Semroc gift certificate #00000000000000000000000000001 exists no more

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Yeah, I got jiggy with it on Saturday night and cashed in the gift certificate that my brother bought me for my birthday. I'm planning an upscale of a kit near and dear to all our hearts, the details of which I'l play close to the vest for a while. (At least until the package arrives.) I also picked up four kits, all of which I plan to build, fly, and review ASAP. I picked up a Mark II, pretty much because I like the idea of having a flying history lesson in my fleet, an Aerobee-Hi because I think it's a cool scale kit, a Goliath because I like my Vega and love clusters, and a Snipe Hunter because I always thought the Centuri version was cool. :cool:
This could keep me busy until.....December. :rolleyes: :cool:

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

So much for December. I got the package yesterday, but had to cook and clean for a party much of the afternoon. I finally got into it this afternoon while I watched the Bengals. The Mark II should be flightworthy by tomorrow. I didn't plan it that way. It just happened. I'm cutting the tubes for the upscale tonight at work if I get the time. After that, it's just a matter of figuring out how the parts fit together and printing the transition. (One thing I was wondering about in this assortment was the relationship of the Big Bertha/Ranger to the Vega/Goliath. I know the Bertha and the Vega were meant to be similar models. Was the Goliath developed in response to the Ranger?) If i get time, I'm going to open the other three kits and look through them tonight. I'm especially interested in the Snipe Hunter because of the clear payload section. :cool:

[dtomko]

I love the Snipe Hunter - finished mine a couple of weeks ago but haven't flown her yet. I like the looks of those clear payload types. :eek:
Drew

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

That looks awesome! The nose cone and fin can look like plastic. (And I mean that in the good way.) Nice finish! I'm going to go with a semi-factory paint scheme on the Mark II. Day-glo orange body with a black fin (and maybe a stripe,) with a gloss red nose cone. Should be garish. :D

[Green Dragon]

I love the Snipe Hunter - finished mine a couple of weeks ago but haven't flown her yet. I like the looks of those clear payload types. :eek:
Drew

looks great :-)

is that the Semroc kit ? or an actual 'clone' ( not that there's much difference, lol, just curious)

My brother's vintage Snipe Hunter ( which we still have parts of ), along with my own ' got all built up' vintage version, BOTH has the longer plastic nosecone and the plastic transition pieces.

I actually have the fins,nosecone and transition from my bro's crashed one, was thinking a clone (now Carl has the clear tubes, I even oprdered one for the project, but then saw photos of the 'early' version as yours and liked the idea of building that to go with the other one .

will post some pics sometime ( still trying to get some last minute painting in before winter, got the Thunderbird primered today before the rain hit - got it wet, too, but I saved it in time :-)

~ AL

[dtomko]

Thanks, guys. It's the Semroc kit, Al. A couple coats of Fill 'N Finish, two of primer and a heavy coat of Dupli Color gloss white on the body. The fins, transition, and nose cone I actually painted with a brush, if you can believe it. I had leftover bottles of Testors' Black, Sky Blue, and Red and I painted it on very heavily, two coats each color. Then a final brushing on of Future. The thing still weighs nothing.
Drew

[stefanj]

Yes indeed, beautiful job!

I really like it when people go that extra mile to make a gorgeous model.

I have a Semroc "Snipe" in my to-do box, but it will be a while before I get to it because I have sworn to finish finishing two Jaguars, a Deep Space Transport, a Scorpion, an Explorer, a Swift and a Starfire first!

[Carl@Semroc]

... (One thing I was wondering about in this assortment was the relationship of the Big Bertha/Ranger to the Vega/Goliath. I know the Bertha and the Vega were meant to be similar models. Was the Goliath developed in response to the Ranger?)The Vega was based on the earliest plans for the Big Bertha. By the time we got around to the Goliath (in response to the Ranger), we kept the nose cone and increased the fin area. Estes did the Ranger first, then the Big Bertha. We reversed the process. Then we dropped the Vega when we started making engines so we could sell MORE engines. The Goliath and Hydra VII really did sell some engines.

[Carl@Semroc]

looks great :-)

My brother's vintage Snipe Hunter ( which we still have parts of ), along with my own ' got all built up' vintage version, BOTH has the longer plastic nosecone and the plastic transition pieces.


There were at least three versions of the Snipe Hunter. All balsa to similar plastic parts to not even close plastic parts. There may have been some more iterations. It was almost like Centuri's SPEV to clean out some inventory.

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

The Vega was based on the earliest plans for the Big Bertha. By the time we got around to the Goliath (in response to the Ranger), we kept the nose cone and increased the fin area. Estes did the Ranger first, then the Big Bertha. We reversed the process. Then we dropped the Vega when we started making engines so we could sell MORE engines. The Goliath and Hydra VII really did sell some engines.

The Hydra VII is my planned number 1 pick in the spring draft. I was going to get it with the gift certificate, but I chickened out. :rolleyes:

[ghrocketman]

Hey Carl,
Speaking of engines, any chance of Semroc getting back into the BP engine business ?
Really interested in some of those 18mm non-standard/extended length D engines or even something along the lines of the old Cox D8 "baby D".
A port-burner similar to the B14 or C5 would be nice too. :rolleyes: