BAR Rocket Fleet - #108 Generic E2X

Estes Industries Kit

Kit #: 2008
Type:  Sport Model

Stages:  Single
Engine Type:  Standard 18mm
Recovery:  Parachute or Streamer

Length:  13.5” (343mm)
Diameter:  .980”  (24.9mm)
Weight Empty:  22.7gm
Nose Cone:  Tangent Ogive, 2.75 Cal.
Fin Type: Clipped Delta, Plastic Fin Can
Number of Fins:  4

Color Scheme: White with black trim

Date Completed: 8 Dec. 2016

The Generic E2X is an Estes kit from the company’s “Easy -to- Assemble’ line of model rockets.  The kit comes with a plastic fin can and nose cone, a plastic nose cone, and stick-on decals.

Built On A Whim….

My two young grand-kids and I have recently embarked on a ‘Classified Top-Security’ project being conducted in a ‘Secret Laboratory’ located deep in the basement of the BlastFromThePast home.  Not even their grandma, whom they are convinced was a real live Ninja in her past, is aware of this covert activity.

As this adventure will involve model rockets, a trip to the local Hobby Lobby was in order to scope out the store’s offering of Estes kits for a ‘Materials Procurement’ mission.

 Since the young-‘uns enjoy doing crafty-type activities, and making things, the idea was to avoid anything out-of-the-box RTF.  

Hmm, an ‘Easy-To-Assemble’ kit to get them started, perhaps…

That’s when I noticed a couple of Generic E2X kits hanging on the pegs.  I had read about these somewhere online and how they made excellent project rockets for school science classes and scout troops.

Why not?   I grabbed one and headed toward the checkout line, clutching a recently printed 40%-off coupon in my sweaty palm.

In the intervening time, I’ve had that un-opened kit sitting in front of me while I’ve worked on my other rocket projects.  

Last Friday, as I was sanding the fins on one of these birds, after the 3^rd application of filler, I thought to myself, “Man, it would be nice to do a build for a change that didn’t require hours of filling and sanding.”

That’s when my eyes lit on the Generic E2X kit.   It beckoned to me.

“No, geek, don’t do it…remember? You bought that for the grandkids!”

Nevertheless, there is just something irresistible about a pristine model rocket kit just sitting there, waiting to be opened and built.  Even if it is a beginner’s E2X.   Temptation got the better of me, and I found myself reaching for the bag and a nearby X-Acto knife. 

Face it, I’m just a rocket geek.

I’ll go buy a couple more for the kiddoes.

For the next half hour, I reveled in putting this little model together, justifying my activity with the reasoning that, by building one first, I could identify any areas of construction where the grand-kids might experience difficulty.  

…that’s a lame-0 excuse…..

And, yes, it was kind of fun having a no-brainer model rocket with a plastic fin can that didn’t require endless filling and sanding! 

Still, being a consummate quality nerd, I couldn’t stand the thought of adding a model rocket to my collection that didn’t have the spiral seams filled on the body tube and launch lug.  Makes no nevermind if it’s a simple E2X or a Skill Level 5 builder’s kit, those seams are getting hidden!  So, yes, I did set to work with filler and sandpaper on this one, after all.

Also, no rocket gets added to my fleet without a proper primer and paint job. 

Which brings us to the final decor…

Estes calls this one ‘Generic’, and in all respects it is a common, run-of-the-mill 4FNC design.

But, when I hear the word ‘generic’, it conjures up recollections of the early 80s when generic foodstuffs first hit the grocery store shelves.  Back then, one could find an entire aisle of groceries in plain black and white containers that featured no more than a brief description of what was inside. In those days, there weren’t even any store-branded generics – it was all the general non-descript stuff.

I looked at the stick-on decals that came with the Generic E2X kit.  In my opinion, these looked a little too fancy-shmancy to be classified as ‘generic’.  And, wait a minute…those are ‘NASA’ and ‘Estes’ logo decals…and a small one that looks suspiciously like the old Estes Aerospace Club logo!  Those are all forms of branding, and don’t even approach being generic!

I tossed the decal sheet aside.

“Not on MY generic rocket”, I declared.

Instead, out came the trusty old Dymo labeler to make my own ‘proper’ generic markings….

A plain white overall paint job and a couple of black band decals later and I now have a bona-fide generic model rocket, in the old-school sense of the word. 

Can’t wait to get this one out to the launch field…..