Balsa Model Kits

This topic is empty.

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)

Author

Posts
4 February 2021 at 10:32 #93582
Peter Sykes
Participant
@petersykes47234
Hi All,

Does anyone much make Balsa Model Kits anymore??? I made loads as a kid and a few years ago I aquired a kit that I made of a Hydroplane / Tunnel hull boat. I can't remember the name (or what happened to the finished article). But I'd love to be able to build another one.

Regards

Peter
Advert

4 February 2021 at 10:32 #4715
Peter Sykes
Participant
@petersykes47234
4 February 2021 at 11:33 #93585
Ray Wood 3
Participant
@raywood3
Hi Peter,

Long gone are the Keil Kraft days, but J Perkins are distributing some new kits with ply keel, bulkheads & deck with balsa sheeting to the sides and bottom, they are around £60 for the wood kit, I built their review model Riviera Launch they are quite sweet

Regards Ray
4 February 2021 at 11:38 #93588
Richard Simpson
Moderator
@richardsimpson88330
A lot of the Glynn Guest plans use balsa as a construction material, with a lot of them available as free plans with Model Boats Magazine.
4 February 2021 at 11:51 #93593
Peter Sykes
Participant
@petersykes47234
Posted by Ray Wood 2 on 04/02/2021 11:33:40:

Hi Peter,

Long gone are the Keil Kraft days, but J Perkins are distributing some new kits with ply keel, bulkheads & deck with balsa sheeting to the sides and bottom, they are around £60 for the wood kit, I built their review model Riviera Launch they are quite sweet

Regards Ray

Thanks Ray,

I'll have a look at that.
4 February 2021 at 12:16 #93594
Peter Sykes
Participant
@petersykes47234
Posted by Richard Simpson on 04/02/2021 11:38:54:

A lot of the Glynn Guest plans use balsa as a construction material, with a lot of them available as free plans with Model Boats Magazine.

hi Richard,

Hi Richard,

I've never built off a plan. Just too lazy and don't really have the facilities to cut out the bits.

Regards

Peter
4 February 2021 at 13:28 #93596
redpmg
Participant
@redpmg
Hi Peter,

SLEC also market a range of reasonably priced kits – mostly in Liiteply which would probably suit you . All laser cut and easy assembly as the parts fit very well. Most of the old Aerokit designs and more modern ones like Dave Milbournes Huntsman etc.

There is also the EeZeBilt site which has all the plans for the original Keil Kraft EeZeBilt boats and some later larger boats called 50+ which were mostly designed by the fellow who runs the site. Worth a look as they are all made of balsa and easy assembly with all the parts laid out for you . They are not plans as such – rather just parts drawings and assembly instructions – and they are all downloadable for free…………

There are also a few balsa kits from the US – imagine they would be hard to find in the UK – and mostly hydroplane/racing types

Edited By redpmg on 04/02/2021 13:31:47

Edited By redpmg on 04/02/2021 13:33:26
5 February 2021 at 10:24 #93617
Malcolm Frary
Participant
@malcolmfrary95515
Way back, balsa was the only game in town. Since then, we have seen various plastics, fibreglass, and ply become available, all of which do a better job, especially for any manufacturer hoping to sell more than one kit per customer.

Balsa can make great models, but working ones need a lot of work to be tough enough for use by modellers.
5 February 2021 at 14:43 #93618
redpmg
Participant
@redpmg
Forgot to mention HA Kits

They market a line of reasonably priced models – believe mostly liteply again – but some parts may well be balsa. !

Still have balsa boats more than 30 years old which have survived many house moves with some very long distance travel included to UK and return to SA. – Glynn Guest also has a lot of old models too………………
5 February 2021 at 16:40 #93620
Colin Bishop
Moderator
@colinbishop34627
As said above, an SLEC liteply kit is a good modern substitute for the old balsa type. However I think only the recent three smaller Faireys designed by Dave Milbourn use this material. The others use traditional birch ply.

**LINK**

Colin
Author

Posts