What Kits do you consider "MUST HAVE'S"???

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LPR
Estes Wizard or Athena or Big Bertha
Quest Harpoon
MPR
Wildman Mini or other similar make
One scale: V2 or Saturn any make
HPR
Wildman Jr. or other similar make
 
I think it's more about "types" than actual / individual kits / models..

Everyone should have in their fleet:
  • A basic / typical 3 fin / 10 caliber rocket.. Alpha 3, DRM, etc..
  • A 4 fin basic rocket: Goblin, etc..
  • A scale science rockedt: Black Brant, Apollo, Gemini, etc..
  • A scale 'missile': AMRAAM, Patriot, Harpoon, V2, etc..
  • A stubby: Fatman, Squat, etc..
  • A long one, 15+ calibers: Blue Bird Zero, Mean Machine, Long Tom, etc..
  • A 2-stager: Boosted Bertha, Aerobee Hi, Comanche, etc..
  • An oddrock: a saucer, a pyramid, a helicopter, birdie, etc..
  • Something scratch built / unique to "you"
Some rockets fit more than one category, and some are their own category..
 
LOC Minie Magg (any size) or LOC I-Roc

Wildman Hobbies Wildman or Wildman Jr. (standard or dual deploy)
 
My opinion is not special but the Flat Cat glider is great. I am very proud to have built one. For me it’s a must have. Looks great flies better.

My scrappy, built from leftovers Jet Freak is also a must have. Great flier. Building the craft probably cost less than any given flight cuz made from leftover parts, check it out plans are available online for free, an old design.
 
Estes Alpha for basic rocket building and flying experience. When someone wants to try building with fiberglass, I'd recommend any of the Wildman Minis. They're easy to build and can fly in a lot of places.
 
dr wogz said:
I think it's more about "types" than actual / individual kits / models..

Everyone should have in their fleet:
  • A basic / typical 3 fin / 10 caliber rocket.. Alpha 3, DRM, etc..
  • A 4 fin basic rocket: Goblin, etc..
  • A scale science rockedt: Black Brant, Apollo, Gemini, etc..
  • A scale 'missile': AMRAAM, Patriot, Harpoon, V2, etc..
  • A stubby: Fatman, Squat, etc..
  • A long one, 15+ calibers: Blue Bird Zero, Mean Machine, Long Tom, etc..
  • A 2-stager: Boosted Bertha, Aerobee Hi, Comanche, etc..
  • An oddrock: a saucer, a pyramid, a helicopter, birdie, etc..
  • Something scratch built / unique to "you"
Some rockets fit more than one category, and some are their own category..
Click to expand...
I have all of them.
 
Other than a plethora of scale kits…

Estes Alpha

Estes Comanche 3

Estes Interceptor

Centuri Starfire (or Semroc retro-repro)

At least one - two or more stage rocket - any - (Custom, Lightnin’; Quest, Navaho AGM)

At least one Glider recovery

At least one helicopter recovery

At least one mid-power

At least one high quality, high detail, scratch build or kit bash.
 
Apparently I’m in the minority here. I have zero interest in a Nike Smoke. Never appealed to me. I do have a couple V2’s.
 
I love these threads. My list is different every time.

LPR:

BT20's:
Estes Extreme. When it's fins rip off, sand it down and grab a sheet of $2 plywood from your LHS.
Mach1 Alien Interceptor. Heavy on a streamer. Straight up, straight down. Don't use a motor block. Tape ring.

BT50:
Mach1 Razor. Tiny chute. Tank construction.
Mach1 Haymaker.
Estes Black Brant 3. It's a far improved Alpha. Cut a massive hole in the chute, switch to streamer, or use a top flight 8" chute.

BT55:
Estes Goblin. Go 3 fin.
Estes Black Brant 2. Use a 12" Apogee chute.

BT60:
Esters Hi Flyer XL. It's everything the Bertha, Raven, and Magnum wanted to be. Use an extra coupler, and put baffles in them. The long fins make the booster section extra rigid, they'll reach all the way up to your baffles and coupler. 12-15" Apogee chute.

Estes Star Orbiter. Easiest kit to build of all time. Use the same tricks listed for the Hi Flyer XL. Chop some length off of it for running on D12's.

Estes Der Red Max. Switch to a 12" chute. Do we even know why we love this rocket? But it's giggles from build to launch. No other LPR is as much fun.

You should just get some 1/16" and 1/8" balsa and ply, some tubes, kite Kevlar, cones, and motor mounts, and scratch build these for a "clone army". It's more economical. Anything can be a streamer. And we upgrade our finest painted kits to aftermarket nylon chutes anyways.

MPR:
Lok Onyx 3"
Apogee Zephyr Jr.
Mach1 Devil Ray (heavy)
Mach1 Saberhawk (lighter)
Loc Micro Mag (built light)

MPR's are good only for testing your Jolly Logic chute release, or first dual deployment systems. LPR's are more fun. MPR's cost as much as HP. Wish that I would have skipped these and just did HP last year. The short fat ones are fun. But the serious, skinny hi performance ones are kind of a pita to build and fly. Basic HPR kits are only a JLCR more complicated than LPR's. And if you have wide open spaces, not even that.

HPR's (I'm building all of these right now, haven't launched any of them):

Loc Goblin 4" and 5.5". JLCR and larger Loc chutes for each. (stuffed the 5.5" Goblins chute into the 4")
Apogee Zephyr. JLCR. I'll do my Level1 with this or the Goblin. Goblin has a tracker bay in it's nosecone.
Madcow/Apogee Torrent. Dual Missileworks RRC2L's. 48" Apogee chute.
 
Scott_650 said:
That’s very much a “depends” question - depends on a bunch of factors. What it is about rocketry that you find appealing will be the primary driver determining which rockets are must-haves. My personal list is more about type than specific kits - there are three primary types of rockets I like: utilitarian, “workhorse” types like my ASP Sky Ferry or my stretched Estes Leviathan payloader, next is sci-fi style rockets like the Estes Interceptor and my Squirrel Works Dogfight (it’s a sub-type I really like too - glider carriers 😉), and finally historic scale models like the Estes #1921 Mercury Redstone or my bunch of OOP Dr. Zooch “ant scale” kits.

But if there was some scenario where I was forced to pick three rockets and only three for life here’s my list:

- Balsa Machining Service 3” School Rocket, 29mm powered with the payload bay

- Estes #1921 Mercury Redstone

- Estes #7309 Super Mars Snooper

I limited my choices to kits I have experience with that are in current production as of February 2022 - if the current production limitation is lifted the list would be near impossible to narrow down!
Click to expand...
Balsa machining, 29 mm, any configuration
 
I had the same kit!! it is a sweet build. I even when as far as to put the 3 bevels in teh fins. I do nee dot get another one!
 
As long as you have a moderately high waiver, a tracker & flight computer, I think it's really hard to beat a min-diameter 38mm rocket. Go Devil, Mongoose, Blackhawk, Mini Mach, etc. So much fun.
 
Jerry F. said:
I've recently started following the Rocketry Forum and have found a lot of useful information and tips, but what I would like to know is "What do you consider to be a "Must Have" kit?" There are a lot of great kits, but which ones do you just have to own at least one of, or multiple versions of...
Click to expand...

You are potentially suffering from "I want all of them" syndrome thus asking which ones we prefer so you don't do like almost everyone else in here and just start hoarding. Smart move. I'll start by saying that I'm glad I am not a Hot Wheels collector. At a buck a piece, I'd probably go broke explaining to everyone "they're just a dollar." I'm probably not the right person to ask as I have zero self-control, and when I do, I suffer from some sort of immediate regret when a kit goes out of production (OOP) and now somehow I can justify paying collector prices.

Like many others, you have to ask yourself "why" you got into the hobby and what brings you the most joy. As for me, I had an epiphany about a week ago on how I would answer this question for myself since the reality dawned on me that owning EVERY kit ever made by EVERY vendor that ever existed would require me to be unmarried, eating ramen noodles, possibly skipping showers frequently to save money on water, potentially live in the nude to avoid using the A/C and consuming electricity, but I digress. Over time, dare I say via maturity, I developed the self-control to NOT buy every new kit that is released and have accepted that it too will go OOP. That still often led to regret that I missed out on yet another really cool kit.

The answer to my puzzling and often troubling question about what I will collect moving forward, especially to reign in the emotional attachment to the hobby, was 1990. A number, go figure, but it represents the magical year I discovered rockets. The goal is simple. There were just under 100 kits offered in that year's catalog. Between collecting, hunting, and scratchbuilt cloning, I have found no greater reward than keeping a spreadsheet and focusing on only the classics from that year. The other rule I made for myself is that if I want a mid-power or high-power kit to fly, I will likely upscale something from that same year since most of the hobby nostalgia is centered around that amazing year of wonder.

While I can't offer you anything more, I will say that having a singular focus or set of limitations might save you from the rabbit hole that is collecting, buying endlessly, and wondering at what point "scratching the itch" will begin to have an effect. For me, it's a list on a spreadsheet with a finite number of kits. Once that list is complete I'll come back and let you know what's next, but for now it'll buy me some time and give me direction. LOL...all the best!
 
If I could only have one rocket (my criteria for a “must have”), it would be the AeroTech HV ARCAS. I’m on my second one now; easy to build, easy to convert to dual-deployment (which I did with both of mine), and a superb flyer that won’t break the bank. Oh, and being 60% scale, it looks great too!!!
 

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