I just got my copy the other day and along with other great articles and photos, there
was a article that I thought was really cool.
"The Space Twins" by Mario Predue; Pages 18-20
It is a build / comparrison article between the Semroc Laser X and the Hawks Hobby Super Mars Snooper.
Needless to say I was very thrilled and honored that Launch would do an article that included one of my
kits. One of the things that makes this article even more special (to me anyway) is that this was our
flag ship kit - the very first one that we produced and the one that a lot of people has come to identify
with us.
Anyway, along with really liking both kits which as he put it ".... both have taken a favored position in my rocket collection." and all the positive things that Mario had to say about the Super Mars Snooper (and of course
the Laser X) he did point out a few things that could make the Snooper a better kit. Those things were that
basswood fins would be better than the balsa that we currently use and that the instructions could use better illustrations even though they do not hinder the build as all the information is there.
(Now the cool thing about having my own blog is that I can respond to the article.)
Frist off I totally agree with Mario's commets about the fins and the illustrations.
Below is some info that we have been working on but of course Mario didn't have this info.
A little kit history: As I said before the Snooper was our first kit and of course as with anything
the first time that you do something it may not always be as good as you want it, but you learn and get better.
Now 3 years and about a dozen kits later, I think I can honestly say that I have gotten better programs and have gotten better at doing the instructions and illustrations. To that end for the last few months in between working on NEW kits I have been redoing ALL my earlier instructions and illustrations. I have also gotten a beta tester (James Gartrell) who has given me very good input.
Back to the Snooper, We decided a few months ago that we needed to change the balsa fins to basswood fins
so that change is in the process of taking place - the radiator fins will remain balsa. In the near future we will be offering a set of basswood fins to customers that have bought but not yet built there Hawks Hobby Snooper.
Lady Hawk
