Let’s be clear right out of the gate: Estes 007314 – the so-called Super Orbital Transport – is not a worthy successor to the original 1284 Space Shuttle kit. While the foam shuttle was already a disappointment, this abomination manages to disappoint in new ways. It’s not a tribute. It’s not a showpiece. It’s a Frankenstein’s monster of mismatched proportions and garish styling that insults the legacy it's trying to mimic.
Visually, this rocket is a complete eyesore. The lines are awkward. The body looks slapped together. And those wings? Cartoonishly oversized, as if the designers were actively trying to make the orbiter look as ridiculous as possible. The proportions are so off, it looks more like a rejected prototype from a forgotten sci-fi cartoon than anything that ever touched real-world aerospace design.
And let’s talk about the aesthetics. The color scheme? Uninspired. The detailing? Practically non-existent. This thing doesn’t belong on a display shelf — it belongs in a discount bin. It’s so visually unappealing that even the most forgiving hobbyist would hesitate to include it in their fleet.
Now, credit where it’s due — Estes did one thing right: they brought back the detachable glider concept, a nod to the original Space Shuttle orbiter’s glide recovery. That feature alone had promise, and for a brief second, you might get your hopes up. But once you see how poorly the execution matches the concept, the disappointment hits even harder.
This isn’t a case of “not as good as the original.” This is a case of not even playing the same game. The original 1284 was a build, a project, a collector's piece. This? It’s a novelty at best, and a visual insult at worst.
Bottom line: The Super Orbital Transport is not a replacement. It’s a placeholder. If you care about accuracy, scale, or aesthetics — skip it. This model might fly, but it completely misses the mark.
