This page will offer Dave's comments on a variety

of topics related to Diels Engineering, Inc., models,

and/or other topics he wants to comment on.

 

E-Mail your comments to:
dielsengr@kellnet.com

 

July 21, 2010

Hi All,
We got back from the Flying Aces Nats at Geneseo, NY late

Monday afternoon. Had a great time meeting old friends and

making new friends. We got there the previous Tuesday (July 13)

so we could be there at the opening of the judging to set up our

vendors table. We haven't been to Geneseo in about 4 years

due to various personal cirvumstances which a couple times

jumped up and bit us in the hind quarters just before we were

going to leave. So this was a real nice treat for us to get

reaquainted with many of you.

 

So we thank you for stopping by and saying hello and also

for the occasional purchase of bargain prices Diels' goodies.

 

We setup at the field on Thursday and Saturday, taking

Friday off to rest up from the full day at the field. We aren't

you and spry anymore. Mark and Jim our neighboring popup

friends helped us set up our Easy Open Popup(Not that easy)

and took care of it for us when we were not at the field. It is

so nice to have such a friendly group around.

 

Attendance was done from the last time we were there and

I guess it was do to the economy. One would hope that the

economy will rebound and attendance increase next year.

But I'm not holding my breath on that.

 

For Diels Engineering, Inc., we learned that our new line of

shorts kits were very popular. We brought about 2 of each

one in our line and sold out of quite a few of them. Our

complete kits although discounted almost 1/3 off list price

just for the contest were not as popular. So I now have

enough stock left to tide me over for the next year or so.

The next time I go I will not bring as much stuff. We also l

earned that the new laser kits are the way to go in the future.

So I will plan to add 3 or 4 more by next summer. 

 

You will note that I did not cover any of the events. That's

because this was primarily a selling event for us. I did hope

to finish a plane to fly but didn't get it ready in time to bring

it. The closest I got to flying my models was the windy gusts

that blew the short kits off our table on Saturday. I oould say

I flew about 20 planes all at one time that all totaled about 1

second in the air for a distance of about 3 feet for an DOT

(Drop off table) launch.

 

All in all it was a busy and fun time.

 

Dave Diels

 

 

April 19, 2010

 

Hi Gang,

They say time flies when you are having fun. I don't know

about the fun part but time has sure been flying by.

 

First on the agenda tonight is the in stock report. I just the

other day ran out of printwood for the Zero Kit #18. So as

of now I have 3 or 4 kits left in stock. The SK-18 and PW-18

are now out of stock indefinitely. So if you want one of the

kits better order it soon or forever hold your piece.

 

Also, Kit # 26, the BF2C-1 Biplane kit is down to only a couple

left in stock. It will be out of stock indefinitely when they are

sold out.

 

On the new product front I will probably have a laser cut version

of the Ki-44 Tojo and Hawker Typhoon kits available this summer.

Prototypes are being evaluated and although some changes

will be made so far the laser cut parts look real good.

 

I am also back to working on two new kits. Actually had laser

cut  wood cut to build one of the prototypes and although I will

be making changes to some of the parts this sure has made

building it easy. Hope to announce them this fall.

 

Now I need some feedback from you modelers. I have been

taking some kits out of production due to running out of decals.

I just do not have the funds to order 200 sets of decals when

sales of the kits is only a dozen or two a year. I experimented

with making plain paper color copies of the Hawker Typhoon

and letting my volunteer builders use them on the laser cut

prototypes. The results look real good, however, since no

currently available affordable printer prints white ink the plain

paper decals will not have white serial numbers or any small

numbers in any color that are so small they can't be cut out.

So here is where I need comments from you the buyer. Can

you do without water slide decals and live with plain paper

color copies of national insignias and possibly non white letters

and numbers large enough to be easily cut out?

I know some other manufacturers have started using these

paper "decals". Let me know what you think.

 

On the subject of decals I have had questions concerning

decals that are hard to apply and break easily. I know the

decals are very thin and even with a clear coat applied by

the manufacturer they need TLC. So I am suggesting that

if you have had problems with them or are getting ready to

use them give them a coat of clear Krylon spray or a coating

of Future floor wax before using them.

 

Probably two or three of you are wondering what effect the

weak economy has had of my business. Well, it has been a

bit slow but the new laser cut kits have been selling well. Also

althought I did not want to let some of the kits go out of stock

it has helped by not having to purchased 50 sets of parts for

kits that only sell 10 or less a year of the older kits. If the buyers

will accept plain paper color copies instead of water slide decals

I will be able to put the Typhoon and Devastator back into

production real soon since I can print them myself, and also

reduce the kit price in the process.

 

Well that's all for now. I hope to make another announcement

within the next week or so. So watch the Yahoo groups for news.

 

Thanks for your support,

 

Dave Diels

 

January 19, 2010

 

Hi Gang,

Well, the year end sale is over and I'd like to thank all who

participated.

 

Sales of the new laser cut kits is going well. I am now working

on a couple more conversions. The next one will be the

Hawker Typhoon which will hopefully be in production sometime

in April.

 

Dave

 

January 2, 2010

Hi Gang,

Happy New Year. From our family to yours we wish you a

very happy, healthy, and prosperous new year. We also

wish to thank you all for your support either through your

purchases or comments and suggestions. I read all your

letters, notes and e-mails, and have used many of your

photos not only on this web page but also some in various

magazine ads over the years. You guys and gals are the

best.

 

This short update is to point out that you still have a week

or so to take advantage ot the year end sale. See the home

page for a link to the special offers page.

 

Also, the Tojo kit #37 is now out of stock. I hope to have it

back in stock sometime in the Spring 2010 time frame. I am

making some revisions to it at the present time.

 

Hope to hear from you soon,

 

Dave 

December 14, 2009

Hi Gang,

First let me wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and

Healthy New Year. Thanks for your support this past year. It has

been a year of ups and downs but lets hope next year sees us

through the economic recession.

 

I have finally got my supply of new laser cut wood for the Nakajima

Kate kit and the kit is now in stock. Click here for details. I still have

to post some pics of the prototype of the laser cut kit which I will do

later. It has proven to be a relatively easy conversion from the printwood

version but has also elimininated some of the 1/32 ribs and formers

and replaced them with 1/16 thick material. This is a change I have

been making as conversions are done at the request of several who

have had problems working with the thinner wood parts.

 

I am now back to working on two new kits hoping to get them ready

for production by late spring 2010. I have had these in the works for

many months but frankly had a mental block on several of the details

and had to back away from them for a while. I got back to them recently

and something finally clicked and I'm finally making some headway on

them. If all goes well I will be able to make an announcement in late

Feb or early March.

 

My current sale continues until January 11, 2010 so take advantage of

it if you wish to get some good deals from Diels.

 

All for now,

 

Dave

 

 

November 10, 2009

Hi Gang,

Well as they say "Stuff happens". I just finished this update of my

blog and when I told it to update I lost my connection and lost the

whole update. Now I have to rely on my lousy memory to somehow

rewrite it.

 

First of all some product stock updates. Kits #8 and #12 the TBD

and F6F kits are now out of stock. I expect them to be back in stock

sometime next year. The reason it will take a while is that I want to

make some changes and it will take some time.

 

For those who have been meditating over when or if to order I am

down to about a half dozen kits on several items. So I suggest yo

order ones you want to pick up to make sure you get them. I don't

reorder until I am out of stock and some slow sellers will now be

reordered right away.

 

So to encourage you to buy something I had decided to have a

Year End/Holiday sale. The sale ad will be out in my Flying Models

December 2009 ad. Since I don't know when that issue hits the

stands or your mailbox I am starting it now. Details will be found

on the Special Offers page. Click here for sale details.

 

Sales of the new laser kit #41-LC have been encouraging. So,

I can announce now that the prototype laser cut Kate Kit # 35-LC

has been completed and I have ordered the initial quantity of wood

for my first production run which I expect will be in early December.

I will let you know when the kit is ready to ship.

 

I have also updated the product listing pages for kits, short kits,

decals and printwood to note what items are currently out of stock.

Click the titles to go directly to the pages.

 

Well that's it for this update. Let me know if you have any

comments, suggestions, photos, or questions. Remember you

can limit your exposure to the flu by staying home and building

a Diels kit.

 

Stay well and thanks for your support,

 

Dave

 

 

 

August 31, 2009

8:18 PM EDT

Hi Gang,

Well, the Summer Sale has come to an end and I just wanted to

say thank you to all of you who took advantage of it. Your support

is greatly appreciated. Perhaps some of you missed out on it

because you didn't know about it Well I mentioned it here on this

web site, as well as sending several messages to the various

Yahoo free flight groups over the course of the past three months,

and had to monthly ads in Flying Models magazine. That should

have covered most modelers. But then as I was taught in Officer

Basic School back in 1964 there is always at least 10% who don't

get the word. I have a sizeable mailing list that I mostly use for

notifying regular customers about new product announcements

but with postage rates as high as they are I decided not to do a

snail mailing about the sale. But I usually offer special pricing

to those who order the new kits when they come out and give

them discounts on the other stuff when they buy the new kits.

I know many of those on the mailing list are not into computers

so they will get their chance later.

 

Some of you are probably wondering how my sale went. Well,

it was pretty good. I had a lot of first time customers and also

heard from a lot of you who have been with me from the start.

Considering how the economy in the U.S. has been I think it

went pretty good. But being human, I am never satisfied. So

I will be thinking of ways to stir up interest in my stuff.

 

Which brings me to the next new line of kits I am introducing.

Well, maybe not to new subjects but new laser cut wood  parts.

I have been experimenting with laser cut parts over the last

couple years. Finally, the first kit is out. It is kit # 41-LC, the

Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden. Yes, that is the old Kit #41 upgraded

to laser cut parts and a few other changes. I have teamed up

with a new laser cutter and after working out at least most

of the bugs (I would have said all the bugs are out of it, but

I know that would have come back and bit me in the butt) I

have gotten a supply of parts and produced the first kits. The

Ad appeared in the September issue of Flying Models and

will also be in the October issue. As most of you know laser

cutting is more expensive that printwood to make so the

price is higher per kit than the original printwood kit. Also

for the time being I am only selling the laser kits directly and

not through dealers until I get a feel for final costing.

 

About now you are probably wondering why I picked the

J2M3 for my first kit. Fair enough question. Because I ran

out of printwood and still wanted to keep the kit in my

line but didn't want to have to order a 10 year supply of

parts. With laser cutting I can order 10 or 50 sets of parts

for the same price per set of parts.

 

So my plans if sales of the J2M3 are successful to add

other kits to the laser cut series. Not banking on just that

one kit I plan at least 2 or 3 others in the upcoming months

and probably will make a couple totally new kits laser cut

also. So stay tuned for future releases.

 

That's it for now. If you have any suggestions let me know.

 

Dave

 

June 25, 2009

Hi Gang,

Well, the Sale started the end of April is still going on. Except now

I have decided to call it my Summer Sale and end it on August 31,

2009. I decided to advertise it in the July and August issues of

Flying Models magazine and had to extend it to the end of August

so I could get more exposure in the magazine.

 

The sale has been going fairly well and has resulted in some new

customers and also has resulted in one more kit on the out of stock

list, Kit #35, Nakajima B5N2 Kate kit. Also, short kits have been

selling well.

 

I have finally returned to work on my next two kit subjects. I am

building a prototype for the first one now and working on finishing

the prototype drawings. I hope to get these new kits out by the

end of the year if all goes well.

 

Well that's all for now. Hope you are all doing well in this erratic

economy.

 

Good Flying,

 

Dave

 

 

April 28, 2009

Hello Fellow Aero Modelers,

In light of the recent recession I am announcing a 30% Off sale

on everything except only 25% off on short kits and printwood sets.

You can check the Special Offers Page for details and the Current

Product News page for items in short supply or out of stock.

 

You can call it anything you want such as Recession Sale, or Spring

Clearance Sale, or Economic Stimulus Sale, but I call it a special sale.

 

Truth is a sale is a sale for one main reason, to raise cash and reduce

inventory.

 

Right now in order for me to come out with new products I need to

generate income to pay for the new product development. I am about

60% along on two new kits but will not commit to them until I have

adequate funds for initial production. The economy under normal

conditions provides these funds but Customer orders have been

drastically reduced. So I am having a sale to generate some much

needed cash. Dealer and Distributor orders have also ground to a

halt so right now I'm in neutral on the uphill slope of a mountain.

 

The sale is for a limited time only and I think you will find the sale

prices attractive. I am in short supply of a couple kits and a couple'

are already out of stock. Since I will not be ordering materials as

I run out of stock on various kits I suggest you get your orders in

soon before the stock runs out. I do not intend to reorder parts for

out of stock items until this recession is over and as I have said

elsewhere that may not happen until a certain hot spot freezes over.

The sale will last for at least the next few weeks.

 

Thanks in advance for your support, and as always your comments

are welcome.

 

Dave Diels

President

 

January 19, 2009

Hi Gang,

Good news. The Shinden Kit #10 and Short Kit SK-10 are now back

in stock. Got the new supply of parts in last Friday.

 

Not much other news right now. Trying to stay warm and dodge snow

drifts.

 

Dave

 

 

January 5, 2009

Happy New Year to you all,

We are back in operation after taking some time off for Christmas

and getting at least a start on inventory and taxes.

 

As for current product news I have ordered parts for the Shinden

Kit # 10. They should be in sometime this month or early Feb.

 

Check the current products page for status of kits which are in

short supply or out of stock.

 

As for new products I am currently working on two new kits for

my next combination kit offering. I hope to make the announcement

sometime in March. I will post the announcement on this website

and on the various Yahoo free flight groups.

 

That's it for now,

 

Dave

 

December 13, 2008

Hi All,

Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year

to you and yours.

 

We are shutting down on the 15th for the rest of the year as

explained in my November 22 message. We will be back

open for business on January 5, 2009. Any orders placed

between December 15th and January 5 will be processed

after January 5th. As I mentioned we will be doing inventory

(work), getting ready to do our taxes(more work), and

spending time with our family for the Holidays(priceless).

 

Thanks to all of you for your support during this past year

and in fact for all the past years.

 

Dave Diels

 

November 22, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving to all,

To celebrate the season I am having a 25% off sale. This

applies to all theregular items in my line including kits, short

kits, plans, canopies, printwood and decals. The catch is its

only for two weeks. Take 25% off the list price of any of

these items not including shipping and handling. The sale ends

December 7, 2008. Why so short? Well this year we are

shutting down on December 15th for the rest of the year to

do several things including inventory, entertaining our family

for Christmas, and getting ready for the tax man. This is

normally not a busy time for us and frankly I want to spend time

with my family without the interruption of the business. Since

 all of our business is mail order it any orders come in during

this time they will be filled after the first week of January.

The inventory will take a good deal of the time as I plan to go

through my entire basement and get rid of stuff I no longer

need. So look for some stuff to appear on the Misc For Sale

page later in January.

 

As you know unless you are either dead or in a coma the

economy stinks right now and I am now planning on

accelerating my phaseout of many of my lesser selling kits.

So if you been thinking of getting some but putting it off

you may soon be out of luck. My cash flow is such that

I will not reorder many of the kits when current stock runs

out. And that applies to some later kits that are slow sellers.

 

Well that's all for now. If you have any questions e-mail me

at the above link and I'll try to answer them.

 

Thanks again for your support.

 

Dave Diels

 

September 22, 2008

Hello again,

Just thought I'd let you all know that I just added a new Misc. For Sale page

in the Product news section. I have listed some model magazines that I

no longer want or need but am too cheap to just give them away. I have

gone through them and there is some really good stuff in some of them

and they are all kind of fun to look through. Most are from the 70's and 80's

but the Air Trails go back to my high school days in the 1950's. Frankly

I am running out of storage space and need to get rid of them.

 

I plan to add a list of Plastic Kit models that I have purchased over the

last 25 or 30 years as potential or actual subjects for my plans and/or kits.

That will come as I get time or when my wife decides I need to really clean

house. Seriously, I have probably a couple hundred kits that I no longer need.

It will take time to go through all of them and I will probably post a few at a

time. Pricing them will take the most time as they were bought mostly before

the rising price of plastic took off.

 

Let me know if you are looking for something special. I might have it.

 

Dave Diels

 

September 10, 2008

Hi All,

Well I finally got the PayPal Payments buttons to work after working with

suggestions from the PayPal folks I finally was able to go into the code

behind these pages and correct the problems which may have happened

when the old web host had their server hacked into. I made what I think

was the final correction about 11:30 last night.

 

Current Stock News:

I wanted to cover some of the current stock issues with you to explain why

some items are out of stock or will shortly be out of stock or why some are

being retired when they run out of stock.

 

First, if you go to the current product news page you can see that several

items are either out of stock or in short supply. Here is why. First of all last

May I retired the Globe Swift kit # LEK-101. It was origninally a 1 in 500

limited edition kit and it finally ran through all the original order of decals.

So it has been retired. I do still have printwood available so I still have short

kits SK-LEK-101 in stock until such time as the printwood runs out. The

printwood set is also available separately as PW-LEK-101 until the

printwood runs out.

 

Next on the list is the Hawker Typhoon Kit # 29. It is now out of stock. I am

out of decals and printwood for this kit and it will not be back in stock soon.

You may or may not want to know why but I will tell you anyway. The Typhoon

has not been a good seller. It was first produced back in 1997. It has taken

that long to run out of my original supply of decals. I don't recall how many

sets of decals I ordered but it was probably 500 sets and for those of you

who have the kit you will note it has about 5 or 6 colors and is a big sheet.

I cannot order less than 150 to 200 sets of decals to get a good price on

them. I haven't sold more than 10 to 15 kits a year for the past 5 or 6 years.

So it just isn't practical to order more parts that I can sell in the next 10 years.

My options are to revise the decal sheet to make it less expensive. That

takes time and frankly this kit isn't worth the effort at this time.

 

Next is the Bf-109E kit # 21. This one is down to 1 kit left after current

commitments are filled. I will probably buy more printwood for this one as I

still have decals left to cover at least one more run of printwood. However,

the source for this kits printwood has recently supplied me with crap wood

on a couple other kits which I did not discover until running some kits recently

so I will have to go to my preferred supplier with new artwork and that takes

time. I the mean time this kit has never sold well. If I sell 10 a year its a lot.

So when the last one is gone it will be sometime next year when I restock

for it if then. The short kit is out of stock also.

 

Next are the P-39 Kit # 36 and the Ki-84 Frank Kit # 43. The parts are

being made and they will be back in stock hopefully by the end of September.

Not that they are big sellers, nothing is a big seller this year, but they are

newer kits and have sufficients sales to justify reordering parts.

 

Next is the J2M3 Jack jit # 41. I have one kit left on the shelf and am out of

printwood. This one has not been a big seller but it is one the I like. I will not

reorder parts until next year. The short kit is out of stock.

 

The Near Future:

Because of the recent slow downs in the hobby industry in general and

because my sales are down about 50% from last year I am planning on

retiring several of my older kits when I use up printwood and/or decals.

Those that sell well I will keep in stock. I can no longer afford to keep poor

sellers in the line just because I like them. If they don't sell they will be retired

when materials run out. Here are the kits with the poorest sales other than

those mentioned above. Kit # 1, Kit # 2, Kit #3, Kit # 5, Kit # 10, Kit #14,

Kit # 17, Kit #18, Kit #24, Kit #26, Kit #32, Kit #37. The only reason some

of these are not yet retired is I still have parts for them. So if you are missing

some from your collection you might want to consider getting them before

they are gone.

 

I have given a lot of thought in the last year about laser cut kits. And, I have

had some sample sheets cut for a few of my current kits and some have been

or are being built to test the fit of the parts. The results so far have been good.

However, the cost of laser cut parts is at least twice the price of printwood parts. 

So I have put the project on hold for now. However, I have started adding some

laser cut parts to some kits to replace turned wheels which I no longer use due

to tripling of the cost of turnings in recent years. As turned parts run out I will

replace some of them with laser cut parts.

 

New Products:

Many of you have asked when I will be coming out with something new? Well,

I planned on coming out with two new kits this year but I just haven't been able

to concentrate on them due to a whole host of problems such as getting the

web site up and running. Also family activities have increased as our grand

children continue to grow up and recent slow downs in the economy have also

had an effect. I finally have been able to get back to the designs of the next two

kits and should be ready to start on one of the prototypes by the end of the

month but it will be next year before I will be ready to get them into production.

As for what they will be you will have to wait for the announcement. Both

subjects are American. That should narrow it down a bit.

 

All for now.

 

Dave

 

September 5, 2008

Hi Gang,

Well it have been one heck of a month since I last wrote. Hopefully you

have had a good summer. Mine has been spent mostly in trying to get this

web site built. I know it will continue to be under construction for a while,

or maybe even forever. But I think it is ready to use now.

 

You will notice many changes in the way it is organized. It isn't like I had

before but it will due for now. I also solicit your comments and suggestions.

However, take it easy as I am using the software from the host and there

are some limits to what I can do with arrangement. Any way this new site

can incorporate eventually a complete E-shopping option which I plan to

get eventually.

 

That's all for now.

 

Dave

 

August 2, 2008

Hi Gang,

Well it has been a very hectic 6 weeks since I last added to this blog.

Here is a run down on what has been happening in the wild wonderful

wacky world of Diels Engineering, Inc.

 

As of today I am well along in switching my web site over to a new host.

As of about 1 day after my last posting on this blog the old host shut down

support of the software that the old web site was built on. As a result I have

now been able to make any changes to my old site. Thus this new site is now

about 50% workable and hopefully will be at least up to the standards of the

old site within another week or two.

 

You will notice some major changes in the way the pages are laid out and I

am learning how to put links between pages and other code stuff that frankly

I don't understand but just follow the book. It will take a while for everything

to gell so please be patient.

 

I will have more to write when I get this site organized better.

 

Dave

 

 

 

June 18, 2008
Well gang, June has been a disaster for free flight modelers. We lost
two real good guys that I know of so far this month. First was Nate
Sturman who was both a good friend and prolific designer of free flight
models, many of which inspired or were the basis for several of my kits.
Then earlier this week I learned about the loss of Lin Reichel, a real
gentleman and leader of the Flying Aces Club which has been the organization
that has basically kept free flight modeling going in my opinion. Lin
was a friend of both the moderers and the cottage industries like mine
and was always available to answer questions about just about anything
concerning FAC issues and modeling in general.
I hesitate to say more now on both these men because I would not do
justice to either one of them. All I know is that there is suddenly a
giant void in my life at the loss of two good friends. Our condolences
go out to both their families at this time of great loss.
Fortunately there are others in FAC who will keep that great organization
going on. So if you have the chance to get to Geneseo this July maybe
just maybe Nate and Lin may be there in the form of gentle breezes and
helping thermals. Via con Dios my friends.

Dave


May 7, 2008
Happy May to All,
Weather is finally looking like flying season is upon us here in
Northern Ohio.

Sorry for the temporary loss of this web page for the past week. Don't
know what happened but its working again and that's what counts.

Thought I'd mention the FAC Nats in Geneseo, NY the third weekend of
July. The show starts with the judging of models on Wednesday July 16,
2008. The flying takes place on the 17, 18, and 19th. We are planning
on being there for the judging, and the first two days of flying at the
field. So if you are going please stop by and say hello. We will be
bringing a selection of kits and this year some short kits. As usual
the complete kits will have special FAC Nats pricing at the contest
only. So come prepared to go home with a couple kits.

Thanks,

Dave Diels


April 14, 2008
Hi again,
Well, I decided to add printwoods as well as short kits to our product
list. The short kits are described below in my April 11th rant.
Printwood sets are for those who have the plans and now need the parts
or for those who perhaps have built from the kits and need another set
of wood to build another model. Check out the list on the Printwood Sets
page.

Thanks again,

Dave Diels


April 11, 2008
Hi Gang,
Hope everything is going well with you all. I have been busy working
on several different projects, one of which I am announcing today.

After having several discussions with some good friends and volunteer
helpers I have decided to offer a line of shorts kits which mostly
follows the complete kit line with a few esceptions. You can check out
the listing which includes pricing and a complete explanation of what
is included in a Short Kit. Also at the same time since decals are not
a part of the short kits, they are available at a special price if
ordered at the same time as the Short Kit. Not all decals are available
which is why I have made them a separate item.

Several other manufacturers offer short kits as a way to let the
builder save some money by providing materials from his own stock to
build the model from the short kit. At a minimum short kits provide
plans, printwood, and canopies(if needed).

These Short Kits will only be sold directly from Diels Engineering and
not through dealers or distributors.

Complete Kits will also be available as usual but may be in and out of
stock as over the course of time. Always check Current Product News for
availability.

As always I would like to get your feedback on this new line.

I hope to have some more news withing a couple months on some future
new projects so check back here often to see what's happening.

Thanks again for your support.

Dave Diels

January 5, 2008
Happy New Year,
Hopefully all those that wanted to took part in the year end sale
which just ended yesterday. Thanks to all those who took advantage of
the sale. Your support is greatly appreciated.

As we go into the new year the January is always a pain as now I have
to dig up all those receipts and get ready to file my taxes for 2007.
So this month will be consumed with those activities. Just another
necessary evil I guess.

I hope to initiate some changes this year which will probably result in
trimming my kit line somewhat. Several kits have run their course and
do not sell enough to justify ordering replacement parts when current
stock runs out. You can check the Current products News page for
details periodically.

I am working on a couple new designs but do not know when I will get
them finished, probably late spring to mid summer if all goes well.

That's all for now.

Thanks for your support.

Dave Diels


November 6, 2007
Hi Gang,
Holiday Season Greetings.
With the Holiday season fast approaching I decided to have a 25% off
sale. See the Special Offers page for complete details. I call it a
Christmas/Year End sale. I just recently restocked a number of my kits
and in order to stimulate sales I thought I'd have a sale. So check it
out and get some kits or plans to give to your model building friends
or for yourself. If all goes well I intend to keep the sale going until
the end of the year. I will probably not be re-ordering any more parts
this year so check current product news page for latest info of items
out of stock or in short supply. I am expecting parts in for Kits 1, 15,
and 44 within the next week or so, so those should be back in stock
soon. Check the current product news within the next two weeks.

Also check the Free flight Cook-up Yahoo group for another offer for
Kit #11 only for a special contest. That kit has a 30% off list price.

I am considering several important changes for 2008, including retiring
a few older kits. So take advantage of the sale and pick up some while
they are still available.

Dave



August 28, 2007
Greetings,
This update was to let everyone know the current status on several kits
that are either out of stock or in short supply, or are back in stock.
One of my main vendors has had some temporary production problems and
this has resulted in me being out of stock for a couple kits. Hopefully
this will be rectified within a month, but I'm not holding my breath.

Which brings me to another topic. I am considering either retiring a
couple kits which frankly aren't selling well, or possibly just going
to short kits consisting of plans, printwood, and canopies, and possibly
decals if there are any left in stock. These short kits would only be
available by direct order and would cost much less the full kits.
Let me know your comments.

All for now,

Dave

August 10, 2007
Hi gang,
Made some updates on current items back in stock or out of stock or in
short supply. Check out current product news page.

I am currently investigating the possibility of getting laser cut parts
sheets for at least some of my kits. I would be interested in knowing
your feelings both pro and con on laser cutting? I have had many ask
if I was going to get into it. Well, I'm not because I don't have a
laser cutting setup. But I am working with a couple sources to get a
feel for cost and qualitiy of the parts. Specifically I'm interested in
how much more you as a customer would be willing to pay per kit to get
laser cut parts? So if you are so inclined e-mail me at
dielsengr@kellnet.com
and let me know what you think.
Dave


July 29, 2007
Hi guys and gals,
Well, the FAC Non-Nats is over and we have finally got back home and
recovered from the trip. Had several orders waiting when I got back
and spent the rest of the week getting them out.

The contest was a bit smaller than last years Nats. Friday was very
windy until the afternoon. Saturday was almost perfect.

Again, I met a lot of old friends and new friends who stopped by our
table. Will Hayes was their with the Ki-30 Ann which he had flown. I
don't know if he had it entered in the contest or not.

John Houck had my rubber powered F-86D flying in a rubber powered jet
contest and I belive he took second place with it although I couldn't
find him after the banquet to check it out.

Rich Weber won the Fantasy flyer contest with a Booth Ranger from my
plan.

We had fun and are looking forward to next years Nats.

Check the current news page to updates on some kits.

All for now.

Dave


July 11, 2007
Hi Gang,
I am posting a couple update in the current product news page about
availability of some kits. Check it out before ordering.

My mention of the royalty/copyright problem was about a bill in congress.
I was wrong it never got to the bill stage. Sorry about that.

Some bad news today from one of my major suppliers. The cost of balsa
according to them has gone up about 40% from their suppliers. You know
that means to those of us who make kits. I just ordered some more
printwood from them so when it comes in and is billed I will find out
how much damage it will mean.

My sources in the industry say that the hobby industry in general is
not doing well at all. DUH!!!!! Just take a look at other hobbies and
you can see why. I buy a fair amount of plastic kits to use as reference
material for potential new designs. Prices on these things have sky
rocketed in the past 2 or 3 years. I also keep tabs on the model
railroad sector and some of there prices have also jumped up. So when
a modeler has to make a choice of buying a kit or filling his gas tank
guess which choice do you thing wins? So how am I doing in this hobby
recession? Well overall not too bad. My sales are about what they were
a year ago and although this summer so far is a bit off I am taking
more time to get some things organized in my shop and around the house
(read honey do jobs). I have heard though that some companies are not
doing so well and are behind in paying their bills. This of course hurts
not only them but the suppliers who in good faith gave them credit in
the first place. Hopefully their business will pick up and things will
get corrected in a postive way.

I'm just about finished getting my kits and plans ready for the FAC
Non-Nats at Geneseo next week. Got a couple more kits to get made up
and then look into getting some of my stock of plastic kits that I'm
either not going to use or am through with ready to sell off. The bad
part about it is they are stored behind stuff. I could have used a
different word buy this column is G rated. Some of these kits I have
had for over 25 years. I hope to have time to check out current prices
although some are not longer made. Those will probably go on E-Bay when
I figure out how to do that.

In my spare time I have started working on two new kits, neither of
which is now currently available from other sources to my knowledge. I
have had to stop work on one of them as I wait for info that I ordered
from the Smithsonian archives. I intend to do another combination kit
and this time it will be two American aircraft. But don't expect them
until either late this year or early next year as I expect to be
interrupted by all kinds of non modeling related activities caused by
my family planning my social life for me.

Just thought I'd mention again that if you have a habit of ordering
books from Amazon.com if you access it through the links on some of
my pages I can make and extra buck or two and it doesn't cost you one
penny more for using the link on my site. Thanks in advance for using
it. By the way, I have found some interesting books through Amazon
and their various associated book sellers.

Well, that's all for now. Hope to see you at Geneseo next week

Dave



June 29, 2007
Hello again,
I want to update you on the latest happenings before I go out and start
operation "Paint the Deck".

First of all, I just received my restock of parts for Kit #34, the
Douglas Dauntless SBD3/5. So that kit is now fully back in stock.

Some of you may be interested in my latest Distributor to begin handling
my kits. The new owner of Peck-Polymers should shortly be posting my
kits to his web page. He hasn't taken on the complete line yet but check
out his page if you are so inclined. Of course I like it if you order
from me direct but some of you want the convenience of using various
credit cards other than PayPal.

For those of you in the UK the Atomic Workshop has started handling
a limited number of my kits.

I have been busy filling several dealer/distributor orders these past
few weeks as well as a week of vacation the first of this month.

I am now getting ready for this year's Geneseo Non-Nats. My supply of
many kits were used up with all the dealer orders. Now the empty spots
are filling up.

I want to bring to your attention the increasing problem of the real
aircraft companies starting to require licensing fees for kit makers
who make model kits of their aircraft. Dave Gee's column in the last
Model Aviation magazine show that Cessna has come down hard on Dumas
and Dumas has pulled a couple Cessna kits from its line.

There was a bill pending in congress to get relief from companies who
supplied military aircraft to the government. But it has stalled. I
have not been affected yet but at the rate this mess is going it will not
be long until the only model kits you will have a choice of will be
Japanese, German, Italian, and basically anything not American.

Write your congressman. I do not remember the bill. See Dave Gee's article.

All for now.

Dave


May 16, 2007
Hi All,
Well, I have updated the price lists and the other lists of kits, plans,
canopies, decals, and accessories.
Dave

May 15, 2007
Hello again,
Well the shipment of all advance orders has been completed. Only a few
of the last minute orders are left to ship. The Combo 10 special is now
history.
Thanks again to all who took advantage of this special.

Now for the bad news. Because of several increases in my materials
costs I am increasing prices of most kits and some plans, decals and
canopies. These prices will be effective immmediately when I get the
changes posted probably anytime between now and the end of the week.
The recent postal increase is the second one since I last increased
shipping costs. Other costs have gone up several times since my last
general price increase.

The good news is the increase will mostly be only a couple dollars for
kits and most plans will only increase by 50 cents to $1. Decal prices
will reflect the last order cost of items that have been reordered.
These I change whenever replacement decals are ordered. Canopy prices
are also updated whenever replacements are ordered.

I don't like raising prices but the reality is that in this economy
today anything dependent on oil based products or transportation will
cost more to the end user.

More good news. I hope to be instituting regular specials offers on
my existing product line in the near future. So please check the Special
offers page at least once a month. The reason I will be doing this is,
of course to raise cash. I have to reorder a large (for me) number of
sets of parts when I run out of parts for a kit. I plan to start having
special offers in hopes of getting some of these replacement parts out
of my stock. I think the special offer prices will end up giving a
discount of up to 25% or more depending on the item. So keep watching
and checking on a regular basis. The offers will probably run for at
least a month to 6 weeks.

Well, all for now.

Dave

May 11, 2007
Hi Gang,
Well, we did it. We got all the orders for the Combo 10, Kit #44, and
Kit #45 shipped out as of 4:15 today.

Now we will take some time to get the house in order for the rest of
spring and summer. Then I will try to get two new kits started.

Thanks to all who took advantage of the advance order discounts. I hope
you enjoy your new kits.

That's all for now. I'm tired from going up and down the basement steps
about 20 times a day lugging everything from boxes and parts down to
to bundles of finished packed for shipping kits up those steps.

Dave


May 7, 2007
Hi All,
Well finally I got the last shipment of parts today and already single
kits of the Ki-30 and SB2C kits. I will start on the combo 10's
tomorrow and should start shipping by Wednesday afternoon through
Friday.

I have set the price for kit # 44 at $39.95 and the price for kit # 45
& kit $37.95 after the advance orders are shipped. If any of you want
to get them for the advance order price I will accept any orders
postmarked not later than May 14, 2007.

This hasn't been the smoothest Combo but despite the bumps in the road
the kit looks real good. Can't wait to hear your feedback.

Thanks to all for your patience and support.

Dave Diels


April 25, 200
Hi Gang,
Well, dear old Dave screwed up again. I didn't get some of my supplies
for the new Combo kit ordered in time so there will be about a two week
delay in getting them shipped out. I set my original dead line for
April 30 but in now looks like they won't go out until about May 14.
Sorry for the delays but I waited too long before placing the orders.

In the mean time consider the 20% discount on kits and plans for those
who have ordered the Combo or single new kits.

Thanks,

Dave



April 17, 2007
Hi Gang,
Well, all the stuff for the Combo 10 kit is ordered and should be in
by the the middle of next week with kit packing to follow. Shipments
of the Combo will follow. May be a couple days late but I might just
get lucky and the stuff will get here by the end of this week.
Thanks to all of you who ordered the new kits.
All for now.
Dave

March 26, 2007
Hello again,
Well it looks like spring might actually have arrived. After a
relatively warm beginning of winter February was a mess. We took an
abbreviated vacation in early February cut short we we received a call
telling us our furnace had quit. Fortunately it was discovered the same day it failed other wise we might be replacing frozen pipes. So we
cut short the vaction and came home.

I thought I'd give you an update on the Combo 10 kit. Orders have
slowed as is expected and unless there is an upturn in the next week
I will order parts based on current orders the following week to assure
I get the kit out in time. As I'm not sure anyone reads this imitation
of a blog, asking those of you who have held back your orders until the
end of April to get the orders in now to assure that there will be
enough parts left to make up the kits. I will be shipping the kits on
the kits in the order the orders were received.

All for now. Remember to take advantage of the 20% off special when
ordering the new kits or Combo 10.

Dave


February 2, 2007
Hi Gang,
Well so far orders for the new Combination Kit # 10 have been steadily
coming in. For those who like statistics it pretty much follows the
same pattern as past Combo offers.

For those who may be new to the Combination Kit offers, I use the
advance order system to know how many sets of kit parts to order. So
since my proposed shipping date is April 30, 2007 I need to place my
parts orders by mid-March. I take what I have for advanced orders and
add to the order enough more sets to usually keep me going for at least
a year before reordering. It doen't always work out that way. For some
kits that are more popular than others (such as last years P-40B) I had
to reorder within a couple months. Others that were less popular might
go for several years. So it helps me if you place your orders sooner so
I can plan my really long term parts orders like decals which I must
order in larger quantities than other parts due to production costs.

In other news, I have finally got back in stock Kit #31, the Ki-43
Oscar after being out of stock for several months. I also during an
inventory check found several others that were either low or I ran out
of after making up kits recently and now have most of them restocked. I
still have a couple to reorder but need to make a couple minor changes
before reordering.

I am probably going to have to raise prices sometime this spring. I
have been notified by a couple of my suppliers of coming price
increases. I have not raised prices on my older kits for several years
and have not passed on increased cost except on one or two occasions.
I don't like raising prices but the hand writing is on the wall. I will
let you know when and how much later in the spring.

Well, that's all for now. Thanks again for your support.

Dave

January 9, 2007
Hi All,
Today I posted the new Combination Kit #10 Advanced Order Announcement
to the Special Offers page. Also for those who want one I can send via
e-mail a pdf copy of the announcement that has been snail mailed to my
current mailing list. I decided that mailing forms to those who are
no longer interested in my products is a waste of money.
By the way, I am purging my mailing list of anyone who has not placed
an order or contacted me within the last 7 years. So if you want on the
list e-mail me with your request.
Check out the offer. I hope you take advantage of this new offering.
Thanks,
Dave


December 29, 2006
Hi All,
Hope you all had a nice Christmas and I wish a Happy New Year to you
all.
I will be mailing out a new kit announcement next week so if you don't
get one check this web page or e-mail me and one will be sent out.
I will get a pdf of the form for those who want one e-mailed to them.
If you haven't ordered anything in the past 5 years you probably will not
get one automatically.
I am also extending the Christmas sale for one more week until January
8, 2007.

That's all for now.

Dave



November 3, 2006
Hi Guys and Gals,
Well its been a very busy couple of months since I last updated this
page. I'm behind my own schedule for some new kits. It looks like I
make the announcement the last week of December or the First week of
January 2006. I am 90% finished with two new kit designs and am still
working on the prototype models and they look pretty good. I am working
out some minor details and writing building insturctions.

I did have a setback in early October when my laptop broke and needed
to be replaced. That has taken time to replace all the programs and I'm
still finding software changes that need to be made. But its basically
up and running. I have been using it for a lot of my designing and the
loss set me back a couple weeks.

We took a much needed vacation the last two weeks of October. I know
that taking a vacation when you are retired seems wierd but there is
still a lot of stress generated here expecially with family matters.

Thanks to all of you who have been posting pictures of my kits to the
Yahoo groups pages. The Diels kit club and ffcookup goups have generated
a fair amount of interest.

As we head into the Christmas season I think I'll have a Christmas sale
as my present to all of you. So go to the special offers page for
details.

Thanks for your support.

Your friend,

Dave


August 10, 2006
Hello all,
The good news is I have just come out with a new kit. It is called the
Davey in honor of my grandson and is a 28.1" wingspan fun flyer.
Details are on the new products and kit pages. It has been in the works
for almost 2 years now and I just got around to kitting it. It flies
nice and will make a good intermediate model for those beyond the
beginner stage.

Work also progresses on two new kits which I hope to introduce this
fall.

On the down side I will be eliminating my turned wheels and nose blocks
from my accessories list soon. Changes in vendors has made these items
too costly to continue. This change will occur as soon as I can remove
them from the web page.

That's all for now.

Dave


July 25, 2006
Hi all,
Well, the Geneseo contest was a great success. For us personally it
was very nice to meet so many of you who I've corresponded with via
the various mailing lists and e-mail.

It was also good for our business, beyond all expectations.

We are now looking toward the Muncie contest and hope to see more of
you at that one. It will be new for us as we have never been there.

I am planning to have at least one new kit ready soon. It is a fun
flyer I designed a couple years ago called the Davey, after my
grandson. I had the plans at Geneseo along with the printwood but
have now decided to make a full kit of it. Announcements will follow
on this web site and on the various mailing lists when it is ready.

Also check out the status of current kits. A couple are either out of
stock or down to less than a handfull due to one of my suppliers
moving to a new location. Hopefully he will be up and running soon
so I can get a new supply of parts.

As I reorder parts for some of my kits I may be pulling some of them
from dealer distribution due to higher than expected prices for the
new parts. I want to hold my prices at current levels except in perhaps
a couple cases and that means selling some kits only direct. I refuse
to sell at a loss just to have them distributed. Besides, most hobby
shops don't handle my kits. One reason why my costs have started to
go up is that I had one supplier sell out some time ago and the new
owner's costs have been higher than the previous owner and I have been
forced to re-order higher quantities to keep within reasonable costs.
However, even ordering at higher quantities has not worked in a couple
cases and I'll be pulling the kits from the dealer market soon.

All for now. Thanks to all for your support.

Dave



July 2, 2006
Hi gang,
Well, I've been busy stocking up for the Geneseo FAC Nats. It starts
July 13th with judging and the contests are from July 14-16 at
Geneseo, NY. Hope to see a bunch of you there. Please look for my
lovely wife Anita and I. We will have a table at the judging on the
13th, and be on the field probably Friday and Saturday. We always take
a day off for seeing some of the local sites. We also will be at the
banquet on Sunday night.

I will be bringing kits and plans and will offer special discount
prices while at the contest. I will also be bringing a new fun flyer
plan and printwood to the contest which will on sale for the first
time. I will post it to the web page after the contest.

After going over my business records I found that I was somewhat
mistaken about my years in business. This year is my 25th year. The
first five years I was unincorporated. So I am planning on a few new
offerings for the balance of the year. Stay tuned for more info.

A potential problem with getting parts for my kits has reared its ugly
hear. Peck-Polymers has ceased production and may or may not be sold to
a new owner. If anyone has any info please let me know. I depended on
them for my prop bearings and prop hooks.

All for now. See you at Geneseo.

Dave Diels


April 27, 2006
Hi gang,
Well I have just finished updating the kit and current news page. Items
that were out of stock are now back in stock.

This month marked our 20th year in business. So I am working a couple
promotions to mark the occasion. I am still taking suggestions so if
you have any let me know.

I hope to have some announcements by the end of May and continue with
them throughout the year.

Dave


April 8, 2006
Hi guys and gals,
Well, the Combination Kit #9 special offer is now officially over.
Thanks to all who took advantage of the advance order savings. After
all the orders were tallied it turned out to be the best combination
kit offer yet, and better yet was I actually got it out on time.

First results from you customers are very very encouraging. I am
extremely pleased. Thank you all so much for your continued support.

I am now in the design and planning stages for the next Combination
kit offer and hope to annouce it in late spring or early summer.

Keep checking back for periodic updates.

Dave


March 21, 2006
Hello again,
Well, Combination Kit #9 is now in production and I will begin shipping
probably on March 27th. If you are reading this before March 31, 2006
you still have time to get in on the special offer. If not, well too
bad. Maybe the next combo kit will be more to your liking.

Thanks to all of you who have ordered either the combo or the
individual kits. This has been a very successful combo and I am now
planning the next one to be announced later this spring.

Dave

December 26, 2005
Happy New Year to all,
Today I posted the new Combination Kit # 9 offer on the Special Offers
page. As stated if you would like a pdf copy of the flyer send your
request to me at dielsengr@kellnet.com and I will e-mail the pdf file.
Or if you prefer send your snail mail address and I'll mail out a copy
of the flyer.

Of course now the previous special offer has expired. Thanks to all
those who took advantage of the special sale.

I am still planning a couple surprises for 2006 so stayed tuned and
check back periodically for details.

Thanks again,
Dave

December 14, 2005
Hi Gang,
Well only one more week before the current special offer expires. So
hurry to get those orders before Christmas.

I will be posting info on the latest New Combination Kit offering soon.
I think you will like the new offerings. Don Ross's Column in FM this
month has some details.
I will be sending out Advance order flyers to those who have ordered
kits from me direct within the last 3 or 4 years, or any who have
ordered Combination kits in the past. Those flyers will go out the last
week of December and I will post the flyer on line as well as send out
a pdf file of the flyer to those who request it via e-mail.
I am finishing up minor details on the drawings of both new kits and
they will go to the printer soon. The balance of the parts will be
ordered after I get some feel on how many to order from the advance
orders.
Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a ver Happy New Year.
Dave.


November 30, 2005
Hello Troops,
Just a note to remind you that the current special offer expires in 3
weeks. Its a great time to get a fellow modeler a Christmas present.

Just got a resupply of parts and now the La-5 kit and F-100 kit are
back in stock.

I am putting the finishing touches on two new kits and will be sending
out flyers by mail and in the FAC newsletter the last week of December.
I will also post the info in the New Products or Special offers
section. It will be Combination Kit # 9, and have two new kits #42 and
#43. This will be an advance order offer for delivery in late March 2006.

I am also working the the next set of kits to follow I hope in June or
July in time for the FAC Geneseo contest next summer.

All for now.

Dave

October 4, 2005.
Hi gang,
Well this unemployment thing is continuing. So far no one seems interested
in hiring a 63 year old mechanical engineer.

On the plus side I am beginning to make some progress on my next two
kits to be announced in late December after the Christmas holiday.

Also, I have been making progress on 5 other new kit subjects which,
God willing, I will also introduce next year.

More importantly, my wife is happy that I have been catching up with
all those household "honey do" projects I didn't complete or even start
while I was working a real job.

Where I haven't made any progress at all is in organizing my workspaces
here at home. That will get underway in earnest with the onset of cold
weather.

Be watching your mail if you have purchased any kits from me directly
in the last 4 or 5 years for the new kit announcements in late December.
And check this web page regularly for new announcements and current
availablity of existing items. It changes as I run out of stuff and have
to wait for replacement parts.

Be sure to take advantage of the current special offers.

Thanks for your support.

Dave Diels

September 7, 2005
Well gang, I have decided to add this editorial page to my web site as
a way for me to comment on stuff mainly related to this business
although I reserve the right to comment on anything I feel like.

This being my first set of comments I though I'd address a few
questions that have been asked recently.

First one is why haven't you come out with any new kits lately? The
answer to that one is somewhat complicated but since you asked I will
address it.

This year hasn't been a steller year for me both personally or for the
business. I got sick with a bad cough and congestion/cold and was not
really well enough to do much except my at that time full time job.
That lasted for almost 7 weeks. I would fill orders but no energy to
complete some designs I had wanted to release in the spring.

Next my former employer was taken over by a new employer and the
related changover caused a lot of stress on top of trying to recover
from the cold or flu that I had. Finally we got away for a week's vacation
in June only to come back to rumors of cutbacks and layoffs and at the
same time having pressure put on us to meet schedule and budget that
couldn't be met. Then in late July my boss told me I was being laid off
in August. With all the crap going on I didn't have time to finish any
more designs.

Finally on August 12 I was laid off and have been on unemployment since
then. I am searching for a job as prescribed by the unemployment office
but frankly at age 63, almost 64, job prospects are few and far between
and I am not going to move out of the area. I also have no intention of
taken a lesser job just to work. I'v rather do the model airplane stuff.

So now I am planning to finish the current designs, and organize for
the possibility of going into the model business full time as well as
take early retirement early next year. I am also now working around the
house getting caught up with stuff that needs to be done and also now
working on some new designs in my spare time.

I now plan to announce some new kits after the first of the year for
tax purposes and then follow with at least 4 more kits during the year
provided I do not find a full time engineering job in the meantime.

So that is why I have not released any new kits this year. I believe
that this is the first year since I went into the kit business that I
haven't had a new kit offering. I'll try to make up for it next year.

So watch this page and the various Yahoo clubs and Free Flight Mailing
List, as well as the FAC newsletter for a flyer. Those of you who have
ordered kits within the last 3 or 4 years will be getting a direct mail
advance order announcement.

Thanks to all of you for your support. See the Special Offers Page for
the latest offer.

Dave Diels

 



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AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE AND AS SUCH IF YOU COMPLETE AN ORDER THROUGH OUR 
WEB PAGE WE GET A SMALL %, AND IN THIS BUSINESS ANYTHING HELPS.