Estes Magician

Estes - Magician {Kit} (1943, 2440) [2010-]

Contributed by Evan

Published: 2011-07-15
Diameter: 1.33 inches
Length: 33.50 inches
Manufacturer: Estes
Skill Level: 3
Style: Payload, Sport

Brief

The Magician is a typicial Estes rocket with D and E engine power. Some of the parrts had to be sanded down to fit. The only problem was the coupler and the main body tube and lower body tube was a very tight fit and was hard to push down. All the parts were good the balsa fins were excellent. 

Components

  • Engine mount tube
  • Engine hook
  • Green centering rings
  • Engine block
  • lower body tube 
  • Red body coupler
  • Upper body tube
  • Laser-cut fins
  • Laser-cut fin guide (an unusal part - it helps you align the fins)
  • Balsa tube adaptor
  • Clear payload section
  • Balsa nose cone
  • Launch lug
  • Sccrew eye
  • Shock cord - 30" in lenth
  • Parachute 18"
  • Orange D engine spacer
  • Shock cord mount
  • Decals 

Construction

Pros:

The instructions were easy to follow, finishing the rocket was very simple, and all the main parts fit.

Cons:

Some parts had to sanded down.

Finishing

Finishing of the kit was really easy. The instructions didn't really go into detail and were very brief.

I applied three coats of Areo Gloss sanding sealer and sanded it down with 300 grit and 400 then all the way up to 600 grit. For the body tube, I put Testors contour putty on a putty knife and put it along the body tube. Then I sanded it down just like with the fins.

When I primed the rocket for painting, the fins had no wood grain and no body tube sprial. Painting was good. I used gloss white and the fins were just like glass and the same with the body tube. Decals were waterslide and they were excellent allthough the pin stripe on the fins decal wasn't long enough.

Flight

I used a D12-5. I think the motor selection was a good one. The prep of the rocket is a little challenging beacause the motor tube is little bit too small. So, I had to peel off a layer of paper from the motor.

Recovery

Recovery was perfect. The parachute was the perfect size. The shock cord is long, so I put an snap swivel on the parachute so the lines won't tangle.

Summary

I think Estes did a fantistic job of manufacturing this product and I hope they continue making this rocket. It was a fun kit to build.

Other Reviews
  • Estes Magician By Philip Wentz (August 16, 2015)

    The Estes Magician is a Skill Level 3 kit that features a clear payload section and is powered by C11, D and E engines. A tall rocket, it measures 33 1/2 inches from end to end. Components The kit has a main body tube topped by a narrower payload section. Components are as follows: 1 NC-50 ogive plastic nosecone 1 BT-50 payload section 1 BT-50 to BT-55 balsa ...

  • Cliff's Review of Estes Magician #2240 By woody (April 23, 2011)

    The Estes Magician is a Skill Level 3, three-finned 24mm rocket with a small playload scection. At 33 inches tall, it is said to fly to 1600 feet. Components The components in this kit are of good quality as Estes has been doing this for years. The parts consist of the basic balsa wood nose cone, transition, laser-cut fins and, as bonus, a neat fin guide tool you assemble to ...

Flights

Comments:

avatar
Steve Lindeman (January 2, 2016)

I just received this kit for Christmas 2015 and the main card is stamped  12/03/14 making this kit about a year old but upon examination I discovered that both nose cone and transducer are now made of plastic rather than balsa wood. Will make finishing much easier.

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