I'm currently building a kit (name withheld) that I purchased at a show from the designer. He told me that it can be built in a day in my hands (no board required). I took that claim with a grain of salt.

It can be built in a day, but there's a lot of prep work involved, so it will take me 3. Truthfully, I'm converting it from E-power to glow, so that's consumed a lot of the time. I think his time estimate is accurate, but I still couldn't finish it in a day because I spend a lot of time sanding parts and prepping them before gluing them in place.

The part about building it in my hands is true in that it can be done, but the chances of having a straight plane that way are about nil.

- Paul

My first 2 planes, a Goldberg EagleII and a Great Planes Big Stik, were both built on a 36" desk in an Air Force dorm room that was maybe 12X15, that I shared with a roommate! It can be done. All holes were drilled with a Fiskars hand cranked drill, (still have it, still use it when the chordless batteries are dead) most glue was Elmers wood glue, and I used my Basic Training clothes iron to put on the covering, and pins from a sewing kit to hold it all together. The hobby shop was 90 miles away in Mandeville Louisiana. Funny, I built those two planes in about a 3 month span, both were pretty nice builds for a beginner, if I might brag. Now it takes me that long to plan what I'm going to do! And I'd probably spend a year on that stik that took a month, not that I have to, I just have a dedicated place to build now, so there is never a hurry.

Just take a few days off, I often do this and a lot of things will come to you while you are not at the building board. My goal is for every plane I build to be better than the last, and there is nothing wrong with arfs these days, but it sure is nice to show up with a plane that no-one else has, finished how you want it. I am currently rebuilding my HOB P-51, and I'm thinking of doing it up like the #21 Ricky Rudd drives, I like that Red White and Black paint scheme, I can be sure there will not be another one at the field when I get there!

A couple other thoughts...

- I always start building with lots of energy and enthusiasm (on any given day) and work till I have to do something else or I'm tired...when I get to that point I always seem to say I'll just add one more piece and quit, and then more times than not it's that piece I'll screw up...so moral of the story is that (for me) there is a lot of mental work to building so quit when it starts to wear you down

- I consider myself a pretty decent builder, but I'm pretty slow, and the reason for that is that I take a lot of time to figure out as much of the work as possible before doing it...so before i get anywhere close I've thought about where the servos will end up, how I'll rout the control rods, where's the most likely place for the reciever/switch/etc.....moral to this ramble is to consider slowing down and taking more time to think about everything before hand

- lastly, like everyone above every plane I've ever worked on has something wrong with it, but the great thing about it is that you can always add more filler and sand more, so that after it's covered it'll still look great and no one will ever know the truth

There is an old adage that we used to say in the aerospace biz...

"File to fit. Paint to hide."

Or through away kit and buy ARF

I'm so glad I'm not the only one ...

I glued that bottom piece in with slow ca, and realized it maybe 15 minutes later. It was not quite set (but close), so I ripped it out by hand, getting ca all over my hands in the process..

I then turned the wood piece around so the blind nuts would face the right direction, and then spent 2 hours picking ca off of my fingers.

Use fine sand paper to remove CA from fingers!.....I use a lot of fine paper![:@]

If I had a dollar for each mistake I have made building a kit (RC, wooden ship or plastic) I could probably take a vacation to the Bahamas. - and have enough left over for some fine umbrella drinks ...

The main lesson I have learned from all this is to read through all the instructions to get an overview, then review the instructions for each step carefully (moreso if it's a manufacturer I am unfamiliar with) dry fit and look where each part fits into the assembly and where the assembly fits into the model and confirm what I have in mind makes sense and matches the plans ... has saved my butt more than once... While it takes more time, it saves it in the long run!

Cheers!

Jim

t8jones,

I know how you feel and so do many others who have read this thread - we've all been there at some time or other!
You hate the sight of your model right now and just want rid of it. Do you have somewhere to store it away where you can forget about it for a while? Take a break and then try an ARTF kit as you say. As your building/assembly experience improves and develops you will see where you previously went wrong. Then at a later time you will be able to fix the 4*. If you attempt to sell it in its current state you will have to virtually give it away. It's worth more to you to keep it and remedy its present build problems at a later date![8D]

A master modeler is one who is an expert at covering up or overcoming screwups. You are not alone, don't let it get you down.

I've been building for some 50 years, my problem is I can never build a kit stock, so sometimes I get stuck on the mods. I got so sick of one plane ( GP Super Sportster), that I just put it up for almost 2 years. Then one day I grabbed a saw and chopped off the front end and started over. It turned out great. Sometimes you have to get drastic, short of stomping on it. Building is 10% skill and 90% patience. Take a break, and come back to it later. Then finish it up the best you can and go fly it.

BO

Welcome to the CLUB. show me a model builder, scratch, kit, arf who hasn't SCREWED UP more than once. Ive had a kit go bad, give it to a buddy and he finished in a weekend, boy did fly super. it takes lots of practice. look for someone to sit with you and both have a ROOT BEER, while dicussing the situation. been at the miserable--more than once-- model airplane hobby. since middle 1930's. it sure made my life as a aerospce engineeer/designer a heck of a lot easier. one thing I know for sure-- I am a better model builder than a Computor user. dick stamm

This thread has made me a little more at ease, as I will start my first build in the not too distant future. I will be building the Tiger 60 as my first, after my Gee Bee arf is done and I get my engine and all. Even though I have the luxury of an experienced builder here at home to help guide me, I've still been paranoid about screwing it up. So now when I make a mistake, after reading all this I'll know that it happens, can be fixed, and it doesn't mean the airplane won't fly. It's the older, experienced modelers like the guys that have posted here that keep this hobby alive by passing down experience, advice, and encouragment. Without them, a whole lot of new people to the hobby would give up and quit. Thanks guys.

By the way JonGurley, I was born and raised in Goldsboro on SJAFB, any chance you fly at ECRC?