which kits will be laser cut next

[woundedbear]

I was wondering now that the 200, 300, 400, 500, 700, 4000 and 4500 series kits are now laser cut which kits will be next. Personally, I would like to see the 600 series as laser cut. I have a grand Nephew that I would like to get started building, and the 600 series, "build by numbers", kits would be a nice way to get him started in the hobby. As for myself, it would be nice to have a laser cut 1000 series P-47 and F6F Hellcat kit, and a 2000 series P-38. Of course even in die cut form, these kits are nice. However the smallest formers in these." large and in charge", airplane kits are difficult to remove from the die cut sheets.

[Bill Gaylord]

If they do ad more LC kits, I would hope that the designer goes to the effort to verify the parts. They've done a decent job with this, but you can still find a few "misses", where checking parts against a few CAD drawn profile views would ensure accuracy. Obviously they can't verify the entire part profiles with 3-views, but the overall dimensions can be verified. With the FW190, I believe the second to last wing rib should be a bit taller, which I believe was a small inaccuracy transferred over from the die-cut kit. Checking the maximum height of each rib against a profile view would verify the maximum height of each rib. That all said however, as you stated, the Guillow's die-cut kits really aren't bad. I can't remember ever coming across any standout problem. They're better than what I've heard about some Dare LC kits, which were CAD tracings of individual hand drawn parts.

I think the problem with the larger kits is that they sell fairly well I would imagine, but aren't built as much, especially the largest models and the P38. It would make it really nice for us builders to be LC, but I wonder if they would really increase sales much, being LC.

[Mitch]

Hi All

I am not 'in the know' as to when it will happen, but I do know they Beta tested ALL the 1000 series and the 2000 P-38. That was over a year ago. I was the Beta tester for the P-47. I found a several mistakes with that kit and reported everything I found to Dale. I also know that they had a 2nd Beta test on that kit. So I believe they made some changes and had another builder test the model.

The 1st Beta test was at the same time as the 500 series were tested. The 500 series are much simpler than the 1000 and 2000 series. I am hoping that ALL the 1000 series and the P-38 are next in line for LC. I have no idea when that might happen or if Guillow's is still planning on these for LC.

Mitch

[woundedbear]

How will Guillows customers be notified when the next kits will be available as laser cut kits? the reason I want to know is because I have one 1000 series kit the P-47 and two 2000 series P-38s and would like to buy some of the laser cut sheets for these two kits. I would only want certain laser cut sheets for the P-47 kit # 1001 and the P-38 kit #2001. I have both of these kits in die cut form Most of the part the larger parts were easy to cut from the die cut sheets, but some of the smaller parts were damaged beyond repair. For the most part, these were the smaller back to the formers, and the smallest of the wing ribs.The formers for the P-38 kit were the worse to cut from the die cut sheets, "the sets of 4", starting with formers B13 going back to the last formers B17.

[davidchoate]

I WOULD lIKE TO SEE A MODERNIZATION OF POSSIBILITIES FOR THESE "MULTI-PURPOSED" KITS. NO ONE HARDLY FLIES CONTROL LINE ,OR USES GLOW ENGINES ON SUCH SMALL PLANES IF THEY DID. ALOT OF RC EQUIPMENT IS NOW PRACTICALLY LIGHT ENOUGH TO MAKE ALMOST ALL THEIR STUFF RC. THE DIRECTION BOOK FOR ELECTRIC POWER IS SO OLD THE COMPANIES THEY LIST FOR MOTORS AND RECEIVERS NO LONGER EXIST. i'M SURE THEY WOULD HAVE NOT MUCH TROUBLE IN GETTING AN UP TO DATE RC CONVERSION SHEET MADE, AND INCLUDE THE WING AREAS AN ETC. MAYBE i'M JUST BEING SELFISH. OH, I BUILT A TEST OF THE PT-17 800 LC, AND EVERY PIECE WAS PERFECT, BUT FOR THE OLD PLASTIC CABANE AND WING STRUTS. I RECOMMENDED THEY LC THEM FROM PLYWOOD. THAT WAS 2 YRS AGO. iI LIKE THIS COMPANY, AND I LOVE THIS FORUM, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A LINE OF 1/12 SCALE OR 1/2A PARK FLYERS. i AM STARTING TO OUTGROW THESE PLANES LITERALLY. THEY ARE TOO SMALL TO BE ALLOWED TO FLY AT MOST RC CLUBS. THEY STICK YOU OVER IN THE CORNER WITHOUT A RUNWAY WITH THE 'DRONES'.

[Mitch]

Well, as I said, "I am NOT in the know" what is going on within the company. I believe Guillow's has there section of the hobby and this is what they do. I like there 400, 1000, and P-38, because they are all in the same scale. (I also have the 800 series Airacobra, 1/16 scale OOP) To me it would not look right if the Bf-109 was the same size as the Hellcat. I fly with FAC but also build plastic models, and am a member of IMPS. I do not believe Guillow's will make larger models as this is what they have always done. For me at least it is fine, as I build to fly with rubber motors. I would not wait for the LC parts. If you need new pieces use the plans to cut out a new one for yourself. Quite often I have to reproduce 1 or 2 pieces. I recently visited two LHS and told the owners the 500 kits are now LC and they should stock up on those. I do not like those kits, but they are easy for beginners and that is what I built as a boy. Both of these shops have a 400 series plane of mine hanging for display to get young boys and old men excited. Every time I am in the shop I am chatting with customers about the Guillow models. They really do fly on a rubber band motor, and I have flown them in a school yard with everything from the kit and NOTHING else. Now I make a few changes and use larger props and tan rubber, BUT that is NOT necessary for "Sport" flying in a school yard!

Mitch

[woundedbear]

Hey! Mitch where could I buy a plan sheet for the 800 series Airacorba that would have the parts drawn on it so I could try cutting the parts myself? Also, there are some guys who have bought (OOP) out of production kits, like the 800 series Airacobra, the old 804 De Havilland Mosquito, and the 2000 series B-29s. If one of these guys could have a company, that does vacuum forming, "and there are companies that vacuum forming", do reproductions of the canopies and light plastic parts then folks like myself could get a chance to build one of these OOP kits. Without having to wait for one to come up for sale on eBay, "and pay ridiculous prices for a kit that sometimes has missing parts". I am buying a kit from a man down in Texas who has a company that does the laser cut balsa wood sheets, and another company that does his vacuum forming for the kits he designs. I hope I have not posted a stupid question, but does anyone else want to have an OOP Guillows kit and not have to buy one off evil bay?

[Bill Gaylord]

Outerzone or some other site may have the P39 plan. I got it some years ago in sheets, that were not scanned perfectly straight. I spent a good deal of time connecting the sheets as well as possible, having to use various areas from the different sheets to form the most consistent plan. It was much more difficult than simply joining the sheets.

After the past few auctions, I doubt I'd ever buy one. Two guys must have gotten their inheritances. They both bid to insane levels, and were real bidders, not auction crashers. Then, one of them went and bought a second one. I try to refrain from this type of language, but what a greedy nickname of Richard. They were also doing this with Mosquitos, and then suddenly a few sellers thought they could list theirs at far higher than normal prices, as they thought they could sell to one of those guys. I have no issue with original kit collectors, as they're the reason we can still get these kits. Kit horders are a different story, and they generally build nothing. Thanks to them however, they also motivated me to scratch build anything I want, including fabricating the molded plastic parts.

[Mitch]

We get lucky sometimes. I bought the P-39 Airacobra many years ago. I think I got it for the opening bid. Never knew Guillow's made it. Then put it in the closet of many more years because the box says 1/12 scale. Then I discovered it is actually 1/16 scale like all the other 400, 1000, and 2000 P-38. So I finally opened it up (was still in original wrap). Beautiful set of decals for USA and USSR. Features like the 1000 series models but ws like the 400. Now I realized why they put it in the 800 bracket.

I believe plans for OOP kits are available on the other forum for model airplanes...cant think of the name right now.

If you really need a plan of the Airacobra let me know. Send a PM. I can go to Staples and make some copies. I believe the copyright is okay because it is out of production and I am not selling them.

I have several 100 series, the 200 DH-4 and Rumpler also.

Keep Building, Keep Flying...then build another one! Mitch

PS: I think we are getting a bit off topic here...oh well...

[davidchoate]

I got (BE CAREFUL THOUGH) off EBAY a few cd's that have mosquito and other old school warbird plans, and a seperate disc He sent with the Build instructions. They are able and prefer to at Staplkes You bring plans on a flashdrive or disc .For them it's easier. These planes are way out of My skill level as of Yet, but beware, I got had before, and if it wasnt money back guarantee I woulda not got them. And Dude was from Canada. I've never been ripped off by a Canadian.Yet. I'm still getting E-mails from COX apologizing for the shipping cost of an .049 RC Engine I got .It cost $10.00 to make, and $15.00 to ship to USA. I better transfer all that CD info to A drive before CD's become like 8-Tracks.

[Bill Gaylord]

If I built the P39 from scratch, I would probably enlarge the scale a bit. I believe the plan I put together from individual scanned sheets is at 34" span. Using MS Paint, I simply rescale to whatever size I desire and print. One of the best things about printing plans and then trimming/assembling all the sheets, is that the model may actually be built, after all that effort.

[davidchoate]

The kids at Staples cant seem to grasp "scale". There is an older "My Age" Guy who works for an Engineering Printing place full-time, and moonlights at Staples. He hooks Me up. I don't mind the Postering. (It gets You Very familiar with the plan sheets for sure, but they won't run a taped plan through a copy. If it jams its big trouble I guess.) But I do hate buying ink and tape. I seriously considered being an Engineering Drawer (Drawing a plan of a part with T-sq., etc.) for a career. I majored it 4 yrs in High School, and the last Yr. the Drawing Boards were Gone and computers were in their place. I may be one of the last surviving humans who can draw a helical gear with only a T-Sq., I triangle, and a compass. Front- Back- Side And a 3-D view.Thats the one thing I like about these outdated plans. You know some Guy Hand drew it. It's only a couple bucks for a copy. I worked across the st. from a printer (an Engineering printer), and they wanted like over $100.00. They would'nt just copy it. They had to make It, or the "program" had to make it perfect, and had to be programmed to print it and all. Or thats what He told Me anyways.

[Mitch]

The Guillow plans I have for the Airacobra have not been cut apart. Since this is no longer available I copied the plans myself to do the build on. The ws of the kit 806 Airacobra is 25-3/4" the scale of this model is exactly 1/16 scale. So the plane is not that big. About the same size as kit 406, FW 190. Moreover with the narrow nose it will be a challenge to get an adjustable front end into this plane. I really need to finish this model this summer and get it into the air.

A fellow flyer, Duke Horn, at WEST FAC 5 had a larger Airacobra, but I do not remember what plans or kit he used. And my other friend Tom Arnold, has an Airacobra he flies and I believe it is a bit smaller. So there are other plans and kits available.

I have not had problems getting things copied at Staples. If I change the scale I tell them what (Scale up a percentage) I want and what I expect (The ws I want to have). I have a tape measure to check the ws to make sure I get what I expected.

Mitch

[woundedbear]

HEY! Mitch this is Woundedbear How do I send you a PM? You have to excuse me I am bearly," no pun intended", computer literate.

[Mitch]

Wounded Bear,

Okay... for everyone who has not used the PM feature on this forum. You can scroll your mouse over to someones name. When it turns red you can click on that person. This will open up another page. you can view that persons profile. What he or she has entered. You then can also scroll down to where its says send a PM (Private Message) click on that and it opens up another message box. and you can write a message directly to that party. When you are in the Forum page you will see on near the top in the light blue... User Control Panel (0 new messages) . view your posts. When you have 1 or 2 messages you just move your mouse there and click on it. I have 0 new messages now but my PM box is 72% full, I need to clean out some old messages.

So there is more features here than you see at first glance!

I am looking at my plans for the Airacobra. It is small enough to copy and reproduce on a few 8 X11 or 8 X 14. That is what I did to build the model. The wing and fuselage are 2 sheets of 8 x 14 taped together. You do not NEED the plans copied on one piece of paper. I can do this for free. Also I have an 8 page booklet on the build. So if ANYONE wants the OOP Guillow's Plans for the kit 806 Airacobra. I can provide this for free. It will only cost me a postage stamp. I will gladly provide this for anyone on this forum.

You will ONLY get copies of the plans and directions, but that will provide you with all the drawings of ALL the parts. You do NOT get any plastic parts. I want to make molds of the plastic parts, but I am afraid I will damage my parts making molds. Maybe I will practice with current production molds to see if it works before using the only plastic parts I have for the OOP kit.

Mitch

PS: I just also had another idea. I can provide copies of the heavy cardboard parts and copies of the decals. I would prefer to copy the cardboard in black and white. It is zinc green now. It will come out grey. I can copy the decal sheet but that will cost me, as I do not have a color copier. I am willing to do this if you NEED the decals. I think you can also make your own markings or make copies out of reference books or the internet. The decal sheet has 4 American Stars with tail numbers and 4 Red Stars with the number '13' and 4 red dots. I use copies of decals sometimes but you must be careful doping over color printed paper.

The red dots are for the center of the American Stars if making a plane before May 1942.