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 10-01-2008, 11:38 AM
joecool's Avatar
joecool joecool is offline
Intermediate Rocketeer
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Colorado
Posts: 55
Default stupid question

So I'm starting to get into (and get obsessed with!) collecting old kits. I haven't paid any stupid expensive prices yet, but I've paid $30-$40 for a few old kits. One of my justifications to myself is that I can always recover this in future if I decide to sell them - and maybe even make a profit!

Then a horrible thought occurred to me - what if demand for these old kits actually wanes? What if, as the old rocketeers die, no one cares any more about the early history of the hobby? Instead of increasing or at least maintaining their value, my expensive collection might be worth nothing at all!

So here's the stupid question, which is stupid of course because no one can predict the future, but I'm curious as to your thoughts anyway:

Where is the collecting of old kits headed? Do you think it will remain a vibrant subset of the rocketry community? Or will it die off and the value of the old kits go to 0?

Eagerly awaiting your prognostications,

Joe
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 10-01-2008, 11:45 AM
tbzep's Avatar
tbzep tbzep is offline
Dazed and Confused
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: TN
Posts: 11,610
Default

I think the value will remain until all us old rocket folks start dieing off. The younger generation doesn't see any value in them.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 10-01-2008, 12:40 PM
ghrocketman's Avatar
ghrocketman ghrocketman is offline
President, MAYHEM AGITATORS, Inc.
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Nunya Bizznuss, Michigan
Posts: 13,443
Default

I don't think the value of the collectible kits will start dropping until the people that got into model rocketry in the 60's and 70's start dying off in large numbers.
I seriously doubt the values will drop much before 2040 or so, if ever.
__________________
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 10-01-2008, 01:44 PM
joecool's Avatar
joecool joecool is offline
Intermediate Rocketeer
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Colorado
Posts: 55
Default

so it sounds like you guys are echoing my suspicion - that the value of the old kits is mostly nostalgia of the folks who were there when they were new. the kits don't have intrinsic value as a record of the early days of the hobby. that would suggest that for someone like me, who doesn't have the nostalgia, buying kits just to hold 'em (and not build 'em) for posterity is probably a fruitless exercise, 'cause posterity doesn't want 'em!
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 10-01-2008, 02:05 PM
tbzep's Avatar
tbzep tbzep is offline
Dazed and Confused
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: TN
Posts: 11,610
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by joecool
so it sounds like you guys are echoing my suspicion - that the value of the old kits is mostly nostalgia of the folks who were there when they were new. the kits don't have intrinsic value as a record of the early days of the hobby. that would suggest that for someone like me, who doesn't have the nostalgia, buying kits just to hold 'em (and not build 'em) for posterity is probably a fruitless exercise, 'cause posterity doesn't want 'em!



If you plan to hold them long term and expect the value to increase like a real GT-40 or Shelby Cobra, I agree that it's not likely to be fruitful. If you'd like to grab some and turn them over for a profit in a few years when they become harder to find, go for it. I have a few kits saved, some sealed, some opened so that I could clone them before we got the online resources we have today. I have only built one of my vintage kits, the Interceptor. Within a few weeks of me opening the bag, I found out that Estes was reissuing it.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 10-01-2008, 04:11 PM
Rocket Doctor Rocket Doctor is offline
Master Modeler
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,400
Default

The current Interceptor is nothing like the original.....look at it that way.
Right now, the value of kits, even the older ones on ebay are not the same as a year ago, why, the economy.

The hobby has been around for 50 years now, and, I don't think that saving the older kits would be foolish, on the contrary, if a "model rocket museum" were looking to fill out their collection, then, you could donate them, sell them or at least let them borrow them with the understanding that they would come back to you.

The Smithsonian has a good collection of rockets from the Stine collection housed in the garber Facility in Maryland, which will eventually be move over to the Dulles facility.

Look at it this way, Why do we have museums..........to protect the past for future generations.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 10-01-2008, 04:18 PM
joecool's Avatar
joecool joecool is offline
Intermediate Rocketeer
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Colorado
Posts: 55
Default

cool - what's the stine collection? sounds like something i need to take my boys to when we visit DC
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 10-01-2008, 06:17 PM
Race58 Race58 is offline
Craftsman
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 338
Default

Or you could just build them and fly them all.
If you don't want to do that then you could just send all to everybody here and them you don't have to worry anymore
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 10-01-2008, 06:43 PM
tbzep's Avatar
tbzep tbzep is offline
Dazed and Confused
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: TN
Posts: 11,610
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocket Doctor
The current Interceptor is nothing like the original.....look at it that way.


Close enough that I wouldn't have opened my vintage kit if I had known the re-issue was coming out. My son built his re-issue using toothpicks instead of the plastic things so there are only a few small noticeable differences with mine. Off the top of my head, without looking at the two....

1. His re-issue blow molded pod tips aren't even with the leading edge of the wing and cant be adjusted easily due to the TTW mounting method.
2. The new pods are a bit fatter than the old pods.
3. The new decals have subtle differences in shade, especially the yellow parts.
4. The new decals have a "recommended engines" decal added.
5. There are a couple of different lines in the nosecone along with slightly different gun port indentions.

These aren't noticeable unless my vintage kit is sitting beside his and you are looking fairly closely. IMHO, of course.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 10-02-2008, 03:11 PM
luke strawwalker's Avatar
luke strawwalker luke strawwalker is offline
BAR
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Needville and Shiner, TX
Posts: 6,134
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by joecool
cool - what's the stine collection? sounds like something i need to take my boys to when we visit DC


G. Harry Stine, co-founder of the hobby of model rocketry. (with Orville Carlisle, a hobby pyrotechnician/shoe store salesman who invented the black powder pre-fab model rocket engine) G. Harry was also instrumental in forming the NAR and was it's first president, and working with/thru NFPA to get model rocketry differentiated legally from fireworks, a large undertaking to make model rocketry 'legal' in more areas of the country. G. Harry Stine started the first commercial model rocket company, Model Missiles Inc., and sold kits and "handmade" Carlisle engines until a young man named Vern Estes invented a machine named "mabel" to produce model rocket engines with great speed and efficiency. Shortly thereafter, Vern struck out with his own company and the rest is history. G. Harry also wrote what is generally considered to be the "bible" of model rocketry, the venerable "HANDBOOK OF MODEL ROCKETRY" which is in it's seventh or eighth revision currently, IIRC, currently revised by his son, Bill Stine, who owns/runs Quest, the other big model rocket company behind Estes.

Hope this helps OL JR
__________________
The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!
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 09:24 AM.


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