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Well...I've roughly $3000 in my Saturn V presently.
Pics and more pics pleaseWell...I've roughly $3000 in my Saturn V presently.
Scratch-Building is always cheaper than buying Kits . . .
If you want a larger rocket, "re-purpose" paper towel rolls, make centering rings from 3-4 layers of poster board to give radial support to the tube, along with a stuffer tube for longitudinal strength, and use scrap styrofoam to make cheap nose cones !
Dave F.
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agreed! That's like asking how long is a piece of string? Too many variables to accurately answer and why bother. Be specific!OP never specified the reason for the question. Trying to build as cheap as possible? Trying to stay within a particular budget? Just curious?
But you need stuff to build / finish the kit, to make it what is it supposed to be:
Some parts are the cost of the "part" [what it is]. Some are considered 'consumables' and while they have a cost, they they are either amortized over a number of builds, or are a 'house expense' [part of teh 'expense' to produce]..
Dr Wogz and Overthetop hit the situation pretty well here.I have a lathe and mill in the workshop that total over $12k (AUD). They are more a life-long investment but are handy to have around for making rocket parts. Lots of other useful stuff too.
Forgot to mention: Our full-scale V2 was about $16k (AUD) including the motor.
There is always Carl Sagan‘s quote.@BABAR I was going to mention 'time' as well, but I assume the time component is a given; the one thing you do yourself & consider a 'non-expense' (you would be paying yourself..)
We could go even further.. and include the cost of the desk you build on, the shelf on which the parts are stored, the electricity to power the light you build under, the 12 square feet your 'build site [desk]' occupies (rent), and other assorted 'overhead' costs..
"Time you choose to waste, is not time wasted"
and there is the argument: I do it because I enjoy it.
Are you only interested in the destination? or are you enjoying the journey?
As McCloud would say, " 'ere ya go!" (yes I'm an old fart). I've said this before in several ways, but...what is a hobby but a way to spend time and money; the desired product is happiness. (Not my quote, saw it in a book on telescope making.)Since this is a hobby, any time invested is free and should not be counted. If you had to account for time, it is a chore or a job and no longer a hobby. Hobbies are by definition what you do with your free time.
While there is a great deal of truth to this, it's not the whole story. Folks enjoy different aspects of the hobby, and want to focus their time, to the extent possible, on the more fun parts. Some time-consuming and perhaps unrewarding tasks do indeed impose a cost because they consume a limited resource, which is time available to spend on a hobby.Since this is a hobby, any time invested is free and should not be counted. If you had to account for time, it is a chore or a job and no longer a hobby. Hobbies are by definition what you do with your free time.
While there is a great deal of truth to this, it's not the whole story. Folks enjoy different aspects of the hobby, and want to focus their time, to the extent possible, on the more fun parts. Some time-consuming and perhaps unrewarding tasks do indeed impose a cost because they consume a limited resource, which is time available to spend on a hobby.
So: I, for one, don't want to burn my precious hobby time, say, cutting my own centering rings or rolling my own body tubes, even though it would be "cheaper". That time *is* a cost for me.
You may not have thought about this (if so, sorry for the tricky question), but I really want to know roughly how much you spend to build a single model rocket. (Not high-power rocket... but interesting as well)
I hope you can share it.
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