Last 10 Posts (In reverse order)
Ron's model kits, as discussed here before, are definitely not for beginners, you have to have at least some model building experience, some kitbashing experience is helpful, and maybe even a dabbling in scratch-building. If you follow his instructions you should be okay. But yes, he gives you the basic parts for the model, extra detailing, painting, etc. are up to you to add. They are not Faller or even IHC quality, but get the job done if you know what you are doing. There are naysayers who have nothing good to say about his kits, but then not everyone can handle them, either.

The first kit I tried of his was the Tilt-A-Whirl, and it was a disaster, all my fault, as I did not fully realize what I was getting into. Ten years later, I think I could take it and build it and make it look nice, but back then I just did not have enough experience to handle it. Next was the Ring of Fire and that went fairly well, and I have gotten better since. And by building his kits, I have gotten more and more comfortable with scratch building models as well.

RAH kits I have built for myself:

Ring of Fire (two)
Kamikaze
g/m Scrambler
Giant Scooter
Slide
Alpine Fun House
Monster conversion for the IHC Spider (he provides the new sweep ends and tubs)
Venture Riverboats
Sky Wheel trailers
Zipper (two-one from the ground up, one I bought built but had to completely rebuild)
Gravitron
Pirate (supposed to be a Huss, I kitbashed it to look more like an SDC)


RAH models I have built for my friend Justin:

Ring of Fire
Slide
Gravitron

And thanks to the experience with RAH kits, I have scratch built many models including three Trabants, Eli Hy-5 wheel, a Chance Twister, g/m Scrambler, t/m Scrambler, Rock-O-Plane, Kamikaze, Terminator themed Kamikaze, two smaller Scooters and an Otterbacher Bumper Cars, Gravitron, Tip Top, Tempest (using RAH trailer), two Hustler's (using RAH trailers), four Sizzlers, Orbiter, Cobra, two Super Shot drop towers, three Miami-trip rides, a 1001 Nachts (themed as Night Fly), dark rides and numerous fun houses, etc.

If you go to the Ridemodelers Yahoo! Group and join (it's free), in the PHOTOS section I have photos of all of my ride models, plus Justin's models (some of which I built for him), under American Eagle Shows, Frangipani Amusements, Wonderland Shows, and Justin's JLJ Midways.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ridemodelers/ 

"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." -- Mark Twain
I built Ron's Rock-o-Plane model back in '98. Tricky?, YES! I couldn't get the box shape to the frame(wheel) of the ride, so i just built a regular looking Wheel shape out of it, and i powered it with a Faller motor, which was cool, but the cages weren't free-swing. I had them glued to the studs they would've pivoted on, had they been free-swing. So they got to go upside down anyway when it went around.[8D] As for the Paratrooper & Tilt-a-Whirl, never had those, but wanted to try out the Tilt-a-Whirl. That one scares me just looking at it...(building it). LOL [:0]

~Ben
A few years ago I bought a ring of fire and the ring was warped so
bad that I couldn't use it. I haven't ordered anything since. Ron
has came a long way improving his kits. I would like to get a tilt-
a-whirl, but I will wait on chris hurley build one.
RAH models are craftsman kits. What that means is you get plan drawings and unfinished (stright from the mold) castings of the more difficult to build parts, and a supply of plastic sheets and rods. Enough material to give you a jump start on scratch building a decent model. You should have a basic knowledge of Model Railroading, Fine Scale Modeling, or Radio Control Aircraft or at least have read a lot of magazines with those titles before you start. The Slide or the Alpine Funhouse are good kits to start with.
Good luck.
Chris Hurley (Skywheelrider) likely has the largest selection of RAH rides, and he has albums. I'm sure he will help you out.

As for the rides you mentioned. I had bought a paratroper, and it looked pretty scary to attempt. Mind you, this was a few years back. I can say form looking that is was one of the more labour intensive rides.

I have a RAH Tilt, that my brother built. I'll try to get him to give you an idea of how hard it was, although rarely on while hes out with the show. He did a good job with the Tilt.

I have a few pictures of it in this album.
http://www.facebook.com/...8145149&l=18472cd29d 


UserPostedImage

Justin
Does anybody have a RAH rock-o-plane, paratrooper, or tilt. I know it has been talked about before but how hard is it to put these models together and also look realistic. Does anybody have photos of there RAH Models?