Non-aviation I.D. Models

[Kenny Horne]

Hey gang,

I've seen I.D./Spotter models come up for sale on ebay of naval and military subjects.  These all seem to be commercial (rubber/plastic) models.  Does anyone know or have seen any plans for any of there subjects? 

Kenny

[Oceaneer99]

I have found photographs of interned Japanese-Americans making these models (both the airplanes and ships).  Ray found the following at the US Navy Historical Center web site:


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-523

The title block says "Master Models".  So they exist, but I haven't found any further leads.

Wow, some of these photos are great.  They are all US Government photos, so I'll post them to the gallery.

Garet

[Oceaneer99]

When I said "great" about the photos, I mostly meant the one of the excited young men in the Washington, DC high school.  The photographs of interned US citizens during World War II were a bit disturbing, though the models were excellent.  I was glad that the US government included the names and biographies of the individuals in the photographs.  I don't particularly want to start a political discussion, but I grew up with children of Nisei (first generation Japanese-American born in the US) who had been interned during the war and realized that my comment was ambiguous. I also met once with veterans of the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry, largely interned Nisei who volunteered for Army service in the European theater.  Their stories and bravery were sobering.

Garet

[aloha]

I was one of those kids back in the '40's making the spotter planes. They were pretty bad.
Old Bob

[Oceaneer99]

My *plastic* models were pretty bad.  What sort of wood did you use?  The guidelines were pretty specific about not using balsa, but whenever I tried anything but balsa (on non-airplane models; I didn't learn about the ID models until about five years ago), it took me forever to shape with a file and sandpaper.  I didn't discover chisels until adulthood.  I did have a pocketknife, but it was never sharp enough until I got a real sharpening stone (a gift from my Boy Scout scoutmaster when I became an Eagle Scout). I still use it, though I had to flatten it a few years back.  And I became much better at sharpening after I saw Roy Underhill's program (Woodwright's Shop).

Garet