Estes Satellite Interceptor, Photon Probe and Hornet kits
 

Here are the pictures of the new kits from Estes. All and all, I must say these are nice kits with quality parts. Still confused about the parachute, but oh well. The balsa is excellent and the decals looks real nice. The Interceptor has a balsa nose cone that is a different shape than the plastic nose cone. Not a big deal because the Tandem X kit uses the same plastic nose as the orig. and you can have the tail piece that is missing in the new kit. Remember now, Estes plastic nose cones were never identical to the balsa cones. Out of the three kits, the Interceptor is the only one that has a built model on the package. The rest are all computer generated. I personally like the built kit on the package vs computer generated. The Photon Probe has the BNC-55AO nose cone. I have the Semroc and BMS BNC-55AO and they are great quality, but there are subtle differences between those and the original. The new Estes BNC-55AO is identical to the original Estes nose. I took a picture of my Goblins nose and the Photon probe nose. I never owned a Hornet kit, so I don't know what to say other than it is a cool bird. It has the BNC-55AO cone. Also the motor mount rings are now laser cut. I think these are excellent kits and hopefully will bring new rocketeers to the hobby.

They look good. I see some minor font variations on the S.I., but other than having to make my own tail cone, I like the looks of the kit.

Did you mail order these, or did you find them in a real brick-n-mortar store?

Sweet!

Those look nice, Scigs! I'll have to start poking around Mobile to see if anyone (HobbyLobby, Michaels, or Hobbytown USA) has received any.

Now I'm really curious to see how well the original "Sustainables" sold since they arrived in WM...

One thing about it, the Satellite Interceptor and Photon Probe are not exactly 4FNC models. They do provide a bit of a challenge to the builder.

Tim beat me to the question about where you got them from. Mail order, or LHS?

I ordered them online from Amazon.com.........Still curious who is making the nose cones. From what I understand, the parts are made here in the USA and shipped to China for packaging. Now I could be wrong, but this is what Christine told me.
The new decals from Estes are much cleaner/sharper than the vintage decals. I don't know if they are still silk screening for just printing them out.

Interesting side-by-side with the Hornet and Goblin cones. The Goblin wasn't on the list of reissues, was it? It should be. :cool:

I did not see the Goblin on the list. I agree, this would be a great bring back kit. I know, it is easy to clone. One of my favorite kits, I have 5 of these suckers. It is going to be interesting to see what happens with these "Classic Kits". At the hobby stores around here, the Der Red Max and Interceptors never stay in stock. I hope this is the same for the rest of the classic kits. Lets face it, clones, or these bring back kits will never replace the original for us, but thats ok.

Great pics scigs, thanks for sharing! :cool: I'm a huge Satellite Interceptor fan. Check out Tower Hobbies . . . . . .LONG TOM, late march delivery i think.

It looks like the Interceptor balsa cone is identical to the old Citation Vega balsa cone. I am at a loss here, how is Estes re producing these nose cones?

I'm guessing a lathe?