ORIGINAL: gosk8ing
Hey,
I started building a Katana 40 from scratch and found the most expensive part was the composite wing joiner. It cost me about $80. I would recommend you buy an ARF, its alot cheaper.
Cheers
Where did you buy it and exactly what was it? You can buy a carbon wing joiner tube and sleeve big enough for a 2M pattern plane for less than that. That's highway robbery at best. Central Hobbies sells aluminum joiner tube sets for less than $20...
If you are simply rating building vs. ARF on a cost basis, you have missed the point entirely. Go buy a crappy ARF (there is a reason why they are cheap) and be happy with it. If you prefer to KNOW that your plane is built straight, with proper glue joints and correct wood selection, along with the pride of crafting your own model, then build it yourself.
Mark