ORIGINAL: da Rock
Main difference in ARFs and kits?? Just been mentioned once. The size of the pieces you start out with.
Scratch builders start out with very few pieces.
Kit builders start out with a lot of pieces.
ARF builders start out with a few pretty large pieces.
Actually, this is a misleading statement. You can look at the kit version and the pre-built version of the same identical airplane, and you will find that the pre-built version has far fewer parts than does the kit. There will be ribs found in the kit that are not present in the pre-built model. There will be vast differences in the formers (both in number as well as the design). There will be a difference in the wood dimension and make up between the two as well, and finally there will be a major difference in outline as well. Case in point is the Cox (Pica) UMF Waco. I know that they call it a YMF, but it's not. The wing is not scale in outline since the wingtips are very far out of scale, and the center section on the pre-built carries the dihedral all the way to the wing center, where the kit and full scale utilize a flat center section that extends outboard the Cabane struts. There are fewer ribs in the pre-built model, and the fuselage cross section is a little out of scale as well. These are but a few of the differences. You have to decide whether or not the fidelity to scale is worth your time or, if you will be just as happy with the pre-built version with it's excursions from scale.
Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1