Dave Hopkin Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Some questions appear in my head..... Why is there such a adverse reaction to a foam ARFT when a wooden ARFT is perfectly acceptable? The lack of any self build is identical but somehow ones ok...... If a poll had been held in the 1970's about Solarfilm instead of tissue/silk/nylon I wonder if we would have had people saying much the same thing about "covering a model with a plastic bag" Why are new materials entering the hobby so poorly accepted, after all the full size industry has adopted foam in certain cases, yet a lot of modellers seem to be stuck in the construction techniques of the Sopworth Camel.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trebor Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Colin, I bought a Wot Trainer to start off with. Flys well but looks horrible, also if you've fitted a glow motor look out for fuel seeping through the stripes in covering at the bottom and rotting the glue. It even seeped up the bolts on the landing gear. I cut the bottom out and replaced it with 2 layers of better 3ply, sealed it with sand sealer so film cover sticks. Problem solved it's rock solid now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Well said Dave. I think the question could equally have been 'ARTF' or 'kit/plan build'. Certainly some of the foam construction displayed on this forum is very far removed from any concept of foamy disposable ARTFs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Some folks do happen have a large disposable income (I'm not included I hasten to add), so if they want to throw away a bent ARTF, then why not? Every one is guilty of wasting money in one way or another. Also, unless you're a masochist why would you want to build the jet in the photo (complete with retracts, sequencing doors, air brakes, lights etc. etc.) from wood when you can buy it ready to go in foam, and yes, it is a humble EDF foamie. The time (and probably money) saved could be better spent on other things, like flying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Anderson Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Tom, It's the new Wot4 that I bought. If the U/C mounting has been improved you could have fooled me! I've come across the modification of the U/C that you mention, but it does seem a bit drastic. I too have a love hate relationship with foam, coming as I do from an era when we associated anything made of plastic as cheap and nasty - and definitely in the toy category. Dave, Personally I don't hold with ARTFs either, although I wished I could built that accurately and neatly. If people like them and it brings them into the hobby, then who am I to complain. However, I do feel it brings in an element of chequebook mentality to the hobby. I guess it kind of depends on whether you just enjoy flying or whether you are an aeromodeller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Well Dave, The only youngsters at my site are the young storks, and they are certainly not foamies, but they do bounce qyuite a bit I did teach a group of youngsters to fly..Together we built a Dave Boddington trainer from a plan....Last time I had contact, one of them was a mechanic in the RAF no foam there; well not as we know it I and many others certainly embrace new technology, My new glider uses the lightest and most suitable materials that I can find, whether trad or hitec, But, I do want to be able to design, experiment, and construct. I'm not in the least interested in plastic toys, manufactured in a sweat factory in china ernie . ernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wright Stuff Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 I bought my first ever tube of UHU POR today. That's a subconscious statement of intent if ever there was one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 I do my own thing and always have. Build in wood, introduce foam into structures in different ways, design my own, build from kits etc. The opportunity to quickly enlarge the stable and add some variety offered by some of the modern foam warbirds is amazing and the HK Spitfire 24 I bought would be pretty much impossible to replicate at that scale or with that detail for most people using wood or anything else. What is more it flies extremely well, is durable and really looks the part in the sky. If you need parts, you can get them. Plastic toy? Not at all. Sweat shops in China? That is changing and in Hong Kong and Singapore, where many of these come from, living standards are rising all of the time. I've been fortunate to visit both recently and the progress is astonishing. The point is that they are not taking jobs away from anyone here because if they didn't make them, they simply wouldn't be available. Also, I would rather see people flying RTF foam models than not flying at all, because we need all of the flyers we can get and if they only want to do it that way, it's their choice. We worry that the hobby might be in decline, without them it certainly would be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kettle 1 Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Foam Foam everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Posted by Mark Kettle 1 on 22/06/2015 16:33:30: Foam Foam everywhere. Got your own sweat shop them Mark John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Posted by The Wright Stuff on 22/06/2015 16:08:57: I bought my first ever tube of UHU POR today. That's a subconscious statement of intent if ever there was one! Once you've used it there'll be no going back. .....oh, you actually want to stick things with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Posted by The Wright Stuff on 22/06/2015 16:08:57: I bought my first ever tube of UHU POR today. That's a subconscious statement of intent if ever there was one! The local branch of Foam Anonymous is quite close to your house I believe TWS - welcome to the dark side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kettle 1 Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Cheers John, Avro is open again, only on a smaller scale. Edited By Mark Kettle 1 on 22/06/2015 17:22:23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hughes Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Just bought my first foamie a few weeks ago (Parkzone Visionaire). It's absolutely fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Reynolds LaserCraft Services Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 I fly several foamies, as well as wooden artfs and wooden scratch builds, my visionnaire and my hawker tempest foamies are the ones I can throw in the car, go fly, throw em around and not worry too much about unscheduled landings in all their guises. My wooden artfs let me play about with scalish flying and I do prefer to buy the more scale versions, but again I don't have to worry about bending them too much, I also have a WOT4 Xtreme I use for large model practise. All these give me the air time and practise so when I do throw a scratch built in the air I already feel comfortable flying it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian101 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Just stumbled across this thread. Here is my input for what it's worth. I am newish to rc modelling although I have grown up with it as my dad is a traditional aeromodeller. I have very limited patience and skill, but depron has given me the chance of building. I have never started a traditional balsa build because I knew it would never get finished. Foam isn't for everyone, but as long as people are building/flying in foam, balsa, fiberglass or whatever, does it really matter as long as they are enjoying this pastime? When I joined my local club, about 18 months ago, 'what aircraft have you got' was the first question asked. 'I have a depron............' was my reply. His reply was 'depron is only any good for small profile things because you can't make scale planes with the stuff'. Here is my small profile thing which is 80" span! Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly boy3 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Hi Ian,Great looking model, bet it flies as good as it looks. Is a plan, or off the net, or even scratch built ? Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Nice one Ian101 - what did he say when you produced your "little depron profile thing" then ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian101 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Thanks FB3 It is from a part plan part 3-view from Glenn Moore. He built one a few years ago and it flew like the real thing. There is a build log on here under 'Electric Vulcan' if I remember correctly. So I can't take any credit really as I copied him mainly with a few mods along the way and yes, it flies better than I ever imagined. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian101 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Thanks Dave. What could he say? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Ian, for someone who claims to have limited patience that is a stunning model. I'm sure it took a lot longer than many 'traditional' wood kits to build. For example I once managed to build a Precedent Fun Fly in just over week (though I am retired and can stay in the workshop all day) but that was before I got onto the internet in my workshop with all the distractions that brings Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Fabulous job Ian, well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Richardson Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 I voted prefer wood mostly because that is what I started with in this hobby and foam of any sort was just beginning to show itself, I have never tried building with foam maybe I will? who knows after looking at the Vulcan Ian built anything is possible, cracking model Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian101 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Thanks guys. It took me 10 months on and off. If I had built it from balsa it would not have been finished. It is knowing your limits and ability and staying within them. Most of that time was thinking about how to do it! Another factor for foam or balsa is the cost. Building light has a knock on effect with the motors, batteries etc. Build a big foam plane for the cost of a small wooden plane?? Everyone has their preferences, but if we all did the same thing life would be very boring. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Another "little foam profile thing" 72" Span built from the R.Wilson plan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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