Pipe, I think when you price everything out you can get the whole kit for not much more. By the time you figure trips to the hobby shop and ordering stuff you forgot it gets up there. The only drawback to the carbon rod is how to bend it. My Fokker D-7 is built with the dowel and it is very strong. What really adds weight is all of the wire crossbracing but that adds all of the strengh. The other thing is with the large wing area these airplanes fly better when they have some weight to them. My D-7 is 26# and is still a real floater. Don