Keep in mind, this package is aimed at individuals who don't have a lathe to cut their own parts. It really is just "a starting point"; it's a way to get a few quality parts into their hands and allow them to get going on some simple projects. Once they have the package, they will be directed to the SEMROC website for additional components. Think of this package as an appetizer before dinner; it's just enough to whet the appetite, and not enough to spoil it.

Craig,

Your post helped crystalize my take on these "designer's special" type boxes. I started out as a BAR by building three kits and resurrecting three others from the attic. The Estes Designer's Special was helpful both in rehabbing the attic birds as well as letting me explore my own scratch and cloning ideas. No doubt this box was truly helpful. And I gladly paid the outrageous price at the B&M hobby store.

But once I got going, I pretty much moved beyond the Designer's Special. I could get plenty of balsa sheets from lots of stores. I picked up a stash of tubes and rings from TT and a stash of cones and rings from BMS. Cutting my own parachutes from many plastic bags was easy enough. (Glide floss makes great MR suspension lines :)

The point was that, once I got going, my bulk purchases tended to be more specialized. So I agree with you that these type things are mainly starting points. After that, it's hard for me to see much market for a "super duper gigantic deluxe designer's special". I don't see one as a starting point - it's too big - and I think most builders will be more specialized when they begin supplementing their stash beyond their first designer's special. (Plus, it's obvious that getting agreement on what goes into the super-duper box is about impossible :)

I'd say, after the basic designer's special type package with a sampling of everything, that the next best things would be ring packs, nosecone packs, body tube packs, etc. I think builders will see these as less wasteful and hehce more desirable.

Doug

That was sort of my take on it too, Doug. I do like the idea of an assortment, but if it ends up costing more than a Designers Special, then I probably won't buy it. I don't want to pay 100 or even 50 dollars for a bunch of stuff I may or may not end up using. Parachutes were a good example. I got a whole pile of plastic chutes set asside from various kits now that I have learned how to use a sewing machine. Circle cutters are a good investment, and with a little patience and a free priority mailing box, centering rings are never a problem. I love laser cut parts as much as the next guy, believe me, but if I can fabricate it myself then why pay the premium? The lathe, vacuum or resin forming, is where most people's skills fall short, not to mention the expensive tooling for the task.

In short, builder's assortment pack is a great idea. But, I would keep it simple, as to try and keep the cost down. For me, an assorted tube pack is more desireable, pack of cones, etc. But then, I may be a bit more frugal then the average Joe, I dunno.

I might agree with the idea of "packs", as long as they contain genuinely useful components and not deteriorate into what Estes calls parts packs. What they have is like the original Chicken McNuggets: "They contain parts, and parts is parts". Still, I would like to see a "Super Box", something like a store might buy to start their pegboard inventory. I wouldn't mind spending $100 for a really complete box of goodies to fill my personal bins...

Maybe a combination of both ideas would be good: A small, appetizer-type parts box with a sampling of the most-used goodies; and a large, comprehensive "Store Sales Starter" with bags of parts, like rings by the dozen, tubes in six- or 10-packs, etc.

Those annoying spirals!
 

There are times I'd like about them that long, too. I guess I got spoiled with my one-time shipment from Totally Tubular. :rolleyes: :o


Y'know, that's probably my *only* gripe with *any* Semroc product. I got some ST-5's with a *really* deep groove, which is why I took to sanding the tubes down even before hitting them with primer.

Hey Carl, is there any way you can order the ST-5's and ST-7's *without* the grooves? Or is that the best Euclid can do for the price you're paying them? Just wondering. ;) :D


Cheers, as always,

Euclid isn't the only paper tube company. A few years ago, I got a brochure from another manufacturer -- Paramount Paper, I think -- that offered explicitly a line of white-outer-layer tubes with an "invisible" seam. It was actually a raised seam instead of a depressed seam; with a spray of primer and a base sanding, any trace of the seam was supposed to disappear. The raised edges supposedly caught and held the primer and the sandpaper "did the rest".

When I contacted them about the tubes, however, they acted like Sgt. Shultz: "I know nuthink! I see nuthink!" Today, I see no mention of them having anything like these tubes...

Fin fixture/jig
 

Maybe come out with the full standing fin jig/fixture. I mentioned this on the other forum but I will mention it here as well. Semroc seems to be awesome when it comes to improving good ideas, this was an excellent idea but I think it could be done better.

Agreed, but with better control than the Estes design. I'd like to see one with sliders and holders adjusted via thumbscrews instead of simply by friction. I never got mine "polished out" enough to work smoothly; there was always one plate that "grabbed" and caused more trouble than it was worth.

Exactly...or maybe like this but a lot less "involved"

I actually was thinking of aluminum instead of plastic. You're using paper clamps, which probably work just as good; but I still like the idea of the thumbscrew adjustment, meaning I can set the pressure instead of taking all-or-nothing.

Nice looking jig!