Would you buy built OOP kits?

[TeenRocketNerd]

As I have mentioned before, there is a woman whose husband (now deceased) was a member of my local rocket club, and she is actively looking to get rid of her husbands large collection of rockets. Of what is left, there are several hundred of his built low power rockets, nearly all of which are built (meticulously), but unsealed, unprimed, unpainted, and unflown. I was wondering if anyone here would be interested in some of these nearly 200 built kits if I listed them in small lots or individually here for sale. (of course I would post LOTS of pictures and document any shortcomings of the kit) The prices would be very reasonable, and the shipping rates would reflect the actual prices it costs to ship the boxes (not like on most e-bay transactions)

So, vote in the poll, and if need be, elaborate the conditions in which you might be interested in the above offer. I’m just trying to help out this lady get her husbands’ rockets into hands of people that will enjoy them like he did.

here is an incomplete list of what there is at her house:


Built:

painted Explorer Aquarius
Exoskell
Super Nova Payloader
Mach 12
Rampage
Dagger
Bandit
Fire Flash
Cork Screw
Ranger
Rattler
Magnum
Sky Winder
Dude
Calypso
Bailout
2 built Quest Flying Saucers (unflown)
Cobra

Estes Starter Set-Missile Command-sealed

MIB/NIB Sealed Estes Explorer Aquarius

Scout B- opened


There are over 100 other assembled (but mostly unpainted) kits that she does not know the names of… many are now OOP kits, while a few are some scratch built sci-fi and semi-scale rockets. The craftsmanship on these rockets is very very good; he had built rockets for decades, so he knew many tricks of the trade.


Thanks for your interest and input!

 

[Sandy H.]

Hmm, 3 'maybe' responses and nobody has replied. Read the directions, folks. . .

I would if it were a kit that I wanted for either a) to fly b) for parts or c) to measure for an upscale. I wouldn't pay huge money for it, but I don't pay huge money for much anything.

For example, I would buy an Aries SST because a) it was a childhood favorite and b) the nosecone is not too common [but could be faked]. I would probably be willing to pay $15 shipped on an average day.

Sandy.

 

[smashburn]

I would go for an Estes "DragonShip 7" and more importantly its sister ship the "Patrol Cruiser Excalibur", both OOP since '82 or so. I have 7x upscaled the DragonShip already, flew on an M2200, and now want to upscale the Excalibur.

Steve Mashburn
smashrocketry.com

 

[Tom Swift]

Yes, I'd be interested if it meets one or more of the following criteria...
- it comes with the decal sheet (and ideally the directions, for archival sake)
- it was an especially old/rare/cool rocket (Honest John, ESS Raven, etc.)
- it can be used for hard-to-find parts
- it lends itself to modification (e.g. canards, additional stage, external motor pods) so I feel I had a hand in the construction
- is at a fair price

Most of these are subjective reasons and any purchase would likely be on a whim anyway.

I'm unfamiliar with some of the rockets on that partial list so I have to do some research.

 

[TeenRocketNerd]

Prices:

I had figured that prices would range from $10-20 for lots of 4-5 rockets plus shipping. Most, if not all of these rockets are OOP, and some have hard to find NC's... If there was a rocket you liked you could trace the fin paterns and measure off the body tube lengths, and clone the built original, and use the original NC and other such parts, too. Things to think about.

I'll wait a bit longer to see the results of the poll to decide if it is worth the effort to divide, photograph and list the rockets for the lady I'm trying to help.

Thanks for the input.

Travis

 

[flight4]

I voted no because I [really] like to build. I'll buy an oop kit now and then but I never envisioned buying something already built. But some valid points are being made here. So you never know.

 

[Donaldsrockets]

I would buy a built OOP kit if:

1. It has been OOP for some time and if it was something I really wanted. I'm sure I would buy a built or partially built Estes Mars Lander if the price was right.

2. If and only if it was built well and looked good, carefully aligned fins, launch lugs, etc. Cosmetic things I could fix. If the paint job was bad, I would probably sand it down and redo it.

However, I would NOT buy anything that was of shoddy construction, grossly misaligned fins, launch lugs, badly crushed or ovaled BT's, broken and/or splintered fins/detail pieces, something insanely over priced, had just recently gone OOP (Fat Boy for example) and mint kits were still readily available at reasonable prices, etc.

 

[powderburner]

TeenRocketNerd,

I understand that you are "just trying to help out this lady get her husbands’ rockets into hands of people that will enjoy them like he did" but I also know that you are also helping her reclaim a few $$ from his hobby. I think that helping this lady in this way is an admirable thing. I have seen a few widows faced with the problem of what to do with their deceased husband's hobby materials; generally, anyone who does not participate directly in a hobby will not have much idea what the monetary worth is or how to contact anyone who might want to purchase some of the stuff. You are being way more of a blessing to this lady than you might realize.

As to the kits, assembled or not, if they are as well-built as you say, I think you will get better bids if you can post a few pix of each one. You might include a one-foot ruler near each model to give some indication of size to those who are unfamiliar with old kits.

And I would answer Yes, I sometimes do purchase already-built kits

 

[Balsa Bob]

I voted yes.
Usually, OOP kits I acquire seldom get built.
I'd have no qualms about flying a pre-built model.

 

[Johnnie]

I voted maybe: the buy would be dependant on whether or not I knew the builders capabilities, physical condition of the rocket, and whether or not I really like the styling of the rocket...I do not buy just because it is old.

Johnnie

 

[Peartree]

I voted maybe. I don't object to buying used rockets or prebuilt rockets on principle but I do enjoy "the build." If there was something cool or something I liked, the price was right and I actually had "disposable income" at the time, yeah, it could happen.

 

[ultrasonicTim]

Where would the money go?

 

[Gus]

Travis,

Here is how I would go about helping the lady.

Get 35 Priority Mail boxes, your digital camera, old newspapers, a postal scale, and a pad of paper.

Go to the lady's house, pick 3 rockets which will fit in a box. make a label that says "Lot 1", photograph the rockets, and pack them in a box. Do the same for all 100 rockets.

Post the pictures here and ask for help identifying the rockets in each lot.

If she still has the instructions and decals, you can either pack them with their corresponding rocket, or just offer them up for sale individually.

Once the lots are identified, post them for sale on Ebay. Like it or not, even with the fees, she will get more for the rockets on Ebay than she will here.

Even if you can't identify some of the rockets, they should sell just fine to folks who will know what they are in Ebay-land.

I suggest using Priority Mail boxes because they are free, and you can include a priority mail calculator in the auctions so folks will know what the postage is.

I know from personal experience how reliable and efficient you are. This lady is very lucky to have you helping her.

 

[harsas]

I agree with Gus. Like it or not, eBay can bring a better price than a small venue like this. TRF is a great place to sell a few items to a friend and avoid the costs and stupidity of eBay. But for a large lot, in a situation where it is important to optimize return, eBay is the place.

 

[RoyGreen]

There are definitely OOP kits that I would buy built. For instance, this spring I bought a set of hobby shop display rockets that included a Centuri Orion. I paid $44 for the four rockets, two of which were useless (well, not that useless; one was an E2X rocket that I promptly lost on the first flight), and the third had a 1970 black injection molded version of the PNC60AH (the Red Max/Mean Machine nose). The Orion was worth the $44 alone to me, even though it needed quite a few repairs and a complete repaint.

 

[lanceS]

Anyone of Centuries "super kits", USS America, etc I would jump to try to get!

 

[Lucky 94]

I said maybe because, 1, I believe a rocket deserves to be flown and I don't care sometimes if I built it or not( though I do enjoy that part.) 2, I am looking for oop stuff any way.

Those prices sound resonable so I think I would buy some if they come up.

 

[TeenRocketNerd]

Thanks for the input and advice everyone!

This lady works weird hours for her job, still has rockets at two different locations, and I have limited times when I can make the one hour treck to her house, so this may take me a while to orchestrate and fincance things such as beginning shipping costs and purchasing a few rockets that have meaning to me as well. (bear with me... )

Having said that, I have received several PM's with offers and advice. I ask of those people with an interest to please give me some time to talk to the lady and ask her exactly how she wants things handled. This could take a while because, as I said, she works odd hours and only checks her e-mail when she has time. She also has a son in the Army, so while liquidating these rockets is important to her, I'm sure she has other things on her mind as well. (bear with her... )

If this thread goes cold for a while, don't give up on me; rest assured that I'm just trying to work things out in hopes to get (1) rocketeers quality goods (2) a reasonable price for these kits and (3) ensure expedient transactions.

Thank you all for your help, and thank you for your interest.

-T.