papermache

My Feedback: (35)

If Adrian Page is out of business, it's EVERYONE'S loss. The guy is a total class act.

papermache

jollyroger

My Feedback: (6)

Well, I'm saddened to hear Page is going out of business.
I talked with a fellow clubmember this afternoon who mentioned to me that Sig was going out of business, however, I have not been able to confirm this and feel it would be highly unlikely for this company to go under after 60+ years. I'll keep checking around and since Toledo is only a few weeks away, I will find out then. jollyroger

Sneasle

Ya, Adrian will not be around too much longer. There is another thread where someone asked about him and I gave some details there.

His site is back up, and while he has a few things in stock, I get the impression that after the next shippment of kits he send out, he wont be sending too many more. So if you want something, order it now.

He and many other kit builders work of of batches. They wait until they have a certain number of orders in, and then place the order to get the wood cut. That helps them keep costs down.

So ya, If you want something, order it now.

David Redden

Modelers,

Sig is very much in business and is one of the few R/C manufacturers still making kits. Our latest kit release was a twin electric Dornier DO-217. (I'm building a Dornier for myself right now.) We will be attending the Toledo show and hope to see all of you there.

David Redden
Sig Manufacturing
[email protected]

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

I'm currently doing a review of the Sig Rascal 40 for RCU. While on the phone with the rep at Sig I asked him about this rumor (I've actually received several PM's this weekend asking if I knew anything about it). His answer....... Totally false rumors. I've sent him the link to this thread so hopefully he'll take a few minutes to address this himself too. But anyway, I thought it was a false rumor because it would be odd for a company to be sending planes out for review if they were in the process of going out of business.

On a personal note, it would be a great loss if Sig ever went out of business. They make two of my favorite planes and I would be at a loss without them, the Something Extra and the Hog Bipe!!!!

Ken

JNorton

My Feedback: (2)

Now if Sig would make a kit of the Rascal 40 or 110 I'd buy that in a heartbeat. I loved my Rascal 40. I gave it to my son after his LT40 went in. The only problem I found with the Rascal 40 was the aluminum motor mounts broke after about 30 flights. I replaced them with steel and had no further problems.
John

R/C Lee

My Feedback: (3)

I'd also recommend that Sig re-release a kit of their Clipped-Wing Cub. Like many of us with a kit stash, last fall needing a project I decided to build the Cub. What a great kit. The wood was excellent, even after sitting in my attic for 6+ years, and the kit went together easily. With the narrow gear and large wing area (even the Clipped-Wing version has a lot of area), it was sometimes a handful to take off with a little cross wind. It flew like a dream and would do most of the antics we used to see at full-size air shows - crazy low-level aerobatics that no sane person would do . Well, last Friday, the cross wind caught up to me and I bashed the fuselage badly. Wing and tail are ok, so it may be next winter's project. All of this goes to say that I hope Sig stays around. I have built a number of their kits and still have a few in the attic. Their attention to detailed plans and the quality of their wood really makes their kits a bargain. Lee

R/C Lee

My Feedback: (3)

Just called my friendly hobby shop today to get some Sig light weight fiberglass cloth. I'm running a little short for my Ziroli B-25. Owner says that they can't get any from Sig and are having major troubles (many products on backorder) getting other products from Sig as well, and are having to go to other suppliers. David Redden, can you shed some light on this? Meantime, it looks like Balsa USA has taken over Lone Star Balsa products, so I'll probably go to BUSA for the fiberglass. Just one more problem that the kit builders are facing. Lee

David Redden

I think that we are going to see a great many new airplanes at the flying field when the weather warms up. At least that is the sense I get from the run on products here at Sig.

Yes, a few things like Ultra Light glass cloth, dope, and some sizes of balsa wood have been tough to keep in stock simply because of unusually high demand. Those who think kit building or scratch building is a lost art should come work at Sig for a while. Someone is using all this stuff! I personally haven't applied a dope finish in a few decades so I am amazed at how much we ship out. I'm expecting to see a lot of Cubs this year with scale fabric covering jobs.

Most peoples lightweight fiberglass cloth is 3/4 oz. If you can use this weight of cloth, we have it in stock now which is called Sig Light Weight cloth. (It costs less too.) The Sig Ultra Light glass cloth is .56 oz. and it is much harder to get. If you need this lightest cloth, hang in there. We are tracking this down but it has been tough recently to obtain this lightest weight cloth.

David Redden
Sig Manufacturing

Insanemoondoggie

David, I love to come work for Sig for a while. Could we trade the labor out for kits ? lol J.K.

Mode One

One thread here is asking: Are kits making a come back? Then this thread, talks about the dwindling kit suppliers! Which is it and why are kit manufacturers biting the dust? I'm of the opinion a great portion of the folks in R/C now, feel they just don't have the time, the ability; or, the inclination to build!

jollyroger

My Feedback: (6)

I am glad to hear that Sig is alive and well, as I truthfully felt they would be. A LHS just received some more Sig kits in stock and it dispelled any rumours.
Oh yeah, I will be stopping by the Sig booth at Toledo to see what's new. I have the DO-217 waiting its turn, but at the moment I'm building the Citabria and Kougar, both for electric power.
Most of the guys in our club build kits and some have a great many of them that are no longer in production.
See ya in Toledo! jollyroger

trackman

im glad to hear there is no danger of sig dropping out of the market. just finished my 2nd hog and i must
say there kits are a joy to build and fly. maybe its time to build the hog bipe!

John Sohm

My Feedback: (9)

You're probably correct in your assumption about people not having the ability and maybe even the inclination to build but the time aspect is definitely invalid because if you can find the forty or so hours to try to piece together assemblies that some third world person built, you can definitely find time to build your own kit. Of course the skills are much more involved when building compared to assembling sections that are already, for the most part, complete. It doesn't take much talent to mix up epoxy, slather it on a dihedral brace and wing halves and stick them together. You could probably teach monkies to do that. The thing is, you have to want to build something that you can say "I built that". Personally I like the historical side of the subjects I build. But for most people today, it's enough to just go throwing your 5 to 15 lb collections of wood, metal and plastic around the sky and when they tire of that, they'll move on to something else that catches their interest for 15 minutes. I can honestly say that I have seen a lot of real modelers try ARFs and most of the time, not always, complain about how poorly it was made. However I can't remember any that started with ARFs and progressed to building kits and continued in the hobby, those that tried usually got stuck at some point in the construction sequence and rather than ask for help, just got out of the hobby. Check eBay for kits and see how many started kits there are for sale where the owner states he/she is getting out of the hobby. I can't help but wonder.

Mode One

[quote]ORIGINAL: John Sohm

"You're probably correct in your assumption about people not having the ability and maybe even the inclination to build but the time aspect is definitely invalid because if you can find the forty or so hours to try to piece together assemblies that some third world person built, you can definitely find time to build your own kit."


Only for for clairity sake:
I stated my opinion, which was: "A great portion of the folks in R/C now, FEEL they just don't have the time, the ability; or, the inclination to build"!

From your point of view, the point can't be invalid, because we are actually in agreement that people incorrectly think they don't have time. Certainly the reality is that "some" people maybe really don't have the time! Others don't have time because they chose to use their time for other things!

Otherwise, I agree with all you said, John!

Scar

My Feedback: (3)

I probably shouldn't draw comparisons to religions or unions, but in this post it looks to me like certain people are placing themselves in the position of being judge and jury on how everyone else should spend their valuable time.

If I were of the same ilk, I might say (and you could quote me)

However, I don't really care if people don't use quotes properly. I simply have time to waste, writing comparisons.

Best wishes,
Dave Olson

JNorton

My Feedback: (2)

Dave,
What I find perplexing is posting their views in the Kits section in the first place. Wouldn't most people in the Kit sections be interested in building kits???? I was ignoring it but I had to reply because I think your post is right on the money.
but then I've been guilty of saying the same thing in the ARF section trying to get people to try building kits. What I've learned is that just because I derive so much enjoyment from building others find it a colossal waste of their time or it simply isn't what they enjoy doing.
John

Sneasle

Very true John.

I know several people who fly both arfs and kits, but mostly arfs. They enjoy the kits, but the time involved (and space) keeps them from building more. I myself prefer building from kits, but my lack of time recently along with a lack of space has slowed me down and forced me to put all of my kits on hold. I can only work on one thing at a time right, which is currently a repair/rebuild. I also have an arf glider sitting waiting for me to make some time for it this week.

I do think that kits will be around for a while, but they may continue to become more specialized. Granted, many of the major manufacturers still produce kits, but the numbers are dropping. You see more and more starups producing kits, usually of great quality. Unfortunately some don't last long and die out, but usually another takes its place with very similar products. It's just a great big circle.


In other news I ordered the Geebee Z from Adrian. I sent him an email about shipping since my shipping address will only be valid for another month in a half (yay, moving!), but I haven't gotten a response yet to that or any of my other emails. Hopefully he is doing alright and can get around to answering email/shipping out what he has soon. I'd hate to have it delivered somewhere where I can't get it any more.

ma_mulcahy

I just got off the phone with Adrian Page after I sent him an e-mail last week with no reply. FYI, about a month ago, I placed an order for a 1/4 scale Gee Bee. He was quite non-committal regarding a future run of kits. He told me that I may have missed my chance at one of the kits. Bottom line for him is that he's having difficulty getting the fiberglass parts and he says there's no profit for him.

It's definitely a sad day when a good operation like this folds.

Mike

Sneasle

Ya, I k now what you mean. His fiberglass supplier went under. I know because I tried to find them to order a set of wheelpants and what not direct and just hand cut the kit from the plans... ya.. they don't exist anymore...

I hate to see him fold up.. but sometimes it happens. It would be great if he would offer to put his stuff out there for the rest of us so we could handcut our own if we want to build the kits. The plans are nice, but they still kinda confuse me about certain areas with how the wood is supposed to look. I don't think I could make a reliable kit just working off the plans.

He has a Z or two on hand, so maybe I will get lucky.

Mode One

[/quote][/quote]
I probably shouldn't draw comparisons to religions or unions, but in this post it looks to me like certain people are placing themselves in the position of being judge and jury on how everyone else should spend their valuable time.

Best wishes,
Dave Olson
[/quote]


Couldn't the same thing be said about what you have stated above, as passing judgement on what myself and John Sohm were talking about?

Isn't the topic of this thread "Dwindling kit suppliers"? Therefore, isn't people's real or perceived lack of time relevant to the topic!

Insanemoondoggie

For sometime now, I have kicked around the idea of producing kits. I have the facilities allready but would have to buy the Lazer. Maybe a guy could buy out a kit builder thats getting out of the buisness ?
Anyone got any ideas where to start ? Or know a kit supplier that wants to sell out ?
Thanks

Sneasle

Take over for Adrian!!!!!!!!! MUST KEEP THE GEE BEES ALLLLIIIVVVEEE!!!!

umm.. ya.. ok.. sorry.. i just love the geebee's.

www.adrianpage.com

Scar

My Feedback: (3)

[/quote]
I'm willing to discuss.

As a comparison, let's consider carriage makers, or buggy whip manufacturers.

One might observe that their numbers have diminished for several reasons. Should one attack automobile drivers as the cause?

I would say that one could make the observation without criticizing the driver's choices. And, as an aside, one could do so without incomplete quotes, incorrect quotes, or quoting snippets out of context.

Best wishes,
Dave Olson

Mode One

Now you seem to be passing judgment on my, or John's (unsure whom you are talking about) use of punctuation.

I would say people choosing to drive automobiles caused buggies to loose favor! I would also say people choosing ARFs over kits is causing kits to loose favor! This ain't rocket surgery. Do I have to like it? No, I don't, that's my prerogative!

I like to build models, I am first and formost a modeler. I enjoy building more then flying and I do both well enough. I am having to adjust my way of thinking away from kits and am looking at and buying plans and will be building from scratch.

It is certainly peoples right to chose to do with their time as they wish. However, I see many times and many people claim they just don't have time, and know this is really an overused excuse and another way of making themselves look busier then they really are. I'm O.K. with them doing this, also. I just might not believe what they say.

For a person seeming to abhor judgmental people, you seem to be very judgemental.