Brief:
By the early '70s, the Estes catalog had expanded from its Astron roots to the point that it pretty well covered the whole range of the model rocketry spectrum. The available rockets ranged from unique scale birds such as the Pershing 1A and the Nike-Ajax, to now legendary futuristic kits like the Orbital Transport, Interceptor and Mars Lander. Another segment that Estes began to concentrate on around this time was the basic 3 and 4 fin and cone design with the slightly cartoonish theme like the Scamp, the wildly politically incorrect Der Red Max, and my favorite 24mm jaw-dropper, the Goblin. Actually offered as a bonus kit (an award for purchases totaling a certain amount,) at one point in it's lifetime, the Goblin would eventually make a name for itself as an impressive performer due to it's small size in relation to it's big engine capability. Simple in both construction and graphics, the Goblin is a cloning project that attracts attention both on and off the pads.

Construction:

The Part list comprises :-

• BT-55IJ
• BNC-55AD (BMS stock cone)
• BT-50J engine tube
• 2 - AR-5055 centering rings
• AR-2050 engine block
• 12" Kevlar cord
• 24" sewing elastic
• Screw eye
• Snap swivel
• Launch lug
• 18" streamer
• Decal sheet
• 3/32" basswood fin stock

Sometimes the biggest attraction to cloning these kits is the ease with which you can recreate a classic. This is the case with the Goblin. The instructions are simple and illustrated well enough that anyone who has ever constructed anything more complicated than an RTF kit should be able to build one of these without breaking a sweat. I made two modifications to the original design, neither of which are obvious to the naked eye, and both of which are standard mods these days. I replaced the old Estes paper shock cord mount with the a length of Kevlar tied and glued into the engine mount. This is then used as the mounting point for a LONG length of sewing elastic. (That D ejection charge is going to have a big ejection kick, so the longer, the better.)

Another change I made was from balsa to basswood for the fins. The Goblin, being the high flier that it is, traditionally recovers with a streamer instead of a parachute (in the interest of actually seeing the rocket again.) This can lead to some jarring collisions with the ground, and the ground is not always a field of soft, tall weeds. The hard baked soccer fields of late August and the occasional access road have both taken their toll on my clone, so the change to basswood was made in the hope that it could withstand some of these collisions. So far the fins haven't broken, but they've been sprung on several occasions at the attachment point. Not a great shock.

Finishing:
Estes has used the yellow and black color scheme on a number of rockets over the years, but the Goblin definitely stands out from the pack. (I've also seen the rocket done in a Halloweenish bright orange color, and while both look great, the yellow won out for me based on it's catalog correctness.) I filled the tube spirals and wood grain with several coats of thinned Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish, sprayed on two coats of Valspar Sandable Primer, and followed them up with color coats of Valspar Bumblebee Gloss and Valspar Gloss Black. (Valspar is a Lowe's brand paint which I use quite often. It is similar in coverage and workability to Wal-Mart paints, but the trip is shorter for me.) I made my own decals using Bel Decal waterslide decal paper and my inkjet printer, learning a valuable lesson with the first set of decals that I made. I initially sprayed a heavy coat of clear onto the finished decal, hoping to speed up the whole process. When I returned several hours later the images had ghosted badly. I tried again with a second set, sprayed the clear in multiple coats, and was rewarded with excellent results.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
I started the Goblin off on the conservative side, plugging in an Estes C11-5 on both of the first two flights. In fact, it wasn't until it's fourth flight that I got up the nerve to fly it on a D12. While it absolutely screams off the pad under D-power, the flights on the big C's don't pale much by comparison. The biggest advantage to C-power over D is that I have been able to actually catch one lift-off on film, the C's delivering less of an initial kick at liftoff. The C flights have also made for less of a recovery hike, which on our mixed bag field, (part swamp, part brambles, part soccer field, part asphalt,) can be a blessing.) I've since fallen into a routine of flying the Goblin on D's only in calm weather while using C's for windier days and so far it seems to have worked out fine.

Recovery:
It never occurred to me that there could be such a thing as too much streamer. It should have. I packed as much streamer as would fit into the BT-55 for it's first few flights. (I'd conservatively say at least 36 inches, with a possibility of another 18 inches on the + side.) On it's first two flights on an Estes C11-5 into a wide-open, cloudless sky, the Goblin was noticeably fast on recovery. No damage was sustained on either of those flights, but on a subsequent flight it was heading for the line of cars at the back of the range at what appeared to be terminal velocity. It missed the cars by a scant 18 inches, but impacted hard on the "grass". (The "grass" strangely being the color and consistency of dust caked concrete.) Needless to say, this was it's only flight of the day on that outing as the Goblin lost two fins. I have since shortened the streamer to a more Goblin-friendly 18 inches, but it still comes in whistling. The only reason I've kept the streamer in place of a chute has been because of the Goblin's traditional streamer recovery, but I'm beginning to think that the rocket might be better off with a heavily reefed 12" chute, especially in calm conditions.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
The Goblin is a great rocket to pick for your first cloning project, combining great performance, great looks and ease of construction into one classic package. The halloweenish graphics are usually a hit with kids while others who have been around the hobby for a while will appreciate seeing a classic recreated.

Pro's: Everything. The Goblin is classic Estes done right.

Con's: Streamer recovery somewhat stressful on the fins. Think about opting for a small, heavily reefed chute instead.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5