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Originally Posted by rocket_james
...The "cheap" starter set is still good for getting folks in the hobby, too. Not everyone can afford the full deal. I also think both should include a catalog, a basic concepts booklet, and a "send a friend a catalog" postcard. I wonder how many of us got in the hobby because of a friend or teacher?
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I had a chance to talk to my LHS contact today, and casually asked him what trends he was seing in the hobby industry. His opinion was that the RTF items - rockets, RC aircraft, RC cars, etc... - really did bring a lot of people into their respective hobbies; but that these customers were also coming back to look for the more sophisticated items, like kits that require building and finishing. This was across the board. These customers were hitting a roadblock because those same companies were not following up as well with more construction-style products.
Has anyone noticed one of the "new" product lines Estes has brought out? Fully-assembled rockets in those conformal heat-molded blister packs. No motors, no pad, no launch controller, just the rocket -- fully assembled (maybe you have to attach the parachute...) and ready for launch. Wal Mart is selling them for $10. I looked at two: a 3FNC and a 4 FNC. The 3FNC used a gold-plated* Alpha III fin can, a gold-colored pre-wrapped body tube, and a gold-plated* PNC-50Y nose cone. The 4 FNC used a fin can which I don't think has been used before. The packages look like they cost as much to make as the rockets do, BTW...
I whole-heartedly agree with the inclusion of a paper catalog, especially one that has a full line of components and accessories. Those were the catalogs we all used to drool over. It wasn't just the rockets, but the idea that with those components you "could do anything". Those pages were like the old Edmund Scientific catalogs, or the Heathkit electronics catalogs.
Something I once thought about for a Deluxe Starter Set was to include a copy of "The Handbook" as a premium. That might be something to consider for educators wanting to include rocketry in their classrooms.
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*Gold-plated in the sense that they were plated with a gold-colored metallic coating...]