Sbonder

I have about 5 adult years of kit building experience and then took a 13 year break to have kids and focus on making furniture, mostly with hand tools. Anyway, I am shocked to see that foam is all the rage now and electric has come so far Anyway, my plan is to fly foam in the short temr to regain some lost skills and in the mean time I want to build a nice kit. I looked at an Arizona Models scale kit, a Top-Flite P51 Gold kit, and am interested in suggestions. What other top fo the line kits manufacturers are out there these days? I am partial to WWI and WWII military stuff. I plan on using a glow kit and converting it to electric and am confident I can figure out the modifications needed.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions. (I already picked up a new 9 channel JR. Unbelievable how advanced they are. I feel like my dad who was amazed at VCRs).

foodstick

I am not sure of what would be the best recommendations for a WW2 bird kit.. But Balsa USA sells a bunch of WW1 size kits , they range from the 1/6 size all the way up to 1/3 monsters.

I think some of the smaller kits were even designed for electric conversion.. I am afraid I am not an expert on that genre..yet ! hahah

Have fun and get the glue and sand paper out.

noveldoc

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acdii

Pretty much the same here, started out a long time ago, much longer than you though, I still have my first radio, an AM Futaba.  I got back into it with the little Ultra Micros, then got an Apprentice and T-34 Mentor electrics, and now building a Top Flite P-51. So far it has been a VERY good kit, going together extremely well.  It was a toss up between the P51 and Corsair, but since my friend happened to have the 51 he was willing to trade for my DX6i, I got that one.

This plane though would be a PITA to convert to Electric though, since you would have to come up with a way to install the battery pack.  Mounting the BL motor would be easy, along with the ESC, but the pack, you would need to open the plane to swap it.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Balsa USA makes some of the best kits ever in te WWI planes. If you go to the bottom of the header bar and go over to wattflyer you will meet a lot of electric people willing to help do any converts. I have a friend that converted his TF P-51 to electric so I know it can be done, I have not seen the plane sense he did the conversion so I don't know how he gets the packs in and out. Watt is a great site for E-Power info, go sign up or just lurk around and see if you find a thread on the converts.

Highflight

My Feedback: (4)

I got into the hobby pretty deep around 1980, and back then, ARF's didn't even exist as you see them today.

Building kits or from plans were the typical options, and I learned a LOT for doing both and miss that so many good kits have gone away because of the quick build kits coming along.

Anyway, to the point of the OP; when I get the urge to build from a kit (I build mostly from plans these days), I just wade through the onlive auction site and look for some of those older NIB kits that are still offered quite often.
Other than that, consider building from plans because there are a TON of plans still available, even most of the older ones from the last 30 years or so, and building from plans is really not much of a chore once you've done it the first time and gathered together some good tools to do it with.
That's lots more satisfying than sticking some servos and an engine in an ARF and going to the field where everyone has one just like it. No challenge in that.

Sbonder

Agree, the challenge seems distant (might even say remote) with arfs. i had not considered just going with plans. i sold most of my big woodworking tools, but still have band saw and scroll saw and sanders, so that should be easy enough really.

thanks again for the advice.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I got tired of the cost of kits years ago and started building from plans. In this case the plans were from Model Airplane News. The plane was designed for a 1.20 glow engine so I just did a bit of re-design on the plans for a gasser. I tried to do a short how to thread on kit cutting and then glassing. Cost of wood, under $100.00. Time to cut and sand the kit, just under 2 hours. How simple is that. Only difference between plans and a kit when building is there are no step by step instructions. After glassing and paint the cost was about $200.00 or just over the cost of a small kit. There are tons of WWI plans but fewer WW2 plans. They come in all sizes from small 40 size to giants. Just don't forget to look at Balsa USA WWI kits. They really are great.

LouisB

Grey Beard, you're the man!

eagledancer

places to look at for ww1 is balsa usa, glenn torrence models, proctor enterprises. stay away from arizona models, theres quite a few threads about that nightmare.

ppljr

My Feedback: (94)

Check out Skyshark RC. They have some real nice kits. A bit pricey, but well worth it.

http://www.skysharkrc.com/warbird_kits/default.html

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

If you mean cheap then I'm the man. Kit prices started getting out of site and on a fixed income I ws having problems buying them for myself. Wood in bulk is cheap, my time is free. Most of my own planes are built from plans or templates. If someone I know buys a kit then I get to it before construction starts and draw a template of every part. When I moved I gave away a ton of plans and templates. Dumbass me!! Plans can be enlarged at Kinkos so if I see somethng I like but it isn't the size I want no problem. I still get a few kits from auctions or garage sales. I still enjoy the ease of building kits but there are so many plans for planes that were never offered in kit form. Why fly a cookie cutter plane. Never have seen another Sukhoi 29 at the field. Everyone thinks it's a YAK of some type. ARF people always ask, Who Makes It?? How Much Was It?? That's always worth a smile.

noveldoc

My Feedback: (2)

You guys are inspirng me.  I have all the plans and wood for a Kadetito.  It's a fun little half A plane based on the Sig Kdaet series, kind of a baby Kadet.  And I have a nice throttled G Mark 0.6  (1 cc) engine for it.

Time to do it soon.

Tom

foodstick

I never particularly cared for cutting my own kits.. probably because I get to caught up in making permanent templates.. but it is a GREAT feeling when you look down at a freshly cut kit, that you can't even buy ! It really does make you excited to start building. The one thing that you have to learn to expect is that SOMETIMES the plans are wrong, and a piece or two will need to be REMADE ... I usually don't cut big plywood parts until I am sure they are correct..

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

SOMETIMES?? The next set of plans I buy that haven't got a mistake or several will be the first. Usually a wing rib or two is the norm. The Sukhoi plans I just used are one of those sets that nothing fits correctly. I think Joe Demarko was doing a lot of drinking the day he inked those up. Still nothing you can't correct during the build. This is the first plane I have ever built more then once so I knew from my first one the plans were full of mistakes. Some plans are a lot better then others.
Nove, when I get hold of a 1/2A kit I have been converting them to electric. That's a kick in the butt.

ARUP

Mick Reeves has some nice kits. I have two of his 1/4 Camels. Worth every penny! Get some nice WWI drawings from Jim Kiger at Replicraft. You are a wood worker so these should suit your needs! Proctor, Glenn Torrance and Balsa USA have been mentioned already. Joe at Proctor is a very helpful individual and you won't regret what seems big bucks for his kits. I have all but the Albatros. I need to get busy and build some of 'em but am too busy designing my own!

joebahl

My Feedback: (2)

1600 free plans just for the taking. joe http://www.outerzone.co.uk/index.asp

Cherokee Flyer

Nobody mentioned BTE (Bruce Tharpe Engineering) who make some of the best kits I have seen in building for over 40 years. The Venture 60 is a great mid experanced kit.

L.

jbarnes

Check out AMR RC. Best modern kits you will ever find. I've built three of their birds. Top notch. Tab construction with wing jigs and quality hardware included. Jerry.

noveldoc

My Feedback: (2)

I mentioned Bruce earlier. His Venture is fantastic kit. Great wood quality and cut by hand. No die crushing or laser burning.

Tom