I'm moving along on a replication of the Estes Asteroid Explorer. It is an 18mm min. diameter. Though the tube and fins are a downsized clone of the original, the whole thing is more of an homage to the original because of the nose cone. I'm trying to decide which I will attach permanently. Anyone have a preference?

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I like the one on the left, with the straight sides. It looks like a instrument pod.

Paint it white, with rectangles and circles representing panel covers and sensors!

(OTOH, the egg shaped pod could be a reentry capsule for returning samples.)

Neither, they need to come off for the laundry to pop out...

[Insert gratuitous rim shot here]

Seriously, though, the one on the left does look better. Just be sure to check your CG/CP margins on "A", "B", and "C" motors before flying...

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Craig McGraw

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I *thought* this looked familiar, but didn't know why until I did the following research.


From p. 58 (left hand page) of the 1981 Centuri catalog, Tim Dallman's "Skipper":

http://www.ninfinger.org/~sven/rock...81/81cen58.html


From pp. 34 and 35 of the 1983 Estes catalog, the "Asteroid Explorer":

http://www.ninfinger.org/~sven/rock...83/83est34.html


It looks like they upscaled Tim's original Skipper from an ST-7 to a BT-50 (1.29X). At least he got a Power System Outfit (right hand page) as payment.

Oddly enough, your 18mm version is a 0.78X "downscale" of the Estes upscale, which actually *real* close to the original.


(shuddering) Sheesh! My TV news skills are bleeding into my hobby! I'd better go home and relax!


Cheers,

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Jay Goemmer
"Centuri Guy"/"Tau Zero"
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"I think about organizing things all the time. Never seems to happen. I find something that piques my interest and I'm off on a quest. Or a Centuri. "

--Bill Eichelberger, 02/22/2022


“Centuri fret buzz in an updated form.”
Bill “Wallyum” Eichelberger re: Estes Flutter-By
03 Sept 2014

I started building one of these awhile ago but gave up because the fin assembly was a pain in the @$$.