Author: Stan Alexander
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/08
Page Numbers: 108,109,110
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Radio Control Scale

Stan Alexander [[email protected]]

Scale goodies at the Toledo Show

Each year the Weak Signals R/C Club in Ohio hosts the Toledo R/C Expo, or as it’s commonly called, "the Toledo Show." The event is well organized—with parking, admittance, food vendors—and there are plenty of people to see, static models to admire, and new products to buy. Some friends and I have a savings plan for this event: we toss change and sometimes small bills into a jar in the shop beginning at the end of the show for mad money to spend there the following year.

Scale models play a big part in the show, as does the static competition. Awards for the beauty contest range from $2,000 for Best of Show to $500 for first place in each category and $250 for third place. (The prizes used to be radio systems; cash is probably more appreciated now.) Check the Toledo Show website for entry rules and study them well. The static scale classes include:

  • Non-Military Sport Scale
  • Military Sport Scale
  • Best Jet
  • Designer Scale

Manufacturers who attend supply parts for models or inspire modelers to document and build their latest creations. The show features major manufacturers, hobby shops, swap shops, and new companies. There is also a fast, furious auction.

The R/C Expo and similar shows can give a new company a jump-start—exposure, contacts, customers, and suppliers. The contacts made with press and public at events like the AMA Expo in Ontario, California, are priceless. At Toledo you can buy hobby supplies, parts, engines, radios, RC cars, electric helicopters, ARFs, magazines, and books. Pick up a complimentary shopping bag from the Great Planes or Horizon Hobby booth; they often have exclusive show releases.

What struck me when I first entered the Toledo Show was the huge de Havilland D.H.4 at the Balsa USA booth. This 1/4-scale model had a wingspan of 127 inches, a length of 89 inches, and an estimated all-up weight of 30–35 pounds. A 60–80cc gas engine is recommended. The retail price is expected to be near $550. The D.H.4 looks great in bare bones, though the main gear is spread out somewhat; tightening it up for scale contests should be no problem. The model is so large it almost needed its own booth.

Sig Manufacturing brought its current product line, including a beautiful electric-powered Bf 109E ARF. Panel lines and most markings are already applied to the 48-inch-span aircraft when you buy it, and a pilot bust is included. You need to purchase the motor, ESC, Li-Poly battery, and radio gear. The Bf 109 looks great and will be a hit at the field. It has a street price of about $159.95.

Top Flite attended with a Cessna 182 ARF that features a built-in lighting system and many other scale details. The 81-inch-wingspan model is expertly finished, with fairings, scoops, and antennas included. Hardware is supplied for either electric or two-stroke-engine power; a good .61 two-stroke should work fine, and a four-stroke would sound even better. The Cessna is expected to cost approximately $399. Top Flite and Sig are on the short list of big manufacturers that offer true scale kits for competitors. Balsa USA and Proctor Enterprises (which sells a line of World War I airplanes) also offer kits that require more building time—but when you actually build a model, you have something special that's worth your hard-earned free time.

When you get to the field, the locals will say, "I haven't seen that color scheme before; which ARF is it?" You can reply, "I built this one from a kit, installed the gear, covered it, and painted it." Just watch their faces.

Budding scale modelers can build these kits, and experts can make masterpieces of them. I've seen new modelers make masterpieces too. Today's kits have scale outlines that are correct—or extremely close—and that is where competition starts: the outline of the model.

Several modelers wish Top Flite had a conversion kit for its 1/5-scale P-51D so they could make it into the B version. At one point the company had a 1/5-scale B version as a kit; I know, because I have one.

Sig's 1/3-scale Spacewalker is back on the company's website, as is the Spacewalker II at 1/4 scale. Sig still offers its line of J-3 Cub kits, from the smaller 71-inch model to the 1/4-scale J-3 and the clipped-wing version of Hazel Sig's airplane.

Top Flite still has one of the best military kits out—its T-34—for which you can get full-house retracts and flaps as options; being a tricycle-gear aircraft makes ground handling much easier. Top Flite also sells a Sea Fury, P-47 Thunderbolt (in two sizes), P-51D, Corsair (in two sizes), Spitfire Mk IX, P-40, Cessna Skylane 182, Stinson Reliant SR-9, and a DC-3 kit. Another often overlooked model that looks great on the runway is the Piper Arrow II. Missing from that lineup is the Beech 35 V-tail civil version of the T-34, which Top Flite discontinued.

Yellow Aircraft was at Toledo with a variety of models, plus landing gear sets and parts that fit many designs besides its own. The company continues to expand its kit line; this year it debuted a P-40 Warhawk and an all-composite YF-22 Raptor.

The YF-22 is particularly large; the basic kit is expected to cost roughly $3,000—plus turbine and radio gear. When you price some turbine-powered models, Yellow Aircraft's offerings aren't overpriced for what you get: composite kit, scale retracts, prebuilt interior with pilot, and scale machined-aluminum wheels with rubber tires. Options include brakes with air-control valves, a door kit, sequencing valve, custom conformal fuel cells, and a bifurcated tailpipe.

One of my favorites is the P-40. The Yellow Aircraft design has an 86-inch wingspan and an epoxy/fiberglass fuselage reinforced with carbon fiber. The wings are built from foam cores and accept retractable scale gear and split flaps. Other accessories are available.

I just like WWII warbirds, and my grandson says he wants a model with a shark's mouth. It goes to show you that kids know best.

If you don't live close enough to drive to Toledo, fly to Detroit, Michigan, which is roughly a 30-minute drive from the SeaGate Centre—the site of the R/C Expo. If you fly, take an extra piece of luggage for treasures on the way home (you're actually better off mailing Li-Poly batteries).

Even though the Toledo Show is held in April, the winter winds off the Great Lakes don't care. Dressing to stay warm is required; layers work best, since it warms up quickly inside the venue.

Plan to stay for at least two days—you can't see all the show has to offer in one. Take a good, hard look at what's available, and be sure to attend the Saturday-night auction.

The R/C Expo is a once-in-a-lifetime event for some modelers and a yearly migration for others. With all the new and great stuff there, it's a must-see. Make your plans now; the 2010 edition takes place April 9–11.

Around Scale

I have received photos from David Andersen, who has designed and built models for many years. He has an interesting mix of civil and military aircraft, including a Lavochkin La-7, a 1/5-scale Grumman American Lynx, an Arado Ar.96, and Benny Howard's Pete.

Most recently David completed a model of the late-WWII version of Kurt Tank's Focke-Wulf Fw 190—the Ta 152H—the high-altitude version of the Luftwaffe fighter that offered a top speed of 480 mph. The model spans 114 inches at 1/5 scale. It is powered by a Desert Aircraft 50cc engine and has a Bisson custom Fw 190 muffler and Sierra 1/5-scale retracts designed specifically for the project. David claims that with the throttle reduced to idle, the Ta 152 will thermal on that high-aspect-ratio wing.

Fair skies and tailwinds! MA

Sources

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.