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  #1  
Old 12-05-2010, 09:34 AM
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Default 1/70 Saturn1B kit - Apogee vs. Semroc?

I'm looking at getting a 1/70 Saturn 1B and was wondering what the general consensus is on these two kits. Which has better detail, ease of construction, quality of materials, etc...

Obviously, the Apogee kit is substantially more expensive, which is fine if the quality of the kit is that much better. I've read, for example, that many people don't care for the Semroc Apollo capsule and order the Apogee one to use in its place.

Thanks,
Don
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Old 12-05-2010, 09:51 AM
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The Apogee kit is more detailed, more accurately scaled, and heavier. The SEMROC kit is a faithful reproduction of the old Estes kit. It's lighter, has oversized fins for stability instead of cramming a lot of weight up front, and still looks great. Both are beautiful when built and finished with care.

If your field is small, consider what you will fly them on. Apogee recommends a single APCP "F" class motor for their kit. The SEMROC kit can be flown on as little as a single D12-3 or a cluster of 4 B6-2's according to how you build it.
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Old 12-05-2010, 10:45 AM
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I have both. When I get around to building the Apogee kit, it will probably never be flown; I do not believe very many are brave enough to risk theirs. The Apogee kit is both more detailed and more accurate. The only drawbacks are the cost of the kit and the fact that the instructions are electronic - you must view them on a computer though I just had the thought that an e-reader may be a nice platform for that (protect it with a big plastic bag while on the workbench.)

I bought two Semroc kits at NARAM. One is in the hands of the uncle who introduced me to rocketry so many years ago. We are going to start building them together this Christmas. Mine will be flown, but I am still pondering the motor combination - single 24mm, four 18mm, interchangeable, and adding four more 13mm holes for outboards around the center 24 or 4x18. I have fond memories of the old Estes kit and the Semroc version tickles those synapses most satisfyingly, even when under the gun to complete a couple of handfuls of them for a luncheon.


Bill
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Old 12-05-2010, 11:07 AM
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My opinion of engine configuration choice is: if you go with the 4C cluster, you won't have to worry about the 1B NOT going high enough for good laundry deployment. I've only built the Semroc (x4). I love it!
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Old 12-05-2010, 11:34 AM
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We've yet to have a failure due to low altitude deployment. My son had the top of his SEMROC Saturn 1B blown off by a single D12-3 shotgun ejection charge, but it has been repaired.

He built his with an interchangeable mount like I did my Centuri Saturn V when I was a kid before I'd ever heard of interchangeable mounts. I thought I had done something special. I will put in an interchangeable mount in my SEMROC kit also. I just have to decide if I want to add 4 13mm plugged mounts. That would add even more weight aft, and I want a light build.
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Old 12-05-2010, 03:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill
(protect it with a big plastic bag while on the workbench.)

There are peel-away screens/covers for that.

Centuri had a change mount kit.

Jerry
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Old 12-05-2010, 03:36 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerry Irvine

Centuri had a change mount kit.

Jerry


Not when I built mine. They advertised a 24mm mount in 1981 when they started marketing their version of Estes D12's as "Magnum D" motors, but it was an either/or, not interchangeable. They may have had something for the old Mini Max motors, but I wasn't in rocketry at that time. I built mine just before the Power System Outfit came out. When I saw it in the catalog, I felt like they had stolen "my" idea, though there was no way for them to know what I did.
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Old 12-05-2010, 03:48 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbzep
Not when I built mine. They advertised a 24mm mount in 1981 when they started marketing their version of Estes D12's as "Magnum D" motors, but it was an either/or, not interchangeable.

It was either/or 24mm or 2x18mm. But had they included the mounts, they could have done 3x18mm or 29mm. It was changeable and crippled.

That's how we roll.

Jerry
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Old 12-05-2010, 03:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerry Irvine
It was either/or 24mm or 2x18mm. But had they included the mounts, they could have done 3x18mm or 29mm. It was changeable and crippled.

That's how we roll.

Jerry


Whatever. With that logic, every rocket in their lineup larger than a 24mm motor tube was changeable.
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Old 12-05-2010, 04:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbzep
Whatever. With that logic, every rocket in their lineup larger than a 24mm motor tube was changeable.

I agree with that of course, but this instance was either a cluster of smaller or a single larger. Whatever. My main point was the main mount was larger than the then largest recommended motor type, no matter what. Kind of a weird point I guess.

I put cluster D mounts (2,3,4) hanging out the back of Centuri Saturn V's with the conversion mount mount tube in the ST-16. Usually an Estes Green tube. It's handy when your motors can be larger than your main motor tube.

Jerry
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