Question For The R/C Guys

[KRH1326]

My wife?s uncle has recently passed. As he had no other family, it fell on us to clear out his apartment, make final arrangements and such.
We boxed up everything and brought all home with us. We started going through his belongings and have come across some stuff that I don?t quite know what to do with.
He was building some radio controlled airplanes. There is a huge 1/5 scale Cessna 182 Skylane Kit that he started building. He has another kit for it, that is the complete cockpit, that he didn?t start assembling.
He had a OS 4 stroke engine (FS-91) in it. The radio is a Futaba FP-8UAP PCM1024. The unit looks way to alien for me, lots of switches and it has some kind of computerized display on it and a programming console.
There is some kind of 12 v starter too.
He also has another huge Corsair model that he started, but that one has no radio, engine or anything.
There also is a smaller P-40 Warhawk that he has not started.

I know nothing about this R/C stuff. I will be completely honest, I really am not interested in it either. I have a tugboat model that I started years ago, If I ever want to play with R/C, I will finish that.

Do these items have any kind of value, other than that for the builder upon completion? My choices right now are 1) box everything together and relegate it to the attic until someone has to go through my estate, 2) figure out what to do with it.

Any ideas?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Question For The R/C Guys

i am sure they do. RC is big now days. there are many sites with forums.

 

[ddrieck]

Re: Question For The R/C Guys

Do a little investigating on eBay. I believe there is a section just for R/C planes and parts. That would give you an idea of value for each of the items you have.

If you were closer I would make you an offer on all of it. My son is into the R/C truck stuff.

 

[arks]

Re: Question For The R/C Guys

I have a couple R/C speedboats. They're a lot of fun with Homelite engines- cheap and fast!

Yeah I agree, check ebay. You might be pleasantly surprised what that stuff is worth.

If you don't want it, just list it for sale. Only problem I see with ebay is shipping some of the large pieces. For those, you might consider Craigslist- after determining a reasonable valuation of course!

 

[lowkee]

Re: Question For The R/C Guys

Maybe just throw it all on ebay as a bundle. Be sure to list all the model #s and whatnot, so it comes up in searches. Let the bidders tell you what it's worth. I've found RC stuff to sell for a decent price, even used, but it requires you to part everything out, since clumping it all together normally gets the worst price.. sort of like most things, really. You could also post it all on CL with a "will accept best offer after 7 days" or similar.

 

[Maclin]

Re: Question For The R/C Guys

Find out if he had a favorite local hobby shop he patronized, they may have some interesting info and stories for you.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Question For The R/C Guys

Or a local R/C model club....

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: Question For The R/C Guys

The radio and engine are worth more than the airplanes. Although they are very nice, they aren't worth more than what was paid for them which is only a couple of hundred a piece.

RC stuff doesn't gain value with age unless its really really old antique stuff and what you describe certainly isn't antique.

 

[4JawChuck]

Re: Question For The R/C Guys

Put it up for sale at a local hobby store post it board, take lots of pics. Someone will be interested especially in the PCM radio and new motor.

 

[*EdC*]

Re: Question For The R/C Guys

Here ya go.... Good people over there!


http://www.rcgroups.com/for-sale-wanted-201/

 

[piper_chuck]

Re: Question For The R/C Guys

I've been flying R/C planes and racing R/C boats for over 30 years. Here are my thoughts:
You could try to sell the smaller parts, engine, radio, etc on eBay. However, if you do not know much about them it will be hard to accurately describe their condition, unless they're new. The lack of knowledge will show through and the bids will be low.

You should be able to list the kit that's not started on eBay, hopefully it's complete.

The kits that are already started will be challenging to ship, especially if they're far enough along to be fairly large. A local sale will be better.

CL is one place you can list them. You might also be able to find a local club or hobby shop and see if they'd spread the word for you. Someone who can actually see them and assess the construction is more likely to buy them.

People who fly are generally a pretty helpful lot, especially the old timers who would be interested in the kits you have. If you find a local club and explain the situation they might be willing to help you figure out what you've got, and what condition they're in.

If you want, email pics of the stuff to me and I can give you some more details of what you've got and some possible values. I've already got a lifetime supply of engines and kits, and I'm shopping for a Mastercraft, so I'm not in the market for anything. My email addy is piper_chuck@yahoo.com Include your location and I'll see if I can locate a club or two in your area.