New to the hobby and forum, need some advice

[TimsCustoms1982]

Hello everyone,

My name is Tim, and while I built a Cessna balsa model with my grandfather, and have been building plastic scale models since I was a kid, I consider myself "new" to this hobby, and would like to ask a few questions of some of the vets here before I dive in to make sure I invest wisely.

What would you all recommend as a good first build? I am very mechanically inclined and a carpenter by trade, so suffice to say I would like it to be a full build type of plane, not just a couple of pieces of wood here and there. Something that involves all of the different facets of the hobby (save for flying at the moment, one thing at a time) and will provide me with a challenge.

I guess I'm mostly looking for a nice display piece to give me an idea of how these things go together. Really prefer warbirds over commercial or private craft, but if that is honestly where I should start I will take the advice of the boards.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to learning from you all and enjoying the forums. Been looking through the. For a while now and finally got my account activated, so I'm real excited to get started.

[NcGunny]

Pick yourself up something you like in the 500 series and read the intstructions thoroughly then dive in. Dont be surprised if you are kinda weirded out by the difference in styrene and balsa. The in depth detail just wont be there for ya to fuss over. I came from 30+ years of styrene to balsa and it was a weird transition. Still get my styrene fix...just not as.much now. Enjoy the hobby..

[WIDDOG]

I would like to recommend a 900 series kit. They are designed for rubber power FF. Built lite they fly pretty well.

[Coloradoken]

Got a hunch that the more detailed kits like the 800 series may be right up your alley.They are larger and more detailed and will provide you the experience you desire. With the good instruction sheets and your skills as a wood worker it may be the best choice. My background is similar to yours and I started with the smaller kits but quickly moved up to the more challenging ones. But thats just my opinion.

[NcGunny]

I mentioned the 500 series because they are dirt cheap and if you dont like the balsa kits you arent out that much money. Also in terms of difficulty if you find that the laser cut kits arent really up to snuff or you find them to be more.like a Snap Tite build,there is plenty of other choices on kits that come on printed wood where you cut out each piece or you can scratch build from the 1000's of free plans. Its all up to how much you wanna make out of the hobby.

[TimsCustoms1982]

Thank you all very much for the advice! I ended up finding a kit #905 Mustang (not one of my favorites honestly regardless of its history) for 5 bucks on clearance from Hobby Lobby tonight and snagged it. I'm going to crack it open and at least assess things and see about setting myself up a build area in the spare bedroom in the morning.

I must admit, I'm kind of "meh" about this kit as it seems everyone and their brother has built it, but at the same time that gives me a lot of reference as to how I should go about it. Just couldn't pass it up at that kind of "in store" price point.

I did however stop in at my local hobby shop tonight as well and REALLY fought myself on buying one of the new LC Fock-Wulf kits he had there for $49.00. We'll see how this one goes first though.

As for where I want to go with the hobby, I've always been fascinated with aviation, especially war birds, bit sadly haven't ever really been able to afford to learn how to actually fly, R/C or otherwise. If I was to some up where this is going for me, I would like to scratch build something in the 48"-60" wingspan range most likely a Fock-Wulf or Corsair, but one step at a time. Really need to get some experience with the cheaper simpler builds first.

[Coloradoken]

My first Guillow build was the mustang and really enjoyed it. It whetted my appetite for something bigger and more challenging and tried the B-25 Mitchell.
Keep us posted on your progress.

[TimsCustoms1982]

Well, I've got the frame work all completed and sanded. Should be able to get it papered and assembled tomorrow. Not entirely happy with my quality on the build, but for my first one I guess it could be worse...

No warping, and the fuselage is true, but I DID use all kit wood so a few things aren't really exact. Once I get it papered I WILL attempt to fly it at LEAST once via the supplied rubber power, but after that its getting a full "red tails" paint scheme and going on a shelf. I don't want to be the guy who says "I remember my first build...". I want to say "See, this is my first build and this is where it took me...".

As others have said, I'm not even through this one but am already planning my next. I REALLY learned a lot about the hobby just from this one build, but as some of you guessed before I started, I do feel I crave something more complex for the next one. Maybe a P-38 I've seen lurking on evilbay, or the 40" w/s corsair. Haven't decided yet.

But first, I finish this one and see about uploading some pics to a new Photobucket once I set it up so I can share...

[WIDDOG]

[quote="TimsCustoms1982"] Once I get it papered I WILL attempt to fly it at LEAST once via the supplied rubber power, but after that its getting a full "red tails" paint scheme and going on a shelf.

Wow great to hear. That's how I got hooked on the hobby. Maybe you could check out the book by Don Ross ? Rubber power Model Airplanes."

[woundedbear]

The book that widog recommend is a good book to have. Some of the good folks here on the forum don't like the laser cut kits, but me I love em'. Welcome to the hobby !

[TimsCustoms1982]

Well guys, it took me a few days to get an app that would cooperate with my windows phone (all I have at the moment) but here she is. Opted for no gear as I intend to hang it rather than shelf it.

She DID fly, although about 15 feet out it wants to go into a steep climb, stall, go into a dive and level off just before coming to ground. I don't know ANYTHING about flying, but given a basic understanding of physics, she seems a tad tail heavy. Could be because I didn't use the gear... Other than that, it was a stock kit build up.

I did however decide on my next build....lol....this one. I'm not happy with a few things (some on me for my new skills, some on the kit maker for quality issues) so I will be remaking it again from scratch this time. Better wood, hand cut, no die crush issues, and a few things I want to experiment with.

Figure if I get so I can build this thing in my sleep (may do it a third time even) it will help me experiment with different things and get a better feel for the hobby with something that will now be "familiar".

Should have balsa by next week to get started.




Edit: And thank you very much WIDDOG for the advice on the book. I see a few copies of it out there and am going to snag one. Always good to have good material on hand when learning something new.

[WIDDOG]

Wow great looking model. Great to hear she flies. All the 900's that flew well for me needed clay added to the nose. What I would do is add clay to the nose until she behaves herself in trim flights. Maybe 50 to 75 winds at first. I am a yuge fan of the 900's. Message me and I will send you a 6 inch peck polymer prop and some top notch rubber.

[TimsCustoms1982]

WIDDOG, you may know or perhaps someone else may have experience with it...

If I was to rebuild this kit using basswood rather than balsa, would it still be light enough to be capable of rubber powered flight, or would I need to do an all-out conversion and make it electric at that point?

Also, seeing as how it is already papered, where would you suggest I add the clay in the front? I didn't apply the nose cone to the spinner yet, so is that a viable option?

[WIDDOG]

Well I do use some Basswood in making a removable nose block. Understand that electric FF is kind of expensive with battery, motor. timer and ect ect ect... All you need is the dang thing to fly high into a tree and get stuck there.

Now what I do is use 4 to 6 density pound Contest Balsa Wood. http://www.sigmfg.com/cgi-bin/dpsmart.e ... html?E+Sig. Like NcGunny I cut my own parts. I copy the parts on paper and glue stick them on the wood. Than I cut out the part and remove the paper.

Now the deal with Contest Balsa. It is lighter, stronger and easy to work with. Instead of electric FF I would recommend you make a winding stooge and get a winder for stretch winding.

Here is a 900 series kit in action... https://youtu.be/CNGdBjQntbM BTW you are correct about hiding the clay. I just stick it on for flying and remove for display.

[TimsCustoms1982]

Excellent advice,thank you! I'll be ordering some of that ver shortly. Thanks for the link too! They seem to have better prices than my local stores and from what I've seen on their shelves it MUST be of a better quality.

That flight was INSANE by the way! Thanks for that as well... If I could get HALF that kind of flight time Id be pleased! I don't think I wound it enough as it is, and I had that tail weight issue, but man... I had no idea that rubber power could fly that high/that long! I was honestly scared for you there for a second until it came back around in the end. Looked like you were going to be calling out the dogs to track her down.