Re: Recent engine acquisitions

getback Wed Jul 20, 2016 9:41 am

Thank You Kari , here is the link to the pic I just saved again :coxhttps://www.coxengineforum.com/t8739-cox-049-marked-with-thimble-drome?highlight=thimble+dome engine: Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 Babe_b10

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 Babe_b10

cams up nezt to the other pic Fireworks

halfpilot Wed Jul 20, 2016 11:32 am

So happy to have found this thread. First thing I have to do here is a little whining to get it off my chest, I'll come back later with examples of nice deals I have done in Europe.

Deals on engines and engine parts in Europe are very rare, I agree. Some even seem to see their engines as a get rich quick scheme! Here is a good example:

£170 for a NIB Pee Wee

I thought eBay's global shipping would help us get access to the North American market, the trouble is the postage is extortionate for small items putting American bidders at a huge advantage and they do not offer combined shipping even if you buy from the same seller. I have contacted numerous American sellers directly about auctions that I was willing to pay well over the norm for but I almost always get told they don't want to go to a post office and fill out a customs form to post it to me. Apparently I can't pay them enough to stand in a post office queue. I keep looking but I must admit to dying a little inside each time I see something that I have longed for since I was a little boy go for peanuts to someone else all because someone can't be bothered to fill out a customs form despite me shouting for them to "take my money!".

As an example there was a seller in the US selling a kit I had been looking for for 25 years. He refused to let me bid because he'd have to fill in a customs form. I knew of a Canadian who wanted the same kit and decided since I wasn't allowed to bid I would graciously let him know about it. Canada is also an international postage destination but that didn't stop the seller agreeing to post it to him! Why not Europe?

halfpilot Wed Jul 20, 2016 11:53 am

I am based in the United Kingdom and some of the more amazing deals I've done in recent memory would be:

Buying a selection of Stevens Aero kits really cheaply on closeout from micronradiocontrol here in the UK. Kit building is not very popular here and is mostly done by retired men who understandably prefer the models from their youth. I built and flew a few of them on electric as designed and then decided I wanted to get back to glow, diesel and gliders and sold the rest at a profit after fees of around 30%. Apparently all the guy needed to do was advertise the kits on eBay.

Picked up a new in box Airtronics Aquila sailplane for £90 + postage from eBay UK. At the time my son was a very small baby who would wake me up very early in the morning before anyone else had chance to look at the new listings. Good condition Aquila kits change hands at about $200 in the USA though I expect an old design wooden glider with a simple airfoil to be substantially less popular here in Europe. We have always been ahead of the game when it comes to model gliders for some reason.

Not the greatest of deals to a North American perhaps, but I somehow managed to get a new in 1975 packaging Golden Bee for just £38 including delivery from Canada, and for once the customs guys did not tax me! Import taxes apply on anything over £15 in value here.

Latest deal was just nuts for Europe. I went to an RC model show a few weekends back and found a stall selling mostly used goods. Among them was a boxed 1988 Cox Black Widow which was grubby but obviously unused - the sticker on top said it was never run. Cost me just £20. I couldn't believe it! I am just about done building a Q-Tee for my Golden Bee. After that I would like to build a Jr Falon for the black widow. Of course I had to go and ruin my luck and put a burr on the widow's cylinder almost immediately after getting home. Still a great deal though.

Keep em coming, I was feeling glum until I found this thread!

Simon

GallopingGhostler Wed Jul 20, 2016 8:13 pm

ThermalSniffer wrote:Apparently I can't pay them enough to stand in a post office queue. I keep looking but I must admit to dying a little inside each time I see something that I have longed for since I was a little boy go for peanuts to someone else all because someone can't be bothered to fill out a customs form despite me shouting for them to "take my money!".

Thought never occurred to me of lines being that excessive at the US Postal. Popcorn

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 Long-Line

KariFS Thu Jul 21, 2016 2:57 am

What about UPS or DHL? That's what I always used when shipping stuff from USA to Finland. That was 15 years ago but at least back then it was a lot less laborous than using the post office. Customs was not a problem, I usually shipped fiber samples that had no financial value and labeled them accordingly but the occasional "other stuff" posed no problem either.

I would imagine that nowadays they have web forms that you can pre-fill at home and then just go and drop off the parcel.

BTW I recently heard of a Finnish fellow that lives in Florida and he has a "service" where one can forward EBay and other purchases to his address, and he will put the package in a shipping container and when the container is full, he seals it and has it shipped over to Finland. Supposedly very reasonable rates. His main business is buying and shipping vehicles from insurance auctions (totaled Harleys or older American cars mostly) and shipping them over here to be sold so the containers fill up rather quickly.

GallopingGhostler Thu Jul 21, 2016 4:01 am

In US, FedEx and UPS, the two largest private parcel shippers, are considerably more expensive for private individuals than US Postal Service. That is why that most small time vendors and private individuals will use USPS. Long time ago, it was not that way, how these companies got their foot in the door. Large volume shipping companies on the other hand get price volume reductions from private carriers.

E-Bay has some high fees for selling. Occasionally the discussion comes up in the various control line forums. Small vendors sometimes feel between a rock and hard place, because they need to make a profit, and the higher E-Bay fees cut into that profit. What is gained through the higher audience is lost through fees. Many model plane sellers have come and gone because of that.

smooth_bill Thu Jul 21, 2016 4:31 am

Kari,

I'm very lucky to have a branch post office in a local grocery store. I went there to mail the Cox .15 piston re-seating tool to the gentleman in England, who in turn sent it to you. The lady postal clerk came out from behind the counter, and helped me fill in the blanks on a computer terminal, and print the customs declaration form, so it was no trouble at all. On top of that she was very nice looking, and I appreciated that - even at my advanced age of 79 years.

The PAW you have with no needle valve is a Mk 1 I think, and only needs a PAW needle assembly for use as a control line engine. They are inexpensive here, and of course easy to obtain in the UK. I have several spares, if you can't find one in Finland. Your second PAW should have the same needle assembly, so you could borrow that to test run the second engine.

Bill

GallopingGhostler Thu Jul 21, 2016 4:43 am

Wanted to add, for me to ship a 1 lb. (0.45 kg) package from New Mexico, US to London, UK, cheapest UPS service with no bells and whistles is $102 US (93 EU). US Postal Service Priority Mail International® Medium Flat Rate Box is $67 US (62 EU). It might be worth it if I was selling a Rollex watch, but not a model aeroplane engine under twice those values.

getback Thu Jul 21, 2016 7:45 am

I just sent a Pee Wee to Italy and the shipping label I printed for intern. shipping had the info already filled in so all I did was print , 23.00 SxH That was new to me and yes there charges are HI if you get to Top Rated there less > United States

You can fix that burr on the BW cly. https://www.coxengineforum.com/t7586-did-i-ruin-my-brand-new-teedee-cylinder?highlight=cylinder+repair Eric Babe Bee .049

GallopingGhostler Thu Jul 21, 2016 4:01 pm

$23 US is still a considerable sum. Pee Wee is a small item and will fit in a smaller, lighter box. I used what I thought most would depended on the engine. Anything larger than a half-A or small A would require more. Flat rate was good for up to 2 lbs.

Shippers used to have seamail. It took a longer time, but was affordable. I think those days are long gone except for very large items. Used to be with various importers, once could go to their hobby shop and get foreign items at reasonable cost. Those days are sort of long gone. One can get China items from Hobby King US stores, Hobby Partz, too. I think China government subsidizes shipping, hence why shipping costs from China are very low.

smooth_bill Thu Jul 21, 2016 6:00 pm

The item I shipped to England was a piston seating tool, with anvil cup. It was packaged in block foam inside a nice aluminum case about the size that they typically use for R/C transmitters. The aluminum case was wrapped in bubble pack, and packed inside a protective outer carton. I don't remember the weight, but Kari may still have the tool, or a shipping receipt with the weight noted.

From memory the weight was about a pound, and it was insured for the minimum amount. Total shipping was $22 from Oregon, to the UK!

I was told that USPS does not ship Priority mail out of the country, because they have no control (such as tracking) when it leaves the US.

Bill

GallopingGhostler Thu Jul 21, 2016 6:29 pm

They were incorrect. That is true about domestic priority mail. There is a different category called "International Priority Mail". There might be some countries they can't ship to via that service. I ran into difficulties some time back with the Alamogordo Post Office and their rude employees. I said nuts with that and went to a 3rd party postal box service, that did US Postal mailing, bypassed dealing with the government office.

You shipped via "First-Class Package International Service - Retail", which makes sense, half the cost. In the CL forums, there was some discussion, can't remember whether Stunt Hangar or Stuka Stunt, etc. Seems E-Bay required US International Priority Mail, which is more expensive.

I'd rather not haggle over words. Things are what they are. Some sellers will not ship outside their country. Those people are a closed door. Since you are willing to ship overseas without haggle, more power to you.

rsv1cox Fri Jul 22, 2016 6:21 am

KariFS wrote:OK, here's the latest lot:

The big diesel is a Soviet "MAP3" or MARZ 2.5cc and the other is a Yin Yang 1.5cc from China. The OS looks good but the compression is not good, hopefully it'll run. The Enyas are stuck solid, we'll see how they turn out.

I suppose I should cut back on purchases for a while, these will keep me busy for a few evenings I received this package Friday afternoon and in the same evening I just had to clean up the sad-looking poor old Babe bee with no head...

Before:

After:

This is the first engine I have that has the Thimble Drome text on tank. The seller told that the Cox engines in this lot were given to him by an American friend who lived in Finland and had brought these with him. Now this friend is "flying his planes in a place where the weather is always perfect" as the seller put it. My guess is either Heaven or Southern California.

I am starting to think that the European imports did not have the text on the tank?

Hi Kari, I enjoyed your series of posts especially the pictures. But this one is the best. Nothing like getting an old engine and making it new again. But I must admit, the NIB Enya 45BB is hard to beat. Nice finds all. It's really fun when all those little boxes arrive.

You would enjoy building that Corsair, my current project.

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 Mouse_10

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 Mouse_10

Bob

balogh Fri Jul 22, 2016 6:38 am

rsv1cox wrote:

You would enjoy building that Corsair, my current project.

Bob

Bob,

are the plans of this Corsair available on the net, or the plane sold as an ARF somewhere? I, for one, would definitely be interested..

András

KariFS Fri Jul 22, 2016 2:07 pm

rsv1cox wrote:
Hi Kari, I enjoyed your series of posts especially the pictures. But this one is the best. Nothing like getting an old engine and making it new again. But I must admit, the NIB Enya 45BB is hard to beat. Nice finds all. It's really fun when all those little boxes arrive.

You would enjoy building that Corsair, my current project.

Thanks Bob. I have noticed you like those old Enyas too Smile

I got this one for a price I could not refuse, and I do like it and the box design is cool too.

While NIB engines are nice, I think I still prefer fixing up and polishing old dirty engines. I have a soft spot for basic bees and product engines, but I do like all of them of course.

Is that Corsair one of the flea market finds or did you purchase it new? Nice aluminum cowl (or is it ally?). Looks a bit small for me to fly (I can barely manage my Riser and Slow Stick) but it sure would be a fun build.

rsv1cox Fri Jul 22, 2016 3:53 pm

Thanks guys.

It's a Sterling kit Andras that came without plans or I would have them copied and sent to you. And Kari........

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 F4u_en11

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 F4u_en11

Yes, a consignment shop find along with a WW1 Camel. Spun aluminum cowl. It's designed to be a C/L model but the previous builder started it as a R/C with built in places for servos, a battery and a receiver with no access for a bell-crank. If I decide to go C/L I will have to cut into the fuselage and build a deck so I'm leaning toward R/C using the newer small servos.

And yes, small it is, only 36" W/S and to unstable for my R/C skills, But it will be a fun completion and maybe one day my son will fly it.

It came without any of the control surfaces installed, so I'm installing those now. Thinking about planking the wing, bought some sheet balsa today to do so. I have shamelessly bragged so often here that I actually started a full scale F4U once, so I won't do it here again. Smile

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 F4u_en10

The Camel is waiting in the wings.....

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 F4_cam10

balogh Fri Jul 22, 2016 4:00 pm

Thanks Bob...just miss those consignment shops in my neighborhood with those finds..good luck I would also turn these birds into R/C..too bad that the current stocks in Hobbyshop in my area include larger than 1/2A size planes only so I bump into kits for 049 engines every second year.

pkrankow Fri Jul 22, 2016 6:07 pm

This one?

http://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=2001

Phil

GallopingGhostler Fri Jul 22, 2016 6:27 pm

pkrankow wrote:This one? http://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=2001 Phil

That's one that I believe came out later (around 1980's). One shown "Steals the Show" is an early CL kit, looks like circa 1950's, early 1960's. Yes, back then they had spun aluminum cowls. Toward the end of Sterling kit production, they substituted cheaper molded plastic cowls.

pkrankow Fri Jul 22, 2016 6:38 pm

This one is kit FS-36

http://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=3446

...suspiciously looks like the same plan in a different page order.

Phil

rsv1cox Fri Jul 22, 2016 7:21 pm

The cockpit canopy looks rather clownish on mine, way out of proportion to the rest of the model and unlike those in the outerzone downloads. Maybe the builder didn't shave it properly.

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 Mouse_11

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 Mouse_11

Bob

GallopingGhostler Fri Jul 22, 2016 7:59 pm

Phil, with the additional photos Bob has provided, I now see what is going on. Sterling Kit FS-36 came out later, definitely after 1970. Here is the April 1970 Price List:

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 1970_s13

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 1970_s13

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 1970_s12

The CL one, Kit# C-9 is shown. Highest Kit# in the FS series is FS-26 back in 1970.

CL version was in the 1955 Catalog.

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 55page10

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 55page10

The 1989 Catalog has Kit# FS-36.

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 1989e10

Bob, reason why the bubble canopy looks odd is that the CL one was based on the early turtle deck F4U. The previous owner wanted to update it to the later F4U. Problem is, the fuselage top shape is incorrect to make this work and look scale. If you remove the bubble canopy and make the earlier straight side and top turtle deck one will clean up its looks.

Reason why you may have no plans for the C-9 could be that it only came with an instruction sheet. Kits were so competitive then, that if the manufacturer could shave a few dimes off kit cost by saving on printing, yet leave enough info so modeler could successfully build the plane, would ensure better sales. I learned that from Joe Wagner, engine guru and model designer.

KariFS Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:49 am

Bob, Ghostler is right. Your model is the F4U-1 Corsair, also called "Birdcage". It has provisions for the rearview windows, like the ones on P40 fighters. It would look more in proportion with a Birdcage canopy, fortunately it's a simple shape. On later versions the pilot's seat height was increased to allow better visibility on carried landings, hence the bubble canopy.

If you do a Google image search on "Birdcage Corsair", that should bring you a lot of reference material.

Here's one pic showing many versions, I didn't even know there were so many.

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 Image26

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 Image26

ian1954 Sun Jul 24, 2016 3:06 pm

It is a sad fact that postage from the US has always been a little high but now it is prohibitive. Before Brexit I made quite a few purchases - anticipating that the pound would fall - from Europe and the US.

Postage from Europe (and non-European countries) rarely exceeds £10 and non subject to import duty and vat (that will change soon!). From China, postage is usually free and I have yet to pay duty.

I bought a kit from the US and quite a few "accessories". He put a value of $60 on the package but still had to pay $49.50 to send it - normal mail.

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 Dsc00215

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 Dsc00215

Total package only weighed 1.4 kg.

Then I had to pay £14.97 in fees and duties. Had that been full resale value it would have been £82.

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 Dsc00216

Recent engine acquisitions - Page 2 Dsc00216

I am not sure how Fleabay works out the shipping costs - I can't see a pattern to it but it is often cheaper for the recipient because we don't get the £8 add on Royal Mail fee.

rsv1cox Sun Jul 24, 2016 3:27 pm

Yes, Thanks George and Kari for the iillustrations. F4U-1 early model, although it looks more like the 1A with the bubble canopy but minus the "rear windows" so apparent on the model itself. I bought planking for the wing and should start again on it shortly.

And Ian, postage overseas from the US has gotten quite expensive. I just shipped a smallish <9 lb package to Frankston Australia that cost the buyer $84.50 USD for shipping alone. Coincidently, I just watched a movie "On the Beach" that was filmed in and around Frankston. Nice country there. Maybe Rod knows the territory.

Bob

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