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All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 8/16/2012 7:23 AM   
Thedrew


 

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Status: offline 		Hangar 9, Top Flite, Phoenix. Someone has to assemble and package them. Anyone know where this is done and how one would go about obtaining this dream job?

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 8/16/2012 7:51 AM   
vasek



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Status: offline 		LOL a dream job ? have you seen the vid on Apple assembly plant in China ? there is a "safety" net around the dorms BC workers jump off the building (as in suicide). my advice to you would be stay in America and enjoy.

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 8/16/2012 8:01 AM   
Thedrew


 

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Status: offline 		That was somewhat rude and completely unhelpful. So kindly ****.

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 8/16/2012 10:50 AM   
vasek



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quote:

ORIGINAL: Thedrew

That was somewhat rude and completely unhelpful. So kindly ****.


not sure what offended you ?:

- arfs are made in China (or similar)
- workers are poorly paid and live in dismal living conditions
- or both?

Sorry but that's the reality

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 8/16/2012 10:56 AM   
Thedrew


 

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Status: offline 		I didn't realize they were all made in china. Obviously working in a sweat shop wouldn't be a dream job, the possibility of building models for a living does sound like a dream though. Thanks for your input.

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 8/16/2012 1:26 PM   
MajorTomski



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Status: offline 		Drew, there's a saying, eat enough lobster and it starts to taste like soap.

You've never built a model under contract have you? The fun in building quickly dissappears when you non longer control what you are building and when you have to get it done. Remember you don't get to see it fly or fly it either. It just becomes a job. (thust then nets around the dormatory).

Why don't you call the guys at Balsa USA and see if they have any form of intern program that would let you build their test models for a summer? Then come back and tell us if it's a dream job.

Or advertise on the web to offer a kit building business. See if anyone will pay you enough to live on while you build their models?

If it was such a dream job, then the jobs would be easy to find.

MTC YMMV
Tom

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 8/16/2012 3:13 PM   
zx32tt


 

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Status: offline 		I'd suggest you build and cover a few kits for members at your club. If you can make > $5.00 / hr, you will be doing reeeeeeeeeeeeeeal good.

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 8/16/2012 3:55 PM   
Lazer


 

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Status: offline 		Ya know it use to be fun to build, but it just does not make sense with the quality and variety of product that is coming out. 'O' by the way, A large portion of Hanger 9 planes are manufactured in Ho Chi Minh City
(Saigon), also.

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 8/16/2012 4:56 PM   
cstoutr


 

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Status: offline 		It seems like it would be a dream job but I have talked to many guys in the hobby that make a living in the hobby and they say it was a dream and now it's a job. It was only a dream job for a short time. They actually talked me out of it. I'm going to keep it as my hobby!


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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 8/16/2012 5:24 PM   
geoardsog5


 

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Status: offline 		Tedrew, I must be an exception to the rule. I'm a builder, who loves to build.I charge $10/hr. on a T&M basis. I do only scale models, because that's what interests me.I'm retired, so I don't depend on building for a living.If you think you would like to try building, give it a shot, you might be able to at least help pay for your hobby. Regards, John R.

www.rcaircraftworks.com


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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 8/16/2012 6:30 PM   
Tobtech


 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Thedrew

Hangar 9, Top Flite, Phoenix. Someone has to assemble and package them. Anyone know where this is done and how one would go about obtaining this dream job?



You live in Illinois, go get a job at Horizon or Tower, they have many positions available.

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 8/16/2012 8:25 PM   
MajorTomski



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quote:

ORIGINAL: geoardsog5

Tedrew, I must be an exception to the rule. I'm a builder, who loves to build.I charge $10/hr. on a T&M basis. I do only scale models, because that's what interests me.I'm retired, so I don't depend on building for a living.If you think you would like to try building, give it a shot, you might be able to at least help pay for your hobby. Regards, John R.

www.rcaircraftworks.com




Nice page and GREAT work!

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 8/17/2012 3:00 AM   
avidflyguy


 

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Status: offline 		I've built a few planes for some people i fly with, and enjoy doing it just to build. but building to make a living would be stretch. i wouldn't mind opening a hobby shop, but its a very limited market anymore and it probably isn't a very profitable business anymore. Don't quit your day job is all i'm saying

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 8/20/2012 4:27 AM   
Bill G



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Status: offline 		One thing that amazes me, is that I have never heard of any demand for specialty aircraft that will never be built as ARF/RTFs. I'm sure that there are people interested in paying a reasonable sum for these types of custom built models. One would think there would be some type of auctions for this type of special interest. Planes such as these will never be ARFed, which is much of what motivates me to build them.

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 9/16/2012 2:18 PM   
jester_s1


 

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Status: offline 		You're right, it's a dream job. As in, it's a job that exists only in your dreams. Getting paid decent money to build kits for people who will let you take your time and enjoy the process and work on the planes that you are interested in building is nothing but a dream. In the current market, you'll have one of two kinds of customers: cheap ****s and perfectionists. The cheap ****s will want you to spend 20+ plus hours on their projects and will want to pay you $50 to do it. And, of course, you'll have to supply all the tools, glue, exacto blades, etc that the job requires so that comes out of your pay. The perfectionists will pay you what the job is worth, then they will critique every tiny detail of the build. If they find one scratch or bump on the wood they'll want you to do it over, if a canopy has a dot of glue or a scratch from being handled they'll want it replaced, or if a scale color doesn't exactly match the documentation according to their eyes they'll want you to strip it all off and start over. Nevermind they don't hold themselves to such standards and nevermind that once they've taken the plane out and flown it the first time it won't be pristine anymore, but guys who are willing to pay well to have something built will think it has to be museum perfect before they're happy with it.

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 9/18/2012 5:08 PM   
flycatch


 

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Status: offline 		Contact US companies that manufacture UAV/RPV and you may find a dream job. General Atomics' would be a start.

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 9/25/2012 5:38 AM   
TampaRC



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Status: offline 		Kid,  don't jump out of your dorm room....its just not worth it

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 9/26/2012 12:43 AM   
geoardsog5


 

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Status: offline 		Hey, Bill G. I am really impressed with your work! They appear to be all scratch-built from 3-view drawings. Well done! John R.

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 10/1/2012 6:38 PM   
Bill G



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quote:

ORIGINAL: geoardsog5

Hey, Bill G. I am really impressed with your work! They appear to be all scratch-built from 3-view drawings. Well done! John R.

Thanks, just caught this. I enjoy scratch builds from 3-views, and really like the unique, rarely modeled subjects. Gotta love the one-offs. I'm working on an Avro type F now. I think it's actually a bit too overmodeled.


quote:

ORIGINAL: jester_s1

You're right, it's a dream job. As in, it's a job that exists only in your dreams. Getting paid decent money to build kits for people who will let you take your time and enjoy the process and work on the planes that you are interested in building is nothing but a dream. In the current market, you'll have one of two kinds of customers: cheap ****s and perfectionists. The cheap ****s will want you to spend 20+ plus hours on their projects and will want to pay you $50 to do it. And, of course, you'll have to supply all the tools, glue, exacto blades, etc that the job requires so that comes out of your pay. The perfectionists will pay you what the job is worth, then they will critique every tiny detail of the build. If they find one scratch or bump on the wood they'll want you to do it over, if a canopy has a dot of glue or a scratch from being handled they'll want it replaced, or if a scale color doesn't exactly match the documentation according to their eyes they'll want you to strip it all off and start over. Nevermind they don't hold themselves to such standards and nevermind that once they've taken the plane out and flown it the first time it won't be pristine anymore, but guys who are willing to pay well to have something built will think it has to be museum perfect before they're happy with it.
I've always thought that people are somewhat of a combination of those two. They say that they aren't interested in paying much money, but that they won't drill you too hard on perfection. Once you start the job for them, you will find out that they want perfection, just like everyone else does. Bottom line: If you can't charge for perfection, then don't bother, since they'll want it anyway, even if they say that they don't.

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 10/15/2012 2:42 PM   
jester_s1


 

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Status: offline 		You're probably right, Bill. The basic situation though is that those who would buy a kit and pay you to build it will want better quality than the typical ARF. They'll already be spending more on materials alone, so the perceived value will have to come from somewhere. I don't know of many RC pilots who would pay $400-$500 for a .60-.90 size airframe, although I suppose there are a few who would pay for a highly detailed scale model they could go win contests with.

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 10/27/2012 6:34 PM   
jim19


 

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Status: offline 		Not sure if you would call it a dream job, you sure won't get rich doing it- most times you would be lucky to break even. That's probably why most ARFs are made in China where there is an abundance of cheap labor. Couldn't mass produce them in the US with any degree of quality without costing an arm and a leg. As a producer of ARF models, I am in this boat. Can't compete with the mass production companies and barely make a profit (not so if your factor in the time for labor). Being retired, I am not reliant on this for a living so I try to keep my prices competitive. I do it because I enjoy building so I consider it a job. I build in small numbers and take the time to insure each model is quality. Somewhat of a perfectionist, each model is built as if I were building it for myself. Here a some pics of one of my production models, the Gemini GT40.
Jim
AeroCrafts

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 11/2/2012 3:56 PM   
heyharv


 

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 12/7/2012 8:52 PM   
Bill Diedrich



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quote:

ORIGINAL: jim19

Not sure if you would call it a dream job, you sure won't get rich doing it- most times you would be lucky to break even. That's probably why most ARFs are made in China where there is an abundance of cheap labor. Couldn't mass produce them in the US with any degree of quality without costing an arm and a leg. As a producer of ARF models, I am in this boat. Can't compete with the mass production companies and barely make a profit (not so if your factor in the time for labor). Being retired, I am not reliant on this for a living so I try to keep my prices competitive. I do it because I enjoy building so I consider it a job. I build in small numbers and take the time to insure each model is quality. Somewhat of a perfectionist, each model is built as if I were building it for myself. Here a some pics of one of my production models, the Gemini GT40.
Jim
AeroCrafts


As an owner of one of Jim19's models, you have to have it in your hands to appreciate the workmanship and detail to covering that this model builder does on his creations. I can asure you that he has to do it for the love of building, as he says, it is a really professionally built model with lots of TLC and yes he is a perfectionist, don't know how he does it for the prices he charges.

Bill D.

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 12/20/2012 3:49 PM   
308jockey


 

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Status: offline 		Of course you can make a living at it but like anything, it has to be treated as a business which means spending at least as much time marketing and doing paperwork. Still, I have a friend who does quite well. The past year he did a number of projects for a single client most of you have heard of and billed over $100k doing so. He has 16 projects lined up for other customers in 2013 and a waiting list beyond that. This has been the case for at least the past 4 or 5 years. It's doable but is a niche market.

Rick H.

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RE: All of these ARFs being massed produced... - 2/21/2013 10:19 AM   
silvermansteve


 

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Status: offline 		Jim119 that is quite a nice plane there! How does one go about shopping for and ordering one? Very nice.... Silvermansteve@yahoo.com

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