The picture above shows the Enterprise connected to the long "recovery probe", required for stabile flight. Note the dowel "finger" set over the top of the large disk.
This design had to be a stable flight challenge for the Estes designers. For me, it was a visual disappointment.
The underside showing the clip on recovery probe. Painting it black doesn't camouflage the addition.
Will I ever launch it? Probably not. Even with internal plywood reinforcements it's delicate and would have recovery damage. I wouldn't want to repair cracked vacu-form plastic.
I know, the bead of glue on the radar dish is too large.
The decals ended up being a mix of originals and reprints.
To be honest - I'm glad this one is finished!
Great job on this one!
ReplyDeleteI built the reissue of this one in the 90s. I painted the probe battleship gray and I think it blended better/was less noticeable. Loved this model but it was never a good flyer! Sideways flight profile without enough altitude! The saucer section tended to break off from the engineering hull. Fixed it at least twice, didn’t attempt flying again!
Hi Anonymous,
DeleteIf I remember correctly, my one and only 1975 Enterprise launch had too much damage to bother repairing. I'm afraid to launch this one!
The end result seems to be a pretty nice model of the Enterprise, but a pretty marginal model rocket. Just kind of inherent in this sort of situation; the Enterprise shape is simply ill-suited for launching. But it's a heck of a piece of model-building.
ReplyDeleteFor this sort of thing I kind of prefer something like the Sirius Atlantis Refit, which captures the spirit pretty nicely while being more flightworthy.
Anyway, kudos for actually finishing this one... I think I would have given up at some point, and *definitely* would not fly it (and I normally fly everything).
Hi Neil,
DeleteI agree, the Sirius Atlantis refit looks to be a great build, Their 18mm Interrogator is one of my favorite builds.
I did give up at one point. Took a break then finally finished it.
I've flown mine twice, both on C6-3s.
ReplyDeleteOn the first flight, I'd attempted to do a 'cradle recovery' (like the older Saturn Vs) by fastening a length of shroud line from the motor hook to the shock cord so that it would land 'belly down' - no such luck. The whole chute/shock-cord tangle and it landed hard. The Launch Probe crimped badly and required total replacement and one of the nacelle struts broke loose at the hull. I was able to fix the strut without affecting the vacuform. The 2nd flight was much better, having scrapped the 'cradle' idea, but it landed in water and pond-scum-filled ditch. I was able to fish it out fairly quickly and gave it a cursory wipe-down. Once dry, the pond-scum was easily wiped away. No water entered the vacuform so all is good. At the rate I'm going, it will probably be 2 years before I fly it again.
Hi Phill,
DeleteMy first and only launch of my 1975 Enterprise landed hard and had too much damage.
I've had a pond scum landing before - It touched down near the edge of a pond. I turned it over and let the water run out! It dried okay and was flown again.
A really tough model and i was excited to see you take it on. I have to agree with the first poster the probe is better in gray.
ReplyDeleteBig question: Why didn't you sand off the lip around the saucer section? When I did mine I sanded that off for a perfectly seamless saucer, and it came out nice. That's the way it looks on the box and in the catalog and as we all know that's the Ultimate Source of Truth in these matters.
As a kid I remember the 1975 Estes catalog had a forward by Vern Estes and a photo of him holding the Enterprise at his desk. I thought he looked so proud of it.
Hi Anonymous,
DeleteI thought about sanding down the seams but thought that would make a weak joint.
I looked at the catalog pictures, obviously those were pre-production models. Some of the painting and decal details are missing. The build paint looks white! Vern must have been going through his Abraham Lincoln stage.
Lol I deleted my comment about the Lincoln beard before posting that!
DeleteThanks for this, Keep up the Inspiring Builds!
Well done. She turned out great!
ReplyDeleteThanks Leo!
DeleteI'm glad to cross this one off my list -