Check out the Tin Ear receiver:

http://www.amqrp.org/kits/tin_ear/TinEar%20Manual.pdf

It uses a plastic drinking straw wrapped with wire and a brass screw
to make a variable inductor that is part of a permeability tuned VFO.

3 FETs 4 NPNs and 1 PNP
1 toroid

It is no longer available as a kit but all the info is there to build
one yourself.