A friend of mine inherited 2 very old (25 years plus we estimate) and partially finished kits (a Trainer and a low winged sports model ) that we then set about finishing.

We did replace some of the balsa sheet and stringers plus any bits of balsa (wing ribs etc) that we thought had gone "off" due to sun exposure or had gone flowery, were tossed. But we used the old bits as templates for the new bits 1st!!!!

As tailskid mentioned, having to revert back to building techniques that we had not used for so many years was the biggest challenge. Actually it was remembering those techniques that was the challenge. Neither of us had used some of them since we built C/Line models as kids!!

We also rediscovered many old profanity's that had not used for many years as well.

(It was also sheer delight to discover that our kids did not understand what we were saying!!! At last--REVENGE!!!)

Building a wing from non laser cut ribs was hard. We did use CA but found that we had to also use copious amonts of "Kicker." (accelerator)

And yes, one ended up warped, but it was corrected with the old Window Cleaner and Brick method.

For the other one, with the lessons of th 1st one in our minds, we cheated and drilled holes in the ribs for mounting them on a Great Planes wing jig. No problems getting a straight wing then.

A third project was restoring a small 30+ year old model that was included in the bundle, back to flying condition. It was in the bottom of a box with a whole lot of bits and pieces of junk.

It was a shoulder wing model, (name or kit manufacturer unknown,) which once had had a trike undercart. We turned it into a small Stik with tail dragger gear and powered it with a Magnum .32 2 stroke.

Removing the ancient covering for inspection of the wing frame was tough. The stuff just stuck to the wing like glue. Even heat application did not cause the adhesive to come unstuck.

We had to replace most of the wing sheeting and all the hinges, which all had gone brittle and the hinge pins corroded. When we removed the ailerons we found that the the torque rods were also corroding so replaced them. It was easier to slot new balsa for the hinges, so we cut a new elevator, rudder and ailerons (used the old ones as templates)and CA'd a thin balsa strip to the wing TE and the back of the horizontal and vertical stabs, so the hinge glue would have new wood to grab.

Then we had to cut out the old and deteriorated, oil soaked wooden engine bearers which had gone flowery. We used a modern GRP mount.

All 3 were then covered with Oracover (Profilm) except for the fuselage of the restored model, which having been painted, was rubbed back and repainted with spray enamel.

Happily, all 3 models are now flying just fine.

There was also an old ringed Enya .40 in the box. The ring had seized and the carby was gummed up with old castor. The engine was stripped and cleaned and the ring freed up. We tried to get a replacement ring but it is a long OOP item, so we used the original. The engine is now powering the old trainer

We both agree that we got more satisfaction from getting these 3 flying than either of us have ever got from building a modern kit. Don't know why. Maybe it was the knowledge that these kits were pieces of modelling history that had not been seen around the place for many years.

We get a real kick from having "old timers" coming up to us to tell us how they had once "had one of those" and asking "Where did you get it from and do they have any more?"

I also have an original early 1970's .40 size Topflite "Contender" kit to build. Wood etc is all in excellent condition. However no immediate plans to start the kit yet.

So go for it skrez. Despite the difficulites of working with older plans, wood and techniques, it will give you a lot of satisaction.

(as well as help you to rediscover a lot of vocabularly that is as old, if not older, than the kit!!)