Vintage Model Airplane Kits & Motors at The Best Things

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Vintage RC Planes at The Best Things

RC Model Plane Kits & Motors

Our vintage tool expert, Lee Richmond, is also an avid RC modeler, and has been for many years. Lee has been flying model planes ever since he can remember, and has been collecting RC kits ever since he could afford them. Now there is no room left and it is time to start selling some of that collection. What better place to list these RC kits and motors than right here on The Best Things website. A model plane kit is more than just a box of wood, it is box full of hope and dreams. Sweet Dreams!

A note from Lee: In the time that I have been involved with RC, there have been some huge changes. Some of them for the better, others, I am not so sure. There are two technological advances that I embrace wholeheartedly, the use of spread spectrum modulation technology, and the use of brushless electric motors with Lipo batteries. In this same time, I have seen a move away from craftsmanship and building, to buying ready made kits. Along with this, there has been a shift in the production of RC products from the US and Europe to low production cost Asian countries. Both of these changes break my heart. I thought that the RC hobby was about more than just flying, it was a whole package deal, that involved creating an airplane that you were proud of, and then flying it. Of course many of us still do that, but many others have missed out on this experience. On the bright side, laser technology and CAD software has opened the door for small companies, often a single person, to bring model airplane kits to market. In the old days, when kits were usually die cut, the tooling costs were typically prohibitive for small companies, and even for large companies, production runs had to be large to make the investment worthwhile. If you want spend quality time with a child, and at the same time teach them some skills that will help to prepare them for the high tech work world that awaits them, I can't think of a better thing to do than to build and fly a model plane with them.

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American Model Airplane Kits
Listed in alphabetical order by manufacturer.

WP210963 Andrews/Great Planes Big H-Ray This is a clean and complete kit that was built after Great Planes bought Andrews. There is a 1986 copy of the Great Planes catalog in the box. I bought this kit around 1990 from the original owner. I must confess that I removed the parts from the die cut sheets and organized them into groups. At the time I was preparing to build it and then I got distracted by another project. I can vouch for it being complete. The quality of the die cutting was superb. The H-Ray and big H-Ray must be the all time best trainers. The fly great and they are the most durable planes that I have ever encountered. I learned on one and crashed it so many times that any other plane would have been history. In the end I lost it, after hundreds of flights. It had served its purpose at that point. Fine- $245

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British, European, and Japanese Model Airplane Kits
Listed in alphabetical order by manufacturer.

WP210418 Debonair Racer Junior - Debonair Series No. 13 This is a high quality Japanese kit, but I I don't know what brand it is. I assume that it was made for the Japanese market, although there is some English writing on it. It builds a 1360mm wingspan, 4 channel plane that looks like a late 60s, early 70s, pattern plane. It even has the original price on the box of 6500 Japanese Yen, which today is roughly $60. Even the plans to not have a designer name on them. The accessory packs are MK brand. These were the best Japanese accessories of that time. If anyone knows more about this kit, please let me know. It is a great kit and deserves to be identified. The kit contents are in great condition but the box shows its age. There is some tape going onto the label and somebody has translated the specs from metric to Imperial in writing on the label. I hope that this kit goes into a series collection. Fine- $245

WP200231 Graupner Kit Nr. 4217: HS 91 Clou This is a less common Graupner sailplane kit from the late 1960s and early 1970s. It has a most interesting feature, that it comes with two sets of wings. The long set, for thermalling, is 2450mm (96.5"), and the short set for acrobatics is 1890mm (74.5"). The wings plug in with hollow tubes in the wings. I would modifiy these to use carbon fiber in place of steel rods and copper tubing. The box shows its age but the contents look good. Some of the hardware pack may be missing, as there was loose hardware in the box when I got it, and put what I could find in a bag. I would buy it with the understanding that some hardware is missing, which for a collector might be an issue, but as a builder I am assuming that you would want to use new hardware anyway. The kit is adaptable for a motor up front. A glow motor is shown but with the removable canopy, it would be trivial to make this one electric with a folding prop. Somebody has written the wingspans on the side of the box with a marker, and he got the conversion wrong for the longer wing. G++ $399

WP21041 Hinode Denko Co. Ltd Kit: SS-09M - Baron This rare Japanese kit, called the Baron, appears to be a reduced size Astro Hog, with an approximately 40" wingspan. It has strip ailerons like the SIG Astro Hog, but unlike the original. It is a 4 channel plane and I am guessing that it must be from the late 1960s. It was designed by S. Tangiku and Y. Mazda. Mr. Tangiku went on to found his own company that build fantastic kits until just a few years ago. I bought one in Tokyo and built it. Sadly, I don't think that they were ever marketed in the US. Most Japanese kits that I have handled have been of super quality, and this kit is no exception. It is so rare that it really belongs in a museum. The instructions are all written on the plans in Japanese. Somebody has hand written English translations on the plans. When I built my Tangiku kit, I found that I could build it from plans without understanding the written instructions. Also included is a warning page, showing Asian cartoon characters warning about all of the things that you should not do with an RC plane. It is great. The box is showing its age a bit, and the plans look their age, but the kit itself has no issues. I gave it a minus for the aging of the box and paperwork. I have had this kit for years and I really love it. I just don't have the heart to build it so I thought that I would offer it so that a collector might buy it, or somebody who will reproduce it. Fine- $259

WP130666 Veron Concord This was one of the great designs of its time, and was demonstrated around the world in a world tour. It is of the period of the great Taurus, and has some resemblance to that great plane. My father bought this kit new in London in the early 1960s, and it still has the Pan Am luggage tag on the box from his bringing it back. As a child I love to look at it and dream of one day building it. Later, when I was old enough to build it, I couldn't bear the thought of doing so, its having remained untouched for so long. I still enjoy just gazing at the box. I know that I priced this one a bit high, but it has become a very scarce kit, and it is an imporant kit for a number reaons. And finally, I will hate to see it go! The plans are yellowed with age. The kit has never been removed from the box, and is complete down to the spinner, and original wheels, which suprisingly are still supple. I have over the years unfolded the plans and dreamed over them, but that is it. This is a magnificent old school kit, with lots of thick pieces of milled balsa, including the top of the fuselage and the wing leading edges. The box has some tape on it where it was taped to carry it back from London. One end of the box now has torn corners. The label is wonderful, priceless really. I hope that somebody who will love this kit as much as I have buys it. G++ $595

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Model Airplane Motors
Listed in alphabetical order by manufacturer.

ME220919 Great Planes ElectriFly PolyCharge 4 This is a Lithium Polymer (LiPo) battery only charger. It will charge batteries from 300 - 3000 mah and 1 - 4 cells. It can charge 4 different batteries simultaneously. It is in the original box but with the manual, but there are no cables with it, except for the integral cable that connects it to a 12V source. It is a bit dirty from sitting out in a workshop, but it came from the estate of a friend of mine and I know that it was well cared for. It was originally $159.99, and he bought it on a special offer for $104.99. It is not a balancing charger, but I have found that for the lower capacity batteries that really doesn't matter as much as people think as long as you don't charge too fast. The best thing of all is that it is not made in China! Made in Korea. G+ $25