ORIGINAL: Bigshark
"if it flys, it is cool"
I agree with that statement to the max!
*shrug* To me, that's REALLY the only thing that SHOULD matter.
I mean, the jerk who has no respect for himself or others...the ARF didn't make him that way. He was already 'that guy'. Is the ARF what brought him out to our field? Yeah, probably. But ya know, it brought that incredibly cool guy too. And...let's face it...the first guy probably won't last long anyway.
I don't have any love for Lanier as most of their kits seemed to be foam core wings and skinning balsa over foam is a skill I've never learned and have little desire to try.
I've been blessed to learn some real tricks along those lines from some of the best in the industry. If you're ever curious, hit me up. Can't say I'm the be-all and end-all of foam wing sheeting, but I ain't the worst at it either. nce you learn some pretty basic tricks, it's a BREEZE, and you can produce some VERY light and strong wings.
Sorry about the off-topic diversion.
Building Hobby Lobby's Telemaster and 3 Skimmers, Dynaflight's Talon, Great Planes Spirit Elite, Sig's Four Star 120 have taught me enough that now I feel I could stratch build or certainly build from plans.
My first scratch build came with a heck of a lot less experience than that. I'd wager you'd blow me away!
As a kit builder of no great skill though, I do have a problem with the mags available on the news stand not talking at all about kits or even liquid fuel powered beasts.
I've heard this lament more times than I can count in my admittedly VERY brief "career" as a modeler...and i always think the same thing. Now, hey...being the newb I am, maybe I'm out to lunch here and I'm sure the more experienced guys in this thread will point it out if I am (StickBuilder excels at that sort of thing ime *heh*)
Now, I HAVE to believe that, as many assert, it is indeed more difficult to find particular building tools, accessories, or resources at, say the LHS. Obviously, with only 4 yrs 'experience', I don't really have much comparison, but it only makes sense that it would be so.
But I HAVE to think that, in some ways, kit building has become MUCH easier of late.
One fellow I fly with is a MASTER builder (with some titles to "prove" it) and his work is nothing short of true art. Details I could only dream of creating, and a skill and passion for building beyond anything I can imagine ever attaining. When I talk to him about some of his magnificent models he will share stories of MONTHS of research to find JUST the right picture or documentation to model detail X.
It struck me recently, as I was researching my current P-51 build, that I've sure as HECK got an easier way to go. What might have taken him months to track down through letter writing, visits to obscure libraries and museums, and perhaps a phone call or twelve, I can find in a few days worth of judicious google usage, a few posts in forums, and some e-mails. Heck, in less than a month, I've got more photo documentation for my Mustang on a removable thumb drive than he'll EVER have for some of his airplanes...and none of it cost me a dime.
So hey...yeah, there's some things that are "more difficult', but we've got some advantages as well. The research into a particular aircraft or pilot has become one of the most enjoyable parts of a build for me...part of that 'soul' (again, credit to StickBuilder) a build has.
So...you know...the ARF guys can use the internet to order QQ's latest *******ization of the noble Yak. We get to use it to find out why some P-51 pilot on Iwo Jima got the nickname "loopy".