Control Line: Scale
Mike Gretz
BY FAR the greatest reward in writing this monthly column has been getting acquainted with a great bunch of modelers from all over the U.S. who share my enthusiasm for CL scale. I've been pleasantly surprised and repeatedly encouraged by the number of contributions received, the high quality of the craftsmanship displayed in the models, and the eager friendliness of the builders themselves. This month we have several photos of the creations of some of these "grassroots" scale builders.
Since I am still very much into CL scale competition, over the months I probably make far more references in my writing to the Nationals and World Championships than some of these fellows care to hear about. But that is what I am most familiar with, so inevitably it comes out. At any rate, just for the record I'd like to say that all of these models, and dozens more out there, could and should compete on the National level.
Dick Scrogin — Ryan STA
Dick Scrogin, of Hutchinson, Kansas, built a beautiful replica of the historic Ryan STA in its original configuration by slightly modifying a Sig kit. The Sig kit normally reproduces a highly modified single-place Ryan STA "SPECIAL" popularized a few years back by airshow pilot John Gosney. The standard "two-holer" version which Dick modeled is the classic Ryan STA that many aviation historians regard as one of the most beautiful aircraft of all time. It was built in large numbers for both civil and military use before World War II. It is truly a classic "pilot's" airplane which combined the best of the old school of design (open cockpits, wind in the wires) with the best of the new (low-wing monoplane, metal construction). It was a transitional airplane during one of aviation's fastest changing periods.
Dick's Ryan carries the registration number NC17302 on the wings, which according to his Aircraft in Profile documentation was the last number given to Ryans in 1936. The model uses a Fox Eagle 60 with Perry carb for throttle control. It weighs 8½ pounds ready to fly and features working flaps along with very complete rivet, panel-line, and instrument detailing. A standard 3-line bellcrank and handle with 70-foot control lines complete the outfit.
Dick relates in his letter that with the photograph printed here, "I fooled 10 out of 11 mechanics and personnel out at Wells Aircraft (local firm at airport). They thought this plane had come in and out over the weekend when they weren't working. The 11th mechanic was a modeler and spotted the UC leadouts on the fuselage side."
Scrogin is a prolific scale builder (at least when compared to me) as he has built and flown two CL scale models this past year. The second one is a Westland Whirlwind. How many of you know what that is? I confess I'll have to do some research to come up with a little background info to use next month with Dick's photo. Hint — it's a military twin-engined fighter.
Phillip Castelli — P-51 Mustang
The P-51 Mustang certainly needs no introduction to model builders. Without a doubt, several times more models have been built and flown of this popular aircraft than were actually built full-size (14,819 in all versions when production ceased). This outstanding example was built by Phillip Castelli, of Centereach, New York.
Phil informs us in his letter that his Mustang is a scratch-built model using Model Airplane News plans designed by Homer Hudson. The ship is powered by a Super Tigre G40RR. Some of the working systems are flaps, bomb drop, ailerons, brakes, and, of course, throttle control. This ship flies like a dream and I have always placed in any contest it has entered. At present it has taken three firsts and one second. By the way, that ground crew mechanic happens to be an Action Jackson doll and fits this scale perfectly. Wingspan is 48". This ship was also selected as one of the winning five in the Hobbypoxy finish award contest.
Jeffrey Perez — Bomb and Tank Release Mechanism
Jeffrey Perez sent the accompanying sketch of the bomb and tank drop mechanism that he used in his '77 Nats-winning P-61 Black Widow (see photo in September 1978 Model Aviation). The most ingenious aspect of Perez's system is the two 1/32-inch hook-shaped wires that are epoxied well down into the center of the bomb or tank. This allows those wires to be springy. Due to the flexibility of the hook wires, the bombs just "click" into place on the main retainer wire built inside the wing. The retainer wires naturally have to lock onto one or the other of the hook-shaped wires due to their overlap.
If you've ever tried to hold two or more bombs or tanks in place while trying to operate their control mechanism at the same time, you will recognize the advantage of Jeff's method. That main retainer wire in the wing is actuated by a fourth line for release and is spring-loaded for return. On Perez's Black Widow, the individual retainer wires are different lengths so that, when the fourth line is pulled, the bombs will drop; pull the line further and the tanks drop.
Castle Graphics — Photo Service
Castle Graphics, P.O. Box AD, Greenbank, WA 98253, is an excellent source of black-and-white photos for scale model documentation. They offer the widest selection of aircraft photos of any privately operated non-government photo service that I know of. Quoting from their catalog #78-1:
- Castle Graphics is a mail-order aircraft photo service operated by collectors, each with over a quarter century involvement in photo collecting.
- They have arranged to print from the 50,000-plus negative file of Mr. Peter M. Bowers.
- Mr. Bowers' collection also contains many original negatives taken by other long-time collectors including Gordon S. Williams, Eugene Sommerich, William Larkins, and Gordon Swanborough, to name a few.
For $1.75 you can get a sample photo and "sampler" catalog #78-1 which lists:
- Some 2,000 select photos which they have pre-printed and have in stock for one- to two-week delivery.
- Dozens of individual photo lists (by aircraft company and country), each of which have literally hundreds of photos that are available for two- to four-week delivery.
These detailed individual photo lists are 10¢ apiece, refundable with the first order. Every photo is described in these lists as to the specific aircraft in the photo and the angle of the photo. The prices for prints range from 35¢ for a 2¼ x 4¼ print, to $1.25 for a 5 x 7 and $2.00 for an 8 x 10. I feel that this photo service, which is new to me, could become one of the most important sources available to us due to the big-name collectors whose photos are available here.
Mike Gretz, Box 162, Montezuma, IA 50171.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
