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  #1  
Old 09-18-2008, 10:41 AM
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joecool joecool is offline
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Default where do you look?

OK, I know I'm going out on a limb here, but would any of you old timers be willing to share some secrets with a newbie? So far I've just been getting the OOP kits off ebay, but they can be expensive and selection is pretty limited. Where do folks go to find the old stuff?
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Old 09-18-2008, 10:50 AM
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Phred Phred is offline
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Older kits can be harder and harder to find these days.

Ebay is the best, for selection, but prices are higher.

I search every hobby shop and toy store whenever I travel. Sometimes I can find OOP kits, but I haven't ever found anything any earlier than the 1980s

garage sales/estate sales. Yes, kits can be found in these places, but you can go to 100 garage sales and find nothing.... On the other hand, my Mom picked up a vintage built up Interceptor for me at a garage sale for $3.00!! I flew it at NARAM50.

old club members: I do not mean age. I have been able to get vintage kits from rocketeers who had quit or retired from rocketry. The prices are usually reasonable, if the owner is looking to just ditch what they have.

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Old 09-18-2008, 11:01 AM
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sandman sandman is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joecool
OK, I know I'm going out on a limb here, but would any of you old timers be willing to share some secrets with a newbie? So far I've just been getting the OOP kits off ebay, but they can be expensive and selection is pretty limited. Where do folks go to find the old stuff?


OK, let's begin.

First let me introduce you to what may be a new model rocket term for you. It's called cloning. I know it's a dumb term but what it means is to copy or reproduce an old kit.

Now go to JimZ's web site.

http://www.dars.org/jimz/estes.htm

or YORP (Ye Olde Rocket Plans)

http://plans.rocketshoppe.com/

figure out what you want to reproduce.

Then go to SEMROC

http://www.semroc.com

They may even have a new version of the kit you want or look around on SEMROC's site and find the parts you want.

That should keep you busy for a while. Then come back here and ask more questions...you WILL have more questions.

Oh, and be sure to post pictures of what you're building...every step, don't leave anything out!

It's just a beginning.
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Old 09-18-2008, 11:13 AM
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sandman sandman is offline
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Oh, I forgot to mention.

I make custom nosecones for upscales, and downscales of some of the old kits as well as scale stuff.

Fred, the guy who posted first also make the decals. His site is

http://excelsiorrocketry.com/

Just visit his site and see what decals he offers.
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Old 09-18-2008, 11:26 AM
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thanks, guys, i'm sure cloning is something i will be trying in the future (it's called kit bashing too right?). however i have this funny sort of perfectionist/obsessive collector streak and i really prefer the idea of owning the original kit. THEN i may kit bash it and have the best of both worlds!
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Old 09-18-2008, 11:50 AM
Mikus Mikus is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sandman
Fred, the guy who posted first also make the decals. His site is

http://excelsiorrocketry.com/

Just visit his site and see what decals he offers.


A top-notch vendor, I've used him several times. Excellent.
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  #7  
Old 09-18-2008, 12:03 PM
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joecool joecool is offline
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hey, do you know what he is offering for the goonybirds? i'd love to have the kits but at $6 a pop i'm guessing that's not it. is it just the decals and/or plans? if so, where do you get the materials to do the build?
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Old 09-18-2008, 12:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joecool
hey, do you know what he is offering for the goonybirds? i'd love to have the kits but at $6 a pop i'm guessing that's not it. is it just the decals and/or plans? if so, where do you get the materials to do the build?


The $6 includes the plans.

As for a source.

SEMROC as mentioned above

BMS is another good source

http://www.balsamachining.com/

as well as Apogee components

http://www.apogeerockets.com/
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  #9  
Old 09-18-2008, 12:59 PM
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Mark II Mark II is offline
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Sandman is right about cloning; what he described is truly just the beginning.

During the time that I have been a BAR I have been busily cloning my way through the 33-34 years that I missed after I put my model rocket hobby interest "up on the shelf for a little while." For me, this is not a nostalgia trip, because I never saw most of these rockets the first time they came around! Right now is a really good time to be into cloning, too, because there are now many more suppliers of original or reproduction parts or kits than there were even a few years ago, and communicating and sharing information with veteran rocket fliers about their experiences with those designs is so easy now.

In light of the particulars about your interest, I would like to mention that there is cloning, and then there is cloning. The thing that most of us usually call "cloning" could also be called "building reproductions." (And this is actually closer to the true meaning of the term.) But there is another way of building those designs that doesn't necessarily involve breaking open and building mint-condition vintage kits. You can build one of the old designs up by using OEM parts from the same era as the kit, and you end up with an authentically vintage model rocket. So don't restrict your search to just complete or nearly complete vintage kits; also look for same-era parts, as well. And kit-bashing, as you mentioned, is another good way to go, too.

Mark \\.
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  #10  
Old 09-18-2008, 01:27 PM
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joecool joecool is offline
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ok, so what is the difference between kit bashing and cloning? i thought they were the same ....
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