The Mercury Atlas was simply listed WRONG with no "Estes" in the title.
Yes that DOES matter in searches.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !

Also, that the people who most wanted to get them already got them long ago.

IIRC, one of those kits, unopened, went for about $1000 in an eBay auction in the late 1990's. That means there were TWO people who wanted it that badly. The "loser" no doubt bought one later for less than $1000. And whoever was #3 in that auction probably got one for less than the #2 bidder got one. And so on.

I should have auctioned off a LOT more collector kits 20 years ago. And yeah, one of mine includes a Centuri LJ-II kit. But seeing that the one mentioned one sat unclaimed for weeks at $80, I might as well keep mine anyway (since I've built so many Little Joes, and the Centuri kits were such an inspiration to me. I flew the hel out of a 1/45 kit, and the Centuri1/100 kit was my 5th-ever successful model rocket). It is indeed among a very few collectibles that I'd like to hold onto....but I'd let it go for $500 in a heartbeat.

I have an Estes Mars Lander kit in its' original box, untouched. Such kits in the 1990's would have gone for many hundreds. Now about a hundred or less due to the Semroc/eRockets clones, only the hard-core of collectors who didn't already get one would be interested in the 1970's era Estes kit now.

__________________
Contest flying, Sport flying, it's all good.....
NAR# 18723 NAR.org
GeorgesRockets.com
Georges'CancerGoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-geo...ay-fight-cancer

Based on some of the prices I have been seeing makes me think the peak of vintage kit prices is lonnnnngggg gone.
Makes me optimistic that I will get that K21 Gemini Titan sometime soon...and more Enerjet kits.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !

I'll tell ya, that 1/100 Centuri Little Joe II kit is MUCH, MUCH harder to come by than the 1/45th kit.

Seems surprising and one would think that at the original price of about $3.00, many, many more of those would have been sold than the 1/45th kit. And maybe they were. But, when it comes to trying to find one NOW, the 1/100th scale Little Joe II's (the original Centuri kit, not the Estes early 90s re-issue), are very, very hard to find. And when one is located, it'll cost about as much as it's bigger brother.

Earl

__________________
Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

It makes me think that since they were smaller and cheaper to fly, they were built more often instead of being left in the packaging. Additionally, they were likely flown a lot more often with single standard motors compared to clustering. With lots of flights comes rocket eating trees, thermals, and damage, especially since you could stuff a C6-x in them. They might not have been stable with a C6, so they either crashed, or hit escape velocity.

__________________
I love sanding.

I just checked Ninfinger's Catalog site -
The Centuri 1/100th Little Joe only recommended the A5-2, A8-3 and B4-4 engines. A C6-5 would certainly fit but was probably unstable.
http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/no...a/72cen032.html
I built two of the Estes style 1/100 Little Joe II models. "T" engines for those versions.
http://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot...oe%20II%20Small

__________________
Hans "Chris" Michielssen
Old/New NAR # 19086 SR

www.oddlrockets.com
www.modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com
http://www.nar.org/educational-reso...ing-techniques/
Your results may vary
"Nose cones roll, be careful with that."
Every spaceman needs a ray gun.
Look out - I'm the Meister Shyster!

That's pretty much been my best conclusion on why there are so few of 1/100 scales, and why there are so many of the 1/45th scale (and 1/100 scale Saturns, both V and 1b).

I think some decent number of modelers, after receiving the somewhat complex scale Saturn V's, 1b's, and 1/45 Little Joe II kits, realized the kits were beyond their means, either right out of the box (no building attempted), OR after starting a few steps and concluding they were not up to the task or just did not want to take the time to build the model. Hence, one sees these many years later, partially finished or never even started kits on eBay.

On the other hand (as you mention), the small and easier 1/100 scale Little Joe II could be decently built by many modelers, and flown the heck out of, crashed, lost, what have you. And so, fewer left to be found in estates, attics, etc.

All that said, one would still think more would show up these days. Many, many more Centuri Astro-1's and Estes Alphas (old school versions to boot) show up on eBay than does that 1/100 scale Little Joe II. I have two, one to build and one to keep, and it has taken me about 15 years to find those two, the most recent being just a couple weeks ago.

Earl

__________________
Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

Hey Earl,
Would you mind scanning the wraps, patterns, decals, plans and photographing all the parts for the Centuri KS-9 1/100 Little Joe II that you will build, and post on YORF please for the rest of us to enjoy? Thanks!

Kind regards,
Jeff Jenkins
aka: Faithwalker
NAR #46879 SR

Long-term project to do that. Not exactly sure when this one will come up, but it will.

Earl

__________________
Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

There may have been more 1/45 kits sold than 1/100 kits, in addition to more of the 1/100 kits being completed and flown/crashed/lost. You would think it would be the other way around with the lower cost, though.

The 1/100 kit was introduced the same year as the 1/45 kit in 1969. It last appeared in the 1974 catalog while the 1/45 kit lasted through 1976. I know there were leftovers of the 1/45 after it left the catalog because I remember flyers with the kits and others being sold at a discount to fund international competition. That was the first time I had ever seen the 1/45 kit because I never ordered direct from Centuri until 1978. I think my flyers were on yellow paper stuffed in with the contents of rocket orders. One of these days I'll dig that old stuff out.

__________________
I love sanding.