Originally Posted by MarkB.

First, let me say I'm a scale fan -- sport scale, Estes style (cones a little too short, tubes a little too long, inaccurate markings, that sort of thing . . . .)

But what I was thinking and hoping I might get your comments on is the way sport scale is done now. When we were kids there was Arcas, Aerobee, Nike-Smoke, Honest John, Nike-Ajax and the Saturns. That's what was flying in the mid-sixties and early seventies and we could build models of them.

Today, the equivalent would be Super Arcas, Orion, Terrier-Lynx, Black Brant, MLRS, Patriot PAC-3, and the Aries launchers; exactly none of which are available from the "major" manufacturers. If a kid looks for rockets at a NASA or DoD website this is what he finds and he can't build models of any them.

And that just the USA stuff. Why?

Thinking about it historically, we need Saturns, but we also need R-7 (after 50 years, no major kits) and Long March and the Shuttle. But for Dr. Zooch, as of today, nothing. How about Delta II? Zenit? Ariane? H-2 Manned configuration?

Are sport scale kits (and the rocketeers who love them) doomed to the 70's and before?

No flame intended, just looking for intelligent discussion.