<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">a kit i'm finishing up now is the carl goldberg tiger 2. pretty much along the same lines as the 4*40; very easy build, nice looking plane, great flyer from what i've read and seen in videos, and very easy to modify if you dig into some of the threads in the forums here. a lot of good ideas and advice. my first build was the great planes RV-4, which wasn't very difficult in my opinion. if you have any experience putting things together, and you're willing to put a little time and patience into something and ask questions along the way if you don't understand something, and you don't get too bored of something that isn't instant,ANYONE here would be glad to get you away from the devil of buying ARF's.
onto the next issue. tools... if you pick out a kit that you want to build and can get to an instruction manual without buying it just yet, in the beginning of it will be a list of tools and supplies necessary to build it. somethings are necessary, others are optional. you don't have to go out and buy everything on the list just because it's there. plus reading the manual will get you familiarized with the build before spending your hard earned cash to get into something you may feel is a little too advanced for you.a list of things i use all the time:
tons of #11 exacto blades
tons of t-pins
tons of little clamps
fine tooth razor saw
course tooth razorsaw
small miter box for the razor saws (for cutting the millions of sticks that come in kits)
6" easy sander
11 " multi-purpose easy sander
different grits of sandpaper maybe some 80, 150, 320, 400
ithink it's called a pen drill (about the size of a short ink pen with tiny drill bits you spin by hand)
jeweler's files
precision screwdrivers
allen wrenches
sometimes a dremel with sanding drums for making holes in cowls
razor plane
hinge slotting tool/marking tool
robart hinge point drill guide (more often than CA hinges now days)
a pencil for marking (ink pen won't erase and takes too much sanding)
small triangles for squaringthings up (like drafting style ones but small)
and i guess lots of wood glue and epoxy would about wrap it up.
just be careful. it's like potato chips... once you pop, you can't stop!! noone caneat just one, whatever you want to say.
there issomething awesome knowingyou built that monstrosity that you just put in theair and kept there.
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