I just received my new copy in the mail today.
Perusing through the pages, I was fairly delighted with the new model offerings:
A cool new Signature Series model designed by Bill Simon.
The return of the Orbital Transport (Yay!). That one should never have gone away in the first place.
The Vesta Intruder in the Space Corps series.
The Universal Astrocam - an HD video/audio cam designed to fit 'most Estes rockets'.
And finally, the Blue Origin New Shepard.
As for the scale and Pro series catalog sections, nothing has really changed there. Pretty much the same thing with the lesser skill level series of models.
The biggest surprise of all, at least for me, is found in the motor section.
The A3-2T and A3-6T motors are back !!!
Break out the party hats and noise-makers !!
Ever since I re-joined the hobby I have lamented the lack of these two motor types. But they're really, truly back!
Here's to building some A-class boost/gliders and mini-motor multi-stagers...
Another excellent change to the catalog is all about the photographs of the models. Most are now shown in profile orientation which gives a better idea of proportion and appearance than the 'skewed' photos of near past issues.
General Kudos to Estes on the 2022 catalog!
But then, of course, there are the price increases....(sigh)....
Ed, did you notice, the Orbital Transport is an upscale! Main tube in BT-55. I may just have to get one. My inventory dropped to under 200 kits in 2021, so it might be time to think about my next purchase(s). :-)
ReplyDeleteHi, Lee,
ReplyDeleteYes, I saw that. I like how Estes is bringing back some of the classics in upscale versions - same with the Mars Snooper.
I also overlooked another thing in the new catalog - that of the new starters being offered in six packs.
What about those new prices? Yikes!
Even the little Mosquito kit is weighing in at 7 bills! Add the $2.50 for a mini motor and you're looking at ten bucks for a likely one-and-done flight.