Solid Model Memories.net

Tips and Techniques => References => Topic started by: R.F.Bennett on December 31, 2007, 05:25:36 AM

Title: Favorite Books.
Post by: R.F.Bennett on December 31, 2007, 05:25:36 AM
Post your favorite Modeling or reference books here. No sales Please.
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Oceaneer99 on January 01, 2008, 06:27:41 PM
Modelmaking by H.S. Coleman
1949 Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York
87 pages, illustrated with two-color line drawings

Little general information, but includes plans for:
•   toy sailing Yacht
•   Galleon "The Golden Hind"
•   operating marine steam plant
•   waterline model refrigerated cargo Liner "Essex"
•   flying model cabin airplane
•   solid scale model Vickers Viking airliner

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/Modelmaking_by_Coleman.jpg)
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-71 (http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-71)
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: lastvautour on January 02, 2008, 12:11:43 AM
Garet, may I have a copy of the Vickers Vicking drawings? Thanks. If copyright is not an issue, perhaps you can post on the gallery.

Lou
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Oceaneer99 on January 03, 2008, 06:53:43 PM
Lou, I'll send you the plans as I have them now.  They need restoration before going up on the site.

Garet
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: lastvautour on January 04, 2008, 12:52:43 AM
Thanks Garet, I received them.

Lou
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Mark Braunlich on July 21, 2010, 07:36:45 PM
A favorite book:   The Model Plane Annual 1944 by David C. Cooke.

Many black and white photos of the Kettering solid collection now in the USAF Museum.  Scale: 4mm=1' or 1/76.2.  I believe this is an old British model railroading scale.

Also plans for the following solids:
P-40F
Bristol Beaufort
Handley Page Hampden
P-47B
P-39 (early)
Douglas Dauntless
Curtiss SBC-4
Curtiss P-6E
Spitfire Mk.1
Macchi C.200
Bf-109E
SPAD XIII
Nieuport 17
Fokker D.VII
Fokker D.VIII
Junkers Ju.87B
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Balsabasher on July 21, 2010, 11:26:32 PM
Can I also have a copy Garet please ? the Vickers Viking is one of my favourite piston airliners and I want to build a solid from those plans,thank you,Barry.


Quote from: Oceaneer99 on January 01, 2008, 06:27:41 PM
Modelmaking by H.S. Coleman
1949 Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York
87 pages, illustrated with two-color line drawings

Little general information, but includes plans for:
•   toy sailing Yacht
•   Galleon "The Golden Hind"
•   operating marine steam plant
•   waterline model refrigerated cargo Liner "Essex"
•   flying model cabin airplane
•   solid scale model Vickers Viking airliner

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/Modelmaking_by_Coleman.jpg)
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-71 (http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-71)
Title: Re: Favorite Books: Building and Operating Model Cars, by Walter A. Musciano.
Post by: Mark Crowel on January 23, 2011, 04:45:36 AM
Copyright 1956, by Funk & Wagnalls Company, New York.  The author shows plans and photos of the solid balsa model cars he built, all powered by electric motors, gas engines (model airplane type engines), or Jetex (for the rocket powered car).

Also shown are photos of model cars scratchbuilt by boys who won the various design contests sponsored by General Motors and Ford.  Great '50's "dream car" designs.

There is something special about building a model from scratch and forming your own parts, that brings a satisfaction that no plastic kit can give.

Walter A. Musciano is probably better known as a model airplane designer.
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Balsabasher on January 23, 2011, 06:07:34 AM
Well said Mark,your choice reminds me of 'The Eagle book of balsa models' crammed with projects to transfer to balsa and build,they just do not produce books like that now,and by books I mean proper paper versions and not these dreadful electronic things.
Barry.
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Oceaneer99 on January 24, 2011, 05:45:29 AM
Ah, yes, I believe the Eagle book was also published under the name "Bill Dean's Book of Balsa Models".  That was a favorite of mine, and my name was listed on the card in the book at the library over and over again.

Garet
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Balsabasher on January 24, 2011, 12:06:42 PM
I must locate that as there will be plans suitable for our archive,good traceable drawings no fussy detail just the basic requirements,the 'Eagle' comic also had some excellent cutaway drawings in it every week of fine machines,L.Ashwell-Wood my hero artist often suggested makng models from balsawood in the write ups,this was at a time when youngsters appreciated proper factual things,today the toy shelves seem orientated towards sci-fi and nothing else ? the wonderment of flight and how a large bridge held together made boys into men who went and designed things ala Frank Hornby and his Meccano system,I call these the golden years,thankfully we still have plenty of material from the past to call upon and keep building the way we did back thenl.
Barry.
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: animek on January 31, 2011, 02:01:11 AM
Anyone has in hand this book ? "How to build a model navy" from (Gilmore, Horace Herman) http://www.amazon.com/build-model-Horace-Herman-Gilmore/dp/B0007EKA5E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1296438616&sr=1-3 (http://www.amazon.com/build-model-Horace-Herman-Gilmore/dp/B0007EKA5E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1296438616&sr=1-3) , and can tell me if it is worth the $60 lowest value I can find.   I've been trying to find a cheaper copy for the last 2 years, and I was not able to.

I got this book for $15, "United States Navy waterline models and how to build them" From (John Philips Cranwell), http://www.amazon.com/United-States-waterline-models-build/dp/B0007DSBF6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1296438616&sr=1-2 (http://www.amazon.com/United-States-waterline-models-build/dp/B0007DSBF6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1296438616&sr=1-2) a really banged up copy, but I like it very much, so I'm trying to find out if the (How to build a model navy) copy is worth it, regarding quality of plans, details and explanations, all compared to the waterline navy book.

Thanks

Ben
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Jim on January 31, 2011, 03:40:44 AM
I've got the "US Navy waterline Models" book -- which is wonderful -- and James Hay Stevens's "Scale Model Aircraft" book as well, both of which I bought through Amazon, I believe. The Stevens book came with an added little bonus:  There's a pocket inside the cover that holds a large-scale drawing of a Hawker Hart (IIRC), which was too large to print full-size in the book format. Tucked in with the Hart drawing are several small-scale tracings on onionskin paper of a couple other model aircraft not featured in the book, which some industrious prior owner many years ago had made and saved with it. A Fokker Triplane and a Phalz, IIRC. Nice little added bonus, with a bit of history thrown in. Makes me think about who the mystery modeler might have been, and what became of him...

Anyway, those two are my favorites so far...
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Oceaneer99 on January 31, 2011, 04:31:55 AM
Ben,

I have both "How to Build a Model Navy" and "Untied States Waterline Models", and the USWM book is far superior.  Gilmore's book is more simplistic and not necessarily to scale.  The PT boat I built was from his Model Navy book, and scans of that plan are in the gallery, and also scans of the USS Talbot model.

See: http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/thumbnails.php?album=38 (http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/thumbnails.php?album=38)

Garet
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Balsabasher on January 31, 2011, 06:40:41 AM
Quote from: Fingers on January 31, 2011, 03:40:44 AM
Tucked in with the Hart drawing are several small-scale tracings on onionskin paper of a couple other model aircraft not featured in the book, which some industrious prior owner many years ago had made and saved with it. A Fokker Triplane and a Phalz, IIRC. Nice little added bonus, with a bit of history thrown in. Makes me think about who the mystery modeler might have been, and what became of him...

Anyway, those two are my favorites so far...

Thats really added a personal touch to that little book,now why dont you scan those tracings and put them with the plans ? I for one would love to build a model of them exactly as presented to honour this gentleman and what he did,to scan them simply place a piece of white paper behind the tracing,that is all you have to do to bring out the whiteness to the drawing.
Barry.
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Jim on January 31, 2011, 05:27:19 PM
Okay, I'll bite...

I've scanned the images. Being ancient pencil tracings, some are of poor-ish quality, but perhaps someone who has more image manipulation and website management know-how can do better with them.

I tried uploading the images to the "Member-Submitted Plans" section, but the transfer failed. I think it exceeded the file size limit. I'd shrink the files further, but the image quality is so poor to begin with, I'm afraid you'd wind up with nothing but mush. Perhaps our able administrators can make an adjustment to the file size limit for me.

I've got a couple quick notes to append in conjunction with the files, and rather than hopscotch all over the board, I thought I'd add them here, briefly:

o  The first two files are of a Pfalz D-XII. You can see that they're badly creased, but probably still useable. The three-view drawing is different because it was traced on a an odd olive-colored paper, which made the contrast rather poor.

o  The Fokker Triplane file is really minimal and was badly creased as well. It doesn't appear to have details of the engine cowling, but the canny model-makers here could certainly work around that. Personally, I'd take a hard look at the fuselage side view and the placement of the wings...

o  The final page is a bit of a mystery. The images aren't identified, but the top of the page looks a lot like a DeHavilland-9 to me, whereas the bottom looks more like a Short Seaplane...

If someone will let me know when the file-size limit has been adjusted, I'll upload the images...
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Balsabasher on January 31, 2011, 07:06:01 PM
Fingers no need to shrink the files and loose the quality,when you do the scan set the DPI (Dots per inch ) to a lower setting,this way it takes out the un-neccesary bulk of the pixels which load up the file,you can also experiment by scanning either as a colour image or as a black and white image,looking forward to identifying the other plans,if you need any more help just give a shout,we will get around the large file size dilemma.
Barry.
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Jim on February 01, 2011, 04:22:14 AM
I've already done that, Barry. I scanned them in color at 300 DPI, then converted them to B & W at 150 DPI. If I reduce the resolution any more than that, you won't be able to enlarge them again. 72 DPI is fine for viewing on a computer screen, but when you need to print an image -- especially if you have to enlarge it -- I've always understood that 150 DPI for a B & W image is as low as you want to go. Below that, all you're liable to get will be pixelized mush if you want to enlarge it. You can always enlarge an image, reduce the resolution to save space, and still print it; it'll come out fine. But if you throw away the resolution at thebeginning, you're pretty much stuck with the size you've got. Remember also, these images are really small to begin with, faded and creased, and the original resolution of the pencil tracings is not great.

I suppose I could always do what I did with the Lewis gun plan images, send them to you as attachments to a personal note, and let you upload them as you see fit.

And Ray, it wasn't my intent to hijack this thread. My apologies if that's what happened... :-[
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: lastvautour on February 01, 2011, 10:53:51 AM
Jim, are your images jpg.?

Lou
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Balsabasher on February 01, 2011, 02:10:27 PM
Send them to me Fingers for attention,Ray has a good point I wonder if they are jpegs ? anything else gets rejected on some systems,jpegs are user friendly,we will get there no problem.
barry.clay4@ntlworld.com
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Jim on February 01, 2011, 04:07:07 PM
Yup, they're jpegs. I'll e-mail 'em to you now...

jim
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Balsabasher on February 01, 2011, 10:54:27 PM
Thanks for sending those Fingers,all of them are now in place,these really are delightful amateur tracings they have real character and models are perfectly buildable from them,this is the first time I think I have seen a Short 184 seaplane as  subject,it will join the queue to be built.
What a bonus for your purchase,well done.
Barry.
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Jim on February 02, 2011, 06:09:16 AM
I'm very happy. Everyone can enjoy them. I wonder where they were made from...?
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Balsabasher on February 02, 2011, 12:17:44 PM
They could be from any of the period pulp magazines or publications then on the market for building soilid models of WW1 aeroplanes,I seem to think that James Hay Stevens did a Short 184 plan ? they will probably surface in time,interesting that the notes are type written,these things all add to the completion of history and thanks to people like yourself and many others here we are recording it and keeping it alive as well.
Barry.
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Mark Crowel on February 03, 2011, 05:26:25 AM
Model Making, by Herbert Lozier, 1967, Chilton Book Company, Radnor, Pennsylvania.

This book is an excellent introduction to making models: a balsa glider, a balsa and tissue-covered rubber band powered airplane, and several cardboard shelf models: a 1910 race car, a steam locomotive, a motorboat, a delivery van, and a Waco 10 biplane.

There are also many black and white photos of model cars built from plastic and cardstock kits, as well as scratchbuilt cars from brass, and others scratchbuilt from cardboard.

This book has been my main guide and encouragement in my hobby.
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Mark Braunlich on February 06, 2011, 09:37:56 PM
Quote from: Balsabasher on February 02, 2011, 12:17:44 PM
They could be from any of the period pulp magazines or publications then on the market for building soilid models of WW1 aeroplanes,I seem to think that James Hay Stevens did a Short 184 plan ? Barry.

Barry,
I don't know if there was a JHS drawing of the Short 184 in Air Stories but here is the later Short N.2B and one page of the building instructions which was on the back of the 3-view page cut from an Air Stories long ago.   The N.2B has double bay wings instead of the 3-bay wings of the 184 and according to J.M.Bruce, the N.2B was the last of the war-time Short seaplanes; only two prototypes were built, the design being too late for production.  Serial numbers of the two built were N.66 and N.67.

Mark  
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Balsabasher on February 06, 2011, 11:00:41 PM
Mark this is a cracker of a drawing,it needs building into a model so it certainly joins the list ! thank you for placing it here.
Barry.
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Jim on February 07, 2011, 05:50:55 AM
By George, that's it all right! The head-on view of the Short is an absolute dead-ringer for the image in the tracing! Nice job of detective work, Mark! Is there a date anywhere onb that plan?

Any idea where the DH-9 tracing might have originated?
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Mark Braunlich on February 07, 2011, 03:03:16 PM
Fingers,
The D.H.9 is also probably a tracing of a JHS drawing in Air Stories.  Sorry, I don't know the dates.  A friend in the U.K. gave me a stack of the JHS Air Stories drawings he picked up somewhere at a boot sale.
Mark
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Balsabasher on February 07, 2011, 05:21:59 PM
Mark,any chance of a list of which plans you have in your 'Air Stories' collection please ? I also have a lot of them and curious to know which ones that I do not have,and vice versa with yourself ?
I can also prepare a list to compare with yours as well.
Thank you,Barry.
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Mark Braunlich on June 26, 2011, 02:39:55 PM
A recently purchased book is this 1987 title Model Aeroplanes of World War I by Graham Goodchild.   The book covers basic scratch building techniques in both solid balsa, built up balsa and sheet styrene over balsa cores for making 1:48 scale models of eleven WWI fighters and observation aircraft and a magnificent partially solid 1:72 model of the Felixstowe F2A.  The chapter on a traditional solid Sopwith Camel would probably be of most interest to the modellers here.  The book is readily available at very reasonable prices through the usual on-line sources for used books and may be one of the last books written to illustrate our hobby.  Well illustrated including this incredible photograph of the Felixstowe.
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Balsabasher on June 26, 2011, 03:30:33 PM
Yes Mark I have had this book myself now for some years,this must have been the last book written in earnest on solid models since WW2,some interesting techniques and not a bad selection of early aeroplanes either.
Barry.
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Mark Braunlich on August 11, 2011, 07:19:18 PM
Another book recently discovered.  Not bad if you like the really early cars.
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Ken Pugh on August 12, 2011, 01:08:57 PM
I have the car book as well and like it, though I have not yet built anything from it.  It does show some good tips for building solid cars.

Ken Pugh
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Mark Braunlich on March 20, 2012, 12:40:17 AM
Another title added to the shelves, How to Build Solid Scale Model Warplanes by Jesse Davidson, editor of Flying Aces Magazine and published by X-Acto Crescent Products Co.  This is the third edition printed in 1944 but it was obviously written to promote the 1942 identification model building program.  Pretty basic stuff.  Includes the standard Bureau of Aeronautics drawings for the He-113, Sento Ki-001,  I-16, Spitfire, and P-40E.  Thirty page booklet makes for pleasant bedtime reading.
Title: Re: Favorite Books.
Post by: Will on March 22, 2015, 02:48:52 PM
The two catalogues of the Christie's auctions of Doylend's model aircraft are on eBay now.  Not mine I already have them.  Approx 200 photos of several hundred models, the auction raised tens of thousands of pounds!

I previously uploaded a few photos...
Will