The Estes Photo Contest

OK, so I dropped the hammer earlier today and submitted a photo to this latest 'contest' sponsored by Estes.
In reading the contest description, it sounds like there will not necessarily be any judging of the submissions, rather the winners will be selected at random.
The grand prize is pretty juicy - A four kit set of models covering the U.S. manned space program - a Saturn V, an Apollo Little Joe II, a Mercury Redstone, and a Mercury Little Joe. 

Sweeeet!

The contest is very simple - all you have to do is get on the Estes website, click the contest entry box, submit your name and email address, upload a picture of yourself or a family member launching a rocket - any rocket - and hit the 'GO' button.

Hey, Presto....You're in!

"THAT'S EASY !!!!"

Good luck!

BAR Fleet #123 - Big Rage

Source: 

Quest Aerospace

Kit #1010
Type:  Sport Model

 Stages:  Single

Engine Type:  18mm
Recovery:  Parachute

Length: 

(With Payload): 93.2cm
(Without Payload):  71.7 cm
Diameter:  35mm
Weight Empty: 
(With Payload): 92.8g
(Without Payload): 77.5g

Nose Cone:  Conical

Fin Type:  Trapezoidal
Number of Fins: 4
Color Scheme: 
Dark Blue, Black, Red,
Chrome silver Trim

 Date Completed: 

28 June, 2019

 A Really Tall Nike Smoke!

 

The Big Rage was a beginners’ model produced by Quest Aerospace.  The bird features a plastic ‘scale’ Nike Smoke nose cone and plastic fin can.  The main booster body and payload section came pre-colored – blue and black respectively.  Standing a little over three feet tall, the model is very impressive looking.

 This Big Rage model came to me already built by  a friend living in Colorado Springs, Mr. Robert Antion. 

There were a few modifications and fixes necessary before the model could be deemed flight-ready and added to the fleet.  Chief among these was painting the fin can and nose cone.  The original kit parts came molded in a hideous bright pink color!  I chose to change this to a more palatable bright red.

The model also came sans launch lugs, so I had to raid my parts stash to remedy this.  Since I did not want to re-paint the entire booster section to accommodate the new lugs, I chose to color them with a blue Sharpie marker.

For safety’s sake, I also replaced the stock kit shock cord, which was a bit too short, and had been sitting in storage for over twenty years.  I like that the model is equipped with a Kevlar shock cord anchor, as do most Quest kits.  All I had to do was install a four foot, ¼ inch elastic cord to the Kevlar loop.  A heavy duty snap swivel was attached to the free end of the shock cord to allow the model to be flown with or without the payload section.

Finally, the model was embellished with some rub-on fleet number decals and a two inch wide Chrome Silver Monokote band at the top of the booster section.

The Big Rage in no-payload-section configuration

This big bird is a welcome addition to the fleet, and is destined to log a lot of flight missions as the designated carrier for a key chain video camera.