Buy a kit or cut one out myself??

[chickenhawk]

Well finished my KIT of the FT ME262, still have enought time to build something this winter. Looking at the FT A10 or the P 38. I flipped a coin and the A10 was it. So do I buy the kit or cut it out myself? Kit where I live is $160.00 plus taxs plus shipping. So lets save some $$$$$$$$$$$ and cut it out myself. Sounds simple right. Down loaded the plans, wow 96 pages of tiled sheets. That going to use up one whole ink cartage in my printer. ( $42.00 ) about 12 sheets of foam board, another $20.00 also need some 3/32 plywood ( 2 x 4 sheet is $40.00) plus all the work to tape the plans together and then cut out. In the end I think I'm just going to order the kit.

 

[JasonK]

the pages are rather sparse in printing, I wouldn't expect it to eat up a full printer cartridge
not sure about where your at, but I can get 2'x2' chucks of plywood for way less then a full sheet. but if your at $40 for a 2x4 sheet, that still seems rather high.

 

[FlyerInStyle]

the pages are rather sparse in printing, I wouldn't expect it to eat up a full printer cartridge

same. I can print about 200 of these pages for a small cartridge on my printer.

 

[chickenhawk]

the pages are rather sparse in printing, I wouldn't expect it to eat up a full printer cartridge
not sure about where your at, but I can get 2'x2' chucks of plywood for way less then a full sheet. but if your at $40 for a 2x4 sheet, that still seems rather high.

My printer does about 100 sheets per ink cartridge after that goes from black to some shade of gray. With ply wood I buy where I can get. ( LOL northern Canada)

 

[Dick Russ]

Well finished my KIT of the FT ME262, still have enought time to build something this winter. Looking at the FT A10 or the P 38. I flipped a coin and the A10 was it. So do I buy the kit or cut it out myself? Kit where I live is $160.00 plus taxs plus shipping. So lets save some $$$$$$$$$$$ and cut it out myself. Sounds simple right. Down loaded the plans, wow 96 pages of tiled sheets. That going to use up one whole ink cartage in my printer. ( $42.00 ) about 12 sheets of foam board, another $20.00 also need some 3/32 plywood ( 2 x 4 sheet is $40.00) plus all the work to tape the plans together and then cut out. In the end I think I'm just going to order the kit.

You have a good question. I have designed several planes and my latest is a 45 -45 size with a built up wing. I named it the Mystique. It is totally balsa model covered in a covering film I buy from HobbyKing. I had very little balsa around so I bought what I needed to build the plane. When it was finished I had more in it than a similar ARF that could be bought from Tower Hobbies. I had always wondered why Modelers were not building any more and now I know. From a cost stand point a kit is the best way to go if you find a design you like and available in a kit. Just for fun I am attaching a couple of pictures of my Mystique. This is not a kit.

 

[Dick Russ]

See my ressponce above

 

[SSgt Duramax]

Honestly, it is 6 one way and a half dozen the other. The kits go together great and you are directly supporting flite test. Plus you arent going around getting those things that nickel and dime you to death. You save tons of time too.

Scartch building from blank dtfb is rewarding too. My tiled plans never seem to line up and be a little crooked, and there is a greater chance your build wont come out straight. Ive made a couple of dumpster planes in my day. You save money at the expense of time.

For things like firewalls, I skip the plywood and go for the ABS trash cans. Cheap, easy to work with, and you can double them up if you really need strength.

 

[Flightspeed]

Kits turn out better, dtfb cheaper and definitely more satisfying to see complete

 

[Byrdman]

Kits turn out better, dtfb cheaper and definitely more satisfying to see complete

True! After it is all said and done, it's a foamboard plane and flies about the same. IMO, buy a box of the waterproof foamboard and learn how to us a ruler and exacto knife and you will definitely be ahead a little financially.

Time vs $$, you pick which one make you feel better!

 

[CrshNBrn]

Not too mention, the FliteTest foamboard is so much better than the DTFB. Your hard work will last so much longer in your crazy Canadian weather patterns. Also, I haven't built the A-10, but that P-38 has some neat details on the SBK that you might not be able to reproduce cutting it out yourself. The turbochargers, for example. I'll bet the A-10 is similar.

As you mentioned, by the time you add up all of the extra costs with printing, cutting, etc., it is about equal for ordering from Flite Test. I hope they can restock on their foamboard sheets soon. I'd like to rebuild about half my fleet with the better foamboard versus my delaminating, wavy, floppy Dollar Tree stuff.

 

[chickenhawk]

I have no choice for foam board, the cost of shipping the FT stuff is out of this world so the dollar tree stuff is it. For the fun it today I took a down load of the plans to the big city with me. The print shop wanted $60.00 for black and white and $80.00 if I wanted it colour. I like building and flying around the 50 inch and larger wing span, It seams they just fly better in the wind.

 

[BlockerAviation]

Kits turn out better, dtfb cheaper and definitely more satisfying to see complete

Yes and no, if you can build the 262 scratch building shouldn't be a problem for you. I've built a few ft kits and scratch built quite a few airplanes and if you take your time, use a ruler and a sharp knife you'll have a nice looking plane. Here are a couple of my nicer foam board scratch builds.

 

[CrshNBrn]

"Ask and ye shall receive." I just got the message that FT has restocked their boxes of foamboard! Maybe its time to demolition derby some of the older, tired foamies and rebuild them with the good stuff.

 

[SSgt Duramax]

I have no choice for foam board, the cost of shipping the FT stuff is out of this world so the dollar tree stuff is it. For the fun it today I took a down load of the plans to the big city with me. The print shop wanted $60.00 for black and white and $80.00 if I wanted it colour. I like building and flying around the 50 inch and larger wing span, It seams they just fly better in the wind.

As long as you minwax it and wood glue the edges it will be fine. I was motor testing with my P-40 in the rain last saturday and I put two packs through it and the plane is fine. This is a scratch build, no speed build kit exists for it. Sharp blades, a nice metal ruler, and some patience are what is required for a good scratch build.

 

[JetCrafts]

hey @chickenhawk you can go to a printing service to print

 

[CrshNBrn]

As long as you minwax it and wood glue the edges it will be fine. I was motor testing with my P-40 in the rain last saturday and I put two packs through it and the plane is fine. This is a scratch build, no speed build kit exists for it. Sharp blades, a nice metal ruler, and some patience are what is required for a good scratch build.

She's a beauty, all right.

 

[chickenhawk]

hey @chickenhawk you can go to a printing service to print

The only print shop near me wants $60.00 for black and white.

 

[Monte.C]

The only print shop near me wants $60.00 for black and white.

I don't get that one bit.
What size are they quoting? That's utterly ridiculous. (But I never had large printing done. I always worked in places with a large plotter.)

I think we might be looking at this the wrong way. How about cutting this down to a short handful of 24x36 sheets. Then tape them together just like we do with 8-1/2x11. Make sure you have alignment marks on the corners. That can't be no $60. Problem solved.

 

[Byrdman]

The only print shop near me wants $60.00 for black and white.

You can buy a desktop laser printer for about $100-$150 and print out plans to keep you flying/crashing for long time. That is what I use.

 

[Monte.C]

The only print shop near me wants $60.00 for black and white.

Here's what to do:
Get a rough idea of how many 24x36" sheets it'll take to do the whole thing. Get a price quote on that. If you like the number, get the plans to me and I'll set it up for you to print. Game over.