What kind of planes where these as far as quality goes. I have a chance to pick up a few of them cheap. Just want to make sure they are worth messing with. They are still in the boxes never assembled. One inparticular that caught my eye was a 120 size gee bee r2 with a fiberglass fuse and 71" ws.

Raidentech is not a manufacturer. They sell ARFs from multiple manufacturers.

Nitroplanes, and several other online vendors, sell most of the same planes. A lot of them are also sold through ebay sellers.

The 'standard' complaints (no matter which "brand" is on it) are: terrible instructions, no customer support, poor hardware, inconsistent build quality.

For every person who bashes these models there seems to be another person who likes them.

I get the impression that some models are not really "ARF" and require a lot of 'fixing and fitting' during the assembly process.

If you know how to find and fix weak spots, and don't need detailed instructions, go for it if the price is good.

Part of the problem is that the quality of particular models varies greatly.

One poor model is no way indicative of the quality of any other and also the reverse can be true.


Case in point the Cessna 182 1.40 is very well done and an excellent buy... ( check out the threads where the guys are building these birds ). It has the be the hands down best 182 available in ARF form today... ( and yes there are still a few things that need attention ).

Other kits can be hit and miss.

I just picked up the .50 sized Giles 202, and it's a wonderful ARF, especially considering the price.

The hardware is actually decent, the hinges are pin joints, landing gear carbon fiber, pushrods carbon fiber, aluminum pull pull bell arm, etc... I'm quite impressed with this 90.00 ARF!!!!

Then there are the "misses" of course... some of these are not terrible, but they may require more work and fixup than what some people may tolerate... a few however may be downright bad ( ugh my original non CMP Hellcat, which thankfully NP saw fit to discontinue... ).


If you haven't put together a couple of ARF's before, tread lightly... these are not for beginners. As indicated the instructions ( what instructions? ) are poor pictograms or bad translations. My Yak 1.40 came with one large SHEET, nothing more...

Hopefully you've already learned many of the construction "tricks" from other ARFs. You can also pick these up by downloading manuals for other preferably similiar planes...

Do that and be prepared to re-inforce, replace some hardware if required, re-inforce, reheat the covering, and in some cases clear coat the covering too, and you'll do fine.

My little NP Ultimate 40 just completed it's 150th flight and has thus far survived three crashes...

[8D]I recently assembled two models from Texas RC which appear to be the same as sold by Nitro models and others like Radiantech. I have avoided these models since they get highly mixed reviews, but these seem to be OK. The instructions are a joke, but the basic design and quality seem up to normal ARF standards. If you have enough experience to be able to judge the quality of various components and design features, I would say that they are a good value and can be built into a good plane.

I have to agree with the others the big problem with this website is the quality and customer response. I have read 150+ reviews saying that they are both terrible and good. I think it really is your luck of the draw depending if you get a good model or not. but know this...almost all of the people i have read from have said their customer serivice is basically non existent. a few months ago a raiden tech was dicussed at a different form . here http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_60...tm.htm#6180976

It depends upon what you mean by "customer service".

If you mean help when you have a question or a problem putting together an ARF? Then yeah forget it it's not going to happen.

If you mean getting help resolving a mis-shipment or missing item, then they have been VERY VERY good with me.

As far as the "quality" as I've posted, that CMP Cessna has no equal. It's the best out.

Many planes are equally good... and overall the ARF's are good buys, so from a quality standpoint you get more for your money...

The downside is lack of a support staff to help out novice builders, which is why I and so many others recommend that these be tacked by someone with experience and willingness to fix potential problems...

I wouldn't call it "luck of the draw" if you do a bit of searching around here.

These forums are great to help weed out the poorer models.... here are a few from my stable ( I have many more NP planes too... ).

Giles 202 .50 = Good to Exceptional buy
Ultimate 1.20 = Good buy but clear coat it!
Lancair .60 = Good to excellent buy
Cessna 182 1.40 = Exceptional
Cessna 182 .50 = Excellent
Ultimate .40 = Not bad but clear coat it!
Bobcat .50 = Good buy but clear coat it!
Falcon 1.20 = Good buy but clear coat it!
Falcon .25 = Not bad
CMP Yak 1.40 = Good but work is required
Stearman .40 = Good but work is required
CMP Hellcat = Good but more work than normal required
NP Hellcat = Pass ( gone now ).

I have assembled over 30 ARFs for myself and friends so there should not be a problem, I never use the stock hardware. i always replace all of it with my personal choices. I should be able to get them togther fairly easy. I am mostly curious is to who produced
a 1.20 size 71" Gee Bee R2 w/ a fiberglass fuse, I am aware it is most likely a china produced model. The other two planes are sort of a bonus.

I don't think that the Gee Bee is a China Model's plane.

However there is a seperate build thread for the Gee Bee where a few guys have built this plane and they say it's almost identical to the Great Planes version, down to accepting the Robart Retracts.

It also has exactly the same problem(s) if you load it down too much.