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Thursday, April 12, 2018

Estes Little Joe II (Small) Build, Background

Here's yet another kit version of the Little Joe II.
I first saw a "Littler" 1/100th scale Little Joe II in the 1971 catalog. The page to the left was from the 1972 Centuri catalog. Many agree this was the best catalog ever produced. To see it: CLICK HERE

At that time I couldn't afford the BIG 1/45 scale Centuri Little Joe, priced then at $17.95. This smaller Little Joe II kit was a mere $3.25.

It seemed attractive - No Painting Required! Corrugated metallic and pre-printed roll pattern wrappers. Even the fins were covered with self-adhesive silver.



Here's the face card picture from the Estes reissue kit.
It uses the same size capsule, decals and upper body wrap from the Centuri kit. It does not include the chrome body wrap or fin covering material. The Centuri kit had an 18mm engine mount, the Estes has a 13mm mount.
The Estes kit was only available from 1991 - 1992. It sold for $11.99!
To see the Estes catalog listing: CLICK HERE
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5 comments:

  1. Naoto KimuraApril 12, 2018 at 1:11 AM

    Just wanted to check on how the prices compare -- I went to this site ( https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl ) to check the $3.25 price in the 1972 Century catalog against what I'd get with adjustment for inflation in 1991 -- $10.64. If adjusted for 2018, then I get a figure of $19.60

    I probably mentioned before the "sticker shock" moment Thrifty brand ice cream at a Rite Aid pharmacy. I do recall as a kid it was around 10 cents for a single scoop, 15 cents for double. Nowadays it's around $2.00 for single scoop, and $3.00 for double.

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    1. Chris MichielssenApril 12, 2018 at 10:35 AM

      Hi Naoto,
      If I saw this in a hobby store I would never pay $19.60 for it. But, I have probably spent more than that collecting all the parts needed to build it!
      When grocery shopping I still leave things that I find are too expensive. $2.00 for an ice cream isn't very "Thrifty".

      Delete
  2. OpenroadApril 12, 2018 at 6:40 AM

    Odd how Centuri makes no mention of their Saturn V’s scale but prominently list the scale of all three other “Apollo” models. Estes, on the other hand, lists the scale for their Sat V and Little Joes.

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    Replies
    1. Chris MichielssenApril 12, 2018 at 10:36 AM

      Hi Openroad,
      You're right, they don't mention the scale of the Centuri Saturn V.

      Delete
  3. Moontana RocketsApril 12, 2018 at 4:10 PM

    I picked up a few of these kits some time back. I had planned on using chrome monokote with decal overlay similar as you did the trim on the Saros. Is that what you have planned ? Mine has never made it to the bench yet.

    ReplyDelete