bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

I just recently aquired this kit for a outstanding price from a club member he had quite a few kits he wanted to build and this was a not a priority and he knew I was interested in building a Focke Wolf especially the A model.
I dont know much about these kits how well they fly any build quiirks I should look out for,looking at the plans and kit contents it is a fine looking model of obvious quality some out dated engenering such as hard wood engine mounts and such but overall it looks really good he also included a royal cockpit kit for this model also as a bonus.
just trying to figure it out and prepare ahead of time planning on starting it around the end of flying season Nov-Dec. if all goes well and I can get all the parts together by then any info would be much apreciated.

Baldeagle

My Feedback: (7)

Tim I had one for years,It was a nice and easy warbird to fly. I had a Webra 60 two stroke in itand had B&D mechanical retracts. It has been to long since I built it to tell you how it built. I did extend the nose 3/4 od an inch to help in balancing. No one ever noticed. I finally lost it due to a bad switch. I had at least 400 flights on it. Loved the plane. It looked awsome in the air. If I ever find another kit , I would build it in a minute. Rich

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

seems like when these kits hit EBAY they go for high prices I was lucky to get this I think,I am planning on powering it with my favorite 60 size powerplant the OS91fs making sure to keep the tail light weight.
there's one on ebay now http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...6685&rd=1&rd=1 I saw a ROYAL japanise fighter,not a zero, go for over 500$ for a 60 size kit WOW!

Baldeagle

My Feedback: (7)

Tim that should make a good power plant for the FW. I will keep my eye on ebay. I sure they will get way more than I want to pay. I am not a collector. Build them and fly them. Rich

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

Ebay kills me , i hit in every possible match to try to find vintage warbirds , I hit in wood Rc , RC warbirds , Rc wood planes ect ect , Pica, Royal I get zippo [:@]
How do you guys find these things ????

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

I was lucky because I got mine from a club member who apreciated my building skills and offered to sell me his kit.
for working the ebay you have to pick your target and wait for your chance I usually miss on 95% of the things I watch but if there is somthing that I really want and its within the 20to30% range over what I would pay then I will suck it up and fork over the cash$$$$$ it depends on the subject if someone really wants it more than you then let em spend I am not a "collector" in the sense that I would let a kit sit in a box I personally think thats laim.
I get planes to build and fly thats what I call "collecting" adding to my active hangar thats why he sold me the kit because he knew I was going to build it not letting it sit.
yesterday at the field he told me that he might regret selling me this kit and in the same breath he also said he was looking forward to checking the finished product out also, I aim to please .
LDM- check the url link I posted,to gas powered RC, then go to the left hand box and type in "kits" there's a list of the kits that are up for auction some are good deals some will give you a nose bleed trying to pay for them there so high,the biggest joke is when a TF kit goes for 50$ more than what towerhobbies sells them for that's the one that kills me some people just don't do there research.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

well I did some poking around at rcscale builder lots of complaining about having to carve balsa blocks couldn't be much more than a TF, any input would be great planning as many scale details as poss ex: flaps,retracts etc....seems like this is a builders kit which I don't mind,definition of a builders kit is a pain in the rear, I might even do a build thread since there are not to many out there we will see....... .

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

Tim thanks for the advice , I will try that search method .

Baldeagle

My Feedback: (7)

Big Tim I think what they mean by builders kit. There is a lot of carving and sanding. I really don't mind that at all. I never saw a Royal kit with bad wood in it. Enjoy the build. Rich

Larry S

My Feedback: (6)

Sure do remember my Royal FW 190. It was my first attempt at a warbird. I even put the plane in a display show in Chicago where you had to have all documentation and it won best of show and a few other awards. Then it came time to fly it so I took it out to a local flying field where I had someone who said he had experience flying warbirds check it over and fly it. Well, sadly, he crashed it on takeoff and end of plane. Ever since that time I swore I never have anybody else test fly one of my planes. I found that to be the best way to learn how to fly, not by watching but by doing.
Larry

PS. Also saw the Royal kit on EBay but I would bet it will go for much more then it's worth, at least to me. Would love to have it but won't get crazy with the price and besides I have a SkyShark kit FW 190A on hand to build and I'm sure it will build a lot easier then the Royal and be lighter also. Yes, I remember the Royal is a builders kit, a lot of work has to go into it.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

thats a bummer larry I used to have all my planes maidened by a expierenced club member but my skill sets are alot better these days if my planes are crashing then I am the one doing it.
I am planning on doing some lightening on this kit as it seems that its a bit over built,in the tail fuse formers and wing ribs.
my first choice was a skyshark kit also but they bumped the price up so fast it was out off my price range quick and this kit sort of dropped in my lap but I had never heard of this brand of model untill recently when I was looking on ebay.
the prices are climbing on these kits too much I think also

Larry S

My Feedback: (6)

Bigtim,
I can remember how much work the Royal kit was and all the carving and sanding I had to do. Being my first warbird I wanted it perfect and actually it came out very nice but heavy. I had a OS 120 4 stroke for power so I had plenty of engine and I had RhomAir retracts. I'm still using the engine in another plane and the retracts are stored someplace in my shop. I was lucky on the SkyShark, I bought my kit from a dealer that was selling them for the orginal price before the price increase. If I could find another Royal FW 190 for a reasonable price I buy it but at the prices they sell for on EBay, I don't see that happening. Some of these guys are crazy when bidding. I saw one guy bid over $90 for a receiver that the dealer was selling for a "buy now" price of $85 on the same page. And I know of guys who have a partner raise the bids hoping it will sell for a very high price. If you watch, you'll see the same guy list the same item again within months and do the same thing until someone stupid bids a inflated price simply because the guy has to have this item.

andernamen

My Feedback: (3)

If anyone is looking for a TF FW-190 D9 Dora, I have a complete kit for sale. PM me if interested. Thanks, Jim

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

part of my focus for this kit will be to make it as light as I can, but adding some scale features such as flaps and retracts, there is alot of wood that can be safely removed to de-weight this model, areas such as in the fuse formers and the wing ribs they all seem to be solid so I might have to do some sawing as well as drilling out sections for a few ounces here and there istead of using hard wood rails for mounting replace them with light ply servo trays,as well as a modern engine mount instead of the supplied engine rails, I haven't made a total inventory of the mods I will make because I haven't made a working copy of the plans yet I will use the copys to re design and work out the details for my build.
alot of the older kits seem to be engineered to last, but I would rather have it light so it does last, if you know what I mean,there are trade offs with any kit the overall look of this model is really good,it hase a nice clean lookng profile.

grumman-cats

Bigtim

I'm very interested in your build. I hope you decide to post the whole thing. I too am going to build this model but it most likely won't be till later in the year. I've acquired the plans and a cowling of ebay so I'll be sort of scratching right from the start so I too will most likely make alot of changes to the model. I've personally built the royal corsair and p-51 mustang and find them to be beautiful looking aircraft. the corsair was a very tough airplane, I crashed it many times and repaired and kept flying.

I have to finish my RV-3's (i'm building two, one to sell and one to keep) and also a top flite corsair (fuselage is done but wing still needs alot of work). Then I'll will be starting on my B-25 and FW-190. I like to keep more than one going at a time so if I get bored with one then I can work on the other.\

Anyway, can't wait to see what you got.

Sturtz

My Feedback: (20)

I've found a few of these kits brand new in pawn shops. Same story everytime. Guy wins the bid on eBay thinking he's getting an ARF or RTF without reading the fine print. (KIT) Opens the box, see's the sticks and balsa , closes the box then heads to the pawn shop or puts it back on eBay. [sm=50_50.gif]

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

right now I am finishing my TF P-47 and am at the glassing stage of the build.
I am using the WB poly method and it is going well, this is my second TF kit as well, my plan is to start on the FW in the fall after flying season,I just spent my retract $$ on a Royal 109E on ebay of course.
I did do a copy of the plans at kinkos to work out some additions, like split flaps and some other details, I would like to do they were pretty inexpensive and accurate.
putting oil on the plans to do some of the build won't work for me so I will make another set for my build also.
I am a bit of a streaky builder so doing a build thread might be in the cards we shall see, somtimes I will work for weeks on end, then get burnt out and need a break from the work.
besides my JUG, I am also re-working my old NEXTAR turning it into a float plane,bigger engine and a recover job as well as fine tuning some repair work I did years ago, like I don't have enough on the building table right now.
Grumman-cats if you get to your build before me please post some progress I would be glad to contribute to the thread with what I have planned also.

grumman-cats

That sounds good to me.
Like you I also have alot on the boards as well. Once I start the mitchell I'll also be starting plans for a glassair (g-62 powered) and a beech kingair (U.S. ARMY guardrail system for a couple of smaller engines) These will take a while to get drawn up.

Baldeagle

My Feedback: (7)

Jim the Beach Kingair sounds like a interesting project. Rich

ramcfarland

My Feedback: (44)

Pictures wheres the pictures[8D]

grumman-cats

Here's a picture of what the kingair will somwhat look like. This is a later version of the guardrail commonsensor system than what I worked on but there very similar.
But this project is still a long way out.

G.F. Reid

My Feedback: (1)

The Royal kits are great quality. Aluminum cowls for radial engined planes and every one I've seen or owned had the full cockpit kit included. I've built two and sold one Corsair kit just recently. I now regret that. The Bearcat is the only one I've actually flown and it flies, to use an overused cliche', like it's on rails. Also, it is very light without retracts and flaps. It could easily have handled both without being heavy.
The Mustang was my first nearly 20 years ago and is just a little overweight but it was one of the first planes I ever built. I stilll have it. I never flew it due to some inexperienced builder issues with poor internal control surface linkage issues. It is fixable though.
I've always wanted the Fw-190 and would still get one if I ever get the opportunity. I've gotten outbid on several over the years.
The DO pop up on eBay regularly. They are truely builder's kits and I suspect there are literally thousands out there molding in people's closets.
My Bearcat below...I haven't flown it in years because I was taking a break from the hobby until very recently.
The only real issue I've had with them is that the water transfer decals are super delicate and take much skill to get them applied without ruinous results.

JGrc

My Feedback: (29)

Tim,

The Royal 190A was my first warbird ever and quite a learning experience. A box of wood you will sand to shape.
Flew with a Rossi .60 and the landing gear failed 80% of the time so I sold it. That was before SPring AIr came out with the 190 gear for the TF kit. I moved onto the Holmans 190 which fly a lot better.

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/warbir...t+Projects.htm

JG

John Sohm

My Feedback: (9)

Wow, it was a little wild to see you had posted an eBay link to the FW-190 I listed and sold. I had every intention of building that kit one day but over the years I had it, I got interested more in building from plans and designing my own. I needed some cash to fund the new project so I got rid of some prizes I knew would bring in the money I needed... FW-190, ME-109 and P6E Hawk, all Royal kits. Their quality was only surpassed, from my observations anyway, by much higher priced kits and Airtronics kits. I found the Airtronics kits to be absolutely amazing in fit and finish. You could basically assemble them by just putting the pieces together (they fit so well), square everything up and hit with zap and it was done. Of course you wouldn't actually do that but what I'm saying is you could.

That Japanese plane you spotted was the Ki-43 Oscar. I saw the same plane. I think the final price was something like $439 including the shipping. It was what basically convinced me to part with some of my prized kits, especially the P-6E Hawk. I hated letting that go as it's one of my favorite biplanes of all time.

Anyway, sometime in the hopefully not too distant future I'll probably start a build thread on another plane I always was interested in and am now just in the beginning phases of designing from drawings taken from some Japanese books, the Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu (allied code name Nick) heavy fighter. I'm leaning towards 1/5 scale which would make it about 119 inches. That's pretty much the limit I could handle and in actuality, I'd probably be better off building it at 1/6 which I believe brings it in at just under 99 inches. I had the Nichimo plastic kit in 1/48 scale years ago and it was pretty slick looking with that airbrushed paint scheme and markings. Should be interesting.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

pretty classic the kit guys are a close group and getting closer, every one wants a ready made ARF now days.
so I figured I would add here that my ME 109 arrived today, and looking over the plans there was mention of using a wing jig to build and sheet the wings so they come out fairly true.
I dont think I have even seen a wing jig or how to set one up, any ideas for somthing I can fab up myself I have a pretty nice shop so building somthing is not to tough to do,and if I can use it for the FW 190 A8 all the bettter.
JGrc did you add any washout to your wings,the ROYAL kits dont seem to incorporate it into there kits at least I haven't run across any references to it.