Centuri Eagle question
 

I managed to get my hands on one of these a year or so ago. It has a red fin unit. I had one BITD and it had a blue fin unit. This one is not painted, it was molded in red. Every picture I have seen of this kit has a blue one but I know that other fin unit changed over time. Anyone els have a red one. I kinda trying to find out how unusual this was.

I have seen photos of red ones but have never seen one in person. The photos I have seen of red ones though do seem to be from older kits.

Otherwise, yes the vast, vast majority were blue. I have never seen or heard of any in colors other than those two.

Earl

Did you get a kit or was the rocket already built? If a kit, it would be nice to see photos of the kit parts, packaging, etc if you can manage that. Actually, a photo of the built rocket (if that is the way you received it) would be ok too.

The red fin ones do not show up often.

Earl

I have heard of the red fin unit used in some Screaming Eagle kits, but have never seen a kit with one.
I had two Eagles in the past and both had blue fins.
I believe that the red fin unit was used with some other kit and they used up the extras this way.
Might have been one of the "Stellar" series.

The Stellar Spartan shared a fin pattern with the Screaming Eagle, but I'm pretty sure it was done in balsa.

The Screaming Eagle plastic fin unit was NOT used in any other Centuri kit. Surprisingly, it was used just in that one kit and never found use anywhere else; not even later with Estes.

One would think with as many different uses as the Enerjet 1340 fin unit went through with Centuri AND Estes kits over the years that the Screaming Eagle fin unit would have seen at least ONE other application, but no. And I am not sure why, unless they were really having to pour all production of that fin unit into the Screaming Eagle kit, which apparently was very, very popular for them as a starter kit. Still, to me, even that does not really explain its single kit use.

Earl

I think the fact that it was designed for ST-8 tubing might have something to do with it.

Agree with the ST-8 comment above; I don't think Estes ever used it.

To answer a previous question, I got it in a lot of other Centuri built up kits. I am doing a quick clean and resto on it.

Yeah, could be. Although, the 1340 fin can was also designed for Centuri-specific tubing (ST-13) and Estes wound up adopting that tube size, first for the Astrocam and then for other kits that used the 1340 fin can (Challenger II booster for the Astrocam and a handful of other kits over the years).

Good find though on the red fin can. Post a photo when the resto is complete, if you can.

LAST MINUTE THOUGHT: Did the Estes Space Shuttle SRBs use ST-8 tubing? Something in my memory says it did, but I could be wrong. Ok, just looked up the Estes instructions and it says they are BT-46. Anyone know if that is equivalent to Centuri ST-8?

Earl