The Top Flite Monokote web site is
history. This site was last archived on Nov
23, 2020. Just a quick note, the Monokote
website had 59 colors listed, not including
trim sheets. A search of the Horizon
Hobby website, who now owns Top Flite,
only lists 52 Monokote items, including
trim sheets. Obviously some colors have
been discontinued and their handy tools.
It also appears fans of Econokote can kiss
that goodbye too. One can only guess
how long Monokote products will still be
available. I recently had to scour the
country to buy perhaps the last remaining
roll of cream colored Monokote and two
trim sheets from Graves R/C.
Great Planes,
not so great
these days,
has taken down their website. Last
archived March 4, 2021, it is no more.
Even though their products were scarce
since being bought by Horizon Hobbies,
the site served as a reference for manuals
and tech information if one needed it for
discontinued products. Buh Bye!
THE EULOGY
The prognosis for seeing products from
these companies again is not good. The
big box on-line store listings are mostly all
back ordered and not available in most
hobby shops. A shrinking (no pun
intended) selection of Monokote seems to
be the exception.
As disappointing as it is to see a favorite
brand disappear, all is not lost. New
companies have emerged in the past few
years to pick up the void. For builders,
there are numerous short kits available to
resurrect a favorite airplane from the past.
The ARF selection today has never been
bigger. Foamie airplanes, including EDF's,
are available in just about every type and
price range.
If you can still find products from these
folks, scarf them up while you can. I don’t
think they’ll be available much longer.
Am I disappointed to see companies and
products disappear? Sure. But fortunately,
there's still enough out there to keep
adding to anyone's wish list!
John W. Blossick
Johnb@tslidehaven.com
July2021
R/C Aircraft Insight From Low Altitude
REQUIEM FOR THE DEPARTED
“There are far, far better things ahead
than any we leave behind.” C.S. Lewis
Before I forget...While we’re on the topic of websites being MIA, the following sites no
longer work--Scale Masters and their blog, and Eagle Tree Systems is shutting down their
business for good. The links were removed from the TSH link page.
Updating website links on a link page can
be a tedious and time consuming task. It
can also be very
enlightening as an
indicator of a
companies health,
especially if the link
being checked doesn't
work anymore.If the
site address has
changed, it's
sometimes an easy
fix. If the address won't display a web
page at all, chances are the web site is
gone. Another possibility is a company
may still be operating, but discontinued
various products and removed the
appropriate web pages.
The latest websites to perform a Las
Vegas disappearing magic act from the
Internet and the Tail Slide Haven link
page have been part of the modeling
world for decades. These sites had been
around as far back as 1995. Some of the
web sites have been up until recently as a
reference source with very few products
for sale.
It’s time to get out the shovels, start
digging, and say a few last words.
TO THE GRAVEYARD
Let's start with
Byron Fuels. First
the airplanes
disappeared, now
the fuel is gone
too. In a press
release, Byron Fuels reasons for ceasing
fuel operations were virtually identical to
the reasons Byron Originals cited for
discontinuing airplanes years ago. They
just weren’t selling enough, “...after years
of contemplation...”. Bla...bla...
Next up to get
the deep six is
the Top Flite
website. The once King of the war bird
kits, and other nice airplanes has shut
down their website. It was last scanned
by the Wayback Machine bots in Dec 22,
2019. After that date there is nothing to
archive.
tslidehaven.com
Top of Page
