Estes Industries is an American company which specializes in the design and manufacture of operational model rockets for the general public.
Founded by Vernon Estes in Penrose, Colorado in 1958, the company managed to survive the severe decline of interest in the hobby during the 1990s by acquiring its competitors and subsequently being taken over by affluent holding companies. The company is still in existence today and was sold to Hobbico, Inc. in 2010.
Star Trek association[]
Vernon Estes with an Enterprise rocket model, ca. 1975
In 1975, Estes became the third company after AMT and Aurora Plastics Corporation (or fourth if KSN Midori can be counted as a licensed company) to be licensed to market Star Trek model kits, and the second one to do so in the US, although their products were strictly speaking model rockets, despite requiring assembly.
Estes released models of the USS Enterprise and the Klingon D7-class Battle cruiser which were originally packaged in a polypropylene bag with a cardboard liner. In 1991, both models were re-packaged in cardboard boxes for Star Trek's 25th anniversary. Until that point in time, Estes, together with AMT/Aurora and Midori, were the only companies that had been formally releasing Star Trek model kits. Subsequent releases were also sold in cardboard boxes.
| Estes Industries 1975/1992 publicity | |||
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ASIN B002CEQDOO |
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| Item | Item No. | Issue | Scale | Notes | |
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| Klingon D7 Battle Cruiser | 1274 | 1975 | 1:700 | – | 
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| 1991 | 25th anniversary re-packaging | 
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| USS Enterprise | 1275 | 1975 | 1:700 | – | 
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| 1991 | 25th anniversary re-packaging | 
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See also[]
External links[]
- EstesRockets.com – official web site
- Estes Industries at Wikipedia
- Estes rocket reviews at Rocket Reviews.Com