Giant Scale at Toledo
By Bob Beckman
The Weak Signals show in Toledo was particularly pleasant this year. For the first time my wife, Evelyn, came with me. She isn't much interested in the show itself and only made a brief visit to the arena, but it was wonderful to come back to the motel after a hard day's tramping around and find her waiting. We enjoyed seeing old friends in the evenings, and she got to meet many of the people I've talked about over the years. She was somewhat surprised she had a good time and is already ready to go again next year.
Wives and exhibitors
There are a lot of wives who come to Toledo with their husbands, but you don't see many of them until the sun goes down. Let's face it: our wives usually put up with our hobby because they want us to be happy. Fighting through the crowds at the show can be a drag, and if you're not interested it is torture. Having my wife along made the evenings much more enjoyable.
Some exhibitors make part of their income from the hobby, and several husband-and-wife teams have learned to share booth duties. Examples include:
- Bob and Susanna Seigelkoff (C.B. Associates)
- Dario and Beverly Brisighella (U.S. Quadra)
- Wendell and Phyllis Hostetler
- Tom and Donna Keeling (T & D Fiberglass)
A highlight of the evening activities was IMAA's third birthday party on Saturday night. The International Miniature Aircraft Association—launched during the 1980 Toledo show—has come a long way in three years. Visible interest in Giant Scale activities is growing. If you're not already a member of IMAA, consider joining; ten dollars a year is worth it.
Giant Scale presence and photos
Giant Scale again dominated the show. More and more models brought for display fall into the Giant Scale category, and most are absolutely beautiful as well as large. I took many pictures of these fabulous miniature aircraft, and I'll try to use more of them in future Giant Scale columns.
Engines — the big story
The big story this year was engines. There were two to three times as many new engines as last year, although many from last year did not reappear. Standards like Quadra, Kawasaki and Kioritz were still well represented. The new Quadra Q50 (50 cc, 3 cu. in.) was on display and already installed in some models.
Two engines of particular interest:
- A horizontally-opposed twin displayed by Roush Manufacturing. It is built by Kioritz (who designed it with aero use in mind) and may become a valuable addition to our list of Big Bangers.
- Ben Shereshaw's 2.6 cu. in. Bantam. This appears to be the only single-cylinder engine in this size range designed specifically for Giant Scale model use. Contrary to some reports, the Bantam is a spark-ignition engine that runs on gasoline/oil fuel, not a glow engine. Test reports on prototypes indicate its power output is significantly higher than comparably sized converted chainsaw and blower engines. Production was delayed to address bearing changes needed to handle the higher-than-estimated power output; Shereshaw expects to be shipping production engines soon. One of the first production Bantams will be included in the Big Bangers test series, and arrangements have been made to include most of the new engines seen at Toledo.
Accessories, kits and plans
The field of new accessories for Giant Scale was modest, but several items stood out:
- Don Harris' on-board generator system — an engine-driven generator and battery-charging system with dual-battery operation and automatic switching for failure protection.
- DGA Designs' new 1/4- and 1/3-scale pilot busts — realistic and extremely light; they add aesthetic value to models.
- Several new plans and a few semi-kits, including Balsa U.S.A.'s new Der Jager kit, which is good news for Giant Scale biplane lovers.
Giant Scale construction techniques have largely settled down. C.B. Associates is a leader in supplying accessories such as hinges, horns, control fittings, wheels and spinners. Du-Bro offers several items scaled to Giant Scale needs (including Big Wheels). B&B Specialties provides useful fittings and mufflers. Overall, new Giant Scale builders are finding it easier now than the early days when Quarter Scale builders were pioneering alone.
Suppliers and contacts
- AMT U.S.A., 5068 Greensboro Ct., Columbus, OH 43220
- Aeromarine Enterprises, 709 Longboat Ave., Box 282, Beachwood, NJ 08722
- Air Designs, 549 Appian Ave., Napoleon, OH 43545
- B&B Specialties, 14234 Cleveland Rd., Granger, IN 46530
- Balsa U.S.A., P.O. Box 164, Marinette, WI 54134
- Bantam Precision Products, Inc., P.O. Box 263, Ridge Rd., Oak Ridge, NJ 07438
- Behrens Plan Service, 31-27 Healy Ave., Far Rockaway, NY 11691
- Cliff Bumpus, 835 Yale Drive, Mansfield, OH 44907
- C.B. Associates, Inc., 21658 Cloud Way, Hayward, CA 94545
- Circus Hobbies, 3132 S. Highland Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89109
- D&D Engineering, 1731 N.W. 45th Street, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309
- DGA Designs, 135 East Main St., Phelps, NY 14532
(If you saw other manufacturers, engines or models at Toledo that I haven't mentioned, I'll try to cover them in future columns.)
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
