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Yep, another beginner build question...
hello all...
hope this finds everyone well... ive searched and searched for days and hours... have read TONS of threads on beginner building... but, havent quiet found all the "recommendations" i would like... so, im asking for some help with a tough decision... im brand new to RC BUILDING... so new, that i dont have an airplane to build yet (this is where YOU come in)... im NOT new to RC flying... ive been flying for close to 10 years, mainly ARFs (that club members have assembled/built for me), or airplanes that were already built and flying that i would buy from the owner... in my hanger (shop building) i have a .60 size Telemaster, 1.20 sized crop duster, 1.20 sized YAK, and an E-Flite Pulse XT... have flown a hand full of other airplanes over the years... so, here i am... ready to build, but the ONE plane that i WAS dieing to build is discontinued ALL OVER THE WORLD it seems... the 4 star 60 is one heck of an airplane to get my hands on... ive read and read and read TONS of 4* threads here, got my hopes up, saved a heck of alot build threads on the 4*, even sent money to an online hobby shop for their "in stock" 4*60's (thankfully they sent my money back when they realized they really were OUT OF STOCK) for the life of me, i cant find a 4*... SO... im begging at this point... LOL you guys that are builders, give me some recommendations... id love to own a 4*60, but it aint gonna happen for a while it seems... so, whats the next best "beginner" kit to build??? id like to stick with the .60 size... ill step away now and hope for help to come along and get myself started on a kit... any and all info/help is appreciated!!! thanks... TinmanJones (Don) |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
Maybe the CG Tiger might be a choice for you.
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RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
TinmanJones
Do you mean a Sig Four Star kit, #SIGRC73 at $124.99 plus shipping from Sig Manufacturing? http://www.sigmfg.com/cgi-bin/dpsmar...FV4.html?E+Sig |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
The Four star 60 kit is available form sig.
www.sigmfg.com If not this what about the Great Planes Ultra Sport 60 kit at http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJ584&P=7 |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
hhmmmm... are you guys sure...
i talked to a guy on the phone today who said the kits were discontinued till late October... from the site, i dont see where it says they are available OR discontinued... |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
well now thinking of it the sig mid star is very suitable as first kit build http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXFG07&P=ML
its 40 size plane, it flies better then the 4*40 IMO, I have built all three of them. The ultra sport is a bit advanced kit. |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
there is also this http://cgi.ebay.com/SIG-Four-Star-12...3286.m20.l1116
but i dont know anything about the 120 |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
well... i took yalls word for it and ordered the 4*60 kit from the SIG website...
i saw NOTHING on the site or in the ordering instructions that says this kit is DISCONTINUED or AVAILABLE... i guess if its discontinued, theyll let me know and send me my money back... i found a site online (not sig directly) that said they had 100 of them in stock... i found the sites phone number today and called them to get a YES or NO on the stock of the airplane, from a REAL person... when i asked the guy about the availability of the 4*, he automatically said "YES, we have them..." i then proceeded to tell him about ordering from a different site (they also stated on their site that they had the airplane in stock) but, in reality, they DID NOT have the airplane... after i told him that, he told me that all their orders come directly from the SIG warehouse... he made a quick phone call and then called me back, stating that the airplane was on backorder or "discontinued" till late October... so, with all that said, im guessing that SIG will more than likely send me my money back... but, maybe theyll surprise me... again, thanks for all yalls help... |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
Alex... yeah, thats the ARF... thats not quiet as hard to find as the kits are...
Im really looking for the "kit" version... Ill know more tomorrow from SIG... My order is "open" right now through the sig site... Hopefully tomorrow the order will be "filled" and "shipped"... LOL again, thanks!!! |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
just a quick update...
according to the SIG site, my order has been completed & is being shipped! seems things are looking up! |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
TinMan Jones,
I am building a Four Star 60 as we speak. It is a kick ass kit. The laser cuts are great, and the quality of the balsa is great too. If you follow the manual and take your time it will go together 100% straight and true. It is a nice airplane...I'm putting a Saito 1.00 in it. I will take some pictures for you early next week. I have to leave town today....otherwise I'd do it sooner. |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
I just finished building the 4* 60 and its an awsome plane. The drawings are another thing. My right wing panel had the writting part upside down and hardley anything lined up. Some of the ribs were 1/2" away from where they showed on the drawing. Another thing I learned. Use a framing square to square up the root ribs to the leading and tailing edges.
Youll like that plane! :) |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
ORIGINAL: ArcticCatRider TinMan Jones, I am building a Four Star 60 as we speak. It is a kick ass kit. The laser cuts are great, and the quality of the balsa is great too. If you follow the manual and take your time it will go together 100% straight and true. It is a nice airplane...I'm putting a Saito 1.00 in it. I will take some pictures for you early next week. I have to leave town today....otherwise I'd do it sooner. Arctic... thanks... any & all pics will be VERY welcomed! like I've already stated, it'll be my first kit to attempt building! I'm VERY excited & probably won't be able to wait for cooler weather to begin building! as soon as my kit arrives, I'll begin on straightening up my shop so I can get my building surface ready! I would start my shop cleaning now, but after the run around I've had trying to get this kit, I've decided to wait to proceed any further till I have the kit in my hands! I'd hate to spend time and energy on getting a building area ready, just to have all my money sent back to me, WITHOUT the kit! ggrrrr! again, thanks for all the help I've already recieved! this is going to be fun! TinmanJones (Don) |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
Tinman, be patient. The 4*60 is definitely worth the wait !!!!! I've built many kits & the SIG 4*60 was the MOST enjoyable to build AND fly !!!!! One hint, when building the wings put in an extra aileron hinge inside the next to last rib. The reason? After you've mastered the "stock version" you'll be able to shorten each wing by one bay. You will then have "another" plane to fly. By shortening that one bay it will; roll faster, manuever much quicker, & eliminate the ONLY bad habit the 4*s have,(they tend to float on landing). You can also enlarge the rudder by about 1/2" & it will "knife edge" much better. That's the beauty of the 4*s, you can do sooo many mods & not affect it's flying ability negatively. 4*s are THE MOST forgiving plane out there, bar none. It will give you confidence to fly way quicker that anything!!! Good Luck
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RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
ORIGINAL: GaryHarris I just finished building the 4* 60 and its an awsome plane. The drawings are another thing. My right wing panel had the writting part upside down and hardley anything lined up. Some of the ribs were 1/2'' away from where they showed on the drawing. Another thing I learned. Use a framing square to square up the root ribs to the leading and tailing edges. Youll like that plane! :) Gary... I hope I can figure all that out, especially if the plans don't show up correct!!! leading edge & trailing edge I can relate to, but ROOT RIB, I'm not so sure about! will the instructions clear me up on this? Outdoor... I plan to be patient... I'll probably do this first build by the book & hope I'm successful & build another after that... let's get past this first build, then we'll look into mods... thanks for the help! |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
Don,
You bet. I've been kinda dragging my heels with this one...but it's making way. I've got it set up to take pontoons, too. I've also got a reinforced area over the CG to mount a camera so I can make some cool videos....I'm excited as you are! Just be sure whatever you're building on....be it a counter top, or table....just make sure it's perfectly flat. A crooked building board will produce a crooked airplane...other than that it's no sweat. |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
I almost forgot....if you want to spruce it up a bit...Fiberglass Specialties sells some wheelpants for the plane. They're about 35 bucks for the pair....but boy do they look sharp.
I ordered a set. -Dan |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
ORIGINAL: TinmanJones ORIGINAL: GaryHarris I just finished building the 4* 60 and its an awsome plane. The drawings are another thing. My right wing panel had the writting part upside down and hardley anything lined up. Some of the ribs were 1/2'' away from where they showed on the drawing. Another thing I learned. Use a framing square to square up the root ribs to the leading and tailing edges. Youll like that plane! :) Gary... I hope I can figure all that out, especially if the plans don't show up correct!!! leading edge & trailing edge I can relate to, but ROOT RIB, I'm not so sure about! will the instructions clear me up on this? Outdoor... I plan to be patient... I'll probably do this first build by the book & hope I'm successful & build another after that... let's get past this first build, then we'll look into mods... thanks for the help! Looking foward to your build. Ill be following along with the some of the other guys and hopefully we can help. And I plane on building another 4* soon. Perfect this time! :D |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
1 Attachment(s)
Oh, and with a Saito 100, it will go unlimited vert! :)
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RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
ORIGINAL: GaryHarris Oh, and with a Saito 100, it will go unlimited vert! :) holy cow Gary... that's looks sweet!!! one mod that I do plan to do on this first kit, is the "turn & cut the cockpit" down some! wheel pants sound awesome too! |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
ArcticCatRider- I'm excited as yo Just be sure whatever you're building on....be it a counter top, or table....just make sure it's perfectly flat. A crooked building board will produce a crooked airplane... We hope to help you enjoy this so much you'll continue to build kits and off of plans. I'm seeing a small light at the end of this tunnel. I was thinking that kits would go away forever! People are starting to see this part of the hobby again. It gives me hope to read posts like yours. I quoted ArcticCatRider. He couldn't be more on!!! A straight table is 3/4 your battle. If there is any way we can help in this direction, let us know. The techniques you'll learn will help you with ARFs in the future too. I'm hoping you'll post your build. This will encourage others to build as well. Brian |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
Hey, welcome to building. If you like that, maybe you will move on to designing some day. And get into the engineering and aerodynamics of the hobby later on. Then the real fun starts! As for now, I would worry more about good building techniques and practices, good tools and work area, than about which kit to build.
A few tips, and I am sure there are others who will not agree with all these: Building boards that are glued to something flat and true, are long enough for the wing panels and will take pins easily and hold them. I get the softer fiber board with the white coating at the lumber yard, glue them with contact cement to the really hard, higher quality particle board. A good, sharp knife set, with lots of extra blades. Carving beats sanding. You sand, when the carving ends. A variety of the highest quality, premium sandpaper from 80 up to maybe 320. The most useful being 100 and 220. Get some spruce or poplar in several sizes, say 1/4 by 1/2, and also 3/4 and 1 inch. Make 6" sections of wood. Cut sandpaper strips and glue them to these wood strips. Then get some 1x3 pine or such. Glue paper to these. Make them 8-12" long. These sanding sticks are invaluable in building any model. Make them several of each size, with different paper weights on each side. Get pins in at least three sizes. Big ones split smaller wood and smaller ones don't hold in big wood. Get a good heat gun and a good modern soldering iron, with the separate power supply. Get a good monokote iron and sock. Get the best sets of metric and SAE allen wrench sets you can afford. Now for the glue. Nothing penetrates and holds balsa better than aliphatic resin. Try Sig-bond, Tite-bond or any other good brand. CA is useful, but not as strong. Epoxy has its place, but avoid the 5 minute. Better to have a little more working time and much better holding power offered by the 15 minute set variety. Gorilla glue expands the joint and is useless. Also get some good balsa filler. And get some microballons to make epoxy paste for filets and such. A cork backed metal ruler is an absolute must. And some good squares in several sizes. And one really good pair of scissors, not the junk they sell in the variety stores. Get a few packs of the small plastic clamps, with the springs in them. Sort of like giant colored close pins. And get some small carpentry clamps. A good power drill with the new chuck type and bits from the smallest on up to at least quarter inch. And a dremel kit. And finally, good lighting is a must. Get some cheap task lamps and use one from each side of the bench to avoid shadows. There is lots more, but this stuff will get you started and is a LOT more important than which kit. With these basics you will be able to develop good building skills and have the environment and the stuff around to let you do things correctly. I am sure others can add to this list, but I could not imagine building any kit without at least the above on hand. PPRUSSELL |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
ORIGINAL: pprussell Hey, welcome to building. If you like that, maybe you will move on to designing some day. And get into the engineering and aerodynamics of the hobby later on. Then the real fun starts! As for now, I would worry more about good building techniques and practices, good tools and work area, than about which kit to build. A few tips, and I am sure there are others who will not agree with all these: Building boards that are glued to something flat and true, are long enough for the wing panels and will take pins easily and hold them. I get the softer fiber board with the white coating at the lumber yard, glue them with contact cement to the really hard, higher quality particle board. A good, sharp knife set, with lots of extra blades. Carving beats sanding. You sand, when the carving ends. A variety of the highest quality, premium sandpaper from 80 up to maybe 320. The most useful being 100 and 220. Get some spruce or poplar in several sizes, say 1/4 by 1/2, and also 3/4 and 1 inch. Make 6'' sections of wood. Cut sandpaper strips and glue them to these wood strips. Then get some 1x3 pine or such. Glue paper to these. Make them 8-12'' long. These sanding sticks are invaluable in building any model. Make them several of each size, with different paper weights on each side. Get pins in at least three sizes. Big ones split smaller wood and smaller ones don't hold in big wood. Get a good heat gun and a good modern soldering iron, with the separate power supply. Get a good monokote iron and sock. Get the best sets of metric and SAE allen wrench sets you can afford. Now for the glue. Nothing penetrates and holds balsa better than aliphatic resin. Try Sig-bond, Tite-bond or any other good brand. CA is useful, but not as strong. Epoxy has its place, but avoid the 5 minute. Better to have a little more working time and much better holding power offered by the 15 minute set variety. Gorilla glue expands the joint and is useless. Also get some good balsa filler. And get some microballons to make epoxy paste for filets and such. A cork backed metal ruler is an absolute must. And some good squares in several sizes. And one really good pair of scissors, not the junk they sell in the variety stores. Get a few packs of the small plastic clamps, with the springs in them. Sort of like giant colored close pins. And get some small carpentry clamps. A good power drill with the new chuck type and bits from the smallest on up to at least quarter inch. And a dremel kit. And finally, good lighting is a must. Get some cheap task lamps and use one from each side of the bench to avoid shadows. There is lots more, but this stuff will get you started and is a LOT more important than which kit. With these basics you will be able to develop good building skills and have the environment and the stuff around to let you do things correctly. I am sure others can add to this list, but I could not imagine building any kit without at least the above on hand. PPRUSSELL wow, thanks pprussell... I was goin to start a new thread when I actually recieve my kit, asking for a list of tools, etc... you've covered alot of that here, so now I should be ahead! I have an idea of my building table/board... when I get home, I'll post a pic to get yalls opinions on it! again, thanks a ton! |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
I wasn't sure how far along this thread would go... but, as it seems, there's already alot of tips here!!!
one thing I think is important for me to mention, is that there's no LHS (local hobby shop) here... the closest HS is about an 1 1/2hr away... and, well, I just don't have the time to drive there... in my town, the largest tool, wood, etc, supply store is Home Depot... a few mom & pop supply stores, & a Wal-Mart, but nothing even remotely close to a hobby shop! so, in my mind, I'll have to order alot of extra stuff online... any & all suggestions would be great! again, thanks! |
RE: Yep, another beginner build question...
ORIGINAL: TinmanJones I would start my shop cleaning now, but after the run around I've had trying to get this kit, I've decided to wait to proceed any further till I have the kit in my hands! I'd hate to spend time and energy on getting a building area ready, just to have all my money sent back to me, WITHOUT the kit! ggrrrr! Type www.sigmfg.com Click "Fly on in" Click "About Sig" at the top of the page, near the center Then click "Contact us" on the left side, second link Call them on the phone and ask if the kit is available If yes, order by phone or online. If no, choose something different. |
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