forestroke

being in Taiwan, all the planes available now seem to be cheap knockoffs. i yearn for a nice quality product but we just don't get them.

personally, i think it is even more important to buy quality (name brand) ARFs if you're on a tight budget because you can't afford to crash. you just can't take that risk. i'd suggest you buy a good quality but cheap, wing makers and world models come to mind, ARF rather than an even cheaper ARF that has no guarantee. the hardware will be decent and you'll have peace of mind.

to be able to take the risk of el cheapo china ARFs from no name sellers is a gamble. and so you should have the same mentality... be ready to lose what you put in. but be happy if you come out winning!

SpinnerRow

76 posts in this thread and probably 2/3 aren't related to the original questions I had asked. []

To those that have stayed on topic, I thank you.

Maybe the moderators need to start a Political BS forum for the rest of them because that is where most of these posts belong.

Based on what I read here, I'm going to give the .90 sized plane a try. I'll take some high res pics and post them. And if there is a Political BS forum by then, that's where I'll post'em!

Ever Onward!

ArcticCatRider

My Feedback: (6)

No. I'm not Dave Platt. There's no identity crisis here. But that doesn't mean I can't source competition balsa.

I don't have photos, at least digital, of my builds. But I would like for you to explain how you can determine, through photos, a "good build."

I'm guessing you can...as anyone who's categorized builders' capabilities by minute percentages...surely would be able to determine quality of contruction through low resolution photos on the web..

PSJDBF

Good luck on your choice Spinnerow, & if I am one of the off topic Prattlers I apologise , we are certainly a passionate
Bunch.
You very obviously under stand what is required when you buy one of these ARF's & I'm sure you'll have a positive result
in which ever choice you take , after all it's all about enjoyment whether thats from building mod'ing flying crashing !! ?.
All the best.

One of my cheap e-bay models.

And how good she looks on the wing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBJU1rsF-2I

jship

My Feedback: (4)

Very good video, Have fun. Thats the main idea!
jship

SpinnerRow

You people quit bidding up the Ebay prices!! LOL! I'll have to wait a couple of weeks until the prices calm down! cyradio needs to send me a commission check!

Dan M

My Feedback: (1)

LOL !

Nicely said ! ...... + 5 for you Sir !

SpinnerRow

Cool vid! Those RCV engines are a pretty cool concept.

grimmy55

The whole world is scared of China made 'black hearted goods'. Can you differentiate which one is made in the USA , Philippines , Taiwan or China ? For your Information ... the first 3 digits of the barcode is the country code wherein the product was made. Sample: all barcodes that start with 690.691.692 until 695 are all MADE IN CHINA.

471 is Made in Taiwan



This is our human right to know, but the government and related department never educate the public, therefore we have to RESCUE ourselves. Nowadays, Chinese businessmen know that consumers do not prefer products 'made in china', so they don't show from which country it is made.
However, you may now refer to the barcode, remember if the first 3 digits is 690 to 695, then it is Made in China .
00 ~ 13 USA & CANADA
30 ~ 37 FRANCE
40 ~ 44 GERMANY
49 ~ JAPAN
50 ~ UK
57 ~ Denmark
64 ~ Finland
76 ~ Switzerland and Lienchtenstein
628 ~ Saudi-Arabien
629 ~ United Arab Emirates
740 ~ 745 - Central America
All 480 Codes are Made in the Philippines.
Now read on below for specifics on goods from China to protect yourself, your family, and your friends - as I am trying to do.

This is sickening but it is an alert to read labels and always buy fresh when you can.


DO NOT BUY FOOD PROCESSED IN CHINA , HONG KONG , VIETNAM AND THAILAND !!! no food inspection!!!




Have a taste for chicken tenders? READ THIS

WATCH WHAT YOU BUY. ESPECIALLY HIGHLINER FISH PRODUCTS; all come from China , even though the box says ' product of Canada ', it is from China and'processed' in Canada , that is, the coating is added and packaged in Canada only! The fish are raised in pens using chemicals that are banned here in Canada as cancer causing but legal in China . This was exposed on CBC TV's Marketplace .
This one will make you think before buying anything from China .

Well, are you enjoying seeing Chinese food popping up in your supermarket left and right? Have you noticed you can't buy a single package of fish that isn't made in China (or Vietnam )? Do you think your food from China is processed in a sanitary manner, and thus safe to eat? Take a look at this!!
.

THINK ABOUT IT. These undercover enclosed pictures speak a thousand words. Avoid buying all processed food packaged in ChinaAnything goes! We just don't know what else is in those packages. Unlike in the U.S. And CANADA , China does not have laws regulating food processing.

Basically, do not buy any processed food from China , also Hong Kong , too. MANY companies are using a Hong Kong address to avoid this type of image reputation.

Early dawn, starts the day by riding around to collect dead chickens.

grimmy55

the above should be read as a guide line I mainly put this up so that you can I.D the bar codes on products you buy be what ever it is I also have photograpic proof of the method of processing the above mentioned chucks if you wish to see it

SpinnerRow

Who knew you could learn something about processed fish reading a thread about R/C planes and a particular Ebay user.

toolmaker7341

received my Four Star Bird 40-55 today 2 days shipping quality looks good. I will do my usual arf reinforcement,landing gear, motor mounts, and center joint. Got mine for $48.73 + shipping @$27.00. Good bargin

Dan M

My Feedback: (1)

nice shipping !

can you post some good pics ?

thanks

Dan

The Toolman

That barcode stuff isn't even close to right.....
I have duracell batteries here that start with 413 an says made in the U.S.
wd-40 starts with795 made in U.S.
tower ca glue with 355 made in U.S.
led flashlight with 395 made in china
box of velcro with 759 made in Canada
suzuki 4 wheeler 990 made in Japan

Ck here at snopes
http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/barcodes.asp


Besides there a law that says everything has to be labeled with the country of origin if from outside the U.S.

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

looks like the gentleman didn't do his homework. Unfortunately, the internet is riddled with just as much false or misleading information as true, if not more. All this emphasizes to me the need to personally be sure of my facts before offering suggestions or help with hobby related things in these forums. Thank you for the object lesson.

The Toolman

The only reason I gigged him on this, is because at one time I thought it was good info also. I got to looking around that day at barcodes an couldn't hardly find anything that matched his above chart, so I went to snopes and a coupla other places, an sure enough, it was B.S.

Dan M

My Feedback: (1)

Yea , Lol ! the first thing that popped into my browser when I googled that nonsense was this gimmick









the meter went almost as far over as if you google "Ear candling" Scary stuff that "ear wax" [:-]

http://www.quackwatch.com/01Quackery.../candling.html

SpinnerRow

DOHHH!

jship

My Feedback: (4)

As I have continued to build I have found only one discrepancy in the instructions so far on the 40-Super Sport. On the bottom of page four the tail wheel bearing is shown glued to the tail. This bearing is to be glued to the fuselage.

This has been a fun experiment so far, looking forward to flying it.

Alex7403

I really don’t understand what you guys are angry or surprised about Chinese taking a successful design like the sig 4 star or great planes, copy it and sell it much cheaper without the brand name on it.
Those companies started it, they moved the production lines to china in order to save a buck while selling us made in china, now the Chinese just cut them out…
Why should I buy GP engine mounts if I can buy straight from the source %50 cheaper?

What goes around comes around.
I see a different trend: the ARF’s built to last shorter so you will buy more…
My airplanes are made in U.S.A. built from kits and last longer than anything that flies at our field.

pminnick

My Feedback: (6)

No kidding. The American companies are guilty of this too. How many different manufacturers do you see with some sort of (ugly) stick or Kaos variation? It's just the nature of business to copy a successful design and remarket it. They say the sincerest form of flattery is imitation. Companies do it all the time. Even Tower (kaos) and Great Planes (big stick).

da Rock

The problem isn't just that they stole the designs, but that they also have no idea what they're building. They obviously don't do Research & Development and have no real understanding of what is important to do in the manufacture of models that FLY. And they certainly aren't concerned with developing or keeping a reputation of producing quality goods.

About the only plus going for them is they don't sell them as counterfeits. Nah, it ain't just about them simply copying. It's about them manufacturing something that means nothing to them and that has far greater demands than simply looking like a model airplane in the ads. Oh yeah, and having a price that's a somewhat less than the original.

It ain't about Chinese mfg'ing all the ARFs or mfg'ing popular models,
it's about the ARFs mfg'd by fly by night, no-name, no-responsibility manufacturers.

SpinnerRow

Ignoring the political BS in this post, should I interpret this as meaning you do or don't like the .90 size ARF in the first pic of my first post?

The Toolman

Exactly where is the political BS in his post?

SpinnerRow

I'll answer with a question. What part of his post has anything to do with the original intent of this thread?

Somewhere after page two this thread got hijacked with the Chinese ARF debate which, personally, I don't get since most ARFs are made in China anyway!

I just want to know if the models in question in my first post are worth it and from what I've been able to read in this thread, they are.

I tell ya what, I'll stay out of the BS posts and will respond to those on topic.

Soooo.... Carry on.