My First Upscale. The Story of The Scamp

With the DARS Classic IX behind us, I got to thinking about the subject of upscaling. I personally enjoy taking classics and blowing hem up from standard size to mid power size. For some reason, mid power seems to be the proper size to go with these models (not that I haven’t seen wonderful large scale models from Scott Cook and others!) but mid power (to me anyway) gives enough “adult heft” to the model without losing any of the original charm.

Over the years I have upscaled several models, including my Estes Pegasus, Centuri Vector V, and Estes Colonial Viper (which was actually a kit from Morerockets.com). These have all been fun and challenging, but I have a special place in my heart for my first upscale, the Estes Scamp.

The Estes Scamp was originally released in 1973 as a “Cold Power” (read: “Freon Powered”) model. It lasted for a total of one year, and then vanished until 1977 when it was reintroduced as a standard model using 18mm motors. The Scamp stood 13.75 inches tall and was BT-50 based.

The Scamp as Cold Power-1973 (thanks to ninfinger.com)

The Scamp returns in 1977 (thanks to ninfinger .com)

The yellow and black styling of the Scamp (not to mention the Groovy Goul decals) made a cousin to the slightly more recognizable A-20 Demon and the ever popular Goblin. I’m not sure why they thought “Scamp” was synonymous with goblins and demons, but it actually kind of works. I always liked the look of the Scamp, but, unlike the Demon and the Goblin, never actually owned one “back in the day.”

I based my upscale on BT-60 because…well…it’s what I happened to have sitting around. I already had the tubing and nose cone (I think from a long lost Mean Machine) and I bought some 1/8 inch aircraft ply for the fins. The decals were easy enough to make with my printer using Testors decal paper and sealer. One note here; I actually made a decal that didn’t exist on the original model. It’s the one with the model name on it. I just liked the way it looked. I used Jimz http://www.spacemodeling.org/JimZ/index. for my reference materials and decal sheets.  The motor mount is 29mm…just because I could. She stands about 24 inches tall.

Originally I put on standard sized launch lugs, but then I realized that I was putting a  huge motor in there so I upscaled them as well. The original lugs are still there, but they are just for show. I made my own motor retention system from stuff I had about the house, and there ya go!

The Maxi Scamp!

The side featuring the heavy duty lug and the custom decal

The business end

A slightly less gray me at NSL 2006

I have flown the Maxi Scamp exactly once, at NSL at McGregor. I used an Aerotech G80 that blew that sucker right out of sight. I thought I would never see it again, but it was returned by a kind woman who had it drift in front of her car on a road about two miles away! Ever since then, I haven’t had the nerve to fly it again.

So there you have it. I threw my first upscale together with stuff I found in my rocket junk boxes, and not much more. It just goes to show you that upscaling doesn’t have to be very difficult or expensive.

Until next time, fly ‘em fast and high!