How old is this SIG Piper kit?
07-01-2006, 11:40 AM
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How old is this SIG Piper kit?
Hello, I just picked this kit up at a flea market for $50. I really have no experience with r/c airplanes - I fly r/c helicopters, but I thought it might be a good deal. The kit looks to be 100% complete, and it has all of the original paperwork, and the small parts are still sealed in the plastic baggie. I have no idea how old this kit might be, and I was thinking about putting it on ebay if i could make more than I paid for it - otherwise I will just try to put it together 
. So, if anyone has any information on age/collectibility of this kit please share. Thank you for all of your help!
wesley
. So, if anyone has any information on age/collectibility of this kit please share. Thank you for all of your help!wesley
07-01-2006, 12:27 PM
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RE: How old is this SIG Piper kit?
Hi Wesley,
You got a pretty good deal on the kit! I think that particular kit is from the 1970's
Usually on eBay, that kit would sell for $60.00 to $110.00 depending on who sees it, how good the sellers feedback is, how much the seller knows about the kit and finally, how good the ad and photos are.
A lot of old Sig kits are worth much more than this one.
The problem with this particular kit is that it was manufactured from the early 1970's into the early 1990's.
So, there are still a bunch of kits floating around.
As for the collector value, if you hang onto it for another 10 years, it could be worth much...much more!
This kit builds into a very convincing scale subject. It also flies REALLY well!
My dad built one in the 1980's and we flew it for a decade before it met an untimely end that involved a tree, an electric fence and an angry bull!
I do remember that it was not an easy build! that kit is a lumber yard! I think it took my dad (a life long builder) about 2 years to complete it. And, it was only covered in Monokote with no extra scale details.
Thanks for posting the pics! You brought back some fond memories for me!
Doug
You got a pretty good deal on the kit! I think that particular kit is from the 1970's
Usually on eBay, that kit would sell for $60.00 to $110.00 depending on who sees it, how good the sellers feedback is, how much the seller knows about the kit and finally, how good the ad and photos are.
A lot of old Sig kits are worth much more than this one.
The problem with this particular kit is that it was manufactured from the early 1970's into the early 1990's.
So, there are still a bunch of kits floating around.
As for the collector value, if you hang onto it for another 10 years, it could be worth much...much more!
This kit builds into a very convincing scale subject. It also flies REALLY well!
My dad built one in the 1980's and we flew it for a decade before it met an untimely end that involved a tree, an electric fence and an angry bull!
I do remember that it was not an easy build! that kit is a lumber yard! I think it took my dad (a life long builder) about 2 years to complete it. And, it was only covered in Monokote with no extra scale details.
Thanks for posting the pics! You brought back some fond memories for me!
Doug
07-01-2006, 02:36 PM
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RE: How old is this SIG Piper kit?
Well, that sounds great! I almost passed it up, but I'm glad i didn't. I feel like I am on the antiques road show trying to find out something about a particular piece I have :-P Thank you for sharing your story about your dad's plane - I am glad I could spark some memories for you!
wesley
wesley
07-01-2006, 03:04 PM
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RE: How old is this SIG Piper kit?
I built that kit in the clipped wing version in 1981, and it had been around for many years even then. It is definately a stick model, builds very light and flies great. A couple of years prior to that, I maidened the full size wing kit (the one you have) built by a friend who was a good builder, but not a flyer. It flew amazingly well, also. I did prefer the clipped wing version, though. The price you paid is about what it sold for new. You got a good deal!
07-02-2006, 10:08 PM
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RE: How old is this SIG Piper kit?
Well, I have succesfully listed this kit on ebay. If you know of anyone who may be interested please direct them to ebay item number 170004313491 - Shipping is free anywhere in the US! Thank you again for your help. Here is the link to the auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=170004313491
wesley
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=170004313491
wesley
07-06-2006, 09:06 AM
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RE: How old is this SIG Piper kit?
Thank you all for the great info. I have decided to sell the kit - it looks like the winner will get a great flying kit!
07-06-2006, 10:11 AM
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RE: How old is this SIG Piper kit?
That kit is older than mentioned. It was one of the carry overs from the sale of Berkeley in 1960. The original design was of 1956. They updated it in 1959, then many-many times after SIG took over that portion of the kit line.
I never saw a real one, but FOX supposedly marketed the same kit from the Berkeley for a few years in the early 1960's. Neither FOX nor SIG did much in sales, for the original Berkeley kits had flooded the shelves. It was then in the middle 1960's that SIG updated the kit with some new parts, a fiberglass cowl, etc. and marketed it again. The label changed over the years, but the contents were slower to be revised.
Find a late 1950's edition of American Modeler and you can see what the design was like originally. That 71 inch span model was advertised quite a bit in the rear of these issues. Then, after the big sale of the company, things got revised.
Wm.
I never saw a real one, but FOX supposedly marketed the same kit from the Berkeley for a few years in the early 1960's. Neither FOX nor SIG did much in sales, for the original Berkeley kits had flooded the shelves. It was then in the middle 1960's that SIG updated the kit with some new parts, a fiberglass cowl, etc. and marketed it again. The label changed over the years, but the contents were slower to be revised.
Find a late 1950's edition of American Modeler and you can see what the design was like originally. That 71 inch span model was advertised quite a bit in the rear of these issues. Then, after the big sale of the company, things got revised.
Wm.
07-06-2006, 10:58 AM
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RE: How old is this SIG Piper kit?
Well, this kit does have a plastic cowl, so I am hopping you are right! I need to revise my ebay auction to indicate it may be older than originally thought - Thank you for posting! Look me up under vtee2004 if you would like to see all 12 pictures of this apparent treasure.
wesley
wesley
