All of the office supply companies sell #64 rubber bands. WalMart probably has them. You can buy "RC" rubber bands from Hobbico or SIG. I bought a one pound box of Hobbico bands for about 5 bucks. I keep a small container in the toolbox and the rest stay at home. I throw the used bands away at the end of the day. Talc, cornstarch, kitty litter: all are probably good to extend the life but they are so cheap I toss them.

The Hobbico box recommends using two bands per pound of aircraft weight. The Alpha probably weighs 6 to 7 pounds which would be 12 to 14 bands if you follow their recommendation.

Some planes can be converted to use screws (usually nylon) to hold the wings. Many ARF/RTF models do not have a lot of "structure" so they may or may not be easy to convert.