1. Use 30-minute epoxy (not 5 minute) for jobs like joining the wing panels, glueing on the horizontal stabiliser and fin. The 5-minute stuff doesn’t give you enough working time, nor does it have as much strength as the 30-minute.

2. Throw away those “CA Hinges” supplied with the kit and replace them with proper pinned hinges. The “CA Hinges” soon fatigue and break wheras the pinned hinges will last forever. Use Dubro Standard 5/8” hinges (Dubro part number 116), glue them in with 30 minute epoxy, allowing the epoxy to get into the holes in the hinge flanges and lock them into place. Smear a little Vaseline on the area near the hinge pins to prevent the epoxy clagging them up and making them immoveable. As a “belt and braces” measure, push household pins through from underneath through the hinges and clip them off level with the surfaces.

3. Use a clean paper towel and methylated spirits or methanol to clean off any surplus epoxy squeezed out of joints or accidently spilt on the model, before it sets.

4. Use a household iron (experiment to get the right temperature) or heat gun to remove wrinkles which may have emerged during shipping, then go over all the surfaces where the covering overlaps or ends on bare wood. Pay particular attention to the engine compartment and wing saddle areas. This applies only to ARF’s covered in proper heat-shrink film. If your model has printed vinyl covering (as many Vietnamese ARF’s have), accept my condolences - there’s no way wrinkles in this material can be satisfactorily and permanently shrunk out. After you’ve ironed down the covering where it overlaps or ends on bare wood, apply a bead of CA along the edges to prevent the ingress of fuel and oil.

5. Always paint the insides of fuselages, i.e., the tank compartment and inside under the wing (floor and sides) with clear gloss Estapol or similar before installing anything . Also the front of the firewall and the holes where the fuel lines come through and inside the cheeks at the front of the fuse. The latter may have some sort of coating applied at the factory but a bit more won’t do any harm. This will fuel proof the wood. Unprotected balsa and ply soak up any spilt fuel or exhaust oil like a sponge and once oil-soaked it will be weak, the covering won’t adhere to it and adhesives won’t stick either if you ever have to do a repair job.

6. Servos are often mounted on plywood trays only 3 mm or so thick. That’s not enough material for the servo mounting screws to bite into and they could easily work loose. Glue strips of  scrap 3 mm ply under the servo tray where the screws go through and give those screws a chance to hold tight.

7. Make sure you use a very sharp knife (a modelling knife and number 11 blade is best) to cut away covering film, e.g., where you have to mount the horizontal stab to the fuse.

8. The 1.5 mm steel wire that comes in these kits (for control-surface push rods etc) is often hard and brittle and will break if you try to make right angle or Z bends in it. It will bend easier if you anneal it by heating it to bright cherry red in a gas flame then cool it slowly.

9. The 3mm o.d. thin-wall aluminium tubing  which goes through the rubber stopper of the fuel tank is very brittle and inclined to crack and break when you try to bend it. Bend it slowly and carefully or better still substitute annealed brass or copper tubing.

10. Reinforce all screw holes (such as for cowl mounting screws, control horns, servos and undercarriage straps) with a drop of thin CA. This will harden the wood and give the screws more grip.

11. File or grind a flat spot on axles and nosegears where the wheel collar and tiller arm set screws bite. The screws will hold much better biting on to flat spots than round axles so your wheels won’t fall off in flight. Use thread locker (e.g. Loctite 243) on all nuts, bolts and set screws so they don’t vibrate loose.

12. Put keepers made from short (5mm) lengths of silicone fuel tubing on all clevises, so the clevis pin doesn’t pop out and leave you without control.

These tips will add a little to your ARF model’s assembly time, but they will pay off in terms of longer and more trouble-free life. Try them!