alfiebaby

Without wishing to sound controversial, or to criticise the people who actually purchase them, but where do all these classic kits appear from?, & are the ever built? Or are they destined to simply become collectors items? I can well remember building several pattern ships in the 80's, including a Modeltech Calypso with a Hanno 61, oh how I wish I had it now! Surely anyone who had the forsight to secrete a classic kit away, to be resurrected now, at a large profit, is only to be admired.

I have a NIB box Rossi 61RE, bought at a swap meet in 1985, which I would never dream of selling, & am going to build a Wolfgang Matt Arrow to put it in, ( from a plan, as I can't justify the $400 or more the MK kit currently up for grabs will surely fetch ).

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

Many folks, sport flyers, used to buy patternship kits with the hope of getting it in the air one day. Lots of them remained on the shelf, collecting dust. Now they are being sold here on RCU and eBay for outlandish prices.

Fortunately, most of the really popular designs are being manufactured today and sold for really good prices. Bluejay Models is one such company selling some of the older Bridi patternships. I have their Banshee, Troublemaker and several others. Nice kits. Great Prices and fantastic customer service. My Phoenix 5 kit came from Wing Manufacturing and is done in fiberglass and foam. Also a beautiful kit at a very reasonable price. Will I ever get to building them and then flying them? I hope so.


Ed Cregger

BERUSTY

My Feedback: (3)

Classic Pattern Kits...

Tony F. and others, are the in the audience and are the Experts about World Engines...to my memory, MK kits were available from World and relative to US engineered/manufactured kits were much more expensive. Old ad's will offer the exact numbers but I believe the Silent 90 I bought from Indy R/C (step-child or WE?) in 1996 was $250 wood kit in a market of $100 wood kits/$300 glass foam kits.

Actual number of kits produced would be an interesting statistic. How many Midwest Mach One kits were produced? How many Bridi Kaos kits? What about the EU1's, Phoenix kits...probably a very small number for ALL of the previous mentions would be fewer than 5000 maybe 2000 produced.

Personally, I have found kits at swap meets, Buy-Bay, word of mouth and by shouting. The kits, as a specific and planned long term investment vehicle would account for few sold, whereas accidentally valuable sales much more likely.


Rusty Dose
Team Futaba
Team YS Parts and Service

jab2of3

My Feedback: (6)

I wish I could get a Sig Komet Pattern kt. I had one in 1986 and that plane flew sweet. And then my radio failed or batteries ran out.

Jeff

BERUSTY

My Feedback: (3)

Wanted: Sig Komet

Great example of what IS available. I found one, in original factory shrink wrap on Buy-Bay, picked up using buy now, by-passing thrill of auction process for about $125 late Fall 2008. Plywood skins...it is on the bench right now.

How about a similar looking model, same era late 69 early 70...a N.I.B. Cutlas Supreme (PM) for a special price.

Rusty Dose
Team Futaba
Team YS Parts and Service

flywilly

My Feedback: (121)

MK kits were actually quite cheap back in the early to mid 1980's and before. The value of the Yen soared compared to the weak US dollar and the price of the kits followed. When the MK Aurora was initially offered (11/1985)by Indy R/C (I don't think World engines ever imported MK kits) the price was $110.00 (which included the tanks, spinner and some other hardware not to mention very good quality wood and glass parts). The Curare 60, Arrow 60, Blue Angel 60 and Magic 60 were all priced at less than $100 originally and guys thought the kits were pricey even then. One of my fellow club members (back in 1980 or there-abouts) bought an MK Curare 60 kit which he used as a template to build 6 wood/foam copies. He kept 2 and sold the rest. He was an excellent builder and they all flew well (and sold quickly). His first one did not last long [&o] as he had built the 'canopy' into a hatch where his Rx battery was located. During a High speed split 'S' the hatch (and Rx battery) departed from the fuselage and the Rossi powered Curare made a large crater.
MK produced some very nice 'top-of-the-line' kits in the late 90's including a 2 meter version of the Extra 300 that was designed by Quique Somenzini. The kit included the retracts (along with other nice hardware), but was very "pricey" (about $700 US) at the time. Subsequently, MK decided to try to cut the cost of their kits and eliminated most of the hardware (Topstar, Super VR-90, Synergy, Alliance, Skystar 90, etc.). The kits were still expensive by US standards (~ $300 for the 90 sized kits), but very well engineered and the high quality wood was still used.
I'm a big fan of MK kits, by the way
-Will B.

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

The Don Lowe Phoenix 8 I recently acquired was a kit that had been sitting on the shelf since 1978. It was given to me by a friend. FREE!

I have every intention of building it, overpowering it with a .75 engine on a pipe, painting it to a mirror finish, installing the best retracts I can buy............. oh, and flying the ever living SNOT out of it!!! [8D]

I wouldn't even DREAM of selling a CLASSIC old kit like this. You'd have to make me some totally ridiculous offer, like $2500 to even consider it. And nobody would make that kind of offer. So, she's MIIIIIIINE and I can't wait to start building.

I see them on fleebay occasionally. There was a Phoenix 8 recently sold on fleebay for about $230 + shipping. Cheap IMO.

Free Bird

For the past couple of years I have been buying kits or plans of the pattern ships that my father and I flew together. Along the way I've also picked up a few other classics that float my boat. IMHO, kits were designed, manufactured and sold with the intent of being built. So those classics that I have will end up being built and not collecting dust. Well, they will collect balsa dust waiting their turn to get to the workbench!

FB

Roary m

My Feedback: (67)

ED pegged it concerning intent to build but never getting to it. I was ready to jump in with my Kaos in 1986 and had just bought a Hanson Tipo. My wife went through an extended illness which forced me to just go burn holes in the sky since I had to stick close to home for years afterward. The kit still sits in the box. When RCOnline was launched in the late 90's(Ithink) I started to get back into flying pretty steady and wanted to get as many old 10cc kits as I could. I must say that I could buy a GP Tipo nib for around 110$ as late as '01 or '02 and began aquiring kits at a slow steady pace. The most I ever paid was for a 60 size Aurora at around 175$. Flywilly recommended I buy a few MK Curares as I think the pipeline opened up for a season. For me it was the luck of the draw, but I bought on the premise that I wanted to build, fly and move on through the old designs before they went away. I agree, the prices that are being asked for are a little high when you can scratch some of them for a fraction of the cost or say as in the example of the Tiporare, Eureka has kitted it for much less the what the bidding sites are asking.

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

You might as well build them and fly them. After we are gone, there will be no one left to appreciate them.


Ed Cregger

AndyKunz

That's such an inspiring thought NOT!

Actually, I think a lot of guys will appreciate them. Everybody who sees one fly at the field will (some day) come around to wanting one, and one of us will be an old curmudgeon and remember some of this stuff when asked, and next thing you know somebody will be making "old technology" laser kits of them.

I have a 1946-ish Comet design that I'm building right now. Never saw one of these, just bought the kit and starting gluing. Now I see somebody in MO is selling a laser version of the same kit.

Andy

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I don't know how old you guys are. I'm 37. If that makes me young, then there is hope. Some of us newbies in the hopbby still like to build kits. My definition of "cool" airplanes has expanded quite a bit in the last 2 or 3 yrs. I used to be stuck on the aerobatic thorougbreds. Thats all I would fly. If it wasn't an Exttra, Yak or Giles I wouldn't even look at it. But the past couple years have led to me drooling over general aviation scale planes, pattern planes, old timers and even...... don't say it....... a warbird. [X(] I would NEVER have considered a warbird (warturd) 5yrs ago..8yrs ago.

I've only been in the hobby for 11yrs. Never even saw a classic 70's and 80's pattern ship until about 3yrs ago. There was an instant attraction though. They are so sleek and so clean. The lines are soft in places, and sharp in other places. I love the swept wings and the anhedrahl (sp?) tails. The retracts, the pipes running right through the canopy, the painted fiberglass fuselages. They're just cool!!

I'm a bit of a snob about my planes though. I like em BIG. The 60 size pattern ships are quite small for my taste, but they are just too cool to pass up when given the opportunity to build one. Would the Bridi Dirty Birdy 2+2 and the Big Chaos be considered classic pattern ships? I can use a small gasser on each of those planes and have tons of flying fun with the reliability of a gasser. I can envission the Big Chaos with a 30cc gas engine turning a 16-12 prop around 9000RPM and going mach 10 down the runway. That would get me giggling pretty good. [sm=lol.gif]

Maybe I'm just getting old? Either that, or maturing?

stuntflyr

I started flying R/C last summer and love the older ships. They are a bit small, but I'm just going to have to try them for a year or two.

I bought a new kit of an old design, a T2A MkII from Carolina Custom which is a little pricy but at least it's glass and pre-sheeted foam wings so I can get it flying quickly. I have waited 35 years to have my own pattern ships and I'm not collecting collectors kits to do it. I want to fly.

I have an Antique Pattern ship (Hester King Cobra), a SPA Pattern ship (ARF Kaos) and a BPA Pattern ship (Tiporare). Each is still on the bench, but I'm sure ready to fly them and wish and hope that more guys in my neck of the woods would/are going to fly them this season.

My 12 year old likes my Kaos, and if he and RCPilot can get turned on by the oldies, Ed, we should have continued participation.
Chris...

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

I never got to enjoy the T2A when they were hot, but I'm interested now. Especially with pre-sheeted wings and a fiberglass fuselage. I just might add that to my stable.

The previous gentleman asked if the Giant Chaos and the DB 2+2 would count for classic pattern ships. Well, they probably wouldn't let you fly them in SPA contests, but as far as I'm concerned they count. I have both of the kits in the que (the garage).

I'm glad to hear that some younger folks like the old classic pattern designs. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.


Ed Cregger

Roary m

My Feedback: (67)

I wish Ed would bring back Mister Frog for his avatar, I liked him.

stuntflyr

I like the giant Bridi design idea too. I think an XLT with a big gasser would be really neat, especially at about 125 mph. In close...
Chris...

alfiebaby

Thanks for all the input my original post has aroused, I personally think that the Aurora / Atlanta / Blue Angel, were some of the best looking R/C planes ever to fly. Hanno's planes, beautiful though they were, always appeared to me to be designed for functionality, & they certainly worked for him, I well remember seeing him fly at the Elmbridge Symposium, at Sandown Park, U.K. in the 80's.
Still everyone to their own, & it's great to see the diversity of classics being resurrected, particularly in the U.S., not too sure there's as much interest in the U.K. I'm building an Arrow, ( more suited to the Rossi 61 RE I have ), I'll post some pictures of it, once it's underway.

P.S. I've only recently found this particular forum, & am astounded by the depth of response & information on it, thanks everyone!

Atlanta 60

My Feedback: (18)

The Aurora and Atlanta are my #1 & 2 favorite aircraft also...Awesome!!

Roary m

My Feedback: (67)

The only downside to the Giant Dirty Birdy kit is the tail dragger with wheelpants setup; that's a not. Mine will have some kind of trike retract along with a tuned pipe.

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

-


I miss Froggy the Gremlin myself. We shall see.


Ed Cregger

lectrictech

My Feedback: (2)

Is there any plans or kits avail. for the Atlanta. I would like to build / buy one. Have a "new" O.S. 60 RE and Rhom Airs to put in it. Not quite like todays pattern planes but the lines are incredible. I just love to see them fly.

Atlanta 60

My Feedback: (18)

Kinda/Sorta....If I can ever devote the time to finishing....I'm out of town till the end of this month but hope to make some progress when I get home...I'm mad at myself for dragging it out this long... [:@]

If he's still interested when I'm done the contact person will be Dan at Carolina Custom Aircraft (If he's not giving up on me...he he)

Sorry folks...But my job has to take priority for the moment...All my flying stuff has been set aside along with this project... [&o]

We'll get there...Someday...

Anyhow here are the threads:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_6827800/tm.htm

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_6552146/tm.htm

Take Care...

Chuck

crankpin

My Feedback: (15)

The Classic's are being built, lot of guy's build them to fly in SPA/BPA. I have more, build when I get the urge.

Crank

Free Bird

I got plenty of urge, just no time between work and life. [][:@]

FB

carlgrover