Balsa Basics Spitfire | 40" 4-Ch RC Kit

£132.00
(5 Reviews)
In stock

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AT A GLANCE

Wingspan (inches)
40
Ease of Build
Beginner
Ease of Flight
Intermediate
Product Details

BALSA BASICS SPITFIRE - UPDATED AIRFRAME ONLY KIT

It’s the one everyone wants.

There really is no other warbird that sets the spine tingling and the juices flowing like a Spitfire at full chat.

Our “stand off scale” Balsa Basics Spitfire might not have the precise detail of a mass-produced, ready-to-fly foamie, but it will have the heart and soul you’ve put into building it and the flying - oh deary me!

It’s uncanny just how convincing this model is in flight. As it streaks across the sky, a little wing wave and you’d think you’re looking at the real thing. It even sounds fast with the “C” Speed brushless motor and aggressive prop chopping the air ahead of those iconic elliptical wings carving away like precision blades.

This is your go to Spit - the one you take out to the field when you’re too scared to crash the 100 hour, scale masterpiece you’ve spent all winter building.

More Detailed Than You Might Think

Although clearly meant to be a very simple, fun-scale model of the Spitfire, this aircraft does come with exhaust stacks, oil cooler, radiator , vacuum-formed plastic canopy and self-adhesive markings sheet.

The aircraft can be covered and finished in a variety of ways to bring it to life - this kit really is a blank canvas for you to use to build the Spitfire you want to fly.

Even Easier To Build

This updated version of the original kit includes a number of subtle differences designed to make the kit easier than ever to build.

We've done away with alternative motor mounting bulkheads - there's just one now that fits both the Standard "B" and Speed "C" spec motor packs.

The tricky fin and elevator hinge fitment on the previous model that involved splicing balsa has been replaced with a much easier laminated method that's absolute child's play.

The included grey polyester heat-shrink covering is a big improvement over the previous cream colour, if you're not planning to paint the model.

Easy Battery Access

There's plenty of room in the battery compartment for a 3s LiPo battery up to a 2200 (which is the recommended size for this model).

Belly Lander

To do away with complex and fragile retracts, the Balsa Basics Spitfire is a belly lander. A quick underarm launch and you're up in the air with landings over grass in a field or park a cinch.

Get the kit on on your workbench on Saturday morning and by Sunday afternoon, you could be out there barrel rolling, looping and generally tearing up the skies over your favourite flying field.

Nothing beats it frankly!

Specifications

YOUR KIT INCLUDES

  • Laser cut components (including 2x ply sheets, balsa sheets, balsa strip wood sheet, and thin ply sheet with control horns)
  • 18swg (1.2mm) x 19 inch (480mm) piano wire pushrods (no z bend)
  • 18swg (1.2mm) x 4 inch (100mm) piano wire aileron pushrods (no z bend)
  • 1/8th (3.175mm) x 9inch (230mm) hardwood dowel
  • Vacuum-formed scale plastic canopy
  • 4 x M3 T-nuts
  • 4 x M3 bolts
  • 12 x Mylar hinges
  • 4 x Rubber Wing bands
  • 2m roll of Grey polyester heat-shrink covering
  • Plastic prop spinner

NOT INCLUDED IN YOUR KIT

  • Cyano-acrylate glue
  • Epoxy
  • Paints
  • Motor, prop and electronics
  • Radio control gear
  • Battery
Help & Resources
Shipping

UK SHIPPING

Most orders are shipped via Royal Mail’s Tracked 48 service.

We are in the middle of nowhere and so our Royal Mail collection is at around 1pm.

Example:

An order placed before 12pm on Monday should be with you on Wednesday.

An order placed after 12pm on Monday should be with you on Thursday.

For larger or heavier orders, we use UKMail/DHL to deliver your package on a Next Working Day service.

Example:

An order placed before 10am on Monday should be with you on Tuesday.

An order placed after 10am on Monday should be with you on Wednesday.

For larger or heavier orders, we use UKMail/DHL to deliver your package on a Next Working Day service.

Shipping is free to UK Mainland addresses for orders over £30.00, otherwise we charge £6.00 for Royal Mail Tracked 48 parcels and £12.00 for UKMail/DHL Next Working Day.

NORTHERN IRELAND, HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS

Royal Mail considers Northern Ireland, Scottish Highlands and UK Islands as part of the UK and so does not charge a premium for deliveries.

Pretty much all other UK couriers have surcharges for deliveries to the following postcodes: IV, HS, KA27-28, KW, PA20-49, PA60-78, PH17-26, PH30-44, PH49-50, ZE, BT, IM, TR21-25

If you live in one of these postcodes and the parcel size of your order is outside Royal Mail's dimensions, you will have to pay a surcharge.

Our system is not clever enough to work this out and so if your order attracts a surcharge, we will contact you before despatch to see if you would like to pay the surcharge and proceed with the order or cancel and receive a full refund.

 

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING

Smaller items

Items that fit within Royal Mail International Tracked Medium Parcel parameters (59cm x 17cm x 15cm weighing less than 2kg) can be sent to most countries outside the UK.

For example up to 3 of our smaller 18” wingspan kits can fit into one of these parcels.

A parcel like this currently costs around £14 to Europe and around £18 to send to the USA and will take up to 3 weeks to arrive. This is because Royal Mail hands over the parcel to the local Post Office service for your country who have to clear it through customs and then deliver it to you.

The Royal Mail tracking code also transfers over to the tracking for your country’s postal service.

Larger items

For items that do not fit within Royal Mail International Tracked Medium Parcel parameters, we use standard international couriers such as DHL, FedEx and UPS.

These companies use something called volumetric weights to calculate the cost of shipping.

For example, a Balsa Basics RC bundle kit that measures 102cm x 34cm x 16cm and weighs 2.5 kg is actually calculated at 14kg!

This makes these very expensive to send outside the UK - a large kit can cost nearly £40 to send to France.

Reviews (5)
Write a Review and share your opinions!
5 Reviews:

Spitfire
Rating:
07 May 2023  | 

Thought I'd give RC a second go now that I've retired and have a winter project building this beautiful machine. My review is more based on the ordering experience and first impressions of the unbuilt kit. I placed the order for the basic kit but also added the more powerful motor, props and glue, it was easy via the website to identify I was ordering the compatible components as this was made clear in item descriptions. All the process was very easy but then decided later to order a second bottle of glue but a delivery charge was being added so I emailed explaining I wanted the glue adding to the order. The next day I had a reply from Hadi saying the glue had been added with a simple PayPal link to pay the difference, so easy and great prompt reply, I was impressed. All item were delivered two days later and well packaged. The kit looks fantastic quality with helpful guides and instructions, I'm looking forward to starting the build. All I can say is that the Vintage Model Company have been an absolute delight to deal with and I'm sure will use again, I will hopefully update this review once the Spitfire is built and flown with an honest opinion.


Spitfire
Rating:
07 May 2023  | 

Inovative design perfect for first time builders! Flies nice and docile for a Spit which makes it enjoyable and stress-free. Fab! Now for the Hurricane...


Spitfire
Rating:
07 May 2023  | 

Having seen this advertised in BMFA News I thought it would be a great project to do during the Covid Lockdown, and so it proved. It is an excellent kit and makes up into a nice little model which flies very well - congratulations to VMC for producing this. What I liked: the design is simple, the construction is straightforward. The wood is reasonable if a little on the brittle side, the laser cutting is exquisite - everything fitted perfectly. The resulting model is quite good looking and flies well with no vices.. What I didn't like: (1) the construction is stringers over which covering is stretched. This leads to a very curious spitfire more like a old timer biplane whereas it should have smooth surfaces. I covered the leading edge and fuselage topdeck in 2mm balsa sheet and the appearance improved dramatically. (2) My main complaint is that the nose if too boxy - I extended it with 6mm block which allowed much better fairing to the shape of the spinner. (3) the model is designed to hand launch and belly land, but I fly off a concrete runway and this is not good for belly landings. I fitted very light main legs and wheels - not very good scale, but you can't see them when the model is in the air, and it does allow brilliant take-offs and landings (if you are careful to keep the nose up and the tail down on touchdown). Overall, a very good little model, now had lots of flights. I chose the colours of the Silver Spitfire Longest Flight as a change from air force camouflage. Well done VMC and I look forward to more (bigger) models of this type in the future !


Spitfire
Rating:
07 May 2023  | 

Easy to build and flys really well only downside rear stringer behind cockpit could be stronger or better supported by ribs


Spitfire
Rating:
07 May 2023  | 

Goes together quite easily, took a bit of time to work out what went where, had to rerun the instructional video a few times