build light

You would think one could get used to such things as this. Yet when I see a Sterling Minnie Mambo going for this kind of money it makes me cringe.

I would imagine many here would agree that this is simply outrageous!
I am not saying the seller is out of line. Seems to have been a very fair starting price. And good for the seller to get what he can out of his merchadise. The shipping cost is in proper proportion as well.

Go see for yourselves... If you can take it that is.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ayphotohosting

Robert

Silvaire

My Feedback: (50)

The beautiful thing is that you can scratch build a Minnie Mambo any time you like for a fraction of what that original kit went for. To be charitable, high quality balsa is not what old Sterling kits are best known for.

So on a personal level, who cares what is sold for? A collector now has a new prize, a seller got lots of money, and the "chain of happiness" keeps on going. (As an occasional eBay seller, I can state from personal experience that it is REALLY fun when something like this happens to you too! 260043033350 )

Arlen

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

Silvare, I'm going to dig through the shop man. I've got all kind of stuff we dug up from an old sawmill that used to be where I grew up. That's a real inspiration![sm=lol.gif]

Silvaire

My Feedback: (50)

Modesty does not become me! Selling stuff on eBay is a bit like gambling. If you hit the jackpot once you're hooked. Sometimes I resent the fees eBay charges, but there is no way you could even guess what some things might bring. It is usually the things you know nothing about that you do the best with.

soarrich

My Feedback: (98)

I gotta list something before he sobers up!

EASYTIGER

My Feedback: (119)

It's not the first time one of those has sold that high. Don't think it's a record.
But on the other hand, I've seen many more sold for under $100.
Ebay is like that, you never know. Lately, prices have been plummeting.
The bottom line is this...if you are COUNTING on getting $175 for your Minnie Mambo kit, don't spend your predicted profit just yet! You can COUNT on maybe $75. And if you are LUCKY, you might get more.

build light

Quote by soarrich:
"I gotta list something before he sobers up! "

Thanks Rich! I needed that bit of humor.

I may have used a wrong choice of word when I was spelling "wrong" . As I stated in my first post The seller is doing nothing wrong including the shipping. All very fair.
The buyers? nothing wrong there either that I can see.

Still, seeing something like this leaves me feeling rather unsettled. To my knowledge this kit though long out of production was a common sight in hundreds of hobby shops for ages. Very common.
I guess its just me. So then what is wrong with me?

Quote by Silvaire:
"The beautiful thing is that you can scratch build a Minnie Mambo any time you like for a fraction of what that original kit went for. To be charitable, high quality balsa is not what old Sterling kits are best known for. "

Ain't that the truth? Silvaire, You are quite right. That thought alone is a great comfort.

I always favored the sterling kits over some others but their wood did leave a lot to be desired. One of the best planes I built of theirs was "the Flying Fool" bipe C/L. I put my trusty old Stallion .35 in it and had so much fun! This plane made me think I could really fly the AMA pattern although I never could get my corners nearly square enough for judging and I had other flaws as well. However it was pretty fair challenge to build at the time. But went together really well. Looked great. Wish I still had the pictures of it. Ah well...

As for myself if this were my auction I suppose I have no other feeling, just ecstatic!

Robert

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

Yeah a buddy of mine did that, put an original MGA (thats an old English ((Morris Garage))sports car from the 50's-60's for you young folk) ashtray in good condition on the bay for like $15, 3 days later it was up to $200..someone just had to have one for their baby! Almost makes you want to get the Chinese to make a few thousand of them for ya huh?..[X(]..Rog

soarrich

My Feedback: (98)

You might become the proud owner of 999 MGA ash trays![&o]

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

Naw I couldnt do anything that unscrewlooseious, it would be pretty hard to come up with 1000 50 year old in good condition anything!...and "reproductions" probably wouldnt be worth there weight in shipping costs....Rog

John Cole

My Feedback: (4)

Rog, my first MGA came with an ashtray, AND radio. I removed and discarded both, oops. Well, that was in the '70's. Nobody cared then. Good car, and they carried models too! Antic mono fit in the front (deep tunnel for leg room) and my Jr. Falcon fit in the trunk (sorry, boot).

John

EASYTIGER

My Feedback: (119)

Bingo. Nobody makes a repro, so the part sells high. The moment it gets reproed, you will find the entire market, say...somewhere between fifteen and fifty ashtrays, is saturated in a few weeks. And you will have 950 ashtrays. Which means you can leave them all over the house and never empty them. Just start a new one!
A glove compartment lock for my AH3000 generally ebays for $450. No repros. A trunk lock is $10. Repro.

John Cole

My Feedback: (4)

Curtis! Yer an LBG fan too?? Well, not to get too side-tracked here... The Mini Mambo was a good model, but the Falcon seemed like a better model overall. In my neck of the woods, Mambos and Falcons cost about the same, and everyone knew how bad the wood was in Sterling kits. So Falcons were more common. The first Monokote job I ever saw was on a Mini Mambo, trans orange. Impressive!!

John

EASYTIGER

My Feedback: (119)

LBG?
Brit cars, yes, big time hobby of mine!

God, I love transparent monokote, though, makes me weepy with nostalgia for the old 2 meter sailplane days of the seventies, where I cut my RC teeth....

John Cole

My Feedback: (4)

Oops, mis-typed. LBC=little british cars. TR's for me, Healeys are for the rich and famous!

Yep, the trans Monokote always evokes extreme nostalgia for me as well. It seemed to be used more than the solid colors. I remember the Monokote costing more than the kit...


John

EASYTIGER

My Feedback: (119)

I need a TR3 engine for my morgan, if you got one...there is one on ebay I am going for, soon.
Always wanted a GT6, maybe in the spring...I need it like a hole in the head, though!

Monokote STILL costs more than the kit! I don;t use much of it anymore, but I tell you , the stuff is EXPENSIVE.

BMatthews

OK, OKguys. Let's get back to the models. Time to crack the whip and all that......

We should do a group rudder only Mini Mambo build. The MM is such a cutie. Cheaters could add elevator functions until they get the trim right and realize that flight without elevators is indeed possible, practical and above all TONS of fun.... and where better a home for a Sure Start?

build light

Bruce, That sounds really cool, but I don't know if you or anyone else noticed that the seller for this particular Minnie Mambo doesn't recomend as S/S... He has other ideas for powering the one he has in possesion.

" The wingspan of the model is 36" and was originally intended for an .049 - .09 engine. I would either put a .15 gas or an electric... "

Ouch! 'course with the (possibly) heavier wood in the Sterling kit, It may need a little extra 'Oomph' but a .15???? [:@] Say it ain't so!

Ahhh, back to reality. Bruce, Crack the whip and I will be glad to throw my hat in. I have some wonderful wood I recently bought from Lonestar Balsa ( really georgeous, straight and light).

Robert

BobHH

My Feedback: (18)

Well, Bruce, My Minnie Mambo has been going strong with single channel pulser and OK Cub .049 for about 5 years now. I also sold the original Sterling kit on E-bay after using it for the reproduction. Got a fairly high price for it also. Can't understand someone paying that for the Sterling kit whereas the repro was much easier to build and came out lighter! But this is the way of the collector. I also have the Mambo, Mambo Special and Mighty Mambo kits hopefully for future projects for Early RC. The repro Mambo kit is sitting on the shelf awaiting assembly for the pictures for the manual. I got an old OS .09 Pete and a Controlaire 3 channel Galloping Ghost (Got from a fine fellow up your way!!) to put into her. Now that's flying!!

Bob Harris

BMatthews

Well.... if it can't be rudder only then GG is a fine second best option I guess....

The sad thing about how "we" like to overpower our planes these days shows up when you look at how the early guys used a far less powerful .15 to fly a full on 4 to 5 foot RO model back in the 50's and 60's and commented on having pleanty of power for what they were doing.

hogflyer

And the winning bidder of the Mini Mambo paid the paltry sum of $190.50. Interesting looking at his bids - he bid $100.00 on 11/04. The next highest bidder bid $188.00 on 11/12. The winner then bid $190.50 on 11/04, 11/11 and 11/12. Would a sniping program do this?

Hogflyer