mh9162013
Well-Known Member
The Estes Bull Pup 12D from circa the early 1990s was the first model rocket kit I ever had. I plan building another one, but would like to have some more background information about the various kits Estes released at some point. Here’s what I know about the model so far.
- There were two model numbers for the kits, #1972 and #7000. I still have yet to determine what the differences between these kits were besides different packaging and /or facecards.
- There are at least 2 different versions of the decals for this model; one is water slide and the other is peel-and-stick.
- This model has had at least 2 different versions of the tail fins; I believe the older kit(s) had smaller tail fins
- The balsa parts were initially die cut, but are now laser cut.
- The parachute changed as well (initially having to be assembled and now coming fully assembled as well as the parachute design changing)
- At least one older version of the kit used red-colored clay/weight for the nose cone.
Based on my gut feeling, this was the first release of the kit:
But I’m not 100% sure, and it’s possible this was the first release of the kit (which seems to have been sold with or without shrink wrap over the cardboard box):
Or maybe it was this one:
It’s my understanding that this is now the current version of the kit:
But before this “black facecard” version, Estes released this:
And at some point before this “orange and blue facecard,” Estes released these versions:
Any insight as to the years of sale, order of release, which versions had the water slide decals and which ones had the peel-and-stick would be appreciated – especially which type of decal is currently included in the currently-for-sale version of the model.
- There were two model numbers for the kits, #1972 and #7000. I still have yet to determine what the differences between these kits were besides different packaging and /or facecards.
- There are at least 2 different versions of the decals for this model; one is water slide and the other is peel-and-stick.
- This model has had at least 2 different versions of the tail fins; I believe the older kit(s) had smaller tail fins
- The balsa parts were initially die cut, but are now laser cut.
- The parachute changed as well (initially having to be assembled and now coming fully assembled as well as the parachute design changing)
- At least one older version of the kit used red-colored clay/weight for the nose cone.
Based on my gut feeling, this was the first release of the kit:
But I’m not 100% sure, and it’s possible this was the first release of the kit (which seems to have been sold with or without shrink wrap over the cardboard box):
Or maybe it was this one:
It’s my understanding that this is now the current version of the kit:
But before this “black facecard” version, Estes released this:
And at some point before this “orange and blue facecard,” Estes released these versions:
Any insight as to the years of sale, order of release, which versions had the water slide decals and which ones had the peel-and-stick would be appreciated – especially which type of decal is currently included in the currently-for-sale version of the model.