robflyer82

My Feedback: (1)

So I drove the 20 miles to the LHS since I haven't been there in a while and I have a kit nearing completion but all they had was ARFs. Not a single BIY kit to be found. The last time i was there, there was a couple of kits to choose from. I had been hoping the TF P-51 that was there last time was still around, but it was gone and there wasn't a new kit in its place. Pretty disappointing. I guess my next project will have to wait until it gets here from tower.

Rob

manks7477

I have four projects in the works right now (two that are almost done covering / painting, one that I bought 60% built from a guy getting out of the hobby and one that is about 80% built that was my winter project) and I have determined that once I FINISH them, my next project will be a build from plans. I have a very nice set of plans for a .20 sized WW1 Biplane that I think will be next.

I hate ARFs, there is no pride in building them, to me the biggest part of this hobby is the building. Watching something that I built with my hands fly gives me a far greater thrill than flying any old ARF.

meaden

I don't even bother going to the closest LHS anymore (about an hour each way...and the frustration of traffic) with prices and selection it makes more sense to order supplies online. Like most LHS their becoming more toy store than hobby shop.

I order from the big onliners but I search out and buy from smaller retailers that are online too. Supporting my local-online-hobby-shop?

Campgems

Rob, unless I travel 35 miles, the local hobby shop doesn't even stock balsa. It's like a grocery store not stocking bread. Sure glad we have the internet. It's a shame but a reality that the stores will stock what sells. ARF's, Paint Ball guns, and the likes rule the day now.

Don

smkrcflyer

I also don't go to the LHS. I agree with Campgems. Were all going to have to build from plans someday [&o].

Hud-n-OTOW

I guess that we are very lucky to have two great LHS here in Ocala, FL. Between them they stock almost every need and can quickly obtain anything they don't have. Lots of local flying with several hundred flyers. I find the LHS is priced about the same as the big mail order firms when you consider both shipping and tax.

HUDnOTOW

meaden

I go through Ocala a couple of times a year visiting family. What are the names of the shops? I'll buy some glow plugs or something...

Mode One

Are you ready for the Future?

Stickbuilder

I don't know the name of the shops in Ocala, but just south of the Ocala exits you will see the exit for Florida highway 44 Wildwood. If you exit there, go east on 44 for 3 miles. You will be at the 44-301 intersection. Turn left onto 301, and go into old downtown Wildwood. Directly across from cityhall you will see Noell's Hobby Shop. Jack Noell is the owner, and you won't find a better person to spend some time with. He carries kits, parts, balsa, brass and just about anything else that you could need. Give him a try. I can't reccomend him highly enough. We are fortunate here in Central Florida to have lots of full line hobby shops, but as far as I'm concerned Jack is the best that I have dealt with in my nearly 58 years in this hobby. His Phone # is: 352-748-0031.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

smkrcflyer

I had an idea let me know what you think. There are many of good kits out there some are still being made some are not. If I had the money I would buy some off these and make short kits out of them after they were no longer available. Have the plans and instruction books copied. Then scan or make balsa templates out of the die cut parts. Then if I or someone wanted to build one of these they could. If a lot of models started doing this we could save these good planes.

Sherpa FE

Hey Stickbuilder,
I will be going to Noell's next Friday, on my way up to Camp Blanding. I live in Spring Hill, and I agree that it is definately the best hobby shop around.
I used to go to Leesburg quite often but no longer have the need.
Anyways, good to see that there are other people that know about Noells, of course that could be a bad thing.
Josh

meaden

Thanks Stickbuilder! I know the 44 Wildwood exit...too well
I'll check'em out.

mclina

Not to rub it in, but I have an unbelievable RC shop which is on my way to and from work every day, and is about 20 minutes from home on a Saturday. They have 2 big shelves full of kits, tons of engines, radios, balsa, tools, parts, and most stuff that I would order from Tower. If you live anywhere near southern NH, you must check it out (although, you probably know about it already).

www.rcbuyers.com

I am not at all affiliated with this store....

rcflyer1970

My Feedback: (212)

I'm lucky here in Sun City, AZ we have a couple good Hobby Shops, Frank's and Hobby Bench, when I lived in SE Florida and did boats and planes I would drive 70 miles and stop at 5 Hobby Shops to aquire the needed goods, mostly the nitro boat stuff allways needed parts. That was before the internet.

JCOKEEFE

My Feedback: (2)

[8D]Welcome to our "new world" hobbyists. Kit makers aren't
manufacturing kits anymore, because "no one is buying them". "There
is no "profit" in making them. There are definitely some nice arfs available
for a good price, but those companies who used to supply us with
kits no longer do so, because they make their money selling arfs. Those of
us who like to build an aircraft have been relegated to a third class citizen
status or worse. Amen.

Campgems

Steve, you would be violating the copyright laws unless you were able to get a signoff from each owner. It doesn't matter if they are labled as copyrighted or not, they still are and the owner and/or the estate of the owner have rights for 70 years or so unless the updated the rights and that would give them another 70.

The problem gets worse if it is a scale model as the manufacture of the full size has control. Everyone wants a slice of the cake. GM and Ford shut down some of the plastic 1/32 scale models until they got their royality.

It's really to bad as there were some good old kits and putting them back on the market again would be nice. Probably not very profitable, but nice.

Don

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I just moved from Ca. and I had lived up in the mountains. Had to drive down to the valley to get to the LHS and that took 45 minutes if I didn't get A ticket on the way. Other then glue and some ARFs they have nothing else there except some over priced fuel.
Now I moved to the big city and there are A number of shops, A couple that are just toy shops but they do have some stuff, one good Hobby People or Town but really not over impressed with them.
Then I was taken to the gold mine of shops right in sin city. It's old time, sort of like walking into A time warp. Get down on hands and knees then dig through all the good stuff both new and used. You can find almost anything, kits, arfs engines, you want it, they have it. If they don't have it just ask and they will get it for you in just A couple of days and not stick there hands in your pockets.
Now if I could only go in and quit buying the wrong stuff I could get these planes off my bench and in the air.
'm told there is another shop just like it in another area too, can't wait to go see that one!!

horace315

My Feedback: (15)

I live in Virginia beach and it is the same here with the hobbie shops they don’t carry kits like they used to unless you like ucontrol,they do have balsa and a good supply of that. like was said here they have a lot of variety and I guess they have to in order to stay in buisness.they have so many ep planes/cars/and traines,they don’t evens stock any new covering materials anymore due to the arf's.
and I agree it is a lot more satisfying to build something you can have confidence in.arf's have their place but they lack character,
and I don’t think the quality is there as far as materials and workmanship goes. I have purchased a few arf's and I can say I have almost every kit plane I ever built for myself still. the arf's don’t seem to stand up to the years.

sebo

Hobby World in Orange Park Florida (near Jacksonville) is a top notch shop. It handles loads of stuff. I can't go in there and not buy something...even if I don't need it at that time. The hobby shop supports the Gateway R/C club too. They contribute their time and effort to the club as well as contributing prizes for club functions. They have two shops here and I have never found a need to go to the second shop because this one has everything I could want and if they don't have it, they will have it for me by Friday...that is unless I ask for it on Thursday evening.
Do I order anything on line? Sure I do but it is usually plans or kit cutters service. I like to build. If a plane doesn't have a part of my finger glued to it, it just ain't a real plane.

smkrcflyer

I know violating the copyright laws is a problem. And I would not do that but I could build planes and sell them.

papadave

My Feedback: (2)

I think alot of the problem with lack of good hobby shops is the internet! Everyone is so eager to save a buck they buy from low overhead sources, and leave the Mom and Pop stores of yesterday in a constant strugle just to pay rent, earn a living, and keep the store supplied for people that expect everything under the sun. and at bargain prices. Next to impossible anymore. It's hard to keep a store properly supplied, inventory costs money, fewer customers means smaller choices. Get used to it, a sign of the times.

papermache

My Feedback: (35)

papadave is right - hobby shops stock what sells. At my LHS that means ARFS and parkflyers. They still have enough "other" customers like me to stock a fair assortment of hardware, covering and some balsa. Yes, it all costs a little more than ordering from an internet supplier, but sometimes the convenience of getting what you need when you need it offsets the price difference.

If you want your LHS to go out of business, keep ordering online to save those precious pennies. Soon you won't be saving anything because you'll be at the mercy of the online retailers because there's nowhere local to get what you need.

papermache

Stickbuilder

I think that you need to read the section involving materiel changes. It does not require a tremendous amount of change to render the copyright (if one ever existed) null and void. A model of anything is difficult at best to copyright, since you are offerring a rendition of a miniature of something that you don't own the rights to in the first place. A model is altogether different from a song, or literary work. If you are worried about it, contact an attorney who specializes in copyright law. They will be able to put you on the right track. It is not unusual for more than one manufacturer to offer a model of the same airplane in the same scale. The construction is not the same, although they use the same basic parts (ribs, formers etc.) The construction is a little different. So there is nothing to keep you from re-drawing the plans (don't plagerize) and going for it.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

Mode One

Are you ready for the Future? In the last ten years the direction you are seeing "HOBBIES" taking, is the direction they are headed! No kits, everything must be done for you, because you don't have the time to do it! Your too busy, you have a job, you have a wife, you have children, you have lawn to mow, a house to paint, little league to coach, etc. etc...

I'm 56 and hard to believe, I had/have all the above to do, also, and still made/make time to build! As a matter of fact, fully 50% of my enjoyment of this hobby comes from building my models. Doing something with my hands rests my soul and rejuvenates my life. I've found life to be taskful at times and being involved in building models is as necessary to my life, as is breathing air!

I own ARFs, I will likely buy more, they are what’s available. However, I want to build my models also and there is a change which is occurring to hobbies which I can’t comprehend. Kits are disappearing and kit manufacturers going out of business or changing over to ARFs. People don’t want to build things for themselves anymore! It must be instantaneous!

I hear statements about people not having time to build and I feel this is bull-ony! There is still the same amount of time in the day as there was when my parents raised me and as when I raised my kids. We all just make the time for the things we want to do.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Fully agree with mode one. That's all I ever heard from club members and these were retired guys. I ended up building quite A few planes for them.
On line buying and saving A few cents, try A big bunch of dollars. My old LHS had mono cote at $21.00, everyplace else it was $11.00. I ordered A $99.00 engine from my LHS and he had it marked at $129.99. When he found out I ordered all my servos from another company all of A sudden he could beat the deal, didn't offer it at the time I was trying to buy them from him. A jug of fuel at $22.00, I found it for $13.50. My nephew went to work at A hobby shop and told me what the mark up was on most the stuff, shocking.
I do buy from my local guys now but there is more then one shop so prices are A lot better, something about being able to go down the street and getting what you need seems to hold the prices.
The shops in town have mostly what I need and have good prices, I buy from them when I can, going there today for parts. Some things you just have to order on line but it's just another shop in A different state.
I have been building from plans for A long time now and keep A good stock of wood on hand, all of it bought on line. My LHS has some wood but no real selection so I buy in bulk from Lone Star.
Times have changed but you can still support your LHS and be able to get what you need on line, just know what the prices are so you aren't going to get had too bad. My old LHS owner thought no one was smart enough to read A magazine and see how much things were worth.
I'm here to enjoy modeling, not get had by someone just because they are there.