Dragon Ship 7

Kit# 1345

Version 2 Rainbow Paper Hang Tag - Large Letters

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Images by Gerry Fortin

Designer: Keith Niskern

Production Years: 1980-1981

Retail Pricing Range: $7.00-$7.75

Rarity: Scare

Description: Estes Patrol Cruiser Excaliber and Dragon Ship 7 were simultaneously released in the 1980 catalog. The two kits were marketed as "Galatic Pirates" with the Excaliber being the "Good Guys" and the Dragon Ship 7 as the "Bad Guys". Both kits were available for only two years.

The Dragon Ship 7 rocket kit #1345 was probably packaged with two different hang tags just like the Patrol Cruiser Excaliber. First is the large letters rainbow paper hang tag followed by the black paper hang tag. Both were paired with yellow, orange facecard with overlaid gray body and black nose cone Dragon Ship 7 in the foreground and the Excaliber in the background. To date, I have only seen Dragon Ship kits with the rainbow hang tag. Most surviving kits will be found with balsa wood detachment due to the kit's weight stressing the thin balsa sheets.

Hang Tag (Header Card) Guide

The Dragon Ship 7 is a skill level 3 kit and challenging to construct. The model uses 18mm engine stuffer type mount surrounded by 9 BT-3 tubes as its main build characteristic along with multiple fin shapes and a cockpit canopy. It is powered with 18mm engines and employs an 18" parachute for safe recovery. The rocket's 2.7 oz weight and 1.637" diameter provides slow and dramatic lift offs but a limited flight altitude of 500 feet.

Kit Contents: The kit contains a main body tube, tail shroud tube, plastic nose cone, an engine mount rings and tube forming a stuffer engine mount, 9 BT-3 tubes to decorate the engine mount, two die cut balsa fin sheets, pattern sheet for balsa fin construction, printed canopy paper sheet, clay weight, 18' parachute, multi color decal sheet, three launch lugs and instruction sheet.

Availability: The Dragon Ship 7 kit can be found on eBay with patience while a clone kit is available for those who wish to build rather than collect classic kits. Please note that locating a high quality original #1345 kit with rainbow hang tag will be much more difficult that for the black paper hang tag due to the poor rainbow hang tag paper quality that easily cracks and flakes with storage time.

Additional information can be found at the following link;

Jim Z Rocket Plan Link: Estes1345

Specifications: Length: 16.75", Diameter: 1.637", Weight: 2.7 oz.

Recommended 18 mm Engines: A8-3, B4-4, B6-4, B8-5, B14-5, C6-5

 

Estes Catalog Artwork

 

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