Thanks for sharing.
Lou
Looks like another Strombecker B-24 is available for restoration:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Model-Airplane-Lot-1-orig-direction-woodplastic-/320591133534?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa4b87b5e
Now that's sad. A lot of dedication and devotion is entailed in those models. Hope Barry doesn't notice the posting.
Cliff
Collecting vintage kits looks like an expensive hobby and then you can't even build the model without destroying the value! I can buy eight board-feet of basswood for the same $32 or so and carve a whole fleet.
I hope all our American friends are having a great Thanksgiving holiday.
My brother is visiting and were building a flying "solid". Do you remember the Walter Musciano control line "solids" of the 50s and 60s? Many of them were kitted by Scientific, usually about 18" span for 1/2A engines. We're building the Aeronca Sedan from Walt's book BUILDING AND FLYING SCALE MODEL AIRCRAFT. Our edition is from 1953. Engine is vintage OK Cub. The kits, when you find them these days, sell for $60 and up but you don't need the kits to build them if you have solid modeling skills. Great fun but we're going to have to cut it off soon to eat the traditional turkey dinner.
Cheers,
Mark
A couple of pics of the work in progress:
Well done Mark ! I have that classic book in my collection as well,I agree you just follow solid model principles,add a few control horns and engine bulkhead and you have a flying solid,over the years there have been many models done in this way,once I built the small Hawker Tempest V from the 'Aeromodeller' plan,this delghtful little model flew like a bird,have a lovely weekend there with your brother and enjoy the turkey roast.
Barry.
I think some of these plans would be welcomed by our members. They are Solids after all.
Skyleada Ju-88 plan on ebay
Quote from: dave_t on September 26, 2010, 02:22:26 PM
Collecting vintage kits looks like an expensive hobby and then you can't even build the model without destroying the value! I can buy eight board-feet of basswood for the same $32 or so and carve a whole fleet.
I just copy the parts onto better quality timber not that I am a kit collector,you are so lucky being able to buy Basswood,the only source here in the UK is the dwindling packs in Hobbycraft stores,they have not had any new stock in three years now,the blocks are offcuts and that is why you often see joined blocks in some of my models to make the most of it.
Barry.
I stumbled onto the basswood blocks at a woodworker's store. They are all stamped with "Howard Berger - The Basswood Man". I searched his name and learned that years ago he was surprised at how over-priced basswood was for carvers here in the USA and remembered how common the trees were in his home state, so he went back and started a business selling these beautiful milled pieces. I buy what I can afford, and fairly often, but if I didn't have that source, laminated shelf stock pine would work too. I have been carving a few scraps of mahogany lately and find it is very nice to work with, but the tools have to be a little sharper.
Actually, it's the blocks of balsa that I never see anywhere!
Most interesting Dave,yes you are right balsa block is getting like hens teeth to locate,my dwindling stock of Standard Motor company Mosquito balsa is nearly all gone,after WW2 they sold off the surplus blocks to model shops,high quality balsa sized around 3 foot by 8 inches wide,as you know they utilised it n the Mossie fuselage with bakelite pegs stuck in with a resin adhesive,the two halves had the electrics and controls fitted then they joined them up like a plastic kit.
If only traditional materials were as easy to find these days,problem is that everyone is buying ARTF instead of building their own,they just crash em and buy another ! I have no model shop within 50 miles now either,all gone.
Barry.
http://cgi.ebay.com/old-Wood-US-Army-B-17-Flying-Fortress-Airplane-12-x17-/220732740288?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3364b252c0
Link to model collection at Le Bourget:
http://aeroscale.webs.com/lebourget.htm
I believe these are both built vintage Strombecker models, good for restoration projects:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Hand-Carved-Wood-Prop-Airplane-Model-1930-1940-/260755619715?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb63eff83
http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Hand-Carved-Wood-Prop-Seaplane-Model-1930-1940-/260755624642?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb63f12c2
As you say Mark good for restoration,they put them together like plastic kits back then ! no shaping or sanding or even primer by the looks of things,but nothing that could not be sorted.
Barry.
I love the colours,I love the interesting subjects,and above all I love them all because they are our beloved solid models ! they have individuality and character,thanks for sharing them Mark I just wish the pictures were larger.
Barry.
This old model is what the antique dealers call a "primitive". Looks like some wierd tailless glider. Actually it's a 1/72
Strombecker P-61 with a few parts missing! One wonders how many of the
Strombecker models didn't get much beyond this stage before the young builders gave up.
I have seen far worse Mark,build some booms and a tail then restore it using your solid model skills to re-create a bit of history.
Many never got past opening the box,sensing some work to be done and pushed into a drawer.
Barry.
The serial numbers on the P-80A tail are home made decals made with USAAF serial stencil font available free here:
http://hans.presto.tripod.com/fonts/usaaf.html
You can go into MS Word and use Help to see how to download new fonts for use with Word. Print on clear decal paper.
Mark
I used USAAF Serial Stencil font.
Try here: http://www.dafont.com/font.php?file=usaaf_stencil
Thats a very useful stencil pattern to have Mark,thank you for sharing the details.
Barry.
Similar to
Air Stories in the UK, the American pulp fiction magazine
The Lone Eagle of the late '30s had solid model plans. These pulps are unfortunately very collectible but one can occasionally find one in poor condition for reading and modeling purposes at a somewhat reasonable price. Here is cover of August, 1938 issue that is in my collection. I will copy the Nieuport drawing and add it to the Gallery later today. My father was an avid reader of
The Lone Eagle as a youth. There were many such American aviation themed pulp magazines but this is the only title I know of with solid plans.
Mark I had never heard of this 'Lone Eagle' before you mentioned it ? my father had some 'Flying Aces' which are now mine and I cherish these old pulps,sadly they are self destroying as the acid content in the paper is quite high and lets face it they were never intended to last as long as they have.
As a lad I used to drool over the plans which always had the effect of making me reach for my building board and what balsa I had in my valuable offcuts box,those plans certainly had a big impact upon my interest in solids and small rubber driven models.
'Flying Aces' usually had about three solid plans per issue with lots of hints and tips and fine adverts from muscle building ( remember Charles Atlas ! ?) to Sellytex pre-formed fuselages for flying subjects,names such as Arch Whitehouse for the excellent stories,yarns like 'Death steals the Electra' and more down to earth 'On the lightplane tarmac'
As WW1 was still quite young the romance of aerial warfare with the aces was still on the minds of the public,thus plans of biplanes appeared just like in your 'Lone Eagle' looking forward to seeing that Nieuport and building it as well.
It is important that we scan these old pulp drawings because they will certainly not last forever in those original magazines,insects can also attack the paper as it falls apart and goes very brittle.
Barry.
Barry,
Do you have any of the solids you built as a lad? I, and I'm sure others here would be happy to see them and we could see that even the experts were not always so. I still have a 1:48-ish solid balsa Fokker D.VII that I built when I was about 13 years old. It's now in pieces having been played with by one of my cats. I may have a go at restoring it some day. Most of my models are of the flying stick and tissue variety and only a few those have survived for long but I still have the first model airplane my brother and I ever had, a plastic Hawk Nieuport 17, built by my father about 1960. It too was in pieces but I restored it about 15 years ago and it now holds a place of honour in my small collection.
Mark
Yes I do Mark,quite a few of them,how about if I sort them out and do a photo shoot ? it is about time they saw some daylight again.
Barry.
An amazing model airport: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1383532/Knuffingen-Airport-German-builds-worlds-largest-model-airport.html
The attention to detail is incredible,I wonder how the aircraft are controlled on the ground so precisely to line up with the walkways etc ? very clever.
Barry.
Quote from: Balsabasher on October 24, 2011, 09:23:12 PM
The attention to detail is incredible,I wonder how the aircraft are controlled on the ground so precisely to line up with the walkways etc ? very clever.
Barry.
I think they use a version of the Faller "CarSystem" where a magnet follows a steel wire embedded in the roadway. Some of the other YouTube videos (Gerrits Tagebuch) show details of the work involved. Very impressive.
Will
So that is how they achieve it ? I noticed the piece of wire on the nosewheels of the airliners,it works really well.
Barry.
I have just purchased a Fokker D.8 1=48th scale kit on E-Bay,the plan has had to be repaired as it was so fragile and falling apart,the acids react in the paper over time like the pulp magazines and are self destroying,that is why our archives are so important to preserve this social history.
Well found Mark.
Barry.
Last collection of operating tramp freighters in the USA.
Enjoy: http://www.michaelprophet.com/News_articles/OPS.html
Quite a few of these old propliners are no longer operational since this site was made,operating costs and attrition have made their numbers dwindle,one of the DC-6's shown in Michael Palins adventure to the North Pole where it made a dramatic landing on the ice plane was written off.
In the UK the last operational DC-3's in passenger service were made the subject of a stainless crew door,passenger escape chute mandatory certification,unfortunately the extra weight of the anti terrorist door plus the chute would reduce the passenger numbers,the idea is ludicrous on the DC-3 as everyone knows the wheels protude and a belly landing means that anyone can easily jump out of the passenger door ! classing old props in a commercial jet category just does not work.
Even the Colombian meat freighters ( Curtiss C-46 Commando's) have dwindled in recent years,along with the oil dripping from the radials and the red blood running through the floorboards from the carcases made for a unique sight !
An era in aviation is fast vanishing,Barry.
Anyone working in industry today knows that pattern making or model making is now done 100% with computers and various technologies that convert the computer models into actual 3D solid objects. Not to promote such modeling here at SMM but to expose some here to the modern realities, I provide this link as we should all be able to relate to what's explained there: http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/cessna_t50_01.html
Wow that is beautifully done ! but I think I will stick to a sheet of cartridge paper,a pencil and an eraser,it is just too much for my brain to take in.
Barry.
Korean War (Conflict) solids!
Here's a model P-51D made from one of the last solid kits made, a
Monogram Superkit from the mid '50s. There were lots of plastic parts in these kits but the main components were balsa.
Monogram's first kits were balsa but this model represents that brief era when plastic was held in scorn but the manufacturers were starting to see the "plastic" future. These shots taken of a model offered in on-line auction. Scale is 1:57.
Link to more info on the Superkits: http://www.philsaeronauticalstuff.com/oldmodels/monogramsuperkit/monogramsuperkit.html
Mark
Odd scale but looks pretty good. Thanks for sharing.
Lou
Awesome to say the least. He must have slept, ate and lived at the work bench.
Lou
Here's link to artist in Italy selling solid models as artwork or sculpture:
http://www.artmajeur.com/?go=artworks/display_mini_gallery&login=lampons&mini_gallery_id=4643&artist_id=3553&image_id=148533&disp_m=normal&serie=1
Some nice models there.
Here's the reason you haven't seen much solid activity from me lately. I just finished this stick and tissue, rubber powered, free flight model of the Great Lakes TG-1 built from the remains (box, plan, scraps of wood) of a 1935
Comet kit #510. This was done for a
Comet plan cook-up over at Hip Pocket Aeronautics. Wing span is 18", not yet flown. Back to solids soon I hope.
Interesting drawing over on Hip Pocket Aeronautics is this factory drawing for solid wind tunnel model (1:4 scale ?) of the fuselage of a Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.8 of WW1.
High summer here in Illinois and my modeling activity is centered around flying models or keeping them repaired. I did however carve a static display propeller for the Great Lakes TG-1 shown in post #46 above. This was carved in one piece from the stick of a spent fireworks rocket (4th of July festivites) found littering the yard. Just painted today...still need to paint the tri-color tip stripes. Scale is approx 1:35. I need to carve a 1:48 propeller for the Caudron racer soon so this is good practice.
Second photo shows the model in flight with its nylon flying propeller.
Nice carving Mark, you just never know what is hiding in a piece of wood. I get offcuts of wood from a joinery for my woodburner, but can never decide what to burn and what may be usefull.Regards Paul J.
I don't think these are
Skybirds but they are 1:72 scale solids from around WW2. Some nice old period models from back in the day...Hawker Typhoon left and Spitfire Mk V right.
Strombecker advert for the season! November, 1945; a lot of Dads not yet returned home.
I am looking for a better, non-distorted version of this Vought company 3-view of the O2U-1. Anyone have it? I would be happy with a good scan.
Mark,
I just sent you the version I had. Let me know if that is what you had in mind.
Garet
Yes, Garet, perfect! Thanks so much! Recently found an Aeroclub 1/72 Wasp engine that needs a good home.
Here's link to page of really nice and really old-school solid models representing the design work of Frederick Koolhoven
http://members.ziggo.nl/henrikaper/koolhoven/paris-air-salon-models/
Dont these models have real character ? the contra prop jobbie was done by James Hay Stevens as part of his series in 'Air Stories' pulp magazine,I have often looked at this advanced design which came along long before the Fairey Gannet.
Barry.
While built
Strombecker spotter models of the Douglas A-20 are not terribly rare, finding them unbuilt in this condition is rare. I have one of these crudely built that needs to be restored one day. Scale is 1/72.
Nice model of a Martin MB-2 bomber made by a couple of Army mechanics in Panama, mid- '20s. I love '20s aviation and models of that decade....that decade between the end of WW1 and Lindbergh's flight is comparatively neglected by modelers and prime for solid modelers as there are so few kits available for that era.
To widen the exposure to solid modeling a bit I've been posting a few pics of some of my better models here:
http://retroscalemodeling.lefora.com/
Wood and paper models are welcome there.
The
Megow Maggie......nice!
Rich kid's bedroom.
Edgar Schmued, designer of the Mustang.
This is kind of interesting, a solid balsa flying model of a Bolkow Phoebus sailplane.
http://www.outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=5465
More amazing modeling......
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2621589/Astonishing-collection-model-planes-encompassing-years-flight-leading-WW1-reveal-bizarre-designs-really-did-airborne.html
A solid model of Curtiss Helldiver O2C-1 used in making the 1933 version of King Kong movie:
http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/106714-beauty-didnt-kill-the-beastmickey-mouse-did/
Odd colors used but probably chosen to film correctly with black and white filming.
Quote from: Mark Braunlich on May 07, 2014, 02:01:02 AM
More amazing modeling......
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2621589/Astonishing-collection-model-planes-encompassing-years-flight-leading-WW1-reveal-bizarre-designs-really-did-airborne.html
Mark,
That article shows some fantastic modelling, I wonder at the research that must have been required for some of them! At some point before the sale the auctioneers changed the sale of these models to a single lot with a reserve of £30,000, presumably they'd had an offer of that order. The hammer price for the lot was £110,000, nearly 150,000 dollars.
you can view the auction catalogue here, lots 248 to 383, the combined collection was sold under 248.
http://issuu.com/jammdesign/docs/dw_15_16_may_2014_high_res?e=1975639/7680150 (http://issuu.com/jammdesign/docs/dw_15_16_may_2014_high_res?e=1975639/7680150)
or download pdf version
http://www.dominicwinter.co.uk/Catalogues/DW%2015&16%20May%202014_Low%20Res.pdf (http://www.dominicwinter.co.uk/Catalogues/DW%2015&16%20May%202014_Low%20Res.pdf)
Cheers
Will
Nice to see this newly built Strombecker DC-6 on the August 2016 pages of the AMA magazine Model Aviation.
Interesting photo of Canadian guard with German POW's model, 1941.
Nice post. Looks like a Do 215.
Lou
Pre-WW2 model aerodrome in the UK.
Nice walk down memory lanes. Thanks for posting.
Lou
That would be fun to play with.
Peter
Mark,
There is still a 30's aerodrome at Bekonscot model village, though I don't remember it when I visited with my then girlfriend. Perhaps distracted?
There is a nice little vintage flying club with Moths and so on at the Model Village in Godshill on the Isle of Wight. My wife and kids really liked that place. Somewhere I have some pictures of the planes which are quite nice size at 1/20 or 1/24 or so, probably "solids". [url]http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-model-airfield-and-planes-at-the-model-village-godshill-on-the-isle-40104776.html/[url] As the model village is mostly of Godshill there's a model village in the model village in the...
Cheers
Will
Happy Holidays to everyone !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gjulp_X7YI
Nice Curtiss Condor
https://www.flickr.com/photos/skylarkair/8437609341/in/photolist-YMRKTA-7aBsd5-pyNksG-pRisnT-bNDUSR-bzKgpm-UFAY2J-ipx2iF-o6utko-edb4re-bNDTMi-g1iKT3-pyPVii-bzKfzG-wqd2VV-7MyVJE-fCopfb-dRAXi8-e1pFgX-bzYHSu-o6vb7m-e1iunt-9MMbmi-dvEzSF-o6vveu-9GkTV2-7ZDwx7-9GoMBQ-djjgCq-dvLM5u-9settM-nP8zYe-nP87p8-o9YW9M-aoy5ie-7aBsx1-piG4Hg-dvGEkp-dvKqcC-dvEG46-dvEfhK-cK6sGf-o4yTCC-aoy5Rv-aoyb2z-o6uBP7-aNtaYc-pRisnH-aoBk2m-dvFvo2/
The bulk of the collection sold for £110,000 in the 2014 auction. I just looked it up.
Quote from: Mark Braunlich on May 07, 2014, 02:01:02 AM
More amazing modeling......
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2621589/Astonishing-collection-model-planes-encompassing-years-flight-leading-WW1-reveal-bizarre-designs-really-did-airborne.html
Funny
https://fb.watch/6klvaED-39/
Nice magazine cover. I don't wear a tie while modeling but otherwise not much else is different.
It was another time and also seem like another world all together..
Thank you for posting.
Lou
Issue price dropped from twenty cents to ten. The opposite of today.
I thought this was pretty nice and being of wood it would fit in nicely with our models. (Not mine.)
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2781806965457985/?ref=browse_tab&referral_code=marketplace_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks
Thank you for posting Mark.
Lou
https://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/index/Category:Skybirds
Very interesting Mark. Thank you for the link.
Lou
Thank you for the link Mark.
Very interesting the models that were available .
Cheers
Gordon
That was an interesting link. I really like the diorama with the tiny hangars. It is cool that they had one being assembled too. The terminal building looks like some that I saw back in the late 60's in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. Now even the runways have been turned into dirt.
Fraser