Earl

Good Grief !
It's already up to $150.00 including shipping with 9 days left on the auction.
I want one but won't go INSANE-O on the price.
Over $150 for that thing is ridiculous.

It jumped up quickly apparently. It was $50-something when I posted the link....

Earl

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghrocketman

GH, are you still in the states or have you gone to an Island?