New stuff...

There have been a few recent releases by the kit manufacturers, some of which are very cool. First up is an awesome release from Estes - the Destination Mars Longship. It has a futuristic style, featuring a ring tail and a round nose, with all sorts of plastic detail and lots of decals. A must-add to any fleet, and Chris Michielssen gives lots of good tips to help with construction in his build thread. I scarfed one of these puppies as soon as I noticed it on the Estes web site - Happy early birthday, Bill!

Destination Mars Longship
(Click to enlarge).

The newest release from Estes is the diminutive Gnome. Or rather, it's sort of new - it has been around for many, many years in a (relatively cheap) bulk pack of 12 rockets, but hasn't been available as a single kit since 2014. You can now get this quick build for just under 8 bucks - very popular with the kiddos.

Estes Gnome
(Click to enlarge).

The Gnome was first released in 1988 (along with its short-lived sibling, the Leprechaun), and I must confess to liking the original decor (see below) more than the current blue and silver. What do y'all think?

The Gnome in the 1988 Estes catalog (Click to enlarge).

Finally, there's a new kit from Apogee - the Dynastar Flame Thrower. This bird looks sharp, with its hot paint scheme and vinyl flame decals. It also features dual 24 mm motor mounts, which makes it pretty darn irresistible to a cluster nut like me. I'm almost salivating at the thought of flying this rocket on dual F32's, loaded with a 30" ripstop nylon parachute and a Jolly Logic Chute Release. Rocketeer heaven! It shows currently not available, but please consider grabbing one when they are up for sale - it has the Bill seal of approval!

Apogee Flame Thrower (Click to enlarge).