j.duncker

My Feedback: (2)

Here is a good example.

Roary m

My Feedback: (67)

I stopped collecting awhile back. My epiphany came when I added up the time in building all my kits/arfs and if I built one per month it would take somewhere over 8.5 years to finish off what I have now, not including what is already built. Then comes the flight trimming and then the liquidation of old stuff(a crash really can solve some things). I think nailing the vintage stuff is cool, great stuff to build but I will be somewhere in my 60's when that pile is complete and there's always new stuff coming out. BH has a Chipmunk ARF out almost identical to the above online add. The new products are a bit relentless, so I would say get the stuff you really want and try not to rationalize over the others, thank you for your time here.

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

And you are selling what right now

Roary m

My Feedback: (67)

Nothing until after the election. Was gearing up last month, but checking the stuff here, the market is depressed.

Twin_Flyer

My Feedback: (4)

As the saying goes, 'Eerything is for sale, for the right price!" LOL

Bill S.

carlgrover

Every kit I ever bought I got for a steal. I could sell them all for a minimum 2-3 times what I paid. That's a good investment as far as I'm concerned. Kit manufacturing of those old ones has gone away so the price should continue to climb. I paid $25 for a 60's era Sig pattern plane kit. I've seen them right here for $250.

I can also build them if I want. The older kits were better engineered than the newer ones were anyway. I'm talking about the bulk of the build being done with balsa wood as opposed to the later plywood junk which was the end of it before stupid ARFs came into prominence.

I-fly-any-and-all

My Feedback: (1)

I've recently bought several kits particularly of the royal kit line, but my intention is to duplicate them, build them, fly them, and hope fully with my skills in computer aided design and machining, get them back on the market.

I-fly-any-and-all

My Feedback: (1)

all royal kits I've found over the past year that were bought built and paid considerably less than the cost of an un built collectors kit.
except paid $450 for spirit of saint Louis...

Twin_Flyer

My Feedback: (4)

Unless you can get the copyright holder to agree to a release of the kit you better have a real good lawyer!

Royal made some wonderful kits and ARF's. I learned to fly (in 1987) on their Royal 40H. managed to get another one NIB earlier this year too.

Bill S.

foodstick

Unbuilt kits will always be a better investment than spending the same money on cigarettes and beer !

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I had a web site not too long ago that was selling Royal plans and templates, I downloaded a couple and still have them but my main computer crashed and I lost the web site. They even had the cowls and canopys for them.

Twin_Flyer

My Feedback: (4)

There is a seller on ebay who has them available on a CD for $12...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ROYAL-PRODUC...item19f4ac0aec

I ordered his CD for the Pilot plans. Will see how it is when I get it.

Also, on that other site there is a great thread with plans posted in it. Just google it...

Bill S.

I-fly-any-and-all

My Feedback: (1)

the problem with the guys selling copies of royal plans on ebay right now is inaccuracy! full size measures 58 inches by 38 inches. mr hobby has some plans but his are only ok. bought the staggerwing plans and oh boy what percentage of shrinkage did he choose???
US wing on ebay had perfect copies and canopies and cowls but as of December 2013 he's been gone!

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

The site I found had nothing to do with ebay. The plans also included the templates and you could buy the glass parts and plastic canopy for most of them. I never care if the plans are at an exact size, that can be taken care of at Kinko's when I have extra sets made. I have some on my puter so I will check and see if they also have the site or url on them. When having a copy made you can just tell them to what percentage you want them. Most places have a percentage wheel on hand that will show the size you have and then the size you want with the percent to set the machine at. You don't even have to do the math, just be able to read a ruler.

smithcreek

My Feedback: (25)

Gene, that was the same guy that went by US Wings on ebay. His name was Vincent. I ordered a couple sets of plans and a canopy or two from him. The plans were very good and the parts were not bad. As far as I know he is no longer on ebay and the website is gone.

Stick 40

did not read every post, but one thing about having a vintage kit. Is when you do build it , its going to be a vintage plane .

no one is going to have that kit, plane. I have some that no one will be able to reproduce. I also have some kits that are not made anymore and I can build that plane I liked so well back in the day.
I am retired now and am planning to build one of those kits this winter.

sticks

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Well, I posted in the boat forum but may as well try here too, I'm looking for the plans and templates for the old Dumas 1/2A Miss Thriftway Hydro Plane. Just looking to take a trip down memory lane.

jester_s1

The truth is in every hobby you can classify every person you meet into one of two categories: the doers and the buyers. The doers actually participate in the hobby. For RC, they are the guys who are regularly out at the flying field. For hunters and shooters, they are the guys who spend most of their rec money on ammo and leases. For golfers they are the ones who are out on the fairway every chance they get. The buyers are different; they consider themselves doers, but their real thrill is dropping money on a new item for their hobby. I worked in a gun shop for a while, and I'd say 80% of our business was from people who hardly ever actually shoot guns. They read reviews and lurk the internet to find out what the next cool thing they need is, then they spend hours trying to find a used one. The purchase itself is the thrill; shooting it is secondary. I see the same guys in my RC club. They have 4 dozen airplanes all over their houses and maybe fly 3 of them regularly. The rest just sit deteriorating and waiting to be sold at 1/5 the price originally paid for them when their owner dies. I think those guys have a screw loose somewhere, but it makes them happy I guess.

TomCrump

Most of my kits are no longer in production. I accumulated them over the years, with retirement in mind. I'm retired now, and my kit supply is dwindling.

I'm building an IKON Lockheed Vega, now. It's challenging, yet satisfying, at the same time.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Tom, that's fantastic!!!! Most everyone I know that has retired goes through a period of about two years adjusting to it except those that have a hobby already in place.
I was one of them but had several hobbies, I was medically retired and way too young for it so I went through a bit of depression then got into the swing of it.
Don't forget to make the templates of every part in your kits so you can share with others.
Gene

JollyPopper

My Feedback: (6)

The OP only needs to read his topic sentence to find his answer. "Just to have them" is the end goal in some cases. Some people collect match books just to have them. Some collect stamps just to have them. Some collect ladies' underwear. Why? Just to have them.

furledd

My Feedback: (43)

Wow who'd have thought this thread would still be alive 2 years later !

Original poster here - yes you can collect just to have them, like coins, or stamps, or ladies underwear as you say above.

But a RC kit is just that, a kit, meant to be assembled, and in its state when purchased, is pretty useless other than assisting in starting the fireplace in the evening The only exception i have come up with so far is for spare parts, to keep an existing plane flying if a crash occurs. That makes sense. But, other than that, it doesn't explain the obsession with new in box, never opened, no stains on the box, has original receipt, etc, purely other than like art, to collect it like antique road show for monetary gain...and flip it later for a profit to someone of like kind... if its a retirement fund, then i guess that failed too when you see the estate selling it off because the guy died before using his retirement fund and the kids just dump it to a r/c jockey at 5 cents on the dollar.

In the end i agree with all of you - its a free country and you can dress up as a lady even if you are man if you want -
but collection of kits still baffles me Dwight P.S. Please don't flame the questioner here

Jim Branaum

My Feedback: (3)

Bill,

How did this work out? Is it worth the investment of resources (time, supplies, and money)?

rgburrill

Some times those people whose eyes are bigger than their build time are a blessing. Several years ago I bought a Champion SV-4 Stampe kit from a club mate who was selling it for a widow of another club mate. It had been sitting in air conditioned storage for 25 years. I bought it for $35 (60 size kit) and the wood was like new. And the quality of wood was excellent. The worst part was the plans were very hard to read so I wound up buying a set from AMA for another $25. $60 for a complete kit for a 55 inch wingspan biplane. And from one of the premiere kit manufacturers of the time. I think I got a good deal.

furledd

My Feedback: (43)

So true - when kits go out of production, how would we get parts without the big buying folks who became stocked like a hobby store with surplus kits
Goes back to my spare parts comment - or maybe also the "sure wish i would have been able to build that kit when it was available" situation - but again that's a guy who wants to build it

I can understand the guys eyes bigger than his building time for certainly maybe 5,10, even 20 kits but 100,200, 800 kits in a garage? I think that may be classified as the male version of women buying 500 pairs of shoes and / or clothes and leaving tags on them in bags or in the box for 25 years - and then not getting rid of them even after they dont FIT them or their plans anymore. I have a mother in law example i know of personally on that one. LOL