Rocketing on Land!

 The year was 1975. Estes model rocket company had bought out another hobby rocket company called Vashon a couple of years earlier. Vashon's rockets differed from Estes' in that they used reusable motors that were filled with Freon for propulsion. Estes used black powder single use motors. 

For a while, Estes marketed both types of rockets, dubbing Vashon's kits as "Cold Power." During this time they realized that the Cold Power technology made an idea that many kids had been toying with actually safe; rocket cars!

I bought one at a local hobby shop about that time. I built it (which was fairly easy) and went to the Park and Ride lot across ftom our apartment. I nailed the guideline down, filled the aluminum motor with Freon and let her rip! It really moved! And after I picked it up, I noticed the motor was all frosted up. Cold Power indeed!

Flash forward 50 years. My Land Rocket is long gone. Every now and then I search for one on eBay, but there are almost none. You see, they didn't sell them for long (only one year) and they didn't sell that many (hence, only one year). Then I see one pop up on Facebook. For five bucks!!! I quickly messages the seller and after a few hours I owned a new old stock, never used, Estes Screamin' Eagle Land Rocket just like the one I had as a kid! Here it is!

The box is probably the weakest part of the purchase, but it still displays well!

Upon opening it, you find the very lightweight and completely unused parts...

This was the downfall of the whole Cold Power line- Freon. Once it was outlawed by the EPA, there was no more fuel for these beasts. I happen to now own a 50 year old full can. (Don't tell anyone!)

The "motor" is pretty much an aluminum tube with a nozzle. It actually does provide a good amount of thrust when venting the Freon...

Here we have bits that I'm surprised survived. The nail was to anchor the guideline, which is on the spool. The foam disks are the tires (these are usually rotted away, but other than a dented one, mine are in good shape). The clipped disk protects your hand when launching.

The body of the car is very lightweight vacuformed plastic. It has to be trimmed when building, which mine hasn't been.

The chassis and wheels are heavier plastic.

The parachute is standard Estes parachute plastic, printed with a drag chute on it. You also got decals!

And here we have all the paper work...and there's a lot of it! I'll let you look at your leisure...

Finally, we have the sides of the box, just for completeness...

So there you have it! I won't be building it, since a kit in this condition can go for a hundred bucks, on up. I think this one survived in someone's garage for 50 years. Now it will have a prized position on my shelf! 

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!