Kits vs Scratchbuilds vs Upscales vs Downscales comparison

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BRS Hobbies

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With easy access to RockSim files and free OpenRocket software it seems we live in an era that it is easy enough to pretty much make any rocket that we want. In general, how does your fleet break down when it comes to building model rocket kits vs scratchbuilds vs upscales vs downscales. If you have too many rockets to list, perhaps you could just do approximate numbers or percentages for each category.

Here is where I am currently at -

Model Rocket Kits - Estes Sentinel, Estes The Shadow, FlisKits Deuce's Wild!, Quest Icarus, QModelling Stiletto, US Rockets Interroc, US Rockets Sniper, US Rockets Start, US Rockets Warp 4

Scratchbuilds - Estes Fat Boy

Upscales - have some in the works but nothing finished

Downscales - none in the works

Best regards,
Brian
 
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I scratch build 95% of my building. Mostly my designs. If I were to scratch build a kit, I would have to know that at some point I bought that kit and rebuilt it because I lost it or crashed it. Having bought it 1st is the honorable thing to do. If it's no longer in production, game on! Same for up-scales. I rarely ever build a down scale.
 
Altho scratch building seems to be me forte , I have built a ton of kits. There kinda like jigsaw puzzles in a way. I just like making something out of a pile of pieces/parts.
Micro to Sat V.

IDK, off the top of me head, me kits are sport, scale , fantasy/space.
Me scratchers are....Out there.
 
My output is quite low compared to others here, but I'm finding that I'm pretty inclined to do scratch builds as long as I have a compelling design in mind. Otherwise I'll build kits. Haven't done any upscale a or down scales yet.

I'd estimate my ratio will level out somewhere around 50/50.
 
Counting OOP clones as scratch, I'm at 48% kit, 44% scratch, 4% upscale, 4% downscale.
 
Kits = 90% (I'm a "collector")
Upscales/Downscales = 0% (no time...still got lots of kits to build!)
Scratchbuilds = 20%

Yup, I put 110% into all I do! :wink:

Even though there is greater ability to build from scratch given the information and programs out there, it seems that this is usually after you've gone to the point where you've already built a bunch of kits and start to get more ideas on your own. Additionally it's easier after you've had more building and launching experience as well as accumulated parts and tools.
 
About 90% of mine are kits (I'm a collector as well) and 10% are scratch. Only 1 scratch is an upscale. No downscales
Not sure how to count the kits that themselves are upscales (Semroc LaserX SLS, Hawk Hobby Super Trident, TLP Bullpup)
 
KITS-
Estes- Monarch x2, photon torpedo, cosmic explorer, star trooper, flutterby x2, pink Crayon, NSA promo rocket, renegade-D, screaming eagle, interceptor 1250, Enterprise 25th anniversary, R2D2 (original), X-24 (I think), draconian marauder, SR-71, Phoenix Bird
Morerockets.com- Super Viper

Upscale:
Morerockets.com- Super Viper

Scratch- Swift 220 (bt-40)

Downscale:
Scratch - BSG Viper (bt-20)
 
Let me look at my list...

Kits - 103
Scratch - 114
Upscales - Big Brute (4"-->5.5"), Fatboy (2.6"-->3"), Cluster Bomb (2.25"-->5")
Downscales - NCR Archer (4"-->2.5"), Fatboy (2.6"-->BT-5)
 
At last count, I've got about 60 rockets in the "flying" fleet. I'd say that 50% are kits (including survivors from my first go at rocketry), the rest are scratch built. Of the latter, about 50% again are upscales (including one being built now), and the remaining 25% are either clones, scale models of my own devising, or unique designs of my own.

My upscales include:
  • EAC Firecat
  • Ninja (original Estes)
  • EPM-010
  • NASA Pegasus
  • Ram Jet
  • Big Bertha
  • Astron Ranger
  • Astron Cobra
  • Cherokee-D
  • Der V-3
  • Teros
  • Hawkeye
  • Advanced Target Drone
  • BSG Laser Torpedo
  • Orbital Interceptor (current construction)

I'll spare you all listing out the kits and clones. I do think, though, that cloning and upscaling are two sides of the same coin. Both are reproducing an established design, its just a matter of size. What was tricky once is now made quite simple with Rocksim, etc. With all of that said, I have around 100 kits that aren't built yet...
 
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Since this seems pointed at modroc's I'll keep it in that realm.

I'd say 75% kits, 20% scratch, 5% up/downscale/clones The only time I bother cloning is if I can't find an OOP kit. even then the work involved is usually enough to keep me from doing it.... someday I'll do a strike fighter....and then the next year I'm sure it'll be reintroduced as a kit.
 
Humm That is a very good question.
Most of the models in my LPR fleet from back in the day would be kits. But as I lost all but about 8 models for my original fleet to vandals most of their replacements are Cloned Scratch builds. Somewhere around 1990 I started Up-Scaling anything that could take a cluster of D12's. Then since 1999 Most all of my Micro work has been scratch built downscales of my favorite Classic kits along with maybe 5% of micro kits. I'll have to take a look at the Lists.. This could take awhile.
 
Hmmm... 80% kits, 20% scratch. Of the scratch, 20% upscales, 0% downscales.
 
For me it depends on what size rockets.

Low/Mid Power: 85% Kits, 10% Scratch, 5% Upscale

High Power: 2 Kits, 4 Scratch, 1 Upscale

For the past year I have focused mostly on Low Power with my kids/students and on our Upscale Dragonfly. After working for six months+ on a single scratch-built upscale rocket I have been looking forward to just building something that comes in a big box....
 
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