Radio Control
Scale
Jeff Troy 200 S. Spring Garden St. Ambler, PA 19002
Don't pull the trigger on me too quickly, but the promised photos of my framed Dynaflite P-51 and the latest installment scale pilots will have to hold for space in a future issue. The good news is that you will get a look at some of the fine models from the static display areas at this year's WRAM show instead.
WRAM show overview
The WRAM show is the premier RC show on the eastern seaboard and offers its attendees fabulous static displays in numerous aircraft, boat and car categories. Crowded aisles of commercial exhibits by almost all of the industry's leading manufacturers are there for browsing, and endless deals can be found on many new or used kits, engines, radio control systems, and accessory items. Top that off with opportunities to meet and talk one-on-one with many of the aeromodeling personalities you might otherwise see only in magazines or on kit box covers, and you'll have a pretty good idea of why the WRAM show is so popular.
The WRAM show runs from Friday through Sunday, with Friday reserved for trade only and the weekend open to all. Tens of thousands of modelers attend this show annually; this year was no exception. The show floor was packed from opening to closing each day.
I have the good fortune to attend most RC trade shows as part of my job as associate editor with an RC industry trade publication and as a research-and-development person for an RC product manufacturer. Because of this, I'm often able to bring you a look at many of the outstanding models and products seen at major trade shows and modeling events.
At this year's WRAM show I literally had to escape the exhibition booth to get to the scale static area, with my camera and a few stolen minutes as my only allies. It isn't often that one gets to view this much first-class craftsmanship in one place at the same time, but here it was — and it was awesome.
Notable models and awards
- Hank Gaiters — Yellow Aircraft F-18 Hornet
Hank Gaiters of Willingboro, New Jersey brought a magnificent Yellow Aircraft F-18 Hornet, powered by a Rossi .91. Weighing just twenty-six pounds, the model has a fifty-four inch wingspan. The finish is DBU urethane and Hank claims the model took a year to complete. It's a striking model that is masterfully crafted.
- Best Show Award — Bob Pickney, Beechcraft SNB-5
The Best Show Award went to Bob Pickney of Whitesboro, New York for his outstanding Beechcraft SNB-5. Bob's SNB-5 is a true work of art; the accompanying paperwork stated the airplane took about four thousand hours of Bob Pickney's lifetime to create. The Beech weighs forty-two pounds and spans an impressive 114 inches. It is powered by two Zenoah G-38 engines and is meticulously finished in lacquer. The gear operates with modified Robart retracts. Several thousand rivets were applied by hand with loving attention to correct placement for fidelity to scale. The model certainly earned its Best Show award.
- Karl H. Jacob — Proctor Curtiss JN-4D2 "Jenny"
Karl H. Jacob of Warwick, New York brought a Proctor Curtiss JN-4D2 Jenny. Karl claims a mere thirteen months to get the JN-4 tucked neatly into shape. Its finish is dope over Super Coverite. Karl's Jenny features an operating joystick and rudder bar with functioning cable controls — some of the finest attention to minute detail seen on the static tables. The Curtiss Jenny spans just over eighty-seven inches and is powered by a Laser 62 four-stroke.
- Edward Ajamian — Super Stearman
Edward Ajamian of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey brought a Super Stearman that, though much smaller than many giants on display, still commanded attention. The Super Stearman weighs about eleven and a half pounds and is powered by a Maloney 100. It's covered in Silkspan Coverite and painted with Pettit's HobbyPoxy paints. The model is skinned after Bill Barber's airshow aircraft and features a cowl built from balsa and aluminum flashing. Not the biggest model on the floor, but one of the nicest.
- Jim Stow — Byron Ryan / Ryan ST project and pilot figure
While working for a hobby shop in south Jersey in 1990, I sold a Byron Ryan SR-71 kit to a friend, Jim Stow of Surf City, New Jersey. Two years later I found Jim's model on the static tables at WRAM; it looked absolutely fantastic with a simulated metallic finish.
Jim's Byron Ryan spans ninety-one inches, uses an ST-3000 for power, weighs just over seventeen pounds, and is guided by a Futaba FPT-7V2 radio system. The model won the giant scale category. Jim duplicated metal parts of the Ryan realistically despite a rigid fiberglass fuselage and foam wing. He covered the wings, fin and rudder with a combination of Sig Coverall, Black Baron Film and Sig dope. The fuselage, landing gear fairings, wheel pants and horizontal stab were finished piece by piece with Coverite's Chrome Presto trim sheets, each cut to overlap the previous as on the full-scale ship.
Rivets were added by mixing silver leaf lacquer with slow-setting epoxy, then loading the mix into a hypodermic needle so they could be applied precisely while maintaining even geometry. This tedious technique produced a powerful finish.
Sitting alongside the Ryan was another of Jim Stow's masterpieces — the model's pilot. The quarter-scale civilian pilot kit was enhanced by Jim: he molded a helmet from latex rubber, used a chamois with what appears to be latex paint to create a realistic leather flying jacket, and produced crisp, lifelike facial features. The pilot was mounted in the model to enhance realism and was truly the finishing touch.
Several other models on hand were certainly worthy of magazine appearance, but by the time my hurried break was over I was out of film and knew the picture portion of the column would be out of room. I regret not getting a usable shot of Bill Steffes' superb Beech D-18, one of Top Gun 1991's highest award winners, but sometimes the camera bites you back.
I had to get back to my booth, so I didn't have too much time to explore the 1992 WRAM show in detail. My best advice is to get there next year if you can. Plan on spending at least two days at the show — there's much to see, and you won't want to miss a thing.
News and new products
- Scale Plans and Photo Service (Jim Pepino)
Scale Plans and Photo Service, 3209 Madison Avenue, Greensboro, NC 27403, added forty-two new scale plans, bringing the current total to 130. Included is Mel Whitley's Hawker Sea Fury, the model that won the Top Gun Invitational Scale Tournament. SPPS also offers a scale plans catalog in VHS video format. The video catalog sells for $10 plus $3 postage and features over two hours of flying by model airplanes built from SPPS plans. According to the press release, "After viewing, the video may be returned, with an order, for a $10.00 refund!" A printed catalog is $5, postpaid in the U.S. and Canada ($10 overseas air), and includes detailed information on all plans, videos, photo packs, three-views and a plan-enlarging service.
- Ranger Fiberglass (James and Elena Gilman)
Ranger Fiberglass, Box 879, Campton, NH 03223, sent a reference booklet/catalog titled "Ranger WWII Aircraft." The publication contains scale drawings and specification sheets illustrating many fighters, night fighters, bombers, trainers, transports and reconnaissance aircraft flown during World War II. It includes reduced three-view samples of American, German, British, Japanese and Russian aircraft, available in one or two different scales. Each Ranger three-view ordered comes with specifications and a brief history of the airplane and can be shipped rolled in a mailing tube for a modest additional cost. The catalog is a handy reference if you're thinking of building a heavy metal warbird.
- "Tailless Tale" (B2 Streamlines)
"Tailless Tale" may be purchased directly from the publisher, B2 Streamlines, P.O. Box 976, Olalla, WA 98359-0976. Cost is $33 postage and handling included until June 30, 1992. For orders postmarked July 1 and later, the cost will be $38. These prices also apply to orders sent to Canada and Mexico. Orders to be shipped elsewhere will be sent by surface mail unless an additional $10 is included for air mail postage. Washington residents add 7.5% sales tax.
Coming up
Photos and news in upcoming columns will cover RCHTA's LA Model Hobby Show, the Weak Signals' Toledo Expo, the Top Gun Scale Invitational Tournament and the 1992 AMA National Model Airplane Championships at Chicopee, Massachusetts. I hope to see you at any or all of these events.
Till next month, build straight and fly safely. I'll talk with you again.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
