updated 2/21/2001
"A Whole New Direction in Big Kits!"
If the Fantasy Fleet of the early '70's wasn't cosmic and groovy enough for you; Centuri's happenin' Super Kits of the middle '70's really got down and boogied! These were also Science Fiction themed kits with the sense of wonder for the far-out near future '80s. Super Kits were fairly large, each being about 2 feet lone and built around a ST-13 (1.34" diameter) or a ST-16 (1.64" diameter) body tube. These kits featured lots of detail, from die-cut fiberboard sheets, big four color decals, and sometimes even embossed card stock. This line of elaborate fantasy kits that was never quite duplicated by anybody.

"In the year 1983, the president approved the building of the U.S.S America Presidential Command Post (right). The great bird thundered aloft for the first time in 1986. America now serves as a Presidential aerial command post and diplomatic courier. Able to land at large conventional airports, the America helps maintain peace on earth as well in space. The ship's three Orville/Stine nuclear rocket engines place the craft in earth orbit and augment the six ramjets used for atmospheric travel. These combined systems economically transport high government officials to global trouble spots"

Nice injoke about model rocketry founders Orville Carisle and G. Harry Stine. This kit shared the nose cone with the E.S.S Raven and the earlier Quasar. It also shared the decorative plastic nozzles with the Quasar. and the S.S.T. Shuttle. Estes made a U.S.S. America clone called the Deep Space Transport.

U.S.S America plans at JimZ rocket plans archive.

"The year is 1980 and at last the existence of flying saucers is a proven fact. First sighted in the mysterious Bermuda Triangle, the U.F.O. Invader (left) has been observed by countless eye witnesses. The Invader is a submarine as well as a deep space ship, able to travel on the ocean surface, buoyed by its wing pods. Its circular wing-plan has sometimes been mistaken for a flying saucer and rumors are that it employs a fuel-less magnetic drive force as yet unknown to us. It submerges to a hidden undersea base where aliens perhaps study Earth and its people. Little is known about the aliens, but we know this: we are not alone in the universe!"

Along with the E.S.S. Raven this kit has the cleanest lines among the Super Kits. The pods embedded into the fins is a very nice touch.

U.F.O. Invader plans at JimZ rocket plans archive.

"The E.S.S. Raven (right) is the proud flag ship of the Earth Science Service (E.S.S.). The Service was founded in 1981 when leading scientists united in a world federation that cuts across national boundaries and politics, The E.S.S. Raven has pushed the frontiers of science ever outward with recently announced Faster-The-Light drive and the rumors of time travel! The Raven is part of the E.S.S. Ozone Research Project which tests the upper stratosphere. Based somewhere in the Sierra Mountains, the Raven can fly in the very limits of the atmosphere. The huge lower scoop gathers air samples to be analyzed by the vast shipboard computer buried within the huge vessel."

I wonder how the E.S.S. gets their funding for all that advanced "big science"? One of the most rakish Super Kits and the cleanest lines along with the U.F.O. Invader.

E.S.S. Raven plans at JimZ rocket plans archive.

"Up until 1988, most satellite repair and service was conducted with NASA Space Shuttles. This encouraged peaceful applications of space travel so that today Earth is surrounded by thousands of solar-energy collecting satellites. The S.S.V. Scorpion (S.S.V. means Satellite Service Vehicle) maintains this complex satellite network which conserves our dwindling natural fuels. Its name comes from the magnetic stinger shaped rudder that magnetically launches and retrieves satellites from Earth orbit. These slide down the rudder into storage slots on the hull, and are later brought into the open hanger. Maintenance crews work in the vacuum of space to prevent atmospheric damage to these satellites so vital in the 21st century."

The Scorpion was introduced a little later than the first three Super Kits. It was the most lavishly detailed and arguably the most inspired.

S.S.V. Scorpion plans at JimZ rocket plans archive.

Each Super Kit came with a display stand (left). These were also sold separately as the Rocket Rack.

The "Super C" engines, (right) the C5-0 and C5-3, were also induced with the Super Kits. These engines had a extra healthy initial thrust spike for these and other heavy models with 18mm engine mounts.