i.RIDE_H0ndA

I just acquired this warbird. It's a 47 year old kit. It seems as though the balsa is fine but I'm far from knowledgeable enough on these kits to know whether I could still use the material or not. Should I build it or just keep it on the shelf? What's the value of something like this?

Top Flite P-47 Thunderbolt 1/8 scale 60" WS circa 1976

rickj

My Feedback: (213)

Build the plane, a lot of building, but a great kit and flyer !!

RichardGee

My Feedback: (156)

For whatever reason, the TF Red Box kits hold great value to some.
IF you want to build a .60 sized P-47, you would enjoy the build and results from the more recent Gold Edition TF kit.
You may find one with the cockpit accessories and the retracts are still offered by Robart.
I would sell the Red Box and get a Gold Edition.
My $ 0.02

V35BFLYER

These Top Flite P-47 Red Box Kits have sold between $250 and $300 with buyer paying shipping.

i.RIDE_H0ndA

I gave a little more than that for the kit. I'm in Alaska and I'm OK with the price. The man I bought it from has a couple more kits, a Corsair (his and mine favorite warbird) and a Messerschmitt iirc that he's going to hopefully build at some point. If he doesn't get to them, he now knows WWII warbirds are my absolute favorite and I hope he'd call me to purchase.

codell

My Feedback: (217)

Build it and fly it, you'll love it. I built one of these a few years ago and I don't believe they are a difficult build at all. The Superform sides result in a nice 3 dimensional fuselage that doesn't have the slab sides that some kits give you. Tail feathers are flat sheet and easy. End result is very scale looking with low effort. I've never built a Gold Edition kit, but I know they have built up tail feathers so seems like that would add some effort. Best part is the flying - flys like a sport plane with very stable characteristics, very aerobatic and easy to land. I flew with a 15 cc gas engine and was probably a little too much - a .60 glow would be about right.

Beaufortflyer

There's one of these on the shelf of my local hobby shop. It'd be tempting if I didn't have the Gold Edition .60 P47 Razorback!

smkrcflyer

These old kits can be a lot of work. If your not sure you want to build it but want to build a p-47 Seagull has a laser cut kit of the same size.

https://gator-rc.com/p-47-thunderbol...seagull-models

Bossman59

I noticed in your post you're questioning whether or not the material (wood) would still be ok after nearly 50 years. These old kits hold up fine. As long as there is no water or bug damage you should have no problem.

I'm currently building an old Ace 1/4 scale clipped wing Taylorcraft. With this particular kit the instructions are brief so it's imperative to review the plans as you build.

As far as value, I've seen them priced from $200 and up. I have NIB a redbox Topflite Spitfire, P-47, Bearcat and a Mustang. I don't think the values are going to increase much if at all. As aging modelers die off or just get out of the hobby, there will be very few that will want an old builders kit. New hobbyist have such a large variety of good ARFs at their disposal. Building is not cheaper at all. It costs more to build and cover a model than to buy an ARF. And the ARFs now are very good as opposed to 20 years ago.

Last winter I built the old Dynaflite 81" Spitfire kit. Powered with a Saito 125. Horrible quality wood and brief instructions. But a great flier! Those Dynaflite kits are getting hard to find.

icharus

Its worth more in the box than built ask yourself this question, is it about the money or the fun of building and flying?

Lee Taylor

It is exactly the kind of model and size model I personally would build and fly.

J330

My Feedback: (3)

As far as the quality of wood, that's the last thing I'd be concerned with. Wives tales are created by people who never built a damn thing. The cardboard on that box tells me all I need to know about the condition of the balsa in it. No sunlight or a wet basement / extreme temperature / humidity changes, but rather kept inside at room temp for those 47 years, it's as good as new. Similarly I've flown with 30 year old glow fuel without issues also, as long as it's stored properly, it doesn't just go bad. I've flipped hundreds of airplanes and kits from estate sales over the last 20 years and never once found one single model that wasn't suitable for building. Not one. Sterling models from day one came with garbage balsa to begin with. If someone is stupid enough to store kits in hot attics and damp basements that flood from time to time, the box is going to show the evidence before the balsa inside of it does. That kit looks great. Are you sure you're not just showing off?

If you decide to build a $300 kit, ignore the cost of the kit and the other $400 you'll need to finish it (glue/epoxy, engine, hardware, covering, servos, optional retracts).
You already knew the value of the kit saying you paid more than $300 for it. It's whether you are a builder or just an RC pilot. I'm more an RC pilot myself, I like flying models that stood the test of time, and finished used models sell for a fraction of kit prices, so I often opt for that choice first. If I ever crash, rare these days but it never leaves my mind its a possibility, at least I can laugh with the rest of the guys instead of that sick feeling of hundreds of dollars turning into tooth picks over a receiver/servo/hardware/battery failure.

That TF kit is a scale model, and would really be a blast to fly. That warbird is in its own category, what substitute would you choose to replace that sort of build?
In the end, no one can make up your mind, that's your call to make.

552transco

My Feedback: (3)

Hi i.RIDE_H0ndA,

I am in the same boat as you. I have a NIB Lanier 1/3 scale Laser 200. I don't know if I should build it or sell it. My problem is after I build and fly a plane, I retire it to hang in my garage. This Laser kit has a 96" wing span. I don't think I have enough room to hang it after I fly it. I have almost all the accessories, minus the engine and prop, to complete it. Like you if I sold it I don't know what to ask. I also have a old brand new in the box electric Hummingbird elite.
Thanks for bring this subject up. Decisions, decisions decisions.
Take care and let us know what you decided to do.

Jim Dross

My Feedback: (1)

I would choose to build this kit however before I started gluing anything I would look at how much I could lighten the airframe. All of the old Topflite kits fly well but lighter ones

fly better.On my "Old Kit" builds I Drill holes everywhere I can with a Drill Press and Forstner Bits , it takes a while but the end result is a light weight better flying airplane. Picture shows how I lightened a Sterling F-51 Mustang fuselage. For me it's a hobby not a race to get in the air.

mgnostic

I'm in the build it club. All airplane kits have an expiration date. Even if nothing happens to the wood, the plans still get crispy and crumble. A sealed box will slow it down but the plans weren't exactly printed on archival paper. This also goes for the cardboard boxes. you can keep pushing but you can't hold back time. To me "rare" is a relative term. If there is more than one for sale at any given time, it really isn't all that rare.