Late 2020 Wishlist

Gregory's Wish List for Winter 2020
Updated 2020 September 6

Astromedia Model Kits.
These mostly cardboard kits are German-made and there does not appear to be an official U.S. importer, so these may be somewhat hard to find. I know I've seen at least one of these kits sold through a U.S. distributor, though.

-The Newton Telescope Kit: a cardboard telescope with an actual spherically-figured mirror. I must know how it performs, because for the price, it is half as expensive as the Celestron FirstScope, the cheapest reflecting telescope that I know to be worth anything.

-Sextant (ideally with artificial horizon as well): A functional astronomical sextant for measuring angles and thus global position.

-Stardial: A cardboard astrolabe, the grandfather of simpler instruments like the planisphere. Used for telling time at night and predicting the motions of the night sky.

-The Steam Engine Kit: a cardboard live-steam stationary engine. Just... wow. And how? I must know.

-Stirling Engine Kit: Less baffling but not much less impressive--a stirling engine running on a heat differential alone. No working fluids, just cold and hot.

Astromedia Post Cards.
-Sundial Post Card
-The Starry Sky Post Card