Cost of a new toy

[Gary Anderson]

Hi guys,

My wife wants to fly one of my toys, she probably wouldn't make a lap. Heck no she doesn't want anyone to help her. She wants to do it the old fashion way. Anyway she looked over at the Strega Arf and said that one couldn't have costed to much, I'll try that one.

I was sitting there looking at the Strega Arf and started thinking, the plane cost around $140.00, the engine is my brothers saito 62, I think it costed him around $220, the glue, tank and other junk? Maybe another $20 dollars. Of coarse I didn't tell her how much money is in the toy.

Right, I just gave her the credit card and told her go have some fun??

Its just surprising how much cash you can get in one of these toys. If you think C/L cost a lot, try doing R/C, I believe C/L is a lot cheaper and more fun, for me.

If you're one of the top fliers I would think you would have the carbon tanks, special motors, special flying lines, handles. I guess there is no end when you're trying to be number one.

I was wondering how much do you have invested in your toys? Wife's don't read this forum, so you're safe to tell the truth. (I'll show the forum to my wife, after the big numbers show up, it'll make me look good, Ha Ha.)

Just having fun, Gary

[Tom Perry]

It's late Gary.  Go to bed   

[Jim Oliver]

Not a timley response, since it's morning, but I'm with Tom.......

Gary, you need to get more rest-----for evidence I submit your comment "I just gave her the credit card and told her to go have some fun".     In the "game world" that could be described as a "fatal error".

Cheers,
Jim

[Mark Scarborough]

You know thats kinda scarey,, you get her flying, it could work in your behalf, then she agrees and you both get new engines, fancy props, all the good stuff cause she sees how important it is, OR she decides to show you how its done and then SHE gets all the hi zoot toys, and leaves you in the dust,, I dont know man, maybe a flight streak arf would be better,, lol,, you could get Dirty Dan to convince her its a better peice than the Strega,, maybe?
for my stuff, typically I have low investment engines,, LA 46, and maybe 15 or 200 in the planes, I mostly scratch build. though thinking about it, by the time you buy all the hardware, bellcrank and on it might be closer to 300. I am not sure I really want to think about it in all honesty,, until I quite having to replace  it all the time  that is!

[RC Storick]

My planes cost between $1500.00 and $2500.00.If you include everything it takes to make one.

Just move the decimal point so real cost is $150.00 to $250.00 in 1980 prices

[Gene O'Keefe]

Mine average $200.00 to $500.00 .....and then there's those people that spend $200 to $500 on just "one" golf club ! .....or like my brother who spent $24,000 on a fishing boat then spends $200 to $500 on just "one" rod, reel,
line, & lures !...and has several set ups for each different fish.  I of course enjoy sitting in his boat having a couple of barley pops ... but I'd much rather build and fly.

[john e. holliday]

I need to go back to radio as it was mucho cheaper.  I tried several times to keep track of cost on a plane and gave up as it was scary.  Still cheaper than stock car racing.  DOC Holliday

[Bill Gruby]

 I'm with Robert on this one, the last three planes I built have reached the $3000.00 mark and the big one isn't done yet. What are you buildin that comes in at the below $500.00 mark. The engine for the new one cost that much.  LOL

  "Billy G"   

 HMMM -- Better clarify this one, thats total cost, not just for one.

[Don Curry AMA 267060]

Airplanes are airplanes. It doesn't mater if it's r/c or c/l  size for size they cost the same. The only difference is the cost of the radio vs. handle and lines.

Don

[Peter Ferguson]

I think she made a great choice and you did the right thing. At least she won't destroy months of your work/time.
 Don't tell her how much it costs, its irrelevant anyway. As they say in the Visa ad "priceless". You may want to talk her in to letting you trim it  out before she takes it up. After the Strega you should buy her a Corvette to get it to the field!

[FLOYD CARTER]

So I spend about $100 per month on model plane supplies.  That's a whole lot less than I was 
spending restoring and flying the full-size airplanes.. and model building/flying is somewhat safer.

Floyd in OR

[Don Curry AMA 267060]

you can usually walk away from a model crash. If as many full scale planes crashed  asw we do models would they be allowed to fly?

[Howard Rush]

Paint is my biggest expense in building a stunt plane. 

The cost of getting to contests has recently got my attention.  One could afford to put a whole lot of money into a take-apart mechanism for one's airplane if it could cause it to fit into a smaller vehicle.   

[bob branch]

I agree with you there Howard... the paint. Sit down and figure out the cost of a 4 color full dope paint job. Film coating is A LOT cheaper! That is why RC is less expensive if you are talking comparable size airplanes. A 46 size 4 channel RC plane built, or ARF will come out less than a full dope finished stunter, even without going to a custom motor. Add the custom motor and there is no contest.

bob branch

[Mike Palko]

Howard I also agree,
   When you take into account all of the support equipment needed for a buffed dope finish it really surprises you (it did me). Compressor(s), paint gun(s), airbrush, air lines, fittings, water separator, ink pens, sand paper, compounds/wax's......... That is on top of the paint, thinner, filler and clear (custom colors and pigments??). Not to mention tape, tape and more tape and..... and......... Makes you wonder how moneykote got its name?

   With that siad I still feel model airplanes are very cheap in comparison to other hobbies!


Mike

[don Burke]

Agree completly, having done the circle track thing and other motor racing for a few years.  The variety of things one can do with our hobby is so great and so much cheaper than a lot of other things.

[Howard Rush]

"Not to mention tape, tape and more tape"

And putty to fill the hole when some of that tape pulls the paint off down to bare wood, as happened to me yesterday.

[Randy Powell]

Well, Howard's cost is less, actually. His cost is prorated over 7 or 8 years, so the cost per annum is quite reasonable.

[Mike Palko]

Well, Howard's cost is less, actually. His cost is prorated over 7 or 8 years, so the cost per annum is quite reasonable.

"Not to mention tape, tape and more tape"

And putty to fill the hole when some of that tape pulls the paint off down to bare wood, as happened to me yesterday.

Was the tape 7 or 8 years old??? I feel your pain.

[George]

Now you guys who build multi-thousand dollar planes watch a young boy bring his cardboard Osborne Platter with its $7.00 Sure Start engine and fly it for the first time, then tell me you are having more fun than him. 

It's all in perception.

George

[Alan Hahn]

Lets see.
Arf Nobler--$89
Scorpion Electric Motor $60
CC Phoenix 35  $70
JMP2 Timer/throttle  $30
4x 4s2100 Lipo batteries $260 (the fuel)
miscellaneous connectors/clips/lines    ~$40

Total--$549 or thereabouts for this year's fun.

I only included the stuff that is part of this plane, but not common stuff that I use with other setups (like the charger).

[Steven Kientz]

If you want an expensive hobby, try deer hunting. Weapon of choice $500( need several to choose from), clothes $300, ladder stands $100 each(we have 20) not to mention buying 50 acres to hunt on(1995  price around $45,000). Now I have to justify $50 round trip to hunt( twice a week for a month). Venison now cost more than Texas Roadhouse. The small pittance I have tied up in airplanes is nothing compared to that. Hunting with my father and brother is time well spent, whatever the cost.

Steve

[Randy Powell]

Well, you have to prorate the cost of engines, too. I mean, not many of us buy an engine and use it in one plane then never use it again. The PA 40UL I have has been in, what, 4 planes? And it's still going strong. So if you divide the cost between planes, it doesn't cost much.

[Lauri Malila]

  One could afford to put a whole lot of money into a take-apart mechanism for one's airplane if it could cause it to fit into a smaller vehicle.   

 It's not really more expensive. You get a complete set of take-apart hardware with less than 100 dollars, from the Ukrainians for example. Or if you have access to a lathe and milling machine and some good Al#2024, steel and carbon, it's rather simple to make by yourself.
 And with take-apart like that, it's not only the travelling that becomes easier, but also building and finishing.
 The pictures are from my own production, plane #11 a few years back.

 Lauri

[Dennis Moritz]

A new La 46 $75, Vector 40 ARF $120? Tanager kit, $75? It's possible to set oneself up in Intermediate or Advanced for $250. Assuming one has lines etc. I've seen plenty of combos in the price range fly competitive patterns in these classes. I know folks who got the boot in Advanced with a similar investment. Maybe they spent $300. The only plane that cost me over a hundred bucks (without the engine) was an ARF Primary Force I bought in an emergency. Plenty of profiles I built from kits or from scratch cost less. Engines. LA 46, FP 40s (ebay specials). Monokoted the wings, doped and silkspaned the fues and tails. Well yeah I'm a midpack Intermediate flier at the moment. But it has been cheap and super fun. Staying in the 40-46 class can keep costs down. Competing with the best in Expert (or Advanced) can mean a different (but not necessary) outlay of cash. Not so long ago, Mike Palko made it into Advanced flying a Twister with a Fox 35. I believe Dennis Truxal won Intermediate Profile and Pampa at Brodak flying a P40 ARF powered by a stock LA46. He got the boot. Flying at Brodak is very competitive. IMHO. Dan Banjok won Profile Expert at Brodak using the same plane/engine. I bought the LA46 for $30 at an RC Swap. Kching, kching, $200 (or less) for a winning birdy in Expert Profile.

[Randy Powell]

Lauri,

Slick methodology. I've been doodling around a method for take apart design that is similar to this, though a lot less material.

Neat idea.

[Randy Cuberly]

If you want an expensive hobby, try deer hunting. Weapon of choice $500( need several to choose from), clothes $300, ladder stands $100 each(we have 20) not to mention buying 50 acres to hunt on(1995  price around $45,000). Now I have to justify $50 round trip to hunt( twice a week for a month). Venison now cost more than Texas Roadhouse. The small pittance I have tied up in airplanes is nothing compared to that. Hunting with my father and brother is time well spent, whatever the cost.

Steve

Steve,
Throw a trip or two to Africa to hunt into that and you really have a differential.   Model airplanes are Cheap, Cheap, Cheap!

Randy Cuberly

[RC Storick]

It's not really more expensive. You get a complete set of take-apart hardware with less than 100 dollars, from the Ukrainians for example. Or if you have access to a lathe and milling machine and some good Al#2024, steel and carbon, it's rather simple to make by yourself.
 And with take-apart like that, it's not only the travelling that becomes easier, but also building and finishing.
 The pictures are from my own production, plane #11 a few years back.

 Lauri

Where do I send the money? I want this hardware!

[Dennis Moritz]

Am I forgetting something. How much is a cold cream sized jar of Gorams? How do you get a stunt plane to cost $2500 when making it out of balsa, silkspan and dope. Most automotive paint would drop the cost, I believe. Guess the Brian Eather props add up. Mike's electric costs thousands if you include all the batteries and charger. More expensive than a PA. If you're hanging $700 plus powertrain out the front of your plane (engine, pipe, props) I can understand $1500. But then the plane itself, the built part, is $700 or so. Well, carbon fiber this and that... a gallon of clear - (that's what Windy says). I'd be interested to know what DB says he has in his Vista. A plane that he flew pretty well at Brodak... Power was a stock $240 Saito 72 with venturis he spun. Jack Weston won many a local Advanced contests flying his homebuilt Gieseke Nobler powered by a stock FP40. Let's see 10.5x4.5 apc, Enya #3 plug. Doubt he had much more than $200 in that bird. Expert at the NATs, I guess any edge helps. But even there it seems to me a competitive plane can still be done for under a grand. But how many of us rank at that level. Now a labor of love, of course, do-hickies, must have high zoot do-hickies...

[RC Storick]

PA75 350.00 prop 45.00 spinner 35.00 header 25.00 pipe 100.00 control system 50.00 wheel pants.50.00 grear 50.00 wheels 10.00 canopy 10.00 tank 10.00 fuel filter 5.00 pilot 5.00 poly span 15.00 paint 300.00 wood 300.00 ( just spent 40.00 for enough 3/8 to make flaps and stab and elevators and fuse sides.) Now lets talk about sand paper I spend 75.00 per airplane in sand paper. 75.00 in paint masks for letters. there is 1650.00 in just this quick figure.

Now this does not include nuts and bolts. fuel line, tail wheel.tape,masking paper and carbon vail,CA,epoxy,plywood,fiberglass and host of other things that it takes to make one of these planes.

[Louis Rankin]

I have been finishing my planes with Top Flite Dope.  It is lighter and cheaper and never needs buffing.  Can usually finish a plane in multicolors for less than $50.00.

[Lauri Malila]

 Randy, Robert,

 This is the system originally developed by Yuri Yatsenko. I have made the parts in the picture. I have also a system in my mind where I could cope with 1/2" square rod only, especially with the center "H" piece. Actually, in the model #11, the sections that connect the upper and lower bars in center piece were cut away after the fuselage was assembled.
 There is no real extra weight because the alloy piece replaces all the plywood and glassfiber reinforcements that you put in the 1-piece wing.
 Yuri usually sells the sets with his own dimensions but they should be available also with taylored dimensions. L

[john e. holliday]

Now you guys who build multi-thousand dollar planes watch a young boy bring his cardboard Osborne Platter with its $7.00 Sure Start engine and fly it for the first time, then tell me you are having more fun than him. 

It's all in perception.

George

Amen to that.  We need more like that.  I keep threatening to build several of those things, but, keep getting side tracked. Later,  DOC Holliday

[Dennis Moritz]

I checked with Dan Banjok today about the materials cost of his Vista. A spectacular looking bird that flies very well. If the second round for expert PAMPA at Brodak had counted, he would have been nearly 20 points up on the field. At Brodak in 2007 he placed first in Expert PAMPA flying the Vista. Check Elwyn's pictures of Brodak 2008. Dan's bird is unique and excellently crafted. Dan doubts that he has more than $600 in in the plane including the Saito 72. Perhaps he underestimates. But it's safe to say, materials cost are considerably under a grand.

[Marvin Denny]

  Reading all these responses to "How Much my toy costs" amazes me.  If the only thing I had to brag (or complain) about was the cost (either high or low) of my "toys) I would not be much of a modeler.
  I can put a .35 powered Skyray 35 in the air for less than $100 including engine tank,lines, handle, paint, starting battery and fuel.  Opposing,  I COULD spend mighty close to $1000 to get a Novi IV  into the air with the same stage of completion.  ie  $300+ eng, $100 internal controls---  you get the idea.
  One can save or spend about as much as one desires in this OR ANY hobby, and should not be a matter of praise nor condemnation  from anyone else.
  I spend what I think is acceptable and fair to myself, wife, and family.

  Bigiron

[Howard Rush]

Me, too, except for clearcoat.

[Allan Perret]

I have been finishing my planes with Top Flite Dope.  It is lighter and cheaper and never needs buffing.  Can usually finish a plane in multicolors for less than $50.00.

I've never heard of Top Flite dope. 
Where do you get it ??

[billbyles]

I have been finishing my planes with Top Flite Dope.  It is lighter and cheaper and never needs buffing.  Can usually finish a plane in multicolors for less than $50.00.

Lighter?  How is it lighter...if it is nitrate or butyrate dope then it is very close to the same weight as Certified, Randolph, Sig, Brodak with only very small differences due to amount and color of pigment.  Never needs buffing...??  Depends upon the builder's perception of whether it needs buffing.  And if Top Flite is still making dope I'd be interested to know where you can get it; I haven't seen any Top Flite dope for years.

[Greg L Bahrman]

Top Flite Dope is called "LUSTREKOTE"........I think??? only stuff I know of by Top Flite?
Tower sells it.

[Richard Grogan]

Top Flite Dope is called "LUSTREKOTE"........I think??? only stuff I know of by Top Flite?
Tower sells it.

I think he's using Monokote.. No buffing...

[Randy Powell]

I have a neighbor that races a SuperStock at the drags most weekends. He builds maintains the car in his garage. I asked him what he spent for what is a hobby for him. He said if he ever spent the time to calculate that, he probably wouldn't do it. As he looks at it, it's a great way to spend time with his sons. They have a blast working on it and coming up with new ideas.

As hobbies go, ours is pretty cheap. As has been noted, you can spend as much or as little as you want. Trust me, the cost of the therapy I would need if I didn't do this would be much, much more expensive.

[Mark Scarborough]

Uh Randy  "Trust me, the cost of the therapy I would need if I didn't do this would be much, much more expensive.""

so tell us, how much does the therapy cost because you DO this? lol, especially after the last couple planes and the trials roflmao!

really, I agree though, I think the therapy value is well amortized by the few dollars spent.

[Randy Powell]

Mark,

Current fee for a private therapist is about $180 and hour. More if you live in, uh, upscale areas.   

[Leo Mehl]

Building Models is a lot cheaper than my Drinkin days and that is a fact. It still is.

[Louis Rankin]

I've never heard of Top Flite dope. 
Where do you get it ??

Top Flite has been making a very good and easy to use dope since about 1966.  It is currently available at almost every hobby shop.  Top Flite developed a novel method for pre-applying the dope on a plasic film.  It normally is available in 72" X 26" sheets that is sold on rolls.  Very easy to use, is lighter than traditional dope, and is much less expensive.

If you use patience and the right application techniques your results will rival the best traditonal dope finishes!!

[billbyles]

Top Flite has been making a very good and easy to use dope since about 1966.  It is currently available at almost every hobby shop.  Top Flite developed a novel method for pre-applying the dope on a plasic film.  It normally is available in 72" X 26" sheets that is sold on rolls.  Very easy to use, is lighter than traditional dope, and is much less expensive.

If you use patience and the right application techniques your results will rival the best traditonal dope finishes!!

Yeah, OK...Monokote.

[Doug Moon]

The cost of my plane I just finished.  I could be off on a few of the numbers but most of it is pretty close.

Wood, 4-6 lbs, some C-grain, some ply, maple beams, $100 maybe more.
Polyspan covering, $20
Quart of sig nitrate, $15
Quart of sig thinner, $15
Complete control system, $45
Canopy, $7
1/8” rod, $2
3/32” rod, $2
Carbon veil, $20
6oz carbon cloth scrap, $10
3 cans of high solid aerosol SW primer, $27
3 colors Omni auto paint, $80
Paint reducer, $60
Clear with hardener, $80
Clear reducer, $13
Lacquer thinner, $13
3m Tape, $7
Brown paper roll, $3
Sullivan 6oz tank, $5
Saito 62, $209
Eather unfinished prop, $25
Spinner, $21
Spinner adaptor, $7
Tetra 55mm wheels, $26
Tail wheel, $3
Misc. hardware and odds and ends, $25

Total = $840

[Dennis Moritz]

Danny used Brodak dope on the Vista, made his own controls, I believe. All in all his $600 estimate for materials cost may not be that far off.

[Doug Moon]

Robert,

What $50 dollar wheels are you using?

I dont like ot use wheel pants myself and I am always looking for cool wheels.  I figure for $50 they have to be cool.  I cant see them inside your wheel pants.

Thanks