VQ Warbirds-RARE BEAR

Sporty Reno Racing superstar

P.J. ASH

AT A GLANCE

MODEL

Rare Bear

MANUFACTURER

VQ Warbirds (vqwarbirds.com)

TYPE

Sport scale Reno Racer

WINGSPAN

80 in.

PILOT SKILL LEVEL

Intermediate

ASSEMBLY TIME

8 to 12 hours

RADIO REQ’D

6-Channel (with 8 servos)

POWER REQ’D

30cc—60cc

PRICE

$549.95

Today, we see a lot of the same ARFs at the flying field. Yes, there are times when something new and different shows up, and that’s thrilling, but in today’s less-time-tobuild world, it’s all the more refreshing to see something exciting. I am always on the lookout for unique and outright cool ARFs, and the impressive Reno Racer Rare Bear from VQ Warbirds is just that type of plane. I’ve always liked the Grumman Bearcat, but not its basic, Navy blue paint job. So when I discovered the Rare Bear, it really caught my attention. A fun scale plane of a popular warbird turned racer, this version is not often modeled. The gang at VQ Warbirds picked the beautiful orange and purple version of the racer, and does that ever light up in the sky! It doesn’t require a lot of time to build and it comes with that impressive color scheme straight out of the box. Let’s take a closer look.

UNIQUE FEATURES

I was taken by the colorful design and the accuracy of the model. What pleasantly surprised me was how closely the fiberglass parts, like the cowling, match the rest of the plane. Also, the panel lines on the wings and hatches complement the plane’s detailed appearance. I was happy to see the flush-fitting hatches for the aileron and the flap servos. Even the inside of the wheel wells are finished in light Aircraft Gray. Again, it’s a small detail, but it looks so much better than bare balsa wood. I love the convenience of being able to remove the large cockpit hatch and have all the switches installed on the inside. This keeps the airplane clean and more scale looking. The cockpit comes with the pilot already installed, and a good-looking instrument panel is included.