Port-A-Pads Through The Years

I was curious about the design changes over the years and did some hunting on Ninfingers CLICK HERE
Here's the first all plastic launcher from 1970,
The Estes PORTA-PAD.

We've all owned one of these.
The first one I had was yellow plastic but I've seen later runs in orange.
Notice the round cutouts in the girder styled legs.

Then in 1984 it got a lower center of gravity.
Now molded in black.
Newly re-designed? It looks like the legs were just flipped over!

In 1989 the PORTA-PAD II was listed.
The round cutouts are now square.
There are only four cut out areas where there was six before.
Probably a cost-saving move using less plastic.

Here's where it got weird. Let's back up a few years.
Centuri introduces it's POWER TOWER in the 1975 catalog.
It's just the original Porta-Pad molded in black.
The only real difference is a metallic sticker down one leg and the Centuri angled deflector. Why is it weird?
This was probably the first time we noticed the assimilation of Centuri into the Estes line. Both were owned by the parent company Damon. More similar product lines were to come.
And yes, Centuri previously bought and sold re-branded Estes engines for years.

Don't get me started on this one!
I never liked the Lighting Bolt legs. It looks like a toy for an eight-year-old.

This design was one of the reasons I made the Adeptor for camera tripod launches. I wanted to get off the ground and launch from something that looked more professional.

The new Estes Astron II Pad and Controller are a big improvement. And, they've gone back to molding it in the retro orange color.