If Estes wants more of my money, then...
 

Estes is doing a lot of cool things, even more so with the new ownership. With that being said, if Estes wants more of my money then -

1) Bring back the classics with some sort of twist - upscale, different decals, larger motor mount, etc. I love the Cherokee E with the different color decals, E motor mount and longer body tube.

The recently released Multi-Roc is cool but I would be running out to get one right away if they upscaled it to a BT55 body tube size. It would be so much cooler in a slightly larger size. Same with the Citation Patriot, if they did it in a BT80 size, more people would be excited. These kits are still cool but how about getting a little crazy and brings us something that gets us all excited.

The Boosted Bertha seems to be selling well but why not throw in an extra nose cone and design it so it can be flown multiple ways - Big Bertha and a Baby Bertha or as a Boosted Bertha.

2) Estes please release some more boost gliders like the Scissor Wing Transport or the Tomcat that have a moveable main wing. I love it when the wings spring out at ejection. But not only bring it out again as is, see if you can improve the design for better performance or even upscale it slightly.

3) Pro Series Jayhawk (BT80 size) - This is a classic scale kit that most want to have without paying crazy prices on eBay.

Basically, this is 2019, let's honor the old but give it a twist that gets the model rocket community in a frenzy.

What does Estes need to do to get more of your money?

My money? -

New motor choices (C5-3, A3-6T). Vintage re-releases true to the originals (Mini-Bomarc, Black Widow, Quasar Estes and Centuri, etc)

Sorry, I won't buy a Goblin with a plastic nose cone

Upscale classics like a jumbo Farside-X in 24mm or an Astron Skydart upscale boost glider for R/C.

High-thrust port-burning motors like the B14, B8, C5, and something like a D20 or E30. A reliable version of the old FSI F100.

Release of more classics like the Nike Ajax, BT70 version Gemini Titan (K21), Astron Scrambler.
All classics need to be of the same configuration as the original (if it had a balsa nose or plastic fins so MUST the reissue).
The balsa nose balsa fins reissue of the Phoenix Bird made ZERO sense, especially seeing as the Enerjet fin can still exists.

I like what they are doing now. John is designing some fine looking rockets. I do like the idea of re-releasing some of the classic kits as well as the Centuri ones as well.

Personally, I would leave Centuri reissues to eRockets/Semroc. At least Semroc uses the correct tubing sizes. The last time Estes issued Centuri designs, Estes tubing was used instead of Centuri tubes.

Sourcing balsa for large runs of kits has been an issue in the past. I’m guessing that getting a supplier for the latest kits is no different. If you really want a balsa cone for a classic, there is always eRockets. I’m lucky since I have a lathe and can make pretty much whatever I might desire. It usually boils down to the plastic cone not being exactly what I want, such as the Der Red Max nose cone (60AH) being supplied with the Super Alpha kit a few years ago.

Yes, I guess I am a purist also. With all due respect to prior re-issues, i don't like a classic re-issue that looks 'similar' to the original, I want it to look/be exaxtly like the original. Which is why for the very most part, I build original kits, not re-issues. It is certainly more expensive going that route, but I want to try to recapture the full effect of building the many, many kits I missed in my youth simply because I could not afford them then.

But I have purchased some of the more significant re-issues such as the Estes re-issue of the Centuri Saturn 1b in the very early 1990s and the more recent 1/45 Little Joe Ii. Though I had orignals of those, the price point on the re-issues was just too good to pass up.

I don't mind upscales as an *additional* option, but if given a choice between a clean, true reproduction or an upscale, I'll go with the former every time.

But I am very, very happy to see the renewed 'freshness' in leadership at Estes. I think that bodes well not only for us as consumers, but hopefully for Estes employees also.

Earl

If Estes wants more of my money, keep doing what they're doing now! I can't build fast enough.

Probably the most practical for me would be a wider variety of motor bulk packs. C6-0, C6-3, D12-5.

If I could only have one new thing from them it would definitely be core/port burning high-thrust SU BP engines.
It is the one thing SERIOUSLY lacking in this hobby now.

The thrust profiles of virtually all BP motors currently in existence STINK for booster motors.

I scratch built a BT-80 Citation Patriot. I used 1/4" thick balsa TTW fins and turned my own nose cone for scale accuracy. It can fly on a single D12-3, but it's too heavy to come back on dual 24" chutes without damaging those big fins. The only way to do it with good survivability is to go with plywood TTW fins, and that means at least a composite E15 or E30. Before you know it, you will want to go with heavy tubing, and you'd need to fly on at least an F25 composite. Estes wants to sell their motors. ;)