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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 12/4/2011 8:23 AM   
jimmac



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From: broxburn,, UNITED KINGDOM
Status: offline 		Hi,
I have been on Replikits website and they have only reopened for 3 weeksafter which the business is up for sale,now is the time if
you are looking for vintage and some new designs to build.
jim.

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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 12/15/2011 4:17 AM   
RC-Bearings



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Status: offline 		Keep an eye out on my site! The Ballistick is back!

Here is a ole one.


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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 12/15/2011 11:48 PM   
VCScott



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Status: offline 		The Ball Stick looks interesting. More info please?
Scott


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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 12/16/2011 1:36 PM   
RC-Bearings



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quote:

ORIGINAL: VCScott

The Ball Stick looks interesting. More info please?
Scott


Its actually a BALLISTICK, the I is hard to see in that photo. That was a special covering scheme done for a customer about 5 years ago.

Span: 54"
Engine: .40-.55 two stroke, ,52-.72 four stroke.
Weight: 4-7lbs depending on ehgine
Radio: 4 channel with 5 servos recommended

It was originally designed for the mighty YS 91AC. The original version was built like a tank to handle the power. As a consequence, it was fairly heavy. I have completely redesigned the wood portion to reduce weight and make it a lot easier to build. It still has a sheeted foam core wing because that is the fastest to build, strongest wing available. With a little pre-planning, this plane can easily be built in a weekend. The basic fuselage can be assembled in about 15-20 minutes.

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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 12/17/2011 3:45 AM   
VCScott



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From: Valley Center, CA, USA
Status: offline 		Ah, Ballistic k, I get it, duh!
My kind of plane. Looks like a fast wing! I can't see putting a huge 4 stroke on a plane like this though. At 5lbs a good 2 stroke .46 will take it real fast and have plenty of vertical. So are you kitting this out? If so I want one!


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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 12/19/2011 10:37 PM   
RC-Bearings



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Status: offline 		A kit is coming soon!

It was hilarious to watch and fly with the YS 91 and 50% nitro! Vertical launches went OOS in about 6-8 seconds!

I have just finished the prototype of the new design and I am going to try electric power on it. The best combo for the earlier version was the Webra 50 and ST 51. The new Evolutions may be just the thing!

Next up is a composite wing (not CF but different types of foam in a built-up technique). Oh, the airfoil is a slightly modified NACA 63a012.

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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 12/20/2011 12:49 AM   
hamburgrd


 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: RC-Bearings

A kit is coming soon!

It was hilarious to watch and fly with the YS 91 and 50% nitro! Vertical launches went OOS in about 6-8 seconds!

I have just finished the prototype of the new design and I am going to try electric power on it. The best combo for the earlier version was the Webra 50 and ST 51. The new Evolutions may be just the thing!

Next up is a composite wing (not CF but different types of foam in a built-up technique). Oh, the airfoil is a slightly modified NACA 63a012.


I can not wait to see what you come up with. Sounds like an electric speed demon is on the way. I love the idea!

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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 12/20/2011 2:47 AM   
VCScott



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Status: offline 		Thanks RC-Bearings, let us know when it's ready. Looks like fun!



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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 1/10/2012 4:54 AM   
tailskid



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Status: offline 		Anyone know how to get in touch with D&L Designs located in Tuscon, AZ? They do make kits

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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 1/11/2012 2:41 AM   
Nergall


 

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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 1/11/2012 4:48 AM   
tailskid



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Status: offline 		Thank you!

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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 1/11/2012 4:04 PM   
wrnr


 

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Status: offline 		The catalog of http://www.dldesigns.net/index.htm does not work properly with any of the browsers I have at hand (Firefox/Mozilla, Chrome, IE) - does anyone have better success with other tools?


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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 1/11/2012 4:13 PM   
rickbrad


 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: wrnr

The catalog of http://www.dldesigns.net/index.htm does not work properly with any of the browsers I have at hand (Firefox/Mozilla, Chrome, IE) - does anyone have better success with other tools?



I think the place they host their pictures is not linking up properly.  You might email customer service and ask if they know what is going on.  I would be curious to know as well, so if you find out, please post back what you hear.



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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 1/11/2012 5:15 PM   
JNorton



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Status: offline 		Works with IE 8 just fine.
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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 1/11/2012 5:17 PM   
KaP2011


 

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From: Calhoun, GA, USA
Status: offline 		I checked it out last night with IE 8. I did have a couple of problems with some of the pictures displaying correctly. By clicking on the catalog link I was able to see all of their products. Some nice kits there, I think I'm gonna order the kit for the Gizmo, @ $110.95 + shipping, it's a great deal.

Kap2011
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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 1/17/2012 8:02 PM   
lflf


 

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Status: offline 		All the kits are on ebay, and cost less than they did when they first came out if you factor inflation in. You just have to watch and bid. I just got a Marks Models Fun Scale Pitts for $51. That kit was $40 in the late 80's. I am of the opinion that vintage Balsa RC kits that you find on ebay are actually selling for less than they were a couple of years ago, and if you want it it will eventually show up. I would guess this is due to declining popularity of glow flying as opposed to electric, and also the guys that long for those kits are getting older.

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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 1/18/2012 1:59 AM   
tailskid



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You will LOVE that plane - build it light and it will impress anyone who flys it!

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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 1/18/2012 8:02 AM   
lflf


 

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Status: offline 		You're right, it is a great kit, I built several in the late 80's and they were really impressive. I saw a video on you tube of a guy flying a Honker Bipe, a cousin of that plane, with electric, and got the idea I'd love to try that with the old fun scale Pitts, so I took a look on ebay and there it was. This will be my summer project. I am thinking that with the new lighter weight gear I can make a good electric flyer of it. The previous several I built were glow, impressive flyers, but pretty hairy due to the weight of that old equipment and glow engine. I think I can get it a lot lighter now. So this plane is not really new to me, just a blast from the past. At the same time several other classics were going also. That same day, or nearly, a brand new, never opened kit of the old Sunny bipe also sold, and I think it went for $50 too. I see great kits going there all the time, and for not much more than they cost new twenty years ago. I watch pretty regularly and I do think the prices on the old glow kits are coming down.

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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 1/20/2012 3:16 AM   
747pilot


 

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This is without a doubt a much needed thread and a very valuable one. There is so much to be learned from this discussion, both by builders and the manufacturers.  But the real question should be “Where have all the builders gone?” instead of “Where have all the kits gone?”. Cause that's what has been lost over the past two decades.

Like many of you here, I learned to fly RC only after I built the kit because that's all there was. So I grew to love kit building cause that's how I started (1983 / 13 yrs old). And that's the key. The point I'm trying to make here and hope that everyone walks away with is this - We've lost kits cause we've lost builders & that blame falls partly at all our feet. If you want kits to stick around then it's up to the entire RC pilot group to do their part (however small) to introduce newbies to kit building.

Kit's will never be cheaper than ARFs.  Not possible in todays economy.  But don't put 100% blame on the ARF's for the demise of kits.  There were a lot of good points made here. A different standard of living, time spent at work, commitments, the www age, the economy & cost of living all contribute. However, you can't sit on the sidelines not doing our share by mentoring and inspiring our youth to pick up a blade, balsa and some CA.  How much mentoring is going on with regards to kit building? I didn't see a single post in this thread that attributed part of the kit demise to ourselves.


But there is always hope.

quote:

ORIGINAL: DaAV8R

I am a teenager and I like to build kits because at the end you feel a lot better. you fell like you just got down off the top of a HUGE mountain.
-Alex



< Message edited by 747pilot -- 1/21/2012 4:55 PM >


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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 1/21/2012 4:20 PM   
lflf


 

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Status: offline 		Where have all the kit builders gone? Very good point. I built my first kit in 1962, a Guillows Hellcat. Quite a hard job. Kit building is a real skill, takes a lot of time to learn, and you need a decent place to do it such as workshop, basement, etc. Until the flood of ARF's from China, though, if you wanted that RC "fix" you had to build a kit, buy an already built plane from another modeler, or hire someone to do it, all which were done. For the sake of economy most built kits, not because they wanted to learn the skill, but to save money. So of course once ARF's became cheaper than the materials just to build the kit, no one but the hardcore kit builders who like that sort of thing stick with building kits. Few people really have the patience to build kits just for the fun of it, or consider the experience worth it. I think its always been that way, but the kit builders stayed in business because the other 99 percent just did it because they had to, not because they wanted to. Once these ARF's begin to cost more than kits in a significant way, some people will start building again. That's my take on it. I've both built kits and bought ARF's in the past 50 years and the only reason I'll build a kit right now is because it might be something I want to do for nostalgia reasons, cause you just can't find it anymore and somehow when you open that old kit these memories come back from the past, how you built that kit when your kids were little, and all the fun you had flying it while they watched, or the amazement of other modelers when you showed it off. I think without those feelings I'd just open that box, look at all those parts, and say Holy Cow, how (and why) would I ever build that thing! When building a model from a kit becomes significantly less expensive than ARF's, kit building will start again, and it might happen as the Chinese demand more, shipping of ARF's gets really expensive, etc. One thing about kits, you can build a great big airplane from a little box of parts, as opposed to shipping a great big box with an already built airplane in it all the way from China.

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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 1/21/2012 8:30 PM   
747pilot


 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: lflf
For the sake of economy most built kits, not because they wanted to learn the skill, but to save money. So of course once ARF's became cheaper than the materials just to build the kit, no one but the hardcore kit builders who like that sort of thing stick with building kits. Few people really have the patience to build kits just for the fun of it, or consider the experience worth it. I think its always been that way, but the kit builders stayed in business because the other 99 percent just did it because they had to, not because they wanted to. Once these ARF's begin to cost more than kits in a significant way, some people will start building again.


Good points.




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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 2/17/2012 11:49 AM   
Griffins


 

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Status: offline 		Hi folks,
need your help.....
Can any one tell me from where can I order the nitro powered PropJet kits or ARFs?
I have seen some nice kits from Cermark for F-16 but unfortunately they do not manufacture this any more. So far all of my search has resulted no luck to find other manufacturers or sellers.... can't believe that there is no one else around the globe selling such kits/ARFs.


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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 2/17/2012 1:04 PM   
Scar



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quote:

ORIGINAL: Griffins

Hi folks,
need your help.....
Can any one tell me from where can I order the nitro powered PropJet kits or ARFs?
I have seen some nice kits from Cermark for F-16 but unfortunately they do not manufacture this any more. So far all of my search has resulted no luck to find other manufacturers or sellers.... can't believe that there is no one else around the globe selling such kits/ARFs.


Try Alex at AK Models. He makes a couple.
http://www.ak-models.com/

Good luck
Dave Olson

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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 3/4/2012 2:49 AM   
Beardiedrg


 

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Status: offline 		Check out the florio line of kits being brought back by Dan and Jim florio. http://greatflyerrc.com


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RE: Where Have All The Kits Gone ? - 3/16/2012 2:31 PM   
Daniel-EL



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Status: online 		My basement is full of old kits, some NIB, some partially built. Engines, too. I'd sure like to get rid of some. I'll have to take inventory and make a list. Here's a partial: Ziroli Stearman (77" Custom Cut), Balsa USA 1/3 J3 (L wing built), Barkley 1/4 Tigermoth, Midwest G202, Goldberg Tiger 60 (wing built), Byron Hellcat (lots done), Midwest T-6, Lanier Sport P-51, Lanier 40 sized Stinger, and on and on. I can't think of them all. I guess I'll start listing them on the Buy-Sell forum if anybody's interested. I've lost interest and my wife will probably toss them in the dumpster when I pass on anyway.

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