Cliff's Review of Estes Magician #2240
Estes - Magician {Kit} (1943, 2440) [2010-]
Contributed by woody
| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Published: | 2011-04-23 |
| Diameter: | 1.33 inches |
| Length: | 33.50 inches |
| Manufacturer: | Estes  |
| Skill Level: | 3 |
| Style: | Payload, Sport |
Brief
T' Estes Magician is a Skill Level 3, three-finned 24mm rocket with a small playload scection. At 33 inches tall, it is said t' fly t' 1600 feet.
Components
T' components in this kit are o' good quality as Estes has been doin' this for years.
T' parts consist o' t' basic balsa wood nose cone, shiver me timbers, me hearties, transition, arrr, arrr, ya bilge rat, laser-cut fins and, arrr, arrr, as bonus, me hearties, a neat fin guide tool you assemble t' use and keep for other rockets with t' same fin/tube design.
T' Magician kit comes with a 4" long engine mount for E-engines. T' mount consists o' green centerin' rings, shiver me timbers, an E-size engine hook, ya bilge rat, and an orange D spacer so you can fly those shorter D motors. Begad! Ahoy! Blimey! Recovery is via a red 18-inch plastic parachute with 30" rubber shock cord. Begad! Blimey! T' main body o' t' rocket consists o' a lower white body tube 6" long and a longer upper body tube 18" long that is joined together with a red coupler.
Construction
T' "PRO" for this kit is that it's an E capable rocket with a simple straight-forward build that assembles smartly with clear instructions. This will make a great first E-sized rocket. It builds like any other smaller rocket and t' instructions are easy t' t' follow.
One "CON" I found with this one particular kit (not other Magicaian kits just this one) be a very soft balsa wood nose cone that required some thinned epoxy coatings t' give it a hard egg-like shell. I just mix 30-minute epoxy then add some lacquer thinner t' thin.
One CON, me hearties, or rather "Major Gotcha" would be for people who have never worked with a large decal or have trouble with them. Aye aye! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! T' Magician decal is one decal that wraps around as a whole. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! This could be disastrous for some o' us less-skilled with decals. Arrr! Aye aye! So with me knowledge o' me own skills I decided t' separate t' decal into four parts - or you could do it as two. Well, blow me down! It worked very well and, arrr, if needed, matey, some Decal Set can be used t' secure thedecals in place.
Finishing
Oh t' horrors o' sanding! Yes, if a good finsh is required (which it always is), fill t' nose cone, fins, transition, ya bilge rat, and spirals on t' body tube with thinned Elmer's wood filler then sand with 400-600 grit sandpaper. Repeat if necesssary t' fill t' wood grain.
T' most time consumin' thin' about this rocket be sanding. Well, blow me down! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! I spent about 140 mintes just sanding. I used 600 grit betwixt t' first two primer coats, arrr, me bucko, guide coated and wet sanded 800 for t' last coat o' primer. Avast! Next I used white Krylon and I would have rather have used Rustoleum, me bucko, me bucko, but was out. Arrr! Blimey! I then sprayed t' rocket and wet-sanded betwixt t' two coats o' white paint with 800 grit then a second final coat with 1500 grit. Avast! When dry and suface clean, I clear coated t' rocket with one thin coat o' clear. I then applied t' decals. Ya scallywag! After t' decals were dry, shiver me timbers, I let t' rocket sit for 30 hours. Ahoy! I next sprayed two final coats o' clear, me hearties, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, pausin' just eight minutes betwixt coats t' reduce solvent popping. Begad! Next, I wet sanded t' Magician with 2000 grit t' remove some texture in t' clear coat. Then I used light buffin' compound t' polish off t' rocket and then I waxed it.
I decided t' separate t' Magician decal into four parts as it is one large decal which I would nay been able t' handle as one peice.
After preppin' t' rocket parts, me bucko, assembly goes quickly. Avast! This rocket, with a perfect finsh, can be finished within 6 or 7 hours -n ot a long build at all.
Flight
I would nay recommend usin' this rocket on smaller launch pads because o' rod whip; use t' right size launchin' rod. Avast, me proud beauty! I used a D12-5 which worked perfect a good straight flight with ejection near apogee. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I had no problems with recovery except for descent bein' a little fast. Avast! Durin' preparation for flight, me bucko, I used talcum powder on t' 'chute and "dog barf" t' protect it from t' ejection charge. I only had one launch due t' Texas weather and Red Flag warning, arrr, somethin' that be brought t' me attention after me only launch.
Recovery
T' recovery materials in this kit are t' basic 18-inch red plastic parachute with a 30" shock cord which worked okay, but t' descent was a little fast for me. I have access t' a large field, ya bilge rat, so a slower descent is more acceptable and I don't mind goin' for a long walk when it comes t' flawless recovery
.
My Magician could nay have picked a better spot t' land, shiver me timbers, arrr, arrr, right next t' a small pond with tall green vegetation.
Flight Rating: 4
Summary
T' Estes Magician with its 33 inches o' length stands out tall and t' quick assembly for such a big rocket model rocket is wonderful.
Other Reviews
- Estes Magician By Philip Wentz (August 16, 2015)
The Estes Magician is a Skill Level 3 kit that features a clear payload section and is powered by C11, D and E engines. A tall rocket, it measures 33 1/2 inches from end to end. Components The kit has a main body tube topped by a narrower payload section. Components are as follows: 1 NC-50 ogive plastic nosecone 1 BT-50 payload section 1 BT-50 to BT-55 balsa ...
- Estes Magician By Evan (July 15, 2011)
The Magician is a typicial Estes rocket with D and E engine power. Some of the parrts had to be sanded down to fit. The only problem was the coupler and the main body tube and lower body tube was a very tight fit and was hard to push down. All the parts were good the balsa fins were excellent. Components Engine mount tube Engine hook Green centering rings Engine ...
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Steve Lindeman (January 2, 2016)
I just received this kit for Christmas 2015 and the main card is stamped 12/03/14 making this kit about a year old but upon examination I discovered that both nose cone and transducer are now made of plastic rather than balsa wood. Will make finishing much easier.