One thing to keep in mind with any mass produced rocket, kit or otherwise, is that WE (hobby rocketry enthusiasts) are NOT the target market. The real targets are the producer’s distributors and major retailers - we’re probably, at best, the fourth tier of customers: distributors/retailers first, what could be best defined as the “toy” buying customers - adults buying for children - second, institutional customers - schools, youth groups, etc, next, then us, the hobby rocketry folks. Yes, we’re a small but important component of the sales pie for Estes, Quest and Custom Rockets (and to a larger extent with LOC and Aerotech and their smaller and MPR rockets and motors) - we’re the “yeast” in the dough, sustaining the market, driving trends and providing a “floor” for sales. But whether the new Estes RTF Scale Anything is prototypical is of nearly zero concern to the majority of the target buyers - especially the distributors! Their concern is sell through rates, margins, shelf space use, etc...

So, should we, the enthusiasts, hold the producers to a reasonable standard about scale sizing and details, quality of products, positive or negative effect on the hobby - you betcha! But to quote the Pareto principle’s 80/20 rule, Aristotle’s Principle of the Golden Mean, and especially “...the best is the enemy of the good - Voltaire” - let’s not loose sight of the big picture: lots of really fun rockets that we can make go up with fire and smoke, recover, then fly again! Even if the nose cone isn’t pointy enough, the faux SRBs are the wrong diameter, or the fins are too big.