Hello Frank,So here come the pics!
First up are a couple pics of my true original collection. These are the rockets I built as a child which my wonderful mother saved from the trash bin. A couple of note: The MX Missile and Titan II are from my VERY first order, along with an Alpha III starter set. The Alpha III is no longer with us... well not the original one at least! The black fin units on the MX missile and Titan II are from the Estes Crayon rockets. It is physically identical to the clear fin unit originally included. Fun Trivia: What do the Estes Mini Mars Lander, the MX Missile, and the Geo Sat LV all have in common? Answer (I hope this is right): They are the three rockets that used the Estes tri-conic nose cone. And no, that's not the original escape tower on the Mercury Redstone. I scratch built that one from dowels and misc stuff I had around. It isn't tall enough, but good enough for me.
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And here are the rest. These were all built since re-discovering the hobby with my son (he's now 18... time sure flies). Rockets of note:
* The Mega Mosquito is in primer after replacing the upper body tube and a fin which was damaged from an Estes E cato (two in a row)
* The Big Bertha is a clone
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Rockets of note:
* Mars Lander is the Semroc reproduction. I have the original (not in pictures) currently under restoration.
* EAC Viper is a clone to replace my lost original
* The Sprint is a clone
* The orange Alpha III rockets are mine and my wifes from college days. We helped launch rockets with middle school kids through the Michigan Space Grant Consortium while we were students at the University of Michigan (I'm a real aero-engineer!)
* Big Daddy is about 3/4" shorter than a normal one due to a failed nosecone deployment which resulted in a lawn dart. Only crushed the very top of the body tube. Nose cone has been modified to cut off the shoulder per the many thread on the topic.
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Interceptor E on custom stand... enough said! (this is one of my favorites)
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Rockets of note:
* Saturn V with 29mm mount (old kit, custom mount)
* Estes Mongoose... I can't figure it out, something went wrong with the paint and decals. (LOL!) This was to replace my lost original Scorpion from childhood.
* Cloned Omega with payload section (Semroc nosecones)
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My son and wife attended Parent / Child Spacecamp (it was both of their childhood dreams to go to spacecamp, we made it happen in one shot!) The middle two rockets are the SCRV Eagles they built at camp, and the outboard two are clones I made using salvaged parts. NOTE: I painted their fins with white spray paint when they got home, as they weren't given the time to paint the fins at camp. I couldn't let them remain bare balsa. They are otherwise "as-built".
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And finally, the big boys:
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Ok, the elephant in the room: I gratuitously posed the rockets in front of one of my other hobbies: fixing/restoring old 80's arcade games. Q*bert on the left (complete restore) and Donkey Kong JR on the right (just maintained in original condition). As far as my hobbies go, if it's from the 80's, it's good!
Welcome to the forums (fora? Is there a doctorate in Latin in the house?)
And with your collection, I think most here will agree that you've won the internet. Or at least the rocketry internet.
Best -- Terry