What's going on with Sig? Almost everything is back ordered.

called them a week or so ago and talk to a rep that said kits should be avilable soon the were have a hard time getting balsa they had just recieved two truck loads of balsa the prior week thats just as i was told

this site says the have some sig kits in stock going to call in the am to mack sure i want a fourstar 40 and the kobra kits!
http://www.gravesrc.com/

If you are looking for a kit call Sig directly. They mantain a list of all the hobby shops in the country that still have Sig kits in stock, and will tell you were you can buy one.

Sig does not hide their situation at all. I talked to them on the phone and they are in a tough spot. They have been waiting for balsa to come in so they can start cutting kits again. They are also waiting for the ARF's to come in from overseas. But they aren't going anywhere and will have they stocks back up soon. Like I said, give them a call. They are really very forthright and honest about their situation.

Ken

I called them a few weeks ago and they told me some of the kits were not going to go out till around May 2010.....

If you can't get product out within 6 months I don't know how you maintain cash flow to stay in business unless they make enough on their small accessories.

Hi- I rec'd order without delay a couple of months back. I bought a 1/4 Cub and a whole bunch of finishing product: dope, thinner covering and etc. Mike Lee was very helpful. Don't give up on Sig. Great company- unlike some others who will remain nameless, here!

Always amazes me that some will put the smack down on a company. If you can do better then maybe you should go in the business yourself and show how it is done !! I know a fella that likes to tell everyone hwo to run thier business, but yet his own went out of it. If you think about it, does the old saying "You can gather more flies with honey than with vinegar" have some meaning here.

I am a Sig fan. If I have to wait to get a kit from them, so be it! Ill wait before I buy a POS ARF or buy an Oak wood kit cut out with a Chinese made chainsaw.

just my $.02.

I think the "concern" here is if it's taking 6 months to get your bread and butter popular kits out how much longer will you be able to get them at all? I have no proof but I'm going to guess Tower was SIG's biggest retailer (for kits...the craft store Hobby Lobby carries their accesories and they are nationwide) and now they don't carry SIG.

I don't think it's putting the smackdown on a company but rather pointing out the obvious that they are having problems...and they seem to me to be above and beyond what some of their competitors are having.

Is balsa hard to get right now? Yes. But other companies haven't moved into 6 month long backlogs yet.

We shall see.

Ditto

I'm not the one who said anything about a "Smack Down" on Sig.

Nobody is bashing Sig or trying to tell them how to run their business. It's just concern amongst modelers who have seen too many old names shrivel up and die over the last decade. Nobody wants to see that happen to Sig.

then we all need to quit supporting the Chineese................seriously, we are throwing too much money into the wrong hands.
this is the USA and we need to think about it.

Point VERY well made!!!!!!!!

I won't disagree with you on that. But to support businesses like Sig, they have to have products to sell us. Let's hope they do in the near future.

I'm not bashing Sig it's just that after I get my new work bench done the first plane I want to make on it is a 1/4 scale clipped wing cub. I'd rather go with Sig but I may have to go with Balsa USA instead if a Sig one is not available.

I have built and own several SIG kits. Good quality. But when I bought a Four Star 120 ARF from SIG, it was not flyable as delivered. Or should I say, it would have become airborne but would have failed in flight. I stripped the fuse and wings and reglued both. Stiffeners and shear webs were added to the wings and then I recovered them. I subsequently found out that SIG's ARFs are made in China. So buying SIG's ARFs may indirectly be sending your money to China.

Here's a good Sig story for ya...

I was talking to an old friend of mine on the phone yesterday, and of course the conversation veered toward RC planes. He told me about buying a still in the shrink wrap Sig Citabria off Craigslist. Upon inspecting the kit, he found some of the wood to be of sub-standard quality (too hard or warped) along with a scratched side window plastic. He made a call to Sig and informed them of the issues he had with the kit. They sent him all of the pieces he needed and a new side window - free of charge.

Why would you not want to deal with a company that treats their customers like that?

As for the Chinese ARF's? Don't like the fact that they're made in China? BUILD YOUR OWN! Don't blame companies like Sig for offering products that the consumer wants.

Grab your pitchforks and your torches boys, there's an American company making a profit from Chinese products!

I have loved the kits SIG has produced over the past few decades and they , by far, provide the best overall kit product for the price... I have built over 15 kits of theirs (some duplicates) and I think in these economically hard-times, those of us who know the quality of the kits (I have no info on the ARF's) should support them on these forums. I have several boxed Sig kits under the workbench and to show my thanks, I may purchase a few more of my favorites, regardless of the back-order time, just to support a great kit manufacturer.

Does anyone know what else SIG does? They must have some other industrial or commercial product lines. I have a hard time believing their plant is sitting idle while they're waiting for balsa. They'd be outta business in no time..

They must make some other products or co-produce stuff for other companies.

I would say ,that like many company,s , their head count is way down until they get their issues sorted out. They have a nice plant in Iowa , be good to see it fired up again.

talked to a online hs and they have just gotten some sig kits so they are sendin out kits

No, I can't see how that saying fits, Terry. 8>)

Fortunately, we live in a country that still has a smidgeon of free speech left, though there are forces hard at work eliminating the last smidgeon of that smidgeon.

We have a means available to us, at least for now, of letting other modelers know when a company does an excellent job for them, or a not so excellent job. If things are kept as fair as possible, it could be a help to the modeling community.


Ed Cregger

Since Ecuador is the primary source of balsa, it doesn't matter much where it's being built. You money is only going through China to get to Ecuador! LOL

I don't really care about where anybody's ARF's are made, I stopped buying ARF's after being disappointed with the last few GP arfs I had. So I olny build or scratch from now-on. I support LHS's and USA companies till the cows come home. The only thing you have to remember is nothing is hard to get, it's all about the econimcs, since it's a world recession, everybody is behind and sceptical about being paid. I'm guessing the balsa supplier and shippers wanted almost all of the funds up front to be sure they wouldn't be doing it for free, or waiting months to get paid for thier service. So I'll give sig my money up front and wait for something, it helps keep a business running when it's waiting for suppliers to deliver.