towerhobbies/horizon
03-14-2019, 06:50 AM
#1
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towerhobbies/horizon
Iam so sick of TH/H moving dates on TF WARBIRDS, KNOWING there not coming in.I think
to get enough pre orders to fill a contanier
but what do i know
concern hobbiest
to get enough pre orders to fill a contanier
but what do i know
concern hobbiest
03-14-2019, 02:14 PM
#2
It's not just HH doing it. It's becoming more and more common in the model railroad manufacturing sphere as well. It took nearly two years to get a particular steam locomotive from one particular firm, who is in no way connected to HH. And that was AFTER I pre-ordered it.
03-14-2019, 03:36 PM
#3
IDK, I can see it from their point of view,, we're at a point in the hobby where when a new product comes out,, everyone has to have it, they fly off the shelves,,, but after a couple production runs the demand wanes dramatically,, Them wanting to know for sure there are buyers, and not just guys on message boards "wanting them to be available" before they make the investment to bring back older designs makes since from a business point of view.
If you're a serious buyer,, place the pre order,, you can always cancel it if you're tired of waiting or something else you want comes along.
If you're a serious buyer,, place the pre order,, you can always cancel it if you're tired of waiting or something else you want comes along.
03-14-2019, 03:51 PM
#4
They just sent me an email about plane that has been on backorder since last year. Finally in stock. No telling where these planes are made but they can’t sell them if they don’t have them. You can have them email you when in stock if you don’t want to pre order
bob
bob
03-14-2019, 03:55 PM
#5
I see what you are saying. They don't want to order big ARF's because they would rather sell "foamies". If they cannot keep an inventory of ARF's then they should start selling kits and we can build them like we used to do. Maybe Balsa USA will start selling WWII kits! Anyway, every time I log on to Tower or Horizon almost everything I want is 'backordered' or 'due in 3 months'! Even if you order an ARF the Robart pneumatic gear is "on order". DO NOT READ THIS POST --- it is backordered but will be posted in MID JUNE.
03-20-2019, 06:53 PM
#9
I would guess that there are slow-downs in production of wood and foam ARF models overseas somehow connected with tariffs and trade negotiations between consuming countries with Asian producers. It is possible that US and other countries will start producing more of their own goods, including model kits , motors , RC systems and support equipment in the future.
06-07-2019, 05:47 AM
#11
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I think it was Horizons intent from day one after the acquisition to slowly wash the memory of tower hobbies out of our minds. it is quiet apparent they are eliminating the great planes brand one at a time. very sad such a great company!
06-12-2019, 09:24 AM
#12
As long as there are plans available, someone will revive the kits, maybe not as a full kit, but at least the parts needed to build the plane, such as ribs and formers. Because it is hard to get kits now of these planes, I am working on getting the plans, and trying to diagram all the parts to laser cut them. I think by end of this year I may be in full swing to start cutting out parts, may take that long to figure out the software, and get the cutter set up.
As far as HH goes, for servos and such, they still have decent prices and free shipping, with decent turn around times. I shopped around for Hitec HS645MG servos, and they had the best prices, so bought a bunch, had them 2 days later.
The rights for the TF and GP/GC kits is still floating around out there, eventually someone may pick them up and start producing again. Would love to see SIG do it, but I have a bad feeling that SIG may be waning in the kit market. The past two years, no one from SIG has shown up at the fly in other than Bob, and the girls who run the booth. Sig has not shown anything new recently and has not been to Toledo in two years. SigPlanes is OOB, they must have had a big fall out with Herb. I know it is only speculation, but the writing is there. I feel that once Hazel passes, she is in her upper 90's after all, and doing great I may add, the Flyin will become a memory. I know about 4 years back there was a big blowup between some of the people there, who are no longer there. I just hope that they don't go the way of the rest of the companies have, and stay true to their base.
As far as HH goes, for servos and such, they still have decent prices and free shipping, with decent turn around times. I shopped around for Hitec HS645MG servos, and they had the best prices, so bought a bunch, had them 2 days later.
The rights for the TF and GP/GC kits is still floating around out there, eventually someone may pick them up and start producing again. Would love to see SIG do it, but I have a bad feeling that SIG may be waning in the kit market. The past two years, no one from SIG has shown up at the fly in other than Bob, and the girls who run the booth. Sig has not shown anything new recently and has not been to Toledo in two years. SigPlanes is OOB, they must have had a big fall out with Herb. I know it is only speculation, but the writing is there. I feel that once Hazel passes, she is in her upper 90's after all, and doing great I may add, the Flyin will become a memory. I know about 4 years back there was a big blowup between some of the people there, who are no longer there. I just hope that they don't go the way of the rest of the companies have, and stay true to their base.
06-13-2019, 08:56 AM
#15
As more and more people buy off the internet it probably makes little sense for many of the companies to lug stuff to a show hundreds of miles away and then end up driving the unsold stuff back. For major shows, I think I would try to send at least one person, encourage online ordering and let people know your company is still in business
06-13-2019, 09:56 AM
#16
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This is a problem that I see every where now when you go into hobby shops all they have are ARFs and Foamys some glow engines and more electric stuff! I am extreme old school and I was talking to the club president the other day about how this hobby is dead and he said I need to get rid of glow engines and go gas or electric! I said thats the day I quit flying when I can't get glow fuel anymore! I really hope Sig and Balsa USA survive as they are the only ones making kits now.
Michael Johnston
Michael Johnston
06-13-2019, 11:54 AM
#17
Nothing like the smell of nitromethane in the morning. Afternoon and evening too
There is a guy in Texas who makes short kits. I have his name somewhere but someone will have his website. I got a new Ultrasport canopy from him. He does great work
There are plenty of kits at flea markets but everyone seems to want too much money for them. A few more kits and I will have enough to last the rest of my building life. I do think Horizon will get some of the Great Planes and Top Flite kits back if they can
There is a guy in Texas who makes short kits. I have his name somewhere but someone will have his website. I got a new Ultrasport canopy from him. He does great work
There are plenty of kits at flea markets but everyone seems to want too much money for them. A few more kits and I will have enough to last the rest of my building life. I do think Horizon will get some of the Great Planes and Top Flite kits back if they can
06-17-2019, 07:32 AM
#20
Kits are awesome. If it weren't for kits, I wouldn't be in this hobby. Arfs are for weenies who have no skills. Just started building a SIG Liberty Sport. A real craftsman kit too. No laser cut parts, all die crushed. ARF's come and go, and die, kits live on forever.
06-17-2019, 07:54 AM
#21
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I agree with you acdii. I just got a hold of an old Greatplanes cherokee. I built one years and years ago so I decided to relive the good ole days and build another. Ah yes, the good ole days.
06-17-2019, 08:44 AM
#22
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I absolutely agree with acdii. Iv'e been building kits all my life, and have scratch built several. I offered to assist club members w ith building from a kit, even provided a place for them to build! Nobody responded! those same people will show up at the field with a new foamie, and really think they got something.
06-17-2019, 08:46 AM
#23
Foamies look great when they explode into a puff of foam. The good thing is that my planes can fly through them and land with little to no damage. The 3D ones make great targets too.
06-17-2019, 12:52 PM
#24
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so.......being a slow learner I took the engine off the corsair and purchased a Topflite Texan. Seemed to be plenty of them about. Good reputation as a good flyer. I love flying it, but was very concerned about the possibility of having a bad landing so decided to purchase a spare wing. You guessed it....."order pending", "on order", "due Feb", "due late April" etc etc and now "temporarily unavailable". So I asked up front, " are Topflite models going out of production?". I got a very non-committal answer something to the effect that, "Towerhobbies and it's subsidiaries is going through some changes due to new owners (Horizon Hobbies)." but I could not get them to clarify the true position for the near or far future.
Since then I see that greatplanes models (another brand I really like) have gone the same way.
I understand that the business scene changes over time. I just wish that Towerhobbies would be honest and upfront, not stringing people along with vague promises of orders pending etc etc. Meanwhile I've got a thousand dollars worth of corsair (including robart air retracts) to throw out at the dump
06-17-2019, 12:55 PM
#25
What would be really great is if HH would publish the plans in PDF. That way we could download and build the wing or fuse if needed since it appears the days of Top Flight are history.