Disappoint with Horizon

[Hippie 64]

I bought the small PT-17 to play around with in the backyard . As far as the plane itself it is very nice and I've not flown it yet . The bad part is it is scotch taped together ! I know it was $100 but still felt it should have been more than decaled and taped together .

I don't have any bad feelings toward MRC only feel let down by Horizon

Bryan

[fhhuber]

Actually the tape assembly is common for micros. Parkzone/E-flite used the decals to hold some of theirs together. The Parkzone P-51 ultramicro for example.

Note its best to spit the decal/tape on the seam to take it apart because peeling them will lift the paint. Just scotch tape back together after fixing whatever it was that needed work inside.

[Konrad]

Let down by Horizon Hobbies for using adhesive tape? This is like blaming MotionRC for selling a model made from Dixie cup foam, 5 cents of foam, for $150.

Going way back to the first 4 channel Park Zone UMX, the performance SU-26, have all been using adhesive tape and to great effect.

I will admit that when I first came across this tape I was a bit miffed at, per the manual, having to cut through the decals to gain access to the aileron bell crank to up the aileron response on the SU-26. But after detailed analysis this was fine. As the decals did not hide or cover up the part line. And with a sharp knife the splitting of the decal was almost imperceptible. Adhesive tape afforded a means to disassemble and reassemble the model several times without damage to the components. (I still have two SU-26 from the turn of the century).
http://www.parkzone.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=PKZ3580

I’ve never had any failure with the tape. Even hitting the ground, the tape has stayed intact

Like all new processes there is a bit of a learning curve. Do not use the Scotch product called Magic tape in hopes that it will hide the repair. Also don’t use the serrated cutter on most Scotch tape dispensers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chQffHSu0vc

I find that regular gloss tape to blend into the surface finish much better than the mat magic tape. Should the gloss be too strong, a light coat of acrylic satin of matt clear sprayed on blends this perfectly. Another key to hiding the tape is to make the edges sharp and clean. The ragged edge from the dispenser cutter is horrible! Use a sharp set of scissors to cut the ends. And while you are at it cut the corners to have a smooth 2mm radius. This helps to keep the corners from lifting later on in the models life.

If you feel that cutting through the decals will actually have a noticeable affect on their appearance. You can purchase new sets from HH for less than it costs to buy a bottle of foam safe CA glue.

Tape looks to me to be a suitable material for the task at hand.

So what is the issue with tape? Is it just a matter of perception rather than substance?

All the best,
Konrad

P.S.
The PT 17 is a fun low stress park flier. I use it a lot to give the kids and their mothers at the flying field (park) some stick time.

[Hippie 64]

God your a pain in the a*s . I only expressed my disappointment in Horizon for not glueing the parts together . Again your arrogance turns a simple statement into a book of reading that is nothing more of an attempt to make the author sound like a dork . A simple don't worry it works fine is all it takes .
This is my last visit to the forum because you do nothing but anger me . A few others have emailed and said the same to me for the same reason . You constantly stomp on people with your response to their post . I have been a great customer with MRC and will continue to do so but no longer visit Hobby Squawk .

[Konrad]

God your a pain in the a*s . I only expressed my disappointment in Horizon for not glueing the parts together . Again your arrogance turns a simple statement into a book of reading that is nothing more of an attempt to make the author sound like a dork . A simple don't worry it works fine is all it takes .
This is my last visit to the forum because you do nothing but anger me . A few others have emailed and said the same to me for the same reason . You constantly stomp on people with your response to their post . I have been a great customer with MRC and will continue to do so but no longer visit Hobby Squawk .

Don't be so self aggrandizing, I don't post to make you look like a dork. Why would anything I posted above anger you? It was just information to help you ,and anybody else, that read your post understand the benefits to the use of tape in this application. You stated that the "bad part is it is Scotch taped together !" I tried to show that this was false and that there are no grounds to be disappointed, well not with the tape.

You posted a gripe about Horizon Hobbies, feeling like you got ripped off. I took the time to write that the tape was perfectly fine for the application. (In fact it is much better than the glue you just suggested.) I tried to explain how to deal with the process of tape on these UMX models. I also gave you links on how to repair these models. It was obvious that you were not comfortable with the tape process that Horizon had used. And in your ignorance of the benefits of the process had felt that taping the model was "BAD".

My "book" was to try to lift the veils of ignorance and to dispel the misconception you made in this post as the integrity of Horizon Hobbies.

I'm sorry to say that you, not I, made yourself to look like a dork. I apologies for not being able to reverse that image that you so strongly cultivated with your last reply!

All the best,
Konrad

Note; Ignorance does NOT mean stupid, it means lack of knowledge.

[fhhuber]

God your a pain in the a*s . I only expressed my disappointment in Horizon for not glueing the parts together . Again your arrogance turns a simple statement into a book of reading that is nothing more of an attempt to make the author sound like a dork . A simple don't worry it works fine is all it takes .
This is my last visit to the forum because you do nothing but anger me . A few others have emailed and said the same to me for the same reason . You constantly stomp on people with your response to their post . I have been a great customer with MRC and will continue to do so but no longer visit Hobby Squawk .

Your loss... not ours

[Konrad]

Actually we'd all loose. It is positions like he took that give us the opportunity to enlighten those that might hold the same view but hadn't articulated it.

All the best,
Konrad

[martmichals]

If you really hate the way a company makes a model, why don't you scratchbuild? That way you will know what goes into your plane and you won't have any reason to complain about the way a plane is constructed. Try and respond with valid reasons too, not with false accusations of someone being a "pain in the a**". That language can only serve to degrade Hobbysquawk's quality of content.

[weedsnager]

After you crash a Umx plane and you have to buy parts to rebuilt it, you'll be thanking horizon for using tape instead of glue

[Konrad]

In the OP’s defense I assume he was referencing the many grammatical errors in the "books" I post. These can make reading my posts a “Pain in the A**!" and for that I apologize. I do often go back and clean up my posts for grammatical errors. So please don’t think that you are seeing me trying to practice revisionist history, if you notice that my posts are actually easier to read the next day.

Now if the OP’s concern was that I can’t convey concise technical ideas in 5 word or less then I stand guilty, but I make no apologies for that. I want all that use Hobby Squawk to have at least as sound a foundation of the issue as I have. Hopefully many have a better understanding and can convey them to us the membership. I for one love to learn new things. Short unsubstantiated post really don’t give me an understanding of the issue or the nuances of the solution.

I for one am sorry to see him go.

All the best,
Konrad

[doctormike]

Hippie, I found nothing in Konrads answer to you that should solicit such an angry reply!!! We really don't need this kind of knee jerk anger on the forum. Doc

[The Huff]

I just made some popcorn .... 🍿🍺

[Konrad]

As he said he was gone, and I’m sure he is a man of his word, I think his perceived issue is that I try to make my responses detailed. He perceives this detail as an attempt on my part to make him, or whomever I’m responding to, look like a “dork”. My posts for the most part are aimed at the exchange of (what I think is) useful information. I ask direct question to help me, ether better understand the problem, or equally important understand the answer (I too am learning here on Hobby Squawk).

In this thread I tried to even show a “humanist” slant, in that I too had some reservation about the tape when I first encountered it. So if he thought I was calling him a “dork" thinking tape was problem. Then that term would apply to me as I too at one time thought tape was odd.

Now to his comment that my posts often read like a book, I make no apologies for that.


All the best,
Konrad

P.S.
I think the soda fountain is open.