This will be the last blog post!
Over 7,500 posts over almost 13 years! The blog will remain online until the folks at Google decide to delete it. I've been thinking about this for a while.
Odd'l Rockets are still in production.
I'll continue to build show models for the manufacturers.
Odd'l Rockets kits and supplies will still be found through your favorite online vendors. Pigasus and Little Green Man kits are available again!
I ask that you do not distribute my decals, templates or carded models until I decide where they will end up. I still retain all Copyrights (ownership) of my original art and instruction sheets. Please - No kit production or copies of the PDFs. I won't tolerate someone simply "copying" and making a profit from my work.
What will I do with my build time?
I have a few wooden model ships I'd like to tackle. You think the old Estes Mercury Redstone (K-41) escape tower was tough? "Plank on bulkhead" models require plenty of patience and time. I hope to attend club launches after the Summer heat is over.
To those who supported the blog through Patreon and Paypal donations - a BIG Thank You! The donations are appreciated and always went directly towards the builds.
I learned a lot! - I hope you picked up a few things, too.
Thanks for reading!
Learned so much from your posts.
ReplyDeleteGood luck and best wishes to you.
Thanks , Chris, for your very wonderful blog posts. They’ve been daily reading for me and I’ve become a much better modeler for them. Your comments and observations about paint alone have saved me, and I am sure others, a heap of time and agony. Our hobby has greatly benefitted from your work and comments. Thanks again for a great ride!
ReplyDeleteChris, your build blogs are first class! Thanks for sharing them with the community! Best, Leo
ReplyDeleteWhat am I going to do with the time I read you're blog every morning? Seriously, it saddens me that you are ending what is a great resource for so many, and an entertaining one. I'm just glad that we can still talk at launches. As much as I know, I always learn something new from you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for publishing for as long as you did. This blog taught me pretty much everything I needed to know about building rockets when I got back into the hobby in 2015. It is still an essential reference for me, and I always point newbies on TRF over here to learn.
ReplyDeleteHope you can enjoy the hobby (and whatever else) even more when you don't have the pressure to keep publishing every day. :)
Sad that there will be no more posts. Techniques and information have been great for using on my own builds. I get it though, some times there are other things to do in life.
ReplyDeleteChris, Thanks for the many post and help with my builds. I haven't been here too long, but I have learned a lot from you. My we still use your decals for our personal use? Again best of luck with your ship builds. I'm working on a 1/32 scale Higgins PT boat, from plans. Gonna miss your daily.
ReplyDeleteHi Bill, Thanks for the Thanks! You can certainly use the decals I have sent out. I just didn't want a vendor to copy them and produce a clone kit for sale using my work.
DeleteBye Chris. Your blog posts were always fun to read. Take care down there in Florida.
ReplyDeleteWow, if this was late March I'd view this with a suspicious eye, but no one makes July Fools jokes. Your contribution to hobby blogging will be missed.
ReplyDeletei've been reading your blog for years, though i haven't been one to join in the conversation. i really admire your craftsmanship. i appreciate how you taught techniques for achieving high-quality work. you've created an excellent resource for modelers. if you were at all inclined to document your process for building ship models, i'd happily read that blog, too!
ReplyDeletethank you!
Happy trails to you sir. This blog will surly be missed by many. I personally have learned so much, benefited from your decals, instructions etc. Thank you for making a hobby for a old man a blast.
ReplyDeleteWell, rats. Gonna miss the daily visit, but thanks for all the time and work (both on the models and the blog).
ReplyDeleteDadgum it, I told it the pesky software who I was...
DeleteChris, hate to see the blog shut down. Glad you are leaving it up so that we can come back to it for reference (I'm working on a Saturn V Skylab and your build of the Saturn V has been very helpful).
ReplyDeleteAlso wanted to let you know that it was your blog that inspired me to start my own.
Best wishes to you sir!
Sorry to see you go I enjoyed reading your blog on a weekly basis. Best of luck to you and thanks for all the tips
ReplyDeleteI'm really sad to hear this. I've learned a ton from your blog and really admire your work. Just finished my Quasar build today! Your blog was a huge help with that.
ReplyDeleteWell, this is a bummer. But best wishes to you, Chris and thank you for blogging over the years. I have enjoyed it immensely. Hope you see you on YouTube. :) And you probably already know, but some fine ship modeling kits can be had at Bluejacket Ship crafters (https://www.bluejacketinc.com/).
ReplyDeleteHI Chris, this is Steve (Scout Saturn Mishap) from Maine. I sincerely thank you for your dedicated work. Your attention to detail and techniques have been a joy to read, ponder and often implement. Best of luck in all your future endeavours. Enjoy some well earned down time, get your captain's hat and build those wooden boat models. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your rather enjoyable (and educational) blog -- it shall surely will be missed.
ReplyDeleteSir. you will sorely be missed. I'm selfish enough to wish you never stop, because I never stopped learning from you. You mention Google has it on their servers until they delete it. Is there any way to get the entire blog as one massive zip file? I noticed Google gave me an option to zip my mailbox, and any other data, when they deactivated an account of mine. I know it is asking a lot, but I don't trust Google to leave the blog up for very long; and this way would enable you to sell a copy of the entire blog. Something this good deserves to be saved from deletion. I'm sure many people would be willing to compensate you for the time and trouble it would take to have Google zip it all up so you could offer it on dropbox or something.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thank you for your time and effort in teaching us a way to produce show quality model rockets with patience and grace. Again, you truly will be missed.
Yes! Please!
DeleteNow that the blog is no more, what will become of the model files and the decal files ?
DeleteAt present, the PDF decals, templates and carded models are available to Patreon subscribers.
DeleteOh no! I'm really sorry to see this blog come to an end! Thank you for everything you've taught me through the years. And, if you decide to blog your ship models, please let us know. :)
ReplyDeleteAs others have said, I would selfishly like to see you publish the blog forever, but I also understand the daily work you put into this and what a grid that can be. It's been such a joy to read and a wonderful resource through these years. I'll definitely be referring to these posts for as long as they're available. Great job and thanks for your enormous contribution to the community. Now go have fun doing something else!
ReplyDeletePublish the blog into a book?, PDF? I will buy!
ReplyDeleteThis blog has been a great source of entertainment and reference for my builds! Thanks Chris!! Enjoy your time building ships!
ReplyDeleteYour blog has gotten me thru many a build. THANK YOU FOR YOUR DILIGENT WORK. This is truly a compendium of rocketry knowledge that needs to be preserved FOREVER. Much of your blog has been saved in The Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), but much has also NOT been saved.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the excellent work, you really made my Thor-Agena B build and your build articles are always very helpful. Hopefully we'll tag up again since were in Florida but I haven't been out to even watch since November down in Port St. Lucie. If there are any "big" events in Orlando maybe I'll make a drive over, it's I4 that stops me.
ReplyDeleteHi, Chris,
ReplyDeleteI'm a little late to this party....
Very sad to see this go, but I understand the reasons.
Have you considered leaving the blog up and continuing podting on a casual basis?
I'm sure a lot of folks have always enjoyed your launch reports and model rocketry side-bars.
You could post once in a while when the fancy strikes, without the daily commitment of doing a build series.
Anyway, have fun with the ship-building and don't forget to check into th BFTP blog once in awhile...