I agree with you. Looking at your comparison photos between the MB and the pyro, I don't know how you couldn't make the argument that they took measurements at the very least from an original fuselage.My opinion for years has been that Estes did a good job of carefully measuring an original fuselage, and took some good side profiles, probably with a contour gauge and then re-created their own master pattern from scratch.
IMO, it compares ok from the side, but really falls apart along the top and bottom, where the geometry deviates the most with that of an original.
The Estes nose would need a lot of work, too, to get it back to something like the original.