RADIO CONTROL SCALE
Jeff Troy 200 S. Spring St., Ambler, PA 19002
International Modelers Show — Orlando, FL
Orlando, Florida was the scene of the second annual International Modelers Show, April 30–May 2. Photographs of several quality airplanes on the show's static tables accompany this column.
- First place in Precision Scale, as well as Best of Show and the People's Choice awards, went to Ed Izzo for his superbly detailed Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis, powered by a nine‑cylinder Technopower II radial engine.
- Other notable entries included Irvin Barber (Lake Placid, FL), who placed second, and several fine military and civilian sport scale models on display.
The result should put to rest the notion that only World War II aircraft can win scale contests — Ed Izzo's victory, and similar results at other major meets, prove otherwise.
Top Gun — West Palm Beach
Frank Tiano's Top Gun supermeet in West Palm Beach again proved to be a top‑draw. This year a civilian aircraft won the event:
- Corvin Miller's attractive Globe Swift captured first place, narrowly squeaking past Terry Nitsch's Bob Violett Models F‑86 Sabre by roughly 0.15 point.
- Spectator attendance approached 8,000. Exhibitor booths were plentiful and the in‑air action was nonstop.
Make plans to attend next year — Mr. Tiano knows how to put on a show.
Weak Signals — Toledo / Glenn Torrance Fokker Dr.I
At the Weak Signals show in Toledo I finally treated myself to one of Glenn Torrance's beautiful Fokker Dr.I triplane kits. Torrance's Dr.I is, in my opinion, the best model of this aircraft available.
A few years ago I rushed another manufacturer's 1/4‑scale Dr.I to make a contest deadline and didn't give it the attention it deserved. This time I'll invest the appropriate time and do a better job. Glenn's kit is first class and deserves 100% cooperation from its builders.
For information contact: Glenn Torrance Models, 2981 Vail Valley Court, Snellville, GA 30278.
Scale Plans & Photo Service (SP&PS) — Werner Voss Dr.I photo pack and more
At the WRAM show a few months ago, my Torrance Dr.I purchase came up in conversation with Jim Pepino of Scale Plans & Photo Service. Jim mentioned a 23‑piece photo pack documenting a full‑scale reconstruction of Werner Voss's distinctively colored Dr.I.
A note on subject eligibility for contests: no totally original Dr.I remains; any full‑scale Dr.I you model today must be a replica (built from plans or a kit) or a restoration containing many original items plus nonoriginal parts. A model of a full‑scale replica that has flown is eligible for competition under present scale rulebooks — the underlying requirement is that the actual aeroplane being modeled once flew.
In addition to the Voss Dr.I photo pack, SP&PS offers well over 120,000 photographs of aircraft, plus plan sets and three‑views for a huge number of subjects. Request the latest catalog and documentation list by sending a stamped, self‑addressed envelope to:
Scale Plans & Photo Service 3209 Madison Ave. Greensboro, NC 27403
They also offer separate drawing sets (for example, 47‑drawing sets suitable for constructing properly documented competition models of certain subjects).
Dan Rossman and his B‑25 Mitchell
Dan Rossman, an old flying buddy from the Valley Forge Signal Seekers now living near Atlanta, flew B‑25s during part of his military career. One of his colorful stories concerns a June 1944 low‑level fly‑past over Lake Greenwood, SC, when the props struck the water and the airplane wound up on the lake bottom. The aircraft was raised in 1983 and is now undergoing restoration.
Dan's model B‑25, built from Nick Ziroli plans and displayed in the South Carolina State Museum as part of the Doolittle Raider exhibit, is a fine piece of work:
- Power: two A&M Sachs engines
- Weight: 34½ pounds
- Fuel: 24‑ounce tanks, one per engine
- Finish: Sherwin‑Williams Mars Brown latex over DuPont primer, over thin red/vero‑Tex and Dan Parsons' lightweight fiberglass cloth
Dan executed a tongue‑in‑cheek "W‑O‑S‑O‑S" (way‑off‑stand‑off‑scale) cockpit by copying photographs from the B‑25 pilot's handbook and installing them behind the cockpit windows; photos of the radio compartment were used in the waist windows for added realism. Dan flies with a local group called the RAF (Roswell Air Force), and their weekday group is the RFC — the Retired Flying Corps.
Replicraft — Jim Kiger's Sopwith Camel drawings
Regular readers know I'm especially interested in World War I aircraft. Jim Kiger of Replicraft produces an exceptional 1/5‑scale documentation package for the Sopwith Camel (and seven other subjects). Kiger's approach is painstaking:
- Each subject takes about 18 months of research and authentication.
- The published 1/5‑scale drawings are compiled from numerous factory drawings and full‑scale studies.
- Packages include every original full‑scale part detail — rivet spacing, seat weave patterns, engine details, accurate finish and color, and other minutiae.
Kiger offers a money‑back guarantee for first‑time purchasers who don't consider the drawings the most complete and accurate WWI aircraft drawings they've seen. Note: these are full‑scale documentation drawings, not simplified model plans.
Additional drawings and plans
- Fred Spring's Spitfire drawings are sold as sets in 1/4‑inch and 1/2‑inch scales. Send an SASE to Bob Holman for catalog information and description sheets.
- For Scale Team Racing (a Queen City club event in Cincinnati, Ohio), only full‑bodied models of Golden Age racing planes are eligible. The American Air Racing Association supplies three‑view drawings of famous American racers from 1929–1938, including the Brown B‑2 Miss Los Angeles, various Keith Rider models, Laird Super Solution, Gee Bee R‑1, Chester Jeep, and others (most drawings at 3/4‑inch scale). Contact Rudy Profant, 4060 W. 158th St., Cleveland, OH 44135 for details.
Workshop hints
Bob Furr (Orbiting Eagles, Omaha) shares a useful tip: use a metal yardstick (steel or aluminum) for cutting balsa — wooden rulers are often not straight and can be cut into. To keep a metal ruler from sliding, attach several 1‑inch squares of medium‑grit sandpaper to the back with rubber cement or contact spray (3M 77 works well). The ruler will stay in place when cutting.
Please send ideas, notices of upcoming CL Scale events, contest reports, and especially photos of CL Scale activity to the address at the top of this column.
Safe flying is no accident.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
