Rockets in Toms River
After spending my morning at the Ocean County Courthouse, I took a detour to see a woman who had a nice cache of rockets which were her recently departed fiancée's. I'm giving CENJARS folks first dibs. She knows that some of these are rare and should sell for a good price. I don't think you'd need to offer $500 for an MDRM like some idiot did recently on eBay; however, she loved her fiancée and shared in his hobby, so these hold some sentimental value to her. Many of these are still in shrink wrap; others have opened boxes but all parts appear to be intact.
Contact your Poobah if you have any interest in these.
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What did you buy?
interested in spacex n Pershing
I be interested in the Honest John, F-14 (swing wing), and a F-9, if Joe doesn't need both.
How is this working? Are you bringing them to the launch and we auction them? Are we dealing with her? Are you taking any reasonable offer (minimum bid is $3.50 I guess)?
The Pershing is cool too. I just started a 1B, so I'm not anxious to jump into a Saturn V. 😂
Just F9 n pershing for me, price? Poohbah fee?
Quote from Zielijo1 on August 31, 2023, 3:23 pmWhat did you buy?
There's one less Gemini Titan (seal shrink-wrapped box) and I purchased the Q-Modeling NIKE-X (Q-modeling is history). The NIKE-X has plywood CRs and MMT for 24mm, but I'd be tempted to outfit it with a 29mm MMT. A bunch of EARLY Estes kits '60s and early '70s vintage which will NOT get built! It's great to see kits of that era with low dollar figures and even ¢ signs! The only one that *might* get built is the K-39 1:272 Saturn V because the kit is open. No hanger tag anymore. It was a whopping $2.50 back in 1969BC (Before Children). I only wished that there would have been my first Estes rocket in the cache — the Astron Space Plane K-3.
interested in spacex n Pershing
There were two Pershing kits and, IIRC, two SpaceX kits. The SpaceX kit is the one I purchased some time ago. Mine arrived with the tube wrap poorly attached. Why it wasn't made a part of the build process is beyond me but I could never get a replacement. They two I looked at look far better then the one I received.
Let me know what you'd be willing to pay for them and I'll let her know. Check the internet for going rates.
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Quote from Eric Becher on August 31, 2023, 3:51 pmI be interested in the Honest John, F-14 (swing wing), and a F-9, if Joe doesn't need both.
How is this working? Are you bringing them to the launch and we auction them? Are we dealing with her? Are you taking any reasonable offer (minimum bid is $3.50 I guess)?
The Pershing is cool too. I just started a 1B, so I'm not anxious to jump into a Saturn V.
I have the Honest John. It's a fun build. There's a lot of plastic in that kit from the nose down to the spin stabilizer thrusters (non-functional of course) to the fins and finch assembly.
The others could be yours. Let me know what you'd offer her and I'll let her know. The one Saturn V is the 30th Anniversary edition from Estes. It might not be evident in the photos.
There are two assembled rockets — a Nike-X (which is the Q-modeling kit) and a Sidewinder (that too may be a Q-modeling kit). I was telling her about the Sidewinder's rollerons and that I got to inspect one close-up when M and I were in San Diego on the Midway.
While I'd love to get my hands on some of this treasure trove, the reality is that I am not a collector, in that I do not buy a vintage kit to "have" a vintage kit. If I buy a rocket, you bet I'm going to build and fly it. The other thing of course is that I enjoy scratch building even more than kits, and even with kits, I take extreme liberties in terms of modifications.
These need to go to a better home than mine, although I would not mind the Falcon 9, but I suspect both SpaceX kits are already grabbed. Hrrrmmmm.... Anyone know what the going price is on the Titan IIIE? That one does look cool.
Quote from Brian C. on September 4, 2023, 10:18 amWhile I'd love to get my hands on some of this treasure trove, the reality is that I am not a collector, in that I do not buy a vintage kit to "have" a vintage kit. If I buy a rocket, you bet I'm going to build and fly it. The other thing of course is that I enjoy scratch building even more than kits, and even with kits, I take extreme liberties in terms of modifications.
These need to go to a better home than mine, although I would not mind the Falcon 9, but I suspect both SpaceX kits are already grabbed. Hrrrmmmm.... Anyone know what the going price is on the Titan IIIE? That one does look cool.
I need to lookup the original sale price of these OOP kit. I would think that the base price of her kits should not be below the original price. I also adjust those prices for inflation which, thanks to our present administration, has been greatly accelerated. The Titan was offered for about 4 or 5 years circa 1990.
Quote from Admin on September 4, 2023, 11:52 amI need to lookup the original sale price of these OOP kit. I would think that the base price of her kits should not be below the original price. I also adjust those prices for inflation which, thanks to our present administration, has been greatly accelerated. The Titan was offered for about 4 or 5 years circa 1990.
Wish I had Estes catalogs from that era, but I go from 1975-1981, and then have a huge gap until 2019. Tried looking up the price on Ebay, but that was a bust. If I guess an offer of $50 is that too much or about right? I have no idea what I'm doing here.
I have enough projects to keep me busy for the entire winter, but whatever became of this haul? I was interested in the Titan IIIe, but I'm assuming this has already slipped from my fingers and is sold? Or is all this stuff still waiting to be appraised? Just asking.
I've already stumbled over a haul of stuff via Craigslist, I've got "cobra" D-motors, enough to last me another year of launches, plus a few old kits, and I ordered a 'Ventris' and still have to finish up a Big Dog, a Doorknob, a vintage Fat Boy, and I have enough bits and pieces to build about 10 customs, and I bought a 4" pink "crayon" from Dragon Rocketry. Definitely enough to keep me busy over the next few months.
It's like a real sickness. I have over 60 rockets and I cannot stop building them. I'm going to need to make another room in the house, or start throwing out other stuff to make more space. Maybe if I buy some shelving at Ikea....