ernierivers

I have a kit for a Lanier strike 10 but do not have the plans, does anyone know where I can get the plans to build by?

LunaSea

I have a Lanier Stinger 120 NIB that I will sell... $225 plus shipping (BIG box!, expensive to ship, bury your idiot neighbor in the box when finished). I also have a built one (used but in decent condition) with heavy servos, pull-pull rudder, ST3250 enine w/ Pitts muffler, True_Turn spinner, cowl and wheel pants have never been put on (in new condition), add you receiver and battery and fly! Too big to ship, plane is in Jacksonville, FL $300. Engine, muffler and spinner are worth what I'm asking for it, like getting the plane and servos for free....

Scar

My Feedback: (3)

I doubt anyone's going out of their way to discontinue kits. The market is taking care of that. Builders are doing just fine, all they need is a set of plans (or a drawing board.)

What GP saw was an opportunity to acquire merchandise and make a profit liquidating it. They also kept a few good selling items in their line.

Before that, Lanier saw an opportunity to acquire Goldberg and thought they could make a profit - apparently they were unaware of the market that wasn't buying Goldberg kits.

I see a free market in operation, responding to the consumer.

Good luck,
Dave Olson

DMehalko

My Feedback: (42)

I have a lanier shrike 40 kit NIB if anyone was looking for one of them! posted in the classifieds

frequent flyer

My Feedback: (6)

I have a couple ARFs and about 35 kits . I have bought probably ever kit there is or was. If it wasn't for kits I wouldn't even be in this hobby. I have over 40 planes and I'm still building more. I've been building kits and scratch building since I started this hobby at 10 years of age. I would like to see the CG suk26 again I had a mid air wreck with mine and would love to have another.

vpresley

My Feedback: (162)

Frequent

You have to watch Ebay and RCU. They pop up from time to time. I bought a Sukhoi for $130.00 on RCU, partially started kit. I saw another one on Ebay go for about $220.00. Just have to be in the right place at the right time.


Vince

frequent flyer

My Feedback: (6)

I 'd like to have the plans for the CG suk 26 anybody got one they don't want or can make a copy.

Bax

My Feedback: (11)

You don't make a profit by buying a company and then selling-off old inventory. If a company has a lot of significant assets, then maybe you can sell off those assets, but that begs the question asking why the original owner didn't sell off those assets.

Whenever a company has been purchased by Hobbico, useful products are kept, and the ones that don't sell are dropped. This happens to EVERY product you can think of. The car makers stop making certain models because sales just don't justify continued production, no matter how good the car is or how well it's liked by their owners. If it doesn't sell in large-enough numbers, it just can't be kept on. The hobby business is no different.

As far as Goldberg Models is concerned, these kits have been kept...they continue to sell:

FALCON III KIT
SUPER CHIPMUNK SPORT KIT
ULTIMATE KIT
GENTLE LADY KIT
EAGLET 50 KIT
ANNIVERSARY CUB KIT
TIGER 2 KIT
TIGER 60 KIT

Bax

My Feedback: (11)

You can order a plans set from:

[email protected]

Just let them know which kit you want the plans for, and they'll send you the price.

blkknght

I'm going to weigh in here. I've built several kits of ech manufacture, Goldberg, Great planes, Top flite. I have a giant stinger from Lanier waiting in the build line up. Of all the kits I've built, Goldberg kits were by far the easiest to built. top Flite comes in second, almost tied with Lanier. Great Planes comes in dead last, as far as ease of construction goes. The only reason I'd ever by a Great Planes kit is if it is of sufficient interest and not available by any other manufacturer.

Oh, what am I thinking about? Great Planes doesn't produce kits any more, just ARF's. MAKES ME SICK.

GhostRider32

I agree that Great Planes makes many more ARF's than kits but according to their site, they still make 23 kits as of now.

http://www.greatplanes.com/airplanes/index.html

GhostRider32

Bax,

Do you have a list somewhere of all the plans that Great Planes offers?

Mustang Fever

My Feedback: (2)

I've followed this thread since the beginning, and have 2 cents:

1. Knocking Tower, Hobbico, Great Planes, Futaba, etc. is popular. I can't understand why. At least there's one hobby company out there that is managed well enough to stay in business, so we all have a place to go for stuff, including the LHS's, cause that's where they get most of their stock. (Horizon, too, to be fair.) You don't stay in business by continuing unprofitable lines.

2. It's obvious Tower bought Lanier so as to get the Goldberg line. More power to 'em. We would have lost Goldberg altogether without them.

3. Lanier had some great models, kit and ARF, and but they also had a ton of dogs. I've met very few people who were happy with their products. About the only bunch that's consistently happy is the speed freaks, who have turned Shrike into a religion. I love the Shrike, and got some drawings and templates from another Shrike freak so I could build my own. But I'm here to tell ya, you can't build it according to their instructions, or it will turn out so heavy that it's treacherous. Seems to me that a company that's serious about staying in business would have corrected that, considering how long the Shrike was on the market. I had a Seabird, the biggest fraud ever foisted on the RC world. I had their F-86D ARF, which could not be built light enough to fly properly. I also HAVE a Mariner 40, and it is an absolute sweetheart. (Sure would love a set of drawings for that one.) Too little, too late, I guess, as not long after the Mariner arrived, Lanier was gone.

Sure would like to see the Shrike kit and the Mariner come back, BAX!!!!

ArcticCatRider

My Feedback: (6)

Hobbico is as much of, if not more, a distributor than a manufacturer. Tower is practically purely distribution...as is Horizon.

Great Planes and Futaba are manufacturers.

My only beef is really with Great Planes. They really buried a lot of good planes. And where's the innovation? As far as I'm concerned Hangar 9 has been producing the good flyers, and has had the innovation lately.

Mustang Fever

My Feedback: (2)

Aren't they all part of the same thing- Tower Hobbies? Seems like it, anyway.

I'll agree with you on the innovation at Horizon, but their quality sucks, to be kind.

For innovative engineering, you'd be hard pressed to find a better example than the TopFlite B-25.

prpbstr555

My Feedback: (3)

Hey guys, I think that we need to realize that the hobby of R/C airplane modeling has gone through several major shifts in the last 10 years. The number of modelers that still buy and build kits are very few compared to what it was. How many kits have you bought from a local hobby shop, a kit manufacturer, or a kit distibutor in the last 5 years? Many kits are now being purchased from other individuals on ebay, RCUniverse, or other web sites that provide classified listings cause we all love a "good deal". These are some of the major changes that have brought us to the end of an era. When it comes to business it's survival of the fitest. The kits offered today is strictly a decision of what kits will sell the most and make the most profit at the lowest cost. It is a matter of dollars and cents and that is the way business has always been. I know we all get warm and fuzzy when we recall our experience with this kit or that manufacturer. If we want to continue to buy new kits to be offered we will have to buy them from a hobby shop, kit manufacturer, or kit distributor otherwise BIY kits may someday be dropped altogether. We need to realize that if we don't support these businesses they will try to find a new market to sell to otherwise they will have to close there doors. So order a new kit with all the accessories you need to complete it today! You will send a message to your favorite R/C supplier so they will continue to offer new and exciting R/C kits for years to come.

Skip

My Feedback: (76)

[] I have been building model planes for about 55 years. In the old days ( 1950's) we has crappy "kits" but at least we were able to build from their junk wood and plans. Then, as time passed more and more sophisticated and interesting kits became available. I doubt many of the manufacturers got rich but at least they made something. Just like food today, "fast and crappy" we want speed and cheap prices. This is what we got!! The same applies to models. With two people working to make ends meet today there is less time for building. Thus we wanted and got ARF's. If it weren't for the Asian population explosion we wouldn't have these prices. They are desperate to work for substandard wages to say the least. Money talks!!! If ANY of these mfg's see a profit they will go for it like a dog after a bone. There just aren't enough of us builders left to make a profit for them. ARF's are here to stay. Cheap, available, and easy to replace if purchased from a company that carries extra parts. Don't get me wrong, I am pissed that I cannot get kits that I love any more. I could name many but I won't bore you with my needs. I have now accepted the reality that I am going to have to scratch build from plans. ( WHICH I HATE). Guys this is the reality, face it. It would be nice if some large profitable company would remake just a few really popular kits as a reward to us loyal customers and put profits aside for just to break even and look in the mirror and smile. I am delusional today LOL. !!

richard dee

My Feedback: (3)

This applies if you think about it. My father bought a bathtub Nash .He traded his Hudson Hornet 2 Two years later he went to his downtown dealer .They were gone
in there place was an appliance store.He loved that Nash refrigerator by american Motors .Go figure I hope you all see the humor in this

edc123

Does any one have a set of plans for Lanier Sea Bird? I want to build my 20+ year old kit , but don't have the plans..

MsAv8tor

After selling to Goldberg, Lanier was still making parts for various planes. Bubba died while on vacation shortly after the sale, on July 26, 2013. His wife Connie continued the business for a few years before stopping all production.