Now and Then,,,(1)

 The current state of the Radio Control (RC) hobby is dominated now by the "ARF" (Almost Ready to Fly or Float) and the "RTF" (Ready To Fly or Float) that require little to no assembly before you are ready to go. Quads and other multi-rotor (drones) aircraft, the new radio systems (2.4gHz), Li-Po batteries and brushless motors, have brought in many newcomers and allowed for the continued growth of the hobby. Nitro and gas engines are still in use but the locations that allow them is declining mostly due to noise complaints and liability issues. Turbine jets face the same problems plus you need a large unobstructed area to fly them. The miniaturization of the radio equipment has also allowed for the RC of some very small craft of all types. What is available now was just a wish twenty years ago. It wasn't always this easy to get into RC.
 Back in the 80's and earlier there were very few factory ARF's available and most of those were of very low quality. You had to build it yourself from plans or a kit. The kits were mostly balsa with lite-ply (3 layer poplar plywood) used where needed for strength. Super glue was available but most people still used wood glue and a little epoxy. Before you could start building you needed to get a flat surface that you could stick pins into. Lots and lots of pins. Ceiling tiles on top of a hollow core door were a popular solution. You would pin down the plans and cover them with wax paper or plastic wrap so the parts didn't get glued to the plans. Now you would get the parts ready. The ribs and formers were usually on a die-cut (crushed) sheet so you had to lightly cut or sand around each piece to release them from the sheet or more likely you had to cut the parts completely through as the die-cutting didn't do it. Once that was done you would start building. Cut straight pieces to size, apply glue, pin down part and repeat, repeatedly. Glue ribs or formers. Wait for glue to dry. Continue until done. Super glues really sped up this part, as once you learned how to use it, you could build fast. Put part in place, add drop of glue and almost instantly it was attached. Measuring, cutting and building straight were all skills to be learned as if you didn't learn them your project would fail. Sanding and covering, painting and finishing were also skills to be learned. The installation of equipment was mostly left up to the builder as the plans offered little information other than a suggested location and many times would just say "install equipment in the usual manner"!! With patience and a lot of work you could finally stand back and admire what you had made. That's what it took to be a model builder back in the pre-ARF, RTF days. Sure, back in those days there were prebuilt models available for sale but someone built it as described above and someone else paid a lot of money for that convenience.  The scale guys still do a lot of this but the majority of people just go and buy something, charge up the battery and off they go. It is easier now and I like that but you're no longer a modeler, you're a model user.

Teenager Walter Spangenberg in his attic shop (1943)

This work area from 1943 could be a workshop in use today. Of course there would be a TV and a PC and other modern conveniences but the basics needed as discussed above are all here. A building board to work at and the tools needed to build your project.

  

Len Smith Wisdom MT. (1942)
This plane and work area would not look out of place today. Hard to believe it's from 75 years ago!