SHORTY’S BASEMENT’S latest catalog
offers an ever-growing list of models and
accessories for our interest group. Not
only are there numerous kits by such
manufacturers as Aerographics, West
Wings, and Replikit, but there are ducted
fans, adjustable nose buttons, No. 11
hobby blades, motors, batteries, Lycra
thread, freewheeling clutches by Steve
Griebling, Esaki tissue, Humbrol paints,
and more.
For 2007 Shorty’s Basement has
obtained a good selection of AeroGloss
dope, FAI Tan Sport rubber, and Superior
Balsa propellers. You can obtain more
information by contacting the company at
1036 Bexley Ave., Marion OH 43302;
Tel.: (740) 223-7471 or (740) 225-8671;
Web site: www.shortysbasement.com.
Tools are a crucial part of our hobby. They
enable us to bring our inspirations to life
and save us much time and labor in the
process.
Among my favorite tools is a small
balsa stripper designed by Jim Jones. The
originals were fashioned from hardwood
and Plexiglas. They are durable, and
adjustable, and I have had mine for
decades. Unfortunately this handy tool
went out of production years ago.
I am happy to report that the Jim Jones
design is back and better than ever. It still
has an adjustable guide for slicing balsa
strip ranging from 3/16 inch to a sliver. The
body is now made from metal, and the
cutter appears to be a section of a No. 11
knife blade instead of a piece of singleedged
razor used in the originals.
The new Jones stripper
looks and feels
professional, and it
produces high-quality
results. It is being produced
by A2Z CNC, 1530 W.
Tufts Ave. Unit B,
Englewood CO 80110; Tel.:
(720) 833-9300; Fax: (720)
385-2118; Web site:
www.a2zcnc.com. This
stripper is also available
from Shorty’s Basement as
item AD40 for $59.50.
Another indispensable
tool for scratch-building FF
Scale (FFS) subjects is a
vacuum former (unless you
enjoy plunging your molds
into hot plastic). Plans for
homemade vacuum formers
have been featured in
model airplane magazines
through the years, and there
Products available from Shorty’s Basement
[[email protected]]
Free Flight Scale Dennis Norman
Also included in this column:
• Tools enable us to bring
our inspirations to life
• Steve Griebling has the
“Spirit”
• FF Scale activity in other
countries
• Deductively or inductively
produce a pilot figure
New tools include an updated version of the Jones balsa
stripper and Chris Boehm’s handy vacuum former. Pat
Norman photo.
Above: Shorty’s Basement’s 2007
catalog has many new additions to
help you with your latest projects.
Pat Norman photo.
Steve Griebling’s featherlight 22-inch-span “Spirit of St. Louis”
commemorates the 80th anniversary of Lindbergh’s historic flight.
Griebling photo.
Derek Knight’s scratch-built French EDF/Baroudeur flies on twin
Rapier L3 rocket motors and takes two to launch. Charlie
Newman photo.
June 2007 151
06sig5.QXD 4/23/07 9:35 AM Page 151
152 MODEL AVIATION
In the last column I mentioned that this
year marks the 80th anniversary of Charles
Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic
Ocean. I also proposed that “Spirit of St.
Louis” models be built in Lindbergh’s
honor.
I am happy to tell you that the intrepid
Steve Griebling came through with a
scratch-built, 22-inch-span “Spirit,” which
is shown this month. It promises to fly
well. Steve’s model weighs only 20 grams
without a motor, and he plans to power it
with four strands of 3/32-inch rubber as
soon as weather permits.
Steve is a prolific designer and builder,
and this past winter alone he built three
Debuts (Gordon Roberts’ famous Embryo
Endurance design), a new Goon, a Silver
Lancer, a Booth Ranger (both Fiction
Flyers), an Me 334, a Martinsyde Elephant
(shown in the last column), a WACO
Menasco-powered C-8, a 16-inch-span
Beech Staggerwing, a 16-inch-span Boeing
Monomail, and the Ryan “Spirit.” Steve
will be busy trimming his fleet, but the
results should be impressive.
As I mentioned in my first column (in the
January 2004 MA) I think it is important to
be aware of model-aviation activity
outside the US. Because of this I have
asked my good friend Charlie Newman to
share the activities of FFS types in the UK.
Charlie has made me aware of Derek
Knight’s (one of England’s best) two most
recent projects, one of which is a scratchbuilt
French EDF/rocket Baroudeur
powered by twin Rapier L3s. The model
takes a crew of two to launch, but its performance is spectacular.
Derek’s other project is a 35-inch-span ANEC 2 for geared
rubber power. The model weighs 59 grams, uses a gearbox (ball
raced), and has spoke wheels. Although the model spans 35
inches, its flying propeller will have only a 5-inch diameter
(hence the gearbox).
The ANEC 2 was a 1923 Lympne Trials aircraft. The full-
Derek Knight’s rubber-powered, 35-inch-span ANEC 2 weighs 59 grams and will fly with a
5-inch propeller using a gearbox. Newman photo.
Hand-carved and -painted crew figure adds realism to the author’s
1:24-scale Sopwith 11/2-Strutter. Pat Norman photo.
Pilot bust diagram from a Cleveland World War II kit shows the
basics of making a model pilot. Pat Norman photo.
are methods described by such writers as
Don Ross in his excellent book Flying
Models (which is available from Carstens
Publications, Inc., [888] 526-5365, for
$19.95 plus shipping and handling).
If you do not have time to build a
vacuum former, Chris A. Boehm at 5586
Chethem Ln., Grand Blanc MN 48439,
makes a small (4.5 x 6.5-inch) one that
comes with a detailed instructional booklet.
You can purchase this tool from Chris or
from Shorty’s Basement (item AD41) for
$50 plus $10 shipping and handling.
Dremel offers an excellent series of
tools that is available for our use. I
received my first Dremel hand tool as a gift
from my brother in 1970, and it opened a
wonderful new chapter in my modeling life.
Those of you who know about this brand
of tools can attest to its value. For those of
you who are unfamiliar with it, I strongly
recommend that you contact Dremel at
(800) 437-3635 for a copy of its latest
catalog.
I suggest that you obtain a Dremel tool
with a speed control since modeling often
requires different speeds for different
tasks. You will also find a large variety of
bits for routing, grinding/sharpening,
cutting, polishing, etc. These are fine
products, and they will assist you greatly
with your projects.
06sig5.QXD 4/23/07 9:51 AM Page 152
fashioned in one of two ways: deductively
(by carving parts of a block of material
away until you reach a satisfactory result)
or inductively (by adding bits of material
to each other to create the finished
product). I make most of my figures
deductively from balsa or foam.
One of the earliest sets of drawings for
this purpose was published by Cleveland
Model and Supply Company in Volume 1,
Number 3 (May-June 1933), of its shortlived
publication Cleveland Model-
Making News and Practical Hobbies.
These drawings were later refined and
became a standard feature of the plans of
many Cleveland kits. I have included a
sample of the Cleveland drawing.
I carve many of my pilot figures from
a fine-grain expanded polystyrene foam,
but soft balsa, etc. is also satisfactory. I
like the foam because I can cut it easily,
and when I have roughed out the basic
shape I can reproduce fine details by
pushing the foam in with the head of a
straight pin or similar object.
Once I have obtained the basic
carving, I give it “life” by repositioning
the pilot’s head. I do this by removing the
head and gluing it at a different angle to
eliminate the robotic look of the original.
Once I have carved away what I don’t
need, I apply goggles, straps, etc. (the
inductive method) to add detail.
When I’m satisfied with the figure’s
basic look I add color using water-based
acrylic paints (for large areas) and then
water colors (for fine shading, etc.). It
typically takes me four or five hours to
carve and finish a pilot bust, but it is
worth the effort.
A more extensive pilot-carving
presentation is being planned as a feature
article. I am including photographs this
month of two crew figures my brother
Bob Norman carved and painted for one
of my FFS projects: a 1:24-scale model of
a Sopwith 11/2-Strutter, which the French
flew in World War I.
Interesting tidbits have arrived in the old
mailbag. Bob Clemens wrote to let me
know that there is a new documentaryCompany titled The Comet Model News.
It features color and black-and-white
movies taken at contests as far back as
the 1930s.
Plans are being made to make the film
available on DVD this year. Details will
follow when I receive them.
John Hunton wrote me enthusiastically
about the December 2006 column and
made me aware of a paper Sir Winston
Churchill wrote in the early 1930s.
Churchill explained his joy of painting,
and the thoughts seem equally applicable
to the joy of model aviation as a pastime.
“The cultivation of a hobby is a policy
of first importance to a man,” he wrote.
Whether it is painting, collecting,
building, etc., it helps to have something
you thoroughly enjoy without making it
part of your livelihood, your obligations,
etc.
I have often said myself that a model
kit can be enjoyed on several levels. It
can be admired as an example of
purposeful design without building it. It
can be enjoyed as an expression of a
historical event, and it can be assembled
and set into its natural element, which is
what this hobby is all about.
Bruce Pike wrote asking whether or
not Micro-X is still in business. I checked
with Robert Skrjanc—the son of the late
Gerald A. Skrjanc, who founded Micro-
X—and was told that the business is
presently dormant but will be revived
when time permits.
Those of you who are familiar with
Micro-X probably recall the high quality
of its balsa, kits, and accessories. We can
only hope that Robert will find the time
to make these quality products available
to us again in the near future.