Interest Rocketeer Rocket Pack and Harness screen accurate ***Deposits closed

It's been a year since I've received any emails. This thread started over two years ago. I'm afraid none of us will see this pack or our money. I hope I'm proven wrong.
 
Edited, Curtis contacted me and we're dealing with the problem. I think all is solved.
 

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I've given up hope of ever receiving my rocket pack or the $300 deposit, it's sad that Curtis is a crook, I think the admin should ban him. All of us who got scammed should ban together & see what we can do to get our money back.
 
Hey Rocketpack group! I heard from Curtis (TheRocketeer) a few days ago; he wrote to let me know about a harness buckle trade he'd been offered and updated me on his progress. I mentioned that people here were getting concerned and he said he'd come post soon. It sounded like he'd been having a hard time of things in his personal life and his real job - things that I'll leave to him to explain (or not) if he chooses to. I'd consider them "reasons," not "excuses" for the radio silence - I know that I can get the same way when life comes at me all at once.

In his hobby work time he is inching this project closer to the finish line, and he's quite close. He's got the progress photos to prove it. Hopefully when he posts next he can give all of us a realistic idea of what to expect for a calendar going forward. I understand anyone feeling nervous about their money being in someone's hands with an unexpected lack of communication and delays on the original timing, for sure - but in the hope that it might ease some of your minds:

While I don't know Curtis personally, never met him in real life, I sent my production-made jetpack to him to replicate as a hero pack because I've bought kits he's produced (and seen many of his others) and felt he was the best person to do this project, and I trust him. I still believe he's the guy for the job, having seen the progress (as slow as it's been). It's a passion project for him. He's been around here for a long time and has earned a reputation for quality, if not speed. I don't know of anyone who claims he's screwed them over in all of his years of building and selling here. He's assured me that this project will be completed, and I believe him. I'm not making excuses for the lack of updates/communication, though I imagine he'd partially tuned out after fielding many requests for refunds which weren't factored into the project - the rolling schedule and "final sales" were terms inherent in signing on for this project. I do know that the project's been far more complex, time consuming, and expensive than he expected going in. I don't believe his profit margins will be high at all when it's all said and done - he may not make money on this at all. I've put hundreds of dollars in parts and shipping into the project as well, with no expectation of a return on that investment. For me, and I expect for Curtis, this project's always been about having a dream prop in my collection. I'll take the wait to get it right. He's got a lot of your money, and he definitely seems to appreciate that fact. My production-made helmet is still in his hands. For what it's worth, I'm comfortable with that fact.

Hopefully Curtis gets a chance to come here soon and let us know how it's going, and what to expect moving forward. If anyone's nervous about their investment, I get it - it's a lot of money - but I think we're all going to feel this was worth the wait in the end!
 
I think Mr. Hoines probably screwed up with me, yes.

You see, i’m waiting for my project more time than this one(Like, one year more) and besides the total lack of communication, i’ve been blocked on Rocket’s other media without good reason. I was always very polite when asking for my helmet and i e-mailed him like, once in 7 months?? He can’t brag i was being annoying or insisting too much.

I haven’t received eved a single progress photo, i don’t know even if he really started my project...

I can understand your frustration with a lack of communication on whatever your project is. I don’t know the details of your communications with Curtis, of course. I can acknowledge that he’s had a rough year and it’s probably led to him giving all of these projects less love than he’d have liked. I think after many years in the hobby, he knows that things can be derailed for many reasons though, which is why he sets the terms he does at the outset of projects like this one: it’s a hobby gig for him and simply doesn’t come ahead of his real job or real life. When we sign on, it’s with the understanding that we’re making non-refundable deposits to fund the work and materials and that the schedule could change - could even be delayed beyond what some on the list feel is reasonable. I’m sure Curtis would be the first to say he should be more communicative and share more photos to reassure customers, but that is a world away from ripping anyone off in the long run. Maybe your terms/agreement with him was different, on whatever that project is - am i understanding correctly that it isn’t this project, though? If that’s the case, do you feel this is this the best place to air those grievances? This thread is meant for this Rocketeer project, slow as that conversation may be right now, and one side of a personal dispute between you and Curtis without any context isn’t really appropriate to lay out here. In the meantime, I’ve still not heard of Curtis not following through on a run here, nor delivering subpar work on any of his projects. I’m as excited as anyone for this to be completed; I still believe it will be and will be done extremely well.
 
I would disagree..

If one is refusing to communicate at all.. what other recourse is there?

If there said 'builder/seller' is not fulfilling old projects.... and starts a new one.. I would think I that is a GREAT place to draw attention to the problem. (as well as let other know whats going on)

I get you are his friend.. but let HIM chime in if he doesnt want it to be a one side of a dispute.


And, really? (thanks for letting me know I guess)

When you 'get in bed' with Rocketeer.. you are signing up for:
* no refunds
* changing schedules
* delays beyond what was originally promised when payment was taken.
* bad communication

Got it.

* Sounds a bit like Anovos comments! LOL

I sure HOPE that is not how Rocketeer wants his reputation to be thought of..
 
I would disagree..

If one is refusing to communicate at all.. what other recourse is there?

If there said 'builder/seller' is not fulfilling old projects.... and starts a new one.. I would think I that is a GREAT place to draw attention to the problem. (as well as let other know whats going on)

I get you are his friend.. but let HIM chime in if he doesnt want it to be a one side of a dispute.


And, really? (thanks for letting me know I guess)

When you 'get in bed' with Rocketeer.. you are signing up for:
* no refunds
* changing schedules
* delays beyond what was originally promised when payment was taken.
* bad communication

Got it.

* Sounds a bit like Anovos comments! LOL

I sure HOPE that is not how Rocketeer wants his reputation to be thought of..

Hopefully I'm not letting you know about those terms - I didn't get the usual deposit/signup message on this project because I came into it from another direction, but every time I've bought from him it was explicit that the project calendar was subject to change and that deposits were non-refundable. I'm not excusing the lack of communication, but yes - assuming that usual language was there then we all signed on for the potential delays that come with a project of this scope and complexity, with the agreement that we wouldn't pull our deposits which funded the run at its established size. He's always been up front about those particular conditions in the past.

Curtis isn't a company like Anovos with an R&D department and outsourced inexpensive labor and a team to handle customer complaints - he's just a guy who builds stuff in his workshop in his spare time and puts those terms in for good reason. I know this prop has surprised him in many respects once he got into reverse engineering it, researching the hero packs and harnesses in detail, etc - he underestimated the time and expense it'd take to deliver what he described in his pitch to the level of quality we're all expecting. I'm sure he could have disappointed us with a half-assed product a long time ago, and I'm glad he hasn't. And while I'm not saying anyone else should feel this way, I'm happy to give hobby artisans with good track records latitude that I'm not comfortable giving to an actual company. Real life can get in the way, and real life comes first. Curtis has mentioned some of the things he's dealt with in the past year, and while I wouldn't broadcast his personal business for him I can understand why he's not been immersed in this project as much as we might like. Again, there are good reasons for his terms and he's got very few projects that run on like this one has.

I just looked back at the first post in the thread. It begins with Curtis acknowledging that he'd had my production pack for a year already with the intention of starting this run. That's before he started the signup thread. I've been waiting as long as you have, and then some, with thousands invested in the run. I'm not telling anyone else how to feel about their investment or the project's time, and I wouldn't presume to call Curtis a friend as I've never had the pleasure of meeting him or even speaking with him on the phone. I've bought from him before (always a good experience) and we've exchanged messages from time to time since starting this project. I do like the guy, and I respect his talent/ability. I still trust him to deliver and believe he was the right person to send my props to for this project. Hopefully, my faith in him reassures some others with their own understandable concerns.

As for the unrelated project/complaint, I'm not saying that bringing issues up in this thread might not get Curtis' attention or stir things up. I just don't think it's the appropriate place for it. I'm not the boss of anybody, but I'd prefer he start his own thread tagging Curtis (if it's not against RPF rules) rather than muddy this thread up if he really can't get in touch with him any other way. This thread is just meant to be about something else. None of us know the full situation there. He may be a customer who's become unhappy with the terms he agreed to, or he may be totally justified in his complaints. Maybe Curtis stopped communicating with him for good reason, or maybe he owes the guy a response/explanation. We don't even know what the project was, nevermind the particulars of it or the history of what's happened since. I don't know either party well enough to make that call on their word alone, and I've now got exactly one side of that story to consider. For my part, I'm not interested in watching the two of them have that debate back and forth here when Curtis is able to come back and post again either - I'd like to stay on topic and help move this project forward.

Again, all of this is just my opinion, and I hope it's reassuring to some of you. I understand anyone who still has concerns of their own, and I hope Curtis comes by soon to provide some more concrete encouraging news.
 
I totally agree with Don Sama, Curtis must give us an answer, I think we all reserve one after sending him the deposit in good faith... Until then, he's a scammer in my opinion & I will discourage anyone here from buying anything from him :mad:
 
Is this supposed to be a joke, Westies?

In law, we have something called “contract”.

Don, you're free to post wherever you like, of course. And maybe you're totally in the right with your dispute with Curtis. I don't know anything about your situation, the terms you've agreed to regarding whatever your project is, your relationship with him and the dynamics of that through your dispute. I don't know why he's not responding to you. The responses I get are very intermittent, and as far as I know I'm on good terms with him. Maybe you can prove everything you're saying with screengrabs. I just wish you'd take it outside our project's thread - start another if you want to address it on the RPF, or talk to your attorney. Have you asked an admin about addressing it somewhere else? There may be complaints about the timeline or refund requests in this thread, but they ought to belong to people with a vested interest in this project. I can't stop you from airing your outside complaints here. It's just a polite request/suggestion from someone who'd like this thread to stay on topic.

Markpoon, Don Sama's not quite saying that Curtis owes this group an update - I agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly, and Curtis has acknowledged that himself. Hopefully he follows through soon to reassure people about this project. As far as I'm aware, Don Sama isn't part of this run but is addressing Curtis here about another issue.

I know we're all looking forward to this wrapping up. I look at Curtis' many years on the RPF without issue and hope that his real-life troubles combined with this project's complexity have caused an unexpected setback. Until he comes to post a more solid update, I don't blame anyone for being nervous about their investment, but I'm still banking on him coming through.
 
I still have faith in this project.
A update will be greatly apreciated.

Hello everyone and sorry for the MIA.. I have had about the worst 3 months of my life.. and the last year and a half were not great either.. family, health, finance etc...But I think I am past the worst of it now..

I have been working on the pack as much as I can, and I am not making excuses, I was expecting to be done by now and have it all shipped out...but that hasnt happened, but it will. I have used money from the deposits and from various other small runs I have done to pay for everything that needed to be done, 3D work, supplies for molding, casting, finishing, printing, materials and parts/pieces for all the little buts that go into each pack.. and expenses have considerable.

Anyway I think the main hull of the pack is ready to start the molding process, the radiator/grill at the top needs a few more tweaks to be ready.. the fins for the top of the hull (24 for each pack) are printed and prepped for molding, the grill (4 bottom grills) are ready as well. I have been trying to get the thickness right where each grill would attach/slot into the hull so when I mold it the process will be easy to just glue them into place.

I have also sent off a couple prototype flaps in for bending.. once they are back and the bends are correct for width and fit I will get the rest done and sent in for bending as well.

The tube, rod ends, threaded rod, braided hose, nuts, bolts, fans, caps, grommets, copper tubing, steel mesh, 1/2 round (for flap finishing) and anything else I may have missed in this sentence has been ordered or is already here.

Here are some pics of the pack and a few other pieces I have been working on.. the back "egg" piece is now complete, which was almost completely graphed in without damaging the rivets..as the stunt pack had the rods cast into the pack, not clean like the hero packs.

Anyone can always email me, you all have my email address, and I will answer as quickly as I can.

I will be prepping the hull for molding, finishing up the top grill, molding the fins and small bottom grills this week and next.. I will try to get a picture of all the pieces that will come with a kit before I get that started, should be picking up the flaps in the next couple days, so by Thurs/Fri this week I will update with those pictures.

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Hello everyone and sorry for the MIA.. I have had about the worst 3 months of my life.. and the last year and a half were not great either.. family, health, finance etc...But I think I am past the worst of it now..

I have been working on the pack as much as I can, and I am not making excuses, I was expecting to be done by now and have it all shipped out...but that hasnt happened, but it will. I have used money from the deposits and from various other small runs I have done to pay for everything that needed to be done, 3D work, supplies for molding, casting, finishing, printing, materials and parts/pieces for all the little buts that go into each pack.. and expenses have considerable.

Anyway I think the main hull of the pack is ready to start the molding process, the radiator/grill at the top needs a few more tweaks to be ready.. the fins for the top of the hull (24 for each pack) are printed and prepped for molding, the grill (4 bottom grills) are ready as well. I have been trying to get the thickness right where each grill would attach/slot into the hull so when I mold it the process will be easy to just glue them into place.

I have also sent off a couple prototype flaps in for bending.. once they are back and the bends are correct for width and fit I will get the rest done and sent in for bending as well.

The tube, rod ends, threaded rod, braided hose, nuts, bolts, fans, caps, grommets, copper tubing, steel mesh, 1/2 round (for flap finishing) and anything else I may have missed in this sentence has been ordered or is already here.

Here are some pics of the pack and a few other pieces I have been working on.. the back "egg" piece is now complete, which was almost completely graphed in without damaging the rivets..as the stunt pack had the rods cast into the pack, not clean like the hero packs.

Anyone can always email me, you all have my email address, and I will answer as quickly as I can.

I will be prepping the hull for molding, finishing up the top grill, molding the fins and small bottom grills this week and next.. I will try to get a picture of all the pieces that will come with a kit before I get that started, should be picking up the flaps in the next couple days, so by Thurs/Fri this week I will update with those pictures.

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Thank you for your reply.
cant wait to see the next update end of this week yeah!
 
nice! Ive been silent myself for the past few years, but wanted to chime in and say bravo on this piece! Excited to finally see a conclusion to this project, it'll be one for the books!

-Ron
 
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Hey guys. Sorry it’s been a day. Took these pics this morning. But just have the chance to post them.

All the pieces in the pics would be what you would get in a kit. A couple things would be different and a few things are missing.
So the rods and tubes for the flaps would be cut to length.. so cut into about a 1/4 of the length in the pics.
There would be a couple of small copper/brass tubes that attach to the engine bits.
There is only 1 set of fitting for the engine tubes in the pics, you would get 2 sets.
I only have the one grill for the engine covers, you would get 4 grills :)
Other than that it would be 1/2 round pieces to glue on the engine flaps.
Also I wanted to mention the fins for the top of the hull have pour spouts attached. They will need to be trimmed off..this is why they look like that in the pictures.
I think that’s it, so there are close to 100 pieces to this kit. Maybe more. I will get a list of things included once everything is molded up and ready to go.

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Hey guys. Sorry it’s been a day. Took these pics this morning. But just have the chance to post them.

All the pieces in the pics would be what you would get in a kit. A couple things would be different and a few things are missing.
So the rods and tubes for the flaps would be cut to length.. so cut into about a 1/4 of the length in the pics.
There would be a couple of small copper/brass tubes that attach to the engine bits.
There is only 1 set of fitting for the engine tubes in the pics, you would get 2 sets.
I only have the one grill for the engine covers, you would get 4 grills :)
Other than that it would be 1/2 round pieces to glue on the engine flaps.
Also I wanted to mention the fins for the top of the hull have pour spouts attached. They will need to be trimmed off..this is why they look like that in the pictures.
I think that’s it, so there are close to 100 pieces to this kit. Maybe more. I will get a list of things included once everything is molded up and ready to go.

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Looking awesome buddy, can you keep us posted how far you are with molding?
 

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