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Old 11-05-2017, 02:29 AM
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Royatl Royatl is offline
SPEV/Orion wrangler
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Atlanta, GA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Junkhead
Thank you for all the feedback so far. I appreciate all the information. The rocket pack says it’s made by Model Missle Inc. I don’t see a marking for Estes or Brown. I can get a better picture of it in the morning if that helps as well.


Brown Manufacturing was the company first approached by Model Missiles to make their motors for them. Brown's other company was/is Zenith Fireworks. Those early motors had some reliability problems so MMI contacted a local Denver contractor with fireworks ties, Vernon Estes, to be a second supplier. The machine Vern made to make model rocket motors, Mabel, was so successful that Vern spun a business off to sell motors and eventually rocket kits himself. That business became Estes Industries, now Estes Rockets. And Vern himself might be lurking here looking over these messages (Hi Vern! Feel free to correct anything I got wrong!).

Bill Stine, the son of the man who founded Model Missiles, also visits the forum from time to time and may be better positioned to give you some idea of the value of the kit. His company, Quest Aerospace, produced a 50th anniversary reproduction of the Aerobee Hi kit nearly ten years ago.

A kit like this is pretty rare, though I have no idea how many were ultimately produced. I've seen Aerobee Hi kits go for a few hundred dollars on eBay depending on condition, but it also depends on who's watching eBay at the time it goes up! You might get better offers just from having shown it here.
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