Merry Christmas, Apollo Style!

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while might remember that I had a problem with my Estes Saturn V. The problem was that I had taken so long to build (or even open it) that it was now a collectible kit and I COULDN'T open it. So there it sat in my rocket room; all shrink wrapped up with nowhere to go...

Well this Christmas, Santa decided to help me out! For, under the tree I found...

The NEW Estes Saturn V!!! And this time, I opened the sucker! Let's take a look, shall we?

The open box. I love the look of the massive BT-101! 

This version is based on the Centuri kit, as is evidenced by the vacuformed wraps. The old Estes kit used card stock. There are advantages to both...

The styrine parts pack. These include the capsule and escape tower (which fly) and the engine nozzels (which don't). 

Interestingly, there is NO balsa in this kit. The fins are two piece styrine.

Even though there is no balsa, there are some hardwood dowels. 

The decal sheet is rather small for a model of this size, but most of the visual impact is from the painted roll patterns, not decals.

So there you have it! I can now have my cake and eat it too! I'm pretty sure my version will be a cluster, but I haven't decided exactly what kind yet. I just can't bring myself to fly a Saturn on a single engine. Yes, additional nose weight will probably be added.

So there you go! Even at 54, Santa can come through.

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

One of the Coolest Clone Kits Ever!

Apparently, years ago, the members of DARS got together and produced (just among themselves) a clone of the original Estes Saturn IB. This kit included all of the original wraps and even the decals. All in all, it made for an incredible kit!

Now, this must have been during about a five year window when I was not involved with the club, because I didn't know anything about it until I got this kit from a former member.

As you can see, it's actually a great kit! As you can also see, I haven't built it yet. However, it IS in the build pile, and will be finished one day. I like the idea of doing the model "old school," as it were. I never owned this kit, but I built its big brother, the Saturn V from the same time, and I know it's tough! I may need a little luck on this one!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

When Hot Wheels Could Fly...Part Two

A while back I featured an item produced by Mattel back in 1971 to try to cash in on the Hot Wheels craze...Hot Birds! In that post I showed you my plane, the Regal Eagle. However, I found another one on eBay a few months ago and since it had a very small price tag (under ten bucks, including shipping) I went for it!. Here, therefore, is my second Hot Bird, The Cloud Hopper!

This one is interesting because it's a turbo-prop! I like the intake mounted in the tail!

The condition of the paint is pretty rough on this one (hence, the tiny price tag) but it is complete and not dented. You can get air brush spectra-flame paint online... Maybe a repaint is in order?

A look at the landing gear! Note that all Hot Wheels products were copyrighted the year before they were released. This can cause some confusing in dating them.

So there you have it! Sometimes things just fall in your lap! If I decide to restore it, I'll post pictures.

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!