Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104

Estes - Patriot {Kit} (2056) [2003-]

Contributed by Carl Tulanko

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Manufacturer: Estes

Estes MK-104 Patriot MissileBrief:
 The Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile rocket kit is one of four new Estes "Military" kits and a very popular kit at the flying field. I purchased the Patriot along with the other three kits and the version I built was the "Launchable" kit in the hard-shell pack from Meijers. It is a very colorful model, appears pretty sturdy, and flies on 18mm motors. Included with the kit is an "Operation Enduring Freedom" sticker to salute our military abroad.

Construction:
In the package you will find four die-cut fins, three BT-60 body tube sections--one of which is already colored, plastic nosecone, recovery items, and instructions. I was impressed with the quality of components and the instructions were very well written. The kit itself is a basic 4FNC, but just plain looks good once built.

I decided to construct it stock with only change made to the recovery section. I used dual Kevlar threads for shock cord and they were directly fastened to the motor mount. The top end was tied to a much longer thirty inch long piece of elastic shock cord and the joint was sealed with a piece of heat shrink tubing. The shock cord itself was attached to the nosecone once the model was finished.

The body tube comes in three sections, allowing you the flexibility to make a payload section or just use standard nosecone ejection. I went with the latter and did fill the joints once glued. Next came the fins; I dry rubbed filler over the surface of each fin and used Alphaetic Resin for gluing to the body tube. Fillets were added and the whole model was sanded.

Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile

Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile

Finishing:
After sanding the model came the primer. Krylon gray primer was used, followed by Krylon white primer for the upper body tube section. The model was painted completely in white, except the top section which was masked. After a couple days, I masked off the body tube and painted the lower fin section in red Krylon and the yellow section in Duplicolor Pale Yellow--it was the only brand that had a color to match the scale version. After a couple more days of drying, the top 1" of the body tube was painted Red and the nosecone was finished in white. Next, I applied the self stick decals, then clear coated the model with the new Krylon Super Gloss Triple Thick--it worked well.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
Launch day came and I had all four of the new Estes models ready to go. I prepped the Patriot with a B6-4 and packed the stock parachute. It was place on the pad and ready to go. At liftoff, it really came off the pad nice, straight up and a very cool flight.

Recovery:
The nosecone ejected after apogee and the model landed safely in the low grass field. It was a good flight with a slightly late recover, but no damage. Next, I tried a C6-5. This was also late on ejection, so a C6-3 was my third attempt. The other new Estes kits fly great on the C6-3 and this one is no exception--the motor combo was perfect with a great flight followed by apogee ejection. The model has flown many times since and is one of my favorites.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile To summarize, the Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile is one great flier. The build is very simple and the results are excellent, producing a good flying model. I have since purchased another and plan on building it as a three motor cluster, as I had seen someone else do it this way. I recommend this kit to everyone and being rated as a Skill Level 1 kit, anyone can build and own this piece of military history, the MK104 Patriot Missile from Estes.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Other Reviews
  • Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104 By Dave Stout

    This is a single-staged, standoff-scale model of a Patriot test round. Other reviewers have done excellent breakdowns on the kit contents, so I will not repeat them here. However, one change is that my Patriot came with the new, cheap rubber band shock cord. This was immediately canned! The Patriot is a decent model in stock form. The majority of the components are good quality stuff and ...

  • Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104 By Joseph Michel

    Estes Enduring Freedom M-104 Patriot Missile. Modified recovery system and motor mount. Modifications: I modified the stock kit to accept a 24MM motor tube. This was accomplished using a rotary tool and 50-grit sanding drum to open up the stock centering ring to accept the 24MM tube. Once the centering rings were fitted to the motor tube, I also modified the motor hook. I never much cared for ...

  • Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104 By Jon Revelle

    A beautiful remake of the M-104 Patriot missile from Estes. This pup was re-released because of our recent victory over seas. This kit is un-assembled and comes with: 2 white body tubes 1 short yellow tube 1 nose cone 4 balsa fins 1 motor mount tube 1 mylar ring 2 engine tube holder rings 1 shockcord, parachute and shockcord mount 2 decal sheets PROS: ...

Flights

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