i would forget the "has to look good" thing for your first little foamy. there are very few little "first time flyer" planes that have the kind of looks you want. get something like the mini-max or the crazy-max from wattage to start. they are ver fun planes to fly, and at $30-$40, you can easily strip everything out of the plane and put it in another model later on. (maybe something that has the looks you desire?) the aerobird and similar stuff is great except you will have to pretty much start over and buy all the field accessories for the "real" rc planes that use the conventional components rather than the more "toys r us" versions. i am not saying anything bad about them, i just dont have a better way to describe it. help me. they are fun and easy, but you could go either way. both would be the right choice. going with the mini-max or crazy-max means that it will be more money up-front for everything you need, but you wont have to re-adjust later or pay that extra.