A few days ago I had managed to destroy the 1/70 scale Saturn IB I'd built as a teenager. But that was OK, because I could replace it, because Carl McLawhorn had produced his replica kit. Carl brought back the look and feel of what model rockets *should* be. There is a feel to the wood, to the paper tubes, to the printing that brings many of us back to the time when we first learned to create complex things from simple parts.
I had the chance to talk to him at a few NARAMs, including the most recent a few weeks ago, and he kindly gave me a free "deci-scale" kit of the Nike-Tomahawk, because he appreciated what I had done with my books. He was still full of ideas of what he wanted to create, and told me all about his special CNC lathe that produced such beautiful turnings.
I confess that I'm not sure how Semroc could really make money--I've kind of suspected that he had retired from his "real" work, and was simply happy not to lose money making our corner of the world a better place. I assumed I'd see him again at another NARAM, and his next deci-scale kit, which he'd show off to me (and all the other assembled rocket geeks), along with whatever unexpected cool stuff he'd come up with.
Really a fine human being. He will be missed.