Old-style balsa aeroplane kit suggestions
Discussion
Hi all
I really fancy spending a few evenings with my 13 year old son building a flying model plane - one with a twisted rubber band - so one's on the Christmas list.
I want us to be building the spars by pinning them to a plan, cutting the stringers and the parts out with a craft knife and making the skin out of tissue paper and dope.
I've just had a look on the popular home-shopping website and I can't see anything like i remember doing when I was a kid in the early 80s. Everything is precut - just not the same.
Does anyone have a clue what I'm talking about?
I really fancy spending a few evenings with my 13 year old son building a flying model plane - one with a twisted rubber band - so one's on the Christmas list.
I want us to be building the spars by pinning them to a plan, cutting the stringers and the parts out with a craft knife and making the skin out of tissue paper and dope.
I've just had a look on the popular home-shopping website and I can't see anything like i remember doing when I was a kid in the early 80s. Everything is precut - just not the same.
Does anyone have a clue what I'm talking about?
Most kits nowadays use die/laser cut balsa, if you want to do it properly then this site has umpteen plans you can download free.
https://outerzone.co.uk/index.asp
https://outerzone.co.uk/index.asp
Most of the “mark out on plan” kits are (ok were, I did this 35 years ago) pretty big - the sort of things that needed an engine. All of the twisted rubber band kits were pre cut as I recall.
If you have space, making an elastic launched glider is a load of fun - glider + 50 foot of bungee can get some serious speed and altitude. You need r/c for this sort of thing.
Depends how far into it you want to go. I ended up with a P-38 mustang with a 6 foot wingspan that I was too terrified to fly more than twice as I thought I’d crash it. Had flaps as well, couldn’t afford the 6 channel radio for retractable undercarriage.
If you have space, making an elastic launched glider is a load of fun - glider + 50 foot of bungee can get some serious speed and altitude. You need r/c for this sort of thing.
Depends how far into it you want to go. I ended up with a P-38 mustang with a 6 foot wingspan that I was too terrified to fly more than twice as I thought I’d crash it. Had flaps as well, couldn’t afford the 6 channel radio for retractable undercarriage.
I've got a Guillows Spitfire in the loft to make one day. It looks nice in the box but no idea how it builds/flies as it was a gift
https://www.hobbies.co.uk/brands/guillows
Another option these days is foam board, I know of the Flite Test site (they have quite a good YouTube channel) but they are US based:
https://store.flitetest.com/mini-diy-airplanes/c12...
https://www.hobbies.co.uk/brands/guillows
Another option these days is foam board, I know of the Flite Test site (they have quite a good YouTube channel) but they are US based:
https://store.flitetest.com/mini-diy-airplanes/c12...
https://www.vintagemodelcompany.com/
I believe these are available from river based online retailers.
I believe these are available from river based online retailers.
I've built a few Guillows balsa planes and they can be tricky as the balsa was not the best, some of them were press-cut rather than laser cut so the pre-cut edges tend to be crunched. I usually ended up remaking quite a few pieces from flat balsa. I did build a Vintage Model Co Spitfire and it was much easier to build, although smaller than all the Guillows ones I've done.
No idea if / how they would fly as I didn't dare as it seemed it would just end up as a pile of balsa fragments after the first launch. Also I preferred to see the wooden structure rather than cover it with tissue / film.
If you just want a static kit the Model Airways kits are very nice, although also very expensive.
No idea if / how they would fly as I didn't dare as it seemed it would just end up as a pile of balsa fragments after the first launch. Also I preferred to see the wooden structure rather than cover it with tissue / film.
If you just want a static kit the Model Airways kits are very nice, although also very expensive.
Right – serious, relevant question. I've got two of these kits ready to go. A Typhoon, and, imaginatively, a Tempest. Dad made balsa models (Veron were in Bournemouth, so that's what we got) but much to his disappointment I was only really interested in plastic kits, which he considered child's playthings (similar to his views Meccano vs. Lego). Anyhow, I did take sufficient interest to be confident that I could now build these relatively successfully. But with one caveat – onto what sort of board should I mount the plan and pin into? For some reason I think he used an old wooden drawing board but that seems quite 'hard' for pushing pins into. Maybe it was a piece of Sundeala but I'd have imagined that to be too soft. Would cord board be OK?
I had a minor obsession with these kits around ten years ago (almost as bad as my plastic model habit) and still have a box in the garage with all the tools I used.
I used a cork notice board glued to a piece of thin plywood to build on. With some fine pins you can attach the plan to the board and build off of that. (I also pinned the balsa to the board.
I had a look, but cannot find any pictures apart from this one.
I used a cork notice board glued to a piece of thin plywood to build on. With some fine pins you can attach the plan to the board and build off of that. (I also pinned the balsa to the board.
I had a look, but cannot find any pictures apart from this one.
Yertis said:
Right – serious, relevant question. I've got two of these kits ready to go. A Typhoon, and, imaginatively, a Tempest. Dad made balsa models (Veron were in Bournemouth, so that's what we got) but much to his disappointment I was only really interested in plastic kits, which he considered child's playthings (similar to his views Meccano vs. Lego). Anyhow, I did take sufficient interest to be confident that I could now build these relatively successfully. But with one caveat – onto what sort of board should I mount the plan and pin into? For some reason I think he used an old wooden drawing board but that seems quite 'hard' for pushing pins into. Maybe it was a piece of Sundeala but I'd have imagined that to be too soft. Would cord board be OK?
I had a building board made from four four foot pieces of quarter balsa glued on edge And then then stuck down on to a piece of 20mm block board for flatness, worked really well a bit ott for your needs but worked perfectly.Before that I used a piece of fibre notice board again backed up on blockboard.
Having done some balsa bashing with my children I would say go for something relatively simple to start with. Given the constant urge of youngsters to get back to their tech you need something relatively plug and play. Something with a sheet balsa fuselage and a build up wing would do well.
Having said that, if you are alright with using plans, Earl Stahl plans are a good build in my experience. I did the Skua & Wildcat, though a high wing is best for beginners.
http://www.theplanpage.com/esp.htm
One I did with my children was the Airflo glider from the Eagle Book Of Model Aircraft
https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=2617
My eldest (given the SAS photo treatment) with his completed example.
Having said that, if you are alright with using plans, Earl Stahl plans are a good build in my experience. I did the Skua & Wildcat, though a high wing is best for beginners.
http://www.theplanpage.com/esp.htm
One I did with my children was the Airflo glider from the Eagle Book Of Model Aircraft
https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=2617
My eldest (given the SAS photo treatment) with his completed example.
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