Ye Olde Rocket Forum

Go Back   Ye Olde Rocket Forum > The Golden Age of Model Rocketry > Kit Collecting
User Name
Password
Auctions Register FAQ Members List Calendar Today's Posts Search Mark Forums Read


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 08-22-2007, 07:57 AM
Druid Druid is offline
Junior Rocketeer
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Northern Wisconsin
Posts: 14
Default I'm curious...

Hey all,

Hope y'all are doing well. I'm curious about something, and I think this is the right area to post it in...

Do you build the vintage kits that you purchase? Or, do you simply collect them and hope they'll be worth more money in the future?

I'm curious, because as I peruse sites like eBay and see how much money some kits go for (like the Saturn and Jupiter kits), I can't imagine someone actually building it!
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 08-22-2007, 08:26 AM
chanstevens's Avatar
chanstevens chanstevens is offline
Rocket buildin' machine
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Cincinnati OH
Posts: 543
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Druid
Hey all,

Hope y'all are doing well. I'm curious about something, and I think this is the right area to post it in...

Do you build the vintage kits that you purchase? Or, do you simply collect them and hope they'll be worth more money in the future?

I'm curious, because as I peruse sites like eBay and see how much money some kits go for (like the Saturn and Jupiter kits), I can't imagine someone actually building it!


I might not be best source for responding, as I haven't been around enough to accumulate much vintage, but my general theory would be:

1) If you manage to pick up an "inexpensive" kit, you're better off building it than keeping it for investment purposes. In rare circumstances, you can still buy an "inexpensive" kit worthy of investment, in which case buy two--one to build, one to save. Examples of this might be something like numbered editions (Flis, Semroc, Rocketflite come to mind, or limited editions such as Estes Orbital Transport, Scissor Wing, Quest Nike-Smoke). Remember--the reason the "collectible" kits get so expensive is because everyone built them/no one kept them. Don't expect current Red Max/Interceptor re-issues to be worth anything, as so many people are buying/keeping multiples thinking they'll go up just like the originals did.

2) If you see an expensive collectible kit at a discounted price, buy it and keep it. Example--Original Interceptors go for $100-125, so if you see one for $50, grab it (must be original, not reissue). Find an Estes Saturn V in a local hobby shop for $75? Grab it. When you spend that much on a modroc, though, it's pretty hard to justify building/flying it given the huge variety of interesting and inexpensive models available today.

3) If you see a rare and expensive kit running for normal/expensive/collectible market price, don't even THINK it will be a decent investment. It might fill a warm/fuzzy need or aleve obsessive/compulsive collector disorder by filling a hole on the wall, but if you pay $100 for an Estes Titan III don't expect to be able to resell it for $200 to fund retirement. Don't even expect to be able to resell it for $100.

One other general note--I've built/flown quite a few that, in retrospect, would have been worth keeping instead. My only regret on those is not that I blew a potential investment, but that I built them too soon--before I'd acquired the craftsmanship skills and experience to do them justice. For example, I've got a Titan III that has hot-glued fins and wavy hand-painted detail lines. Compared to what I could do with that kit today, it makes me cringe...

--Chan Stevens
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 08-22-2007, 09:12 AM
ghrocketman's Avatar
ghrocketman ghrocketman is offline
President, MAYHEM AGITATORS, Inc.
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Nunya Bizznuss, Michigan
Posts: 13,443
Default

The vintage kits I buy I generally build unless they are really rare.
I have a Vintage K-29 Saturn 1B and a K21 Gemini Titan that I was going to build, but now will not seeing as the S1B is cloned by Semroc and the Gemini by PD Rocketry.
I currently have an opened Enerjet Nike Smoke with "working" smoke that intend to build....that one IS really rare,but has little value as it is opened.
__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL
, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !

Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC !
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 08-22-2007, 09:28 AM
cas2047's Avatar
cas2047 cas2047 is offline
Master Modeler
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: MA, NH
Posts: 1,532
Default

I agree with Chan. He summed it up very well. My two cents on top of that...


I've purchased a good deal of kits over the last two years, mostly off of eBay, and some of those have been put away as collectibles, others I have built.

When dealing with collectible kits I've got a couple of rules that I follow.

1. I will only buy if the kit can be had for below the going rate. For example if I can grab an Estes Sat V for well below the going rate I will do it. I've only been able to do that one time, and I have been looking for two years now. The kit is a 2001 Estes Sat V that was open and started before I purchased it. I got if for just over 60 and I just finished building it.

2. If I do manage to purchase a classic kit for a good price I won't build it unless I can get a second or unless it has already been opened and started. For example I was able to purchase the old Estes Mercury Redstone a year ago for 50 on eBay. It is unopened and mint in the bag. That kit is in the collectible cabinet. Now just recently I was able to purchase another one on eBay for 45 however the kit is open so I will build it.

3. If I am collecting an older kit it is for one of two reasons only. The first being that I want to build the kit at some future point with my son when he is ready to tackle a classic build. The second being that I expect to give that kit to my son so that he can either build it himself or with his son or daughter someday. I don't collect kits to try and sell them at some future time for a profit.

I applaud all of the true collectors out there because without them I would not have the ability to buy/build any of the classic kits that can still be had today. When I was a kid in the 60's-70's I built anything I could get my hands on so if everyone were like me there would be no old classics available at all.

In the end though (in my humble opinion) rockets are meant to be build and flown. That's why they come with engine mounts. When they should be built and flown, that's a whole different question.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 08-22-2007, 01:31 PM
Initiator001 Initiator001 is offline
Too Many Initiators is Never Enough
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 2,394
Default

In my case, I became a 'collector' when I could buy kits faster than I could build them!

I never expected thre to be companies that would produce 'clone' models of these model rockets so I bought many, many Estes and Centuri kits I found in hobby shops during the 1980s. My idea was that I would build them, someday.

Now that companies such as Semroc, BMS, Thrustline and others make excellent reproduction models, there is no need for me to open up the original models.

Even with all the 'clone' kits now available, there are still plenty of models that have not been re-kitted. My having the original kit allows me to take measurements and send the information to BMS and Semroc and get copies made of the original parts. This is how I was able to make my Enerjet Nike Ram and Aero-Dart clones (See attached pictures).

It's not just Estes and Centuri kits. I collect Cox, MPC, MRI, North Coast Rocketry and others. I have a GREAT collection of AeroTech kits and products. I don't know if they will ever be 'collectable'.

Hmm, maybe Scott Branche and I should have a collection 'duel'?

Bob
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:  Enerjet Nike Ram 01 and Box 002.jpg
Views: 157
Size:  39.6 KB  Click image for larger version

Name:  Enerjet Aero-Dart and Box 002.jpg
Views: 141
Size:  40.8 KB  
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 08-22-2007, 08:46 PM
DWolman DWolman is offline
Craftsman
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 249
Default

That brings up a good question - how many kits make up a collection?

Bob - how many do you have in your collection? I'm curious to see how it stacks up against Scott's and/or other big collections -

I'm embarrassed to say that I have a collection of unbuilt kits that is well into the hundreds

Thanks

Dan
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 08-23-2007, 05:30 PM
Skippy's Avatar
Skippy Skippy is offline
Distant cousin
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 102
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ghrocketman
[snip]
I currently have an opened Enerjet Nike Smoke with "working" smoke that intend to build....that one IS really rare,but has little value as it is opened.


Post pics! Post pics! Post pics! Post pics! Post pics! Post pics! Post pics! Post pics!
Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:44 AM.


Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.0.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe © 1998-2024