Recommended First Balsa Kit

[John Duncker]

An ugly stick is an easy build and not boring to fly. But I don't know if there is anybody in the UK or EU kitting it.

You can get a variety of short kits in the USA but carriage and duty will be significant.

Free plan here **LINK**

and cut your own bits.

[Old Geezer]

Just to get into the swing of building a balsa power model, a couple to consider: the Swizzle Stick or the Toot Sweet. Both straight forward builds, pretty strong, and with the right motor on the front should be sufficiently entertaining for most club fliers - and so keep him amused whilst building his warbird. Plans and laser cut wood ( unless he's going to cut all the ribs, formers etc. from the plan himself ) from Sarik (keeping it in the family). There's probably a warbird plan etc that will tick all the boxes for him from the same people..

[SIMON CRAGG]

If you want a good building project, its got to be a Ben Buckle kit. They really have stood the test of time, and are generally robust, easy and relaxing to fly. I have a Playboy Senior which is at least 15 years old, and still flies a treat.

[Former Member]

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[brokenenglish]

Percy, There was a "bad patch" many years ago, but I bought a BB Double Diamond about a year ago and the wood is absolutely superb. As good as I've ever seen in any kit.

[Former Member]

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[Jonathan M]

The OP has a B Cert and wants to (eventually) build a warbird, so a relatively quick and fairly simple sports-aerobatic kit would presumably be a more desirable and usable first proper build than a stable floater...?

[Former Member]

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[Peter Miller]

I would suggest going to Pegasus models and looking at their range of Sig kits. Sig kits have brilliant instructions and plans. wood quality is excellent .

I have a couple of lcub members building the Sig Kavalier and they are having no problems at all.

[SIMON CRAGG]

Another option would be to do an e.bay / Gumtree / Preloved / trawl for a boxed kit. At present there is a Balsacraft Xtreme (not the lite version), going for £30.00. If it has got to be a Warbird, then there are several Cambrian funfighters boxed, for around the £45.00 mark. If he is a "B" standard then a funfighter should be witthin his capabilities.

[Former Member]

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[Old Geezer]

OK - for real fun if he's got the right motor ( all suggestions gratefully received ) what about the Panic from JP, the kit's just been re-released, or a little less extreme from Seagull their Challenger 40. Both kits comprise lasered components so everything fits without further trimming/sanding - in fact should fit together like a Swiss watch.

[Former Member]

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[Jonathan M]

Or the Mini-Panic which one can still get from Avicraft, which has no plan, just instructions (and a video online), but proper spar-and-ribs wing, etc, and supposed to go together fast with just CA before covering with film - so all the basic skills in a small but quick build to cut his teeth.

[kevin b]

Lots of helpful advice on here Neil !

Also lots of opinions on models and kits.

You like warbirds, so why not look round for semi-scale warbirds. Start off with what the kit manufactures have to offer, then the short kit producers and finally the plan builds.

Then you can look on the internet for build logs for your short list. Although kits don't come complete (covering, motors, wheels, etc) They are usually good value for someone who hasn't got build experience and the long standing manufacturers are still here for a good reason.

Regarding advice as to a particular model. Don't build a Spitfire !!!

[neil martin 1]

Whoa..what a fantastic level of feedback, thank you all so much! Been offline for a couple of days for obvious reasons!

Having a couple of young children doesn't give me a great deal of time at the workbench (need to factor this into my choice of kit too) so time at the bench is a precious commodity for me. I am really pleased that this thread has had a great level of input for others in a similar but rare situation, being those that can fly but not yet build. Again... I really appreciate all of your comments.

Just to answer a few questions that have appeared and a couple of other points to raise:

In answer to a question about the size of model I would like to build, for starting out I am thinking of a low wing aircraft of 40-60 size being glow or electric (no preference there). This is partly due to limited space in the garage (kid's bikes, wife's junk!... ), cant wait to eventually move house and have my own workshop one day, but that's another story!

I currently fly a range of aircraft from the smallest ......SIG Smith Miniplane (built by a clubmate) that I overhauled with new Solartex, Paint and an ASP52, right up to the largest size in the fleet a Sebart Miss Wind and a 35cc Petrol Hurricane (Seagull) which I am hoping to maiden this spring when the weather gets better.

I would like to start with a laser cut kit, avoiding the need to cut out all of the ribs and formers at this early stage. I have a large flat bench in the garage to build on, but will need to invest in some tooling, Jigs and accessories. A friend at my flying club has built a Gangster 63 and he thoroughly recommends them, so that is certainly one to consider. It just needs to be able to teach me the basic essentials before moving onto the more tricky stuff like wing washout that Ill hopefully address on a 2nd or 3rd model. Relating back to my original question, I have a keen interest in Warbirds so I was hoping that there may be a sport style Kit that is stand-off scale and doesn't require all of the tricky aspects associated with scale warbirds that have been highlighted in this thread. Is it fair to say that the Cambrian and Fun Fighter range would fall into this category?

Last point to raise which has been mentioned a few times is concerning choice of wood. I've sometimes watched guys in the SLEC tent at the shows, religiously inspecting their balsa before making a purchase and can totally understand why this is important. With the demise of model shops across the country, how do modellers overcome this requirement, when ordering online is the most obvious method of making a purchase? Or, is it the case that the choice of supplier is such that they can be trusted to send something of good quality and specific to requirements? Obviously at some point I am going to want to procure materials and am interested to know how you guys manage this?

Thanks again all.

[alex nicol]

Might be worth a wee look at one of the outlets that supply a plan and wood pack options, quite often you can get a magazine build log too. Alternately if you haven't already have a look at outerzone or aerofred websites as there are literally thousands of plans on there you can browse/download/purchase

Good luck with whatever you decide on.

[Ken Lighten]

I would also suggest a Funfly from SLEC, they do them in I.C. and electric versions, the kits have virtually everything needed apart from covering and adhesives. I would also suggest a Super Stik from Sarik as a plan build, laser cut parts are available and it’s a straight forward build

Ken

[Peter Miller]

Slec wood is brilliant. Not only that but when you order you can specify hard, medium or soft grades.

I simply order withthe grades specified and I never have any problems.. When ordering a good stock of sheet I normally specify mixed grades.

[Don Fry]

I would say, given you have experience of covering, painting, repairing ARTFs, engineering background, you could go to the Warbirds Replica website, and choose your steed. Not difficult builds, there are some build blogs on this website, nicely made kits. They are sports scale, with an emphasis on flying quality.

[neil martin 1]

Just viewed their website, the kits look good the online feedback seems to be fairly positive. Shame that they are showing no stock of most of their range but Ill make some enquiries.

[Kim Taylor]

I think they only 'do' the Spitfire now, although I think I remember a thread trying to get a 'group purchase' together on the ME109

Kim

[kc]

Balsa seems to be more variable in weight and stiffness than any other timber. Huge variations in weight from one sheet to another. A set of digital kitchen scales will tell you which is the lightest sheet and therefore the choice for items like tailplane. There are tables which give a target weight for each size of sheet& thickness to ascertain weight in pounds per cubic foot. It still needs to be firm enough for the job in hand. Stiffness can be gauged by attempting to bend the sheet slightly - choosing two identical sheets will help to make a fuselage that is not bananna shaped. Spars etc usually need to be very hard balsa. Some sheets can be bent across the grain ( for LE edge sheeting etc ) and gently trying to curve the balsa will tell you which could be used for LE and which would not be suitable.

The people on the SLEC or The Balsa Cabin stands at shows can be relied on to give advice if you ask them. Otherwise ask an experienced modeller - those with experience can usually be identified - they are the ones with grey hair!

Edited By kc on 27/12/2018 16:48:53

[kc]

Various books give the details of balsa weights to use. David Boddington' s book is available very cheaply at about £2.50 from various used book sources and cover basic construction and cutting of balsa. Worth buying.

Very few tools are needed for balsa models - scalpel, razor saw, razor plane. A permagrit wedge block is handy and a coping saw or fretsaw - powered are cheap still - for working with ply.

[Former Member]

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