There are no good hobby shops in my area. I have been using all kits and modifying them up to this point. I would to just get a bunch of supplies to build my own design. Where do you guys get your stuff from. I can't seem to find anything but individual pieces. I was hoping to find a whole setup with a bunch of different tubes nose cones engine mounts fins, etc. From what I found I can get tubes assortments and nose cone assortment but that's it everything else is singles. I guess what I'm looking for is an assortment of everything. Maybe I'm asking for too much. Any thoughts?
where to buy supplies?
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kenobi65
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For many years, Estes offered "assortment of everything" sets, as you're describing (a box full of nose cones, body tubes, balsa stock, engine mounts, parachutes, etc., etc.), which they would describe as a "Designer's Special", or something like that. Unfortunately, they no longer offer those, and I'm not sure if any other company which now offers a wide assortment of parts (such as Semroc, Fliskits, or BMS, among many others) does so, either (though I'd be happy to be proven wrong!)
To get to your other question (i.e., "where do you buy your stuff?"), I've had great experiences buying supplies from all three of the above. All three have great prices, excellent and prompt customer service, and fair shipping prices.
To get to your other question (i.e., "where do you buy your stuff?"), I've had great experiences buying supplies from all three of the above. All three have great prices, excellent and prompt customer service, and fair shipping prices.
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shreadvector
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Join the NAR.
Get the Member Guidebook.
Use the coupons inside to place orders. (I STRONGLY suggest the Quest coupon - good for 40% off the normal retail price of anything and everything on their website - kits, parts, motors, etc.)
Get the Member Guidebook.
Use the coupons inside to place orders. (I STRONGLY suggest the Quest coupon - good for 40% off the normal retail price of anything and everything on their website - kits, parts, motors, etc.)
Welcome to the forum.
I've had really good experience with BRS Hobbies at www.brshobbies.com, and he buys some of his stuff from Red Arrow Hobbies at www.redarrowhobbies.com, including the bunch o' tubes/couplers/rings, etc.
Multiple nose cones and things, you will probably have to buy separately. Look in the vendor list that Angelo posted the link to.
Also, I just bought a *bunch* of 1/8" balsa fin stock on ebay for really cheap. 15 sheets of 1/8" x 3" x 36" and 10 sheets of 1/8" x 4" x 36" for $16 total, plus shipping.
I've had really good experience with BRS Hobbies at www.brshobbies.com, and he buys some of his stuff from Red Arrow Hobbies at www.redarrowhobbies.com, including the bunch o' tubes/couplers/rings, etc.
Multiple nose cones and things, you will probably have to buy separately. Look in the vendor list that Angelo posted the link to.
Also, I just bought a *bunch* of 1/8" balsa fin stock on ebay for really cheap. 15 sheets of 1/8" x 3" x 36" and 10 sheets of 1/8" x 4" x 36" for $16 total, plus shipping.
Swampworks
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I'll second the Red Arrow Hobbies suggestion. I "bought" a package deal from them off of Ebay a few years back. Had tubes, couplers, spacers, lugs, etc....No NC's but I grab those other places when I need them. I still have some of that package.
JStarStar
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Semroc sells nose cone assortments. BMS used to but looking at their order forms I'm not sure if they do any more.
JStarStar
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Semroc sells nose cone assortments (I believe FlisKits does as well). BMS used to but looking at their order forms I'm not sure if they do any more.
I like BRS. Check out the scratch builder's assortment. Basically everything but nose cones.
https://www.brshobbies.com/catalog.php/BRSHobbies/dt1129/Body_Tubes
https://www.brshobbies.com/catalog.php/BRSHobbies/dt1129/Body_Tubes
spacecadet
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Have you considered really scratch-building, not buying any components at all? It's great fun and very cheap. Just start collecting tubing of all kinds- toilet rolls, snack packaging, you name it. Or convert paper models.
The only things I usually buy are motors and the odd bit of balsa, and plasticine for noseweight.
The only things I usually buy are motors and the odd bit of balsa, and plasticine for noseweight.
bradycros
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British plasticine = American modeling clay.
I prefer BMS and Semroc for my scratch building needs.
I'll second bradycros last post.
Semroc & BMS are great sources for all kinds of fine Mod-roc parts. and there are lots more on the net. Apogee, A.S.P. Fliskits, and don't forget Quest.
Semroc & BMS are great sources for all kinds of fine Mod-roc parts. and there are lots more on the net. Apogee, A.S.P. Fliskits, and don't forget Quest.
Peregrine Falcon
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I ordered a box-full of stuff from BMS to start scratch building. I didn't find any pre-made assortments but I thought their prices were more than reasonable. You can get any rocket part there including pre-cut centering rings for cluster mounts.
I haven't ordered from them (yet) but Semroc seems to have the best collection of nose cones I've seen anywhere.
The only place I've seen with pre-made assortments is Apogee. They have preset assortments of tubes, rings, and a few other components but not nose cones.
I've been scouring on-line vendors for a good while now and there really are a lot of good places but the ones listed above (in posts other than mine too) are good for scratch building material.
I haven't seen too many assortment packages and the ones I did see I didn't like. Mostly because there always seemed to be something in it that I wouldn't use and the price difference (over buying individually) could be used to get things I did want to use.
I haven't ordered from them (yet) but Semroc seems to have the best collection of nose cones I've seen anywhere.
The only place I've seen with pre-made assortments is Apogee. They have preset assortments of tubes, rings, and a few other components but not nose cones.
I've been scouring on-line vendors for a good while now and there really are a lot of good places but the ones listed above (in posts other than mine too) are good for scratch building material.
I haven't seen too many assortment packages and the ones I did see I didn't like. Mostly because there always seemed to be something in it that I wouldn't use and the price difference (over buying individually) could be used to get things I did want to use.
I'll second the suggestion for scratch building. When I was a rocketeer the first time around as a teenager, I only built kits. That was probably the biggest mistake I made. As an adult BAR, I haven't built a single kit. Then again, I haven't purchased a single motor, either, but that's another story...
The first thing you are going to need to do is to learn how to roll your own tubes. Forget about using paper towel tubes (too thin and flimsy) or mailing tubes (too heavy even for D motors). I did a lot of experimentation here and the best way to make your own tubes is with builder's paper and paper mache paste. A 35 inch x 140 foot roll of builder's paper will set you back all of ten bucks. My glue is a mix of Tite-bond II, flour, and water, but you can get decent results with any PVA glue slightly diluted. I use PVC pipe as my mandrels. It takes a little bit of practice, but you can make tubes that are actually stronger than the Estes tubes for any given weight.
You can roll nose cones the same way. This is slightly more difficult. The trick is to make a mandrel first. I start with some heavier poster paper (snagged from a dumpster, of course) and Spray 77 glue. Cut a dowel to go down the center. Cut a few cardboard discs and slide them down the dowel and glue them in place to pull everything true. Then roll the outside with a few layers (I use kraft paper and paper mache paste here) to thicken everything up. When it is try, cover with clear packing tape to prevent glue stickage.
Don't worry if your first mandrel isn't perfect. Even if it is rather sloppy, it will be good enough as a form to help you roll a base cone to form another mandrel.
It is true that a cone isn't the most aerodynamic shape. However, that is only the case of a true cone. With sufficient length:diameter ratio (at least 4:1, anything over 6:1 is overkill) simply bluffing the tip and smoothing the transition at the base of the cone produces a shape as good as anything else below trans-sonic speeds.
Although they work great, cones are boring aesthetically. You can make a great nose cone of any shape you want by sanding it out of a foam block. Go find an appliance dealership and check their dumpster for foam packing material. Then lay it up with paper mache strips. You will be amazed at how strong it is. With a little practice, you can free-hand small nose cones rather easily. Larger cones will need some help, and if you have a drill press you can use it as a makeshift lathe. Take a roughly cylindrical piece of foam and run a small dowel with a sharpened point down the centerline. The flat end goes in your drill press chuck. The pointy end sits inside some sealed ball-bearing races. (I found a single roller-blade shoe by the side of the road and scrounged the bearings.) This makes the sanding/finishing go *much* faster.
Sure, it is much more work than a kit, but the satisfaction is *well* worth it.
The first thing you are going to need to do is to learn how to roll your own tubes. Forget about using paper towel tubes (too thin and flimsy) or mailing tubes (too heavy even for D motors). I did a lot of experimentation here and the best way to make your own tubes is with builder's paper and paper mache paste. A 35 inch x 140 foot roll of builder's paper will set you back all of ten bucks. My glue is a mix of Tite-bond II, flour, and water, but you can get decent results with any PVA glue slightly diluted. I use PVC pipe as my mandrels. It takes a little bit of practice, but you can make tubes that are actually stronger than the Estes tubes for any given weight.
You can roll nose cones the same way. This is slightly more difficult. The trick is to make a mandrel first. I start with some heavier poster paper (snagged from a dumpster, of course) and Spray 77 glue. Cut a dowel to go down the center. Cut a few cardboard discs and slide them down the dowel and glue them in place to pull everything true. Then roll the outside with a few layers (I use kraft paper and paper mache paste here) to thicken everything up. When it is try, cover with clear packing tape to prevent glue stickage.
Don't worry if your first mandrel isn't perfect. Even if it is rather sloppy, it will be good enough as a form to help you roll a base cone to form another mandrel.
It is true that a cone isn't the most aerodynamic shape. However, that is only the case of a true cone. With sufficient length:diameter ratio (at least 4:1, anything over 6:1 is overkill) simply bluffing the tip and smoothing the transition at the base of the cone produces a shape as good as anything else below trans-sonic speeds.
Although they work great, cones are boring aesthetically. You can make a great nose cone of any shape you want by sanding it out of a foam block. Go find an appliance dealership and check their dumpster for foam packing material. Then lay it up with paper mache strips. You will be amazed at how strong it is. With a little practice, you can free-hand small nose cones rather easily. Larger cones will need some help, and if you have a drill press you can use it as a makeshift lathe. Take a roughly cylindrical piece of foam and run a small dowel with a sharpened point down the centerline. The flat end goes in your drill press chuck. The pointy end sits inside some sealed ball-bearing races. (I found a single roller-blade shoe by the side of the road and scrounged the bearings.) This makes the sanding/finishing go *much* faster.
Sure, it is much more work than a kit, but the satisfaction is *well* worth it.
I'm a BAR interested in building whatever I can get my hands on (albeit to a lesser extent than Gnomad! I'm in awe!!)- I've purchased three kits in the last three years, and those were right-off the bat of my BARdom. I have a little experience with Estes Designer Special, and little of it was good- the last one I bought (granted, this was about 15 years ago) included a literal accumulation of parts that served no purpose. Random body tubes, few matching nose cones, a few engine mounts...rubbish, mostly. Since then, I've done the following (done twice, will be doing a third in a few weeks):
1) Take note of all tubes, couplers, lugs, etc included in the "Scratch Builders Assortment" kits (Red Arrow and BRS are the best IMHO (same, actually) in that they include almost everything except NC. Apogee has some good tubing and ring kits, but no "all inclusive" packages like these). RedArrow had some problems shipping the entire kit; I may have been a little harsh when I called them on it (and have been told to shop elsewhere as a result
...perhaps a topic of another thread with an apology), but BRS was as promised.
2) Go crazy on the plans pages such as JimZ, YORF, etc (mentioned in a previous post I think), design your own, whatever you want to do. Take careful notes if you design your own- nothing more dissatisfying than placing a sizable order with an online retailer only to find you short-changed yourself a couple of hooks or a nose (shipping is a huge percentage of small orders!). For many of us gone are the days of running to the hobby shop to pick up a few parts.
3) Print print print the instructions (perhaps more costly and less environmentally sound but far more "organic" to the build. plus a fin will break so it helps to have hardcopy).
4) Cross reference your list of parts needed to what's included in the build kits from Step 1 above (I should show you the Excel sheet I created for my last build/buy phase...I may have gone too far).
5) Order build kit from step 1 above along with other needed parts. I've sourced my NC for the build storm from a site in Florida (can't remember the name) and from Hobbylinc. Expect to pay as much if not more for the NC as you do for all the tubes, lugs, CR, couplers, etc.
6) Hit Michael's or AC Moore for the finstock, glues and cardstock for custom centering rings (costly and/or fragile to ship).
7) Greet postman/UPS/Fedex driver daily, eagerly awaiting your precious delivery.
8) Become recluse for several weeks while you build build build.
With these 8 simple steps I've gone from 4 Aerotech MPR kits at the abject conclusion of my initial round of rocketry enthusiasm that I've moved from city to city without ever launching to 2.5 aerotech MPR kits (at least I'm launching again...) and ~30 LPR kits. I spent last weekend building a storage solution in my garage just to store my new found glory. This isn't including the original LPR kits that somehow got lost on the path to adulthood nor the birds that will result from the 20+ plans waiting in the wings.
PS- the only birds NOT built this way in the pic are the Estes Baby Bertha & Hi Flyer, and the FlisKits Acme Spitfire (NOT to be missed!! A fantastically rewarding and challenging kit build!!). Sorry about the overload on Bertha #1948 paint scheme- I have a thing for that model since it's what got me started in the hobby to begin with.
1) Take note of all tubes, couplers, lugs, etc included in the "Scratch Builders Assortment" kits (Red Arrow and BRS are the best IMHO (same, actually) in that they include almost everything except NC. Apogee has some good tubing and ring kits, but no "all inclusive" packages like these). RedArrow had some problems shipping the entire kit; I may have been a little harsh when I called them on it (and have been told to shop elsewhere as a result
...perhaps a topic of another thread with an apology), but BRS was as promised.2) Go crazy on the plans pages such as JimZ, YORF, etc (mentioned in a previous post I think), design your own, whatever you want to do. Take careful notes if you design your own- nothing more dissatisfying than placing a sizable order with an online retailer only to find you short-changed yourself a couple of hooks or a nose (shipping is a huge percentage of small orders!). For many of us gone are the days of running to the hobby shop to pick up a few parts.
3) Print print print the instructions (perhaps more costly and less environmentally sound but far more "organic" to the build. plus a fin will break so it helps to have hardcopy).
4) Cross reference your list of parts needed to what's included in the build kits from Step 1 above (I should show you the Excel sheet I created for my last build/buy phase...I may have gone too far).
5) Order build kit from step 1 above along with other needed parts. I've sourced my NC for the build storm from a site in Florida (can't remember the name) and from Hobbylinc. Expect to pay as much if not more for the NC as you do for all the tubes, lugs, CR, couplers, etc.
6) Hit Michael's or AC Moore for the finstock, glues and cardstock for custom centering rings (costly and/or fragile to ship).
7) Greet postman/UPS/Fedex driver daily, eagerly awaiting your precious delivery.
8) Become recluse for several weeks while you build build build.
With these 8 simple steps I've gone from 4 Aerotech MPR kits at the abject conclusion of my initial round of rocketry enthusiasm that I've moved from city to city without ever launching to 2.5 aerotech MPR kits (at least I'm launching again...) and ~30 LPR kits. I spent last weekend building a storage solution in my garage just to store my new found glory. This isn't including the original LPR kits that somehow got lost on the path to adulthood nor the birds that will result from the 20+ plans waiting in the wings.
PS- the only birds NOT built this way in the pic are the Estes Baby Bertha & Hi Flyer, and the FlisKits Acme Spitfire (NOT to be missed!! A fantastically rewarding and challenging kit build!!). Sorry about the overload on Bertha #1948 paint scheme- I have a thing for that model since it's what got me started in the hobby to begin with.
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