I was going to talk about the xKits here after we get back from TARC, but since Buzz is snooping around....
The new xKits are in the process of rollout. They are very similar to the cc:kits. The main difference is that they will only be available online. Looking back over the complaints on the cc:kits, every one was bought from a hobby store or mail order.
The most frequent complaint was that the instructions were not included and they did not have internet access. They felt that they were deceived by getting kits that were not complete.
Most of the other complaints were that the instructions (once they got them from us or a friend) were not clear and the finished product was not well designed or tested before release. This tells us that many of the hobby store customers expect a much more polished product and would not have been happy in the early days.
We are planning in the next few weeks to release:
XCE-KC17 SST Shuttle 1 (was a cc:kit)
XES-K3 Space Plane (was a cc:kit, but new one will be BT-30 based like the original)
XES-K2 Mark (balsa engine block, rubber shock cord, BT-30 based. Used one of Vern's earliest ones with a headerless bag for parts matchup)
XES-K35 Constellation (with new PST-50 clear tubes)
XES-K18 X-Ray (also with new tubes)
XES-K34 Nighthawk
XES-KC4 Starship Vega (remaining tough part is the embossed, printed foil wrap
)
XCE-KB2 Vector-V (Finally found one around here to get the basswood strip measurements)
XMM-002 Arcon (thanks to Fred, Mark, et al.
)
XFS-MRK1 Penetrator (with 1/16" plywood fins)
XRD-F7 Feather (was going to do this last year if Irv was going to attend NARAM)
We will not kit as many of the xKits at a time since the distribution will be limited. The xKit designation is a play on the term ex-kit since they are OOP and they are primarily intended for more "expert" modelers that understand that we have come a long way in the last fifty years.