Astron Farside
Kit# K-12
Yellow Double Oval Hang Tag - Damon Era
Yellow Double Panel Facecard
Images by Gerry Fortin
Designer: Bill Simon
Production Years: 1971-1973 based on Yellow Hang Tag
Retail Pricing Range: $2.75
Rarity: Rare
Description: Damon era Astron Farside from early 1970s with typical yellow background facecard framed by black borders. The Farside rocket is overlaid on a yellow to white transition background. The secondary frame at the bottom of facecard is printed in gray and contains the kit's technical specifications. The facecard is paired with a yellow double oval hang tag. This kit is still marked as Astron and lists the patent number for multi staging model rockets.
The Farside was a 3 stage ultra high altitude workhorse rocket of the Estes fleet. Estes rated the kit as skill level 3 and for the experienced rocketeer. Flight up to 2500 feet were claimed in the Estes catalog. The Farside was part of a two model offering whereby the Farside was configured as a standard payload model and the Farside-X featured a large payload section for experimental work.
Kit Contents: The Farside kit contains a host of items including; a main body tube, two booster tubes and a payload tube, 18mm engine mounts for the sustainer and two booster tubes, four sheets of balsa fin stock, five stage couplers, balsa nose cone and nose block, a pattern sheet, 12" parachute, launch lug and instruction sheet.
Availability: During 2009, a small hoard of three to four kits with yellow double oval hang tag was released systematically on eBay therefore increasing short term availability. Without the release of this hoard, the Farside kit with yellow double oval hang tag is considered to be rare and worthy of a reasonable premium for nice original kits.
Additional information can be found at the following links;
JimZ Kit Plan Link: Estes K12
Essense Model Rocket Reviews: OOP K12X Farside-X
Specifications: Length: 21.5", Diameter: 0.976", Weight: 2.0 oz.
Recommended 18 mm Engines: First Stage: 1/2A6-0, A8-0, B14-0 Second Stage: 1/2A6-0, A8-0, B6-0, B14-0, C6-0, Third Stage: 1/2A6-4, A8-5, B4-6, B6-6, B14-6, C6-7
Estes Catalog Artwork
