Saturday, February 28, 2015

What Should SEMROC Bring Back?


Forum posts have already been suggesting what Semroc should initially produce.
Most everybody wants parts. 
In 2012, Carl McLawhorn posted and let TRF readers know what were once the top selling kits at that time.

By quantity: (all over 1000)
1. Boid
2. Laser-X
3. Saturn 1B
4. Golden Scout
5. Mars Lander
6. Swift (A 3FNC model, not the boost glider)

By sales: 
1. Saturn 1B
2. Mars Lander
3. SLS Laser-X
4. Hydra VII
5. Laser-X
6. Orbital Transport


The Boid and Swift are typically bulk sellers to school and youth groups.

3FNC models are not the biggest sellers.
From both lists the top sellers are the Saturn 1B, Laser X and Mars Lander.

A new message on the Semroc website:
"Semroc has been sold and moved to Dayton, Ohio. Randy Boadway long time rocketeer and owner of eRockets will also be taking on Semroc. We plan on operating both eRockets and Semroc as two seperate entities and share basic resources.
Semroc will continue to produce some of the best quality flying model rocket kits in the world.
February 2015 has been an exciting month for Semroc. The 8 containers of products, parts, shelving and equipment was moved from North Carolina to Dayton, Ohio. At this point we are moving everything into the existing eRockets building. It is a tight fit but we have everything inside the building now. We are in the process of putting all of the parts away and will soon fire up the equipment to make sure everything works prior to production starting.
We are already starting to contribute to improvements in the existing line of kits. All future Kevlar shock cords will be switching to braided Kevlar rather than twisted and waxed. Tape strips for parachutes will also switch to unbreakable nylon rather than paper."

6 comments:

  1. I've been wanting a Laser X for a long time - I certainly hope they bring those back! I only discovered Semroc after they were pretty much out of everything.

    I feel like it's been an interesting turn of events happening just around the time when I got involved in rocketry. I found out about two great things that seemed to have disappeared just as I was entering the hobby - Semroc and Q2G2 igniters. I kind of felt robbed of the experience of having those resources available - but now they're both coming back!

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    1. Hi Rocket N00b,
      The Laser X is a great kit. It was a good seller for the old Semroc and I'd think it's fairly easy to produce again. The only strange thing about the kit is the card stock adapter and 1/16" thick fins. It's worth the wait, though.
      I haven't tried the new 2G2s yet. I hope they are as good as they were before.

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  2. No shock on those three being top sellers. What's shocking is Estes doesn't reissue them on their own every few years.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jim,
      You would think that Estes would respond but I don't think they are too concerned about Semroc's sales numbers. Estes did bring out the Plasma Probe. It definitely has a Centuri Laser X look.
      The Mars Lander and Saturn 1B involve too many custom parts, just for those single designs alone. The embossed parts need a special press and templates. Estes might not produce parts unless they can be used in a few different kits.

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