Those cheap Chinese knock off's
03-13-2023, 03:47 PM
#1
Those cheap Chinese knock off's
If you were in the hobby around the early 2000's then you'd probably remember the market flooded with cheap Chinese knock off ARF's like Elite Models and Aeromax predominantly sold on Ebay. I was always a fan of these because they were not only cheap, but fun to fly too.
I purchased a fuselage and tail set from Valuehobby as well as some other spare parts from their 60 size P-51 'Marie' about 2 years ago and have been slowly accumulating parts to complete it. The wings are from an old Hangar 9, and similar P-51, in the same ws and the cowl is from Hangar 9's newest P-51 ARF. The wings did not come with flaps so I added them. I scratch built the top hatch to the best of my own measurements.
I'm not planning on making it scale by any means, but I would like it to match the actual 'Marie' paint scheme (which did not have invasion stripes), as well as a custom cockpit kit.
My progress so far:
I purchased a fuselage and tail set from Valuehobby as well as some other spare parts from their 60 size P-51 'Marie' about 2 years ago and have been slowly accumulating parts to complete it. The wings are from an old Hangar 9, and similar P-51, in the same ws and the cowl is from Hangar 9's newest P-51 ARF. The wings did not come with flaps so I added them. I scratch built the top hatch to the best of my own measurements.
I'm not planning on making it scale by any means, but I would like it to match the actual 'Marie' paint scheme (which did not have invasion stripes), as well as a custom cockpit kit.
My progress so far:
03-14-2023, 04:30 AM
#2
Remember when everyone talked about the cheap Japanese stuff? But they continued to buy OS and Saito engines. And Futaba and Sanwa (Airtronics) radios. It's easier to blame and tax imports than blame greedy labor unions and the politicians supported by them.
To get around the horrendous shipping charges to the US, buy from the US warehouses of the Chinese shops. It's not the "shipping" that costs so much it's the total cost of the port of entry, and that is much higher on a single piece than a large lot of the same thing. Asian shippers are desperately trying to find cheaper ports of entry and get out of Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors. But San Francisco, Portland and Seattle aren't a lot better.
To get around the horrendous shipping charges to the US, buy from the US warehouses of the Chinese shops. It's not the "shipping" that costs so much it's the total cost of the port of entry, and that is much higher on a single piece than a large lot of the same thing. Asian shippers are desperately trying to find cheaper ports of entry and get out of Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors. But San Francisco, Portland and Seattle aren't a lot better.
