LDM

My Feedback: (15)

I am really not trying to bash anyone in the business of making standoff scale interior kits but what I dont get is why are they so much money ???
I was one of the luck ones that was able to purchase a Luke Zolner kits for my Corsair and hellcat both were under $25 each and I would have paid $40 to $50 .
My point is that i see countless post on the cost of ARfs , and kits , and our hobby but no one seems to complane about paying $75 to $150 for what really appear to be a bag of plastics that a 5 th grader could do better ????

I have tried to spend over $30 on gathering parts for interior kits and no matter how elaborate I get I cant spend over $30 lol .
I recently bought an interior kit for an Fw190 from IMP scale -great kit great value and one of the best of there .
But I see so many more competitors in this that are one demensional , no 3-d appeal , major dollars and I think -wow we bash ARF models for scale inaccuracys, we bash getting our pilots correct , we bash the cost of kits to point that we drive many kits away but do we really pay $75 and upwards of $150 for the current available interior kits our there ???

So that this is not a rant on my part , I would love to turn this into a source of the best places to get an interior kit , parts and ideas on how to do so at a level that meets the standards of the guys on this site , and I knwo it higher then we seen !!!!
This was an example of a Hanger 9 corsair with a very reasonable priced Zolner kit , no longer avalible but worth twice what I paid for it !!!!

rc2007

maybe thats why he went out of business ????

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

I think it was 100% not worth it for him but in respect to him I cant guess , but as stated his kits were such high quality the market would have paid more

warks62

My Feedback: (140)

No Luke didn't do this as a bussiness he just enjoys making parts for projects and does a great job but he makes them just for a while then he is done with it. Sometimes he will make another run on parts but though he is very talented at carving molds and doing the vacumn forming it isn't something he enjoys doing as a bussiness but it does make some good money for him and helps out a fellow modeler. It is too bad he doesn't open up a bussiness and hire a high school kid to do the vacumn forming as orders come in and some day maybe he will. I know that I would love if he would do every kit for me they are the best they come. So as LDM has said I think that good money could be made at doing this it just shouldn't cost $150.

Destroyer of Airplanes

My Feedback: (25)

IMHO the reason talent folks don't make a business out of small end item support of this hobby is there is really no money in it. They might make a few bucks but it is not a self sustaining endevour. Most of us that make stuff do it because producing specialized parts is a real challenging prospect and it adds to the enjoyment of our hobby. We do it for our friends, guys in our club or to help folks we meet in these threads. Heck, you can't come close to recovering the cost of your development and production time even in the smallest projects. The key word here is hobby. When you start producing stuff for sale that is a business subject to all kinds of things you really don't want to get involved in. The other sad fact is when times get tough the hobby money is the first thing to dry up.

"Say It ain't so babe".

Safe landings

Paul

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

Paul, good point and I think its a common thread but ....... why then are those that are in as a big business do not really do it that well yet it would seem they thrive ??
Assuming they thrive is in the prices they list vs the actual inferior product they deliver .

If this were a thread about the qulality of ARFs you would see 50 post in "ya lack of glue "
ya the firewall needs to be reinforced" oh ya the covering was wrinked , um ya my wheels are smaller then desired -all this in a totally covered , profesionaly built plane for $249 .

Yet in the supply side of interior kits , we settle or it seems to appear we do , perhaps they dont sell but they certainly seem to sell based on new products being offered .

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

LDM if you want really GREAT interiors then here's the place. Not cheap by a long shot but they are as good as it gets IMHO.

http://www.inzpan.com/

Flak

My Feedback: (1)

There are only a few of us who are willing to go to the trouble to install detailed cockpit interiors into our aircraft. Most guys usually just put in a dash panel with the stick on instrument panel and maybe a seat back sticking out of the floor bottom that is actually the level of what would be the pilot's rib cage.

OK, is there someone out there who could quite possibly meet this challenge? Do any of you know someone who is talented enough to do this task? I know one man....Fly4Real....where are you? He is a most talented individual. Have you guys seen his pilot busts, (advertised here on RCU)? I'll bet he could make a cockpit that would make us drool until next year.

Someone could make a nice side business out of detail work for model aircraft. Oh well, I'll keep plugging away with my own ingenuity and inventiveness until then. I don't compete, but I do like to build and make stuff. Here is a shot of the interior of a TF P-40 I built:

javascriptopWin('/gallery/galleryItem.cfm',750,770,34039,'PhotoGallery');

Best Regards,
Flak

Ron101

My Feedback: (22)

I just bought my second 1/5 scale P-51 cockpit from dynamic balsa.
The first one I did came out great. You get a CD rom with all the build pictures on it, good directions.
Every little bit and piece you could need to make the thing, with tons of extra material. All the vacuum formed pieces are good.
Resin cast is good but a bit heavy. You've been in the hobby long enough to know, nothing is cheap
I have very little extra time... so for me to try and make the molds, track down all the bits and pieces I need... it's worth it to me

These guys can't be selling that many cockpits... so I'm sure there is no huge profit for them.
As it's been said they have to pay for the time making molds, molding the stuff, bagging all the bits up, burning a CD , the CD, printing directions, boxing it up and ship it.
They have to get there hands on the model there making a cockpit for, either buy or borrow one. I'm sure it's tough to do when you offer 50 different cockpits ,thats a lot of time.
A lot of stuff comes in the kit, so I don't feel bad at all to pay $125 bucks for it. I feel much worse buying eight digital servos for $900 that I can hold in my hand... now that sucks..


They must do it because they love it not to get rich.

Ron

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

1)Bob your correct but while they are expensive its the one company that is so worth , there products are top notch .
2)Flak , have not seen that guy , I need to look into it
3)Ron while that P51 kits looks , I am not impressed with dbBalsa at all . When you look at the rest of the line , its limited from good to really bad .

G-Pete

DB makes good cockpit kits - yeah the price, but they put a lot effort into it. Everything fits and nobody pays attention anyway. Most of the time you have to point out "look into the cockpit too".

I like mine...

Happy landings

G-Pete

F4u5

My Feedback: (81)

Hard to beat DBalsa for cost and convenience/selection.

Jeff

foodstick

I am messing around with learning vacuforming so my buddy and I can make some goodies, and I have to tell you the amount of time and work to make a good mold is insane. Especially one off oddball canopies..

And without meaning to point fingers at anyone... as I read threads across all the boards, it amazes me how demanding to accuracy people are that don't even build kits. I am not even interested in the arf versus kit fight that never ends as I have both, but its amazing that people get picky down to the number of buttons or rivets an item has. That is what discourages people from making things available.

Once again I am not looking to rub anyone the wrong way, as I too wish I could find parts cheap sometimes instead of making them.

there is just no way someone can win making extreme detail kits, I have never met, talked to , or purchased any of Luke's items..But from what I have seen they are works of love and an artists hands. Its Nice that he does or did, let others take advantage of copies off his originals, but I am afraid thats the only way that merchandise of that calliber can exsist...


Can you tell I have been working on some mold plugs to much lately !!!

Ron101

My Feedback: (22)

... That's the truth G-Pete ... we work are tails off to do these cockpits and nobody even looks in them..lol

sad , but true

Ron

deatonbt

?? I am not a good modeler but don't worry about the money and just make your own.

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Here are some interior parts to my 1/4 Camel. It's all scratch built and not that hard to do. Just takes some thinking and decent photographs

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Duh me.. the finished instrument panel and the control yoke.

foodstick

You do some great work Bob ! The only problem is you keep bumping up the pressure on the rest of us.. I have come across your work on the site many times....

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Pressure makes us happy! lol. besides it helps me to up my skills

NCIS

I recently started making and selling Canopy Rails for Warbirds and I was really busy filling orders and I thought I would be able to subsidise my income with it enough to support my hobby. After a month the sales went down even with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. I got all good reviews so I don't get it. Thats why someone does something and then quits. You see my ad right on top of the Warbird and Scale Forums pages but the sales just aren't hardly paying for the ads anymore. I am thinking of giving it up. I know where Luke and these other guys are coming from. Why do something for fellow modelers if they don't appreciate it and support you for it? Thats all I have to say.

Barry/NCIS
Canopy Rails for Warbirds

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Barry in the universe of modeling how many people do you think need canopy rails? I'd venture to guess only a few use them for sliding canopies. Most just attach the canopy and leave it be. Heck many don't even use pilots let alone a decent interior! I could make woven seats for WWI planes but how much could I charge and how many would I sell??

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

As someone who ocassionally makes scale cockpit kits and parts I can tell you for certain that you don't do it for the money!

Destroyer of Airplanes

My Feedback: (25)

Barry,

Eventually I'll try a sliding canopy on my new Skyraider when I get to that point. It is not that we don't appreciate your efforts to produce a great product it's all about market size. R/C plane builders are becoming a dying breed. And the high end guys ranks are even fewer although most have more bucks to invest in the hobby.

Paul

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

1)Bob great job , that is my plan make my own
2)Barry I bought your rails , and I love them but the fact that sales drop is no reason to get angry , its probably a simple lack of demand at this time .Good busines people dont get angry when business is down they get busy !!! good luck and keep going
3)"it amazes me how demanding to accuracy people are " thats not me or the reason to start this thread and no offence taken , so I can be clear and as stated in one of my post ....
we the RC community from what I see at the field , shops , RCU , RC groups , e-bay , ect , are very frugal and value demanding , my point was why then do we settle and pay so much for one demenional kits? I am glad that dbbalsa is filling a need , but not for me and I am certainly not demanding nor qualified to be a RC scale critic or snob , not me at all lol .
My point as so well communicated in 1000s of post on RCU is that it amazes me that we scream about cost of retracts , the riseing cost of arfs , the risieng cost of kits , ( that we now pay twice as much for on ebay then when we could have bought them , yet we seem to be ok with paying $125 for a bag of plastic .
I have seen Tom Pierce take small plastic into a master piece all the while what seems to be on a very good budget . So please lets not take it personal its not a knock on builders , arfs guys ect , its a comment that it surprises me that the value is more in the time saved vs the what you get for your money . Its the total opposite in the post I have seen in other post

fancman

My Feedback: (16)

I have to disagree. I got my KMP B25 gun kit from DBALSA and for the $75.00 I paid I feel robbed. The Resin 50 cal guns were pretty non distinct and the rest of the stuff is just molded plastic. After I spent all my money I found out the Top Flite had a gun kit for their B25 for less than 20.00. Given the poor scale appearance of what I paid so much for I could have easily lived with the cheaper stuff. Heck.....I'm not so sure the Top Flite stuff doesn't look better than what I got for my money.[]

It isn't as if I wasn't willing to pay good money for what I got but I don't feel what I got was worth anything near what I paid.