MYSTERY P-51 MUSTANG: In the June column I asked readers if they could provide information on an all-aluminum. Ready-to-Fly Control Line (CD P-51 Mustang that was in the possession of Robert Madison of Wickenberg, Arizona. All I can say is "wow." The response was great. Many of the old-time modelers, and perhaps some not so old. responded to the request by sending information/history about the model and manufacturer. Some of the replies were simply copies of the advertisement that was published in various magazines, and some of the responses indicated firsthand knowledge of how the P-51 and other metal models came about. The ad in the magazines read as follows: "A beautiful all-metal scale model—completely assembled, ready to fly. Powered with the dependable .275 Bullet model '100', it is complete with everything necessary to operate it. including a special nine inch X-cell Prop, spinner, control line, handle, battery etc. Just fill the tank with fuel, start the engine and take off!" Based on the copies sent to me. the ad appeared in various months of Air Trails between 1947 and 1949 and in the May 1947 Model Airplane News. The airplane had a wingspan of 27 inches and an overall length of 21 inches. The P-51 was manufactured by Miniature Motors of Culver City. California. When the model first came onto the market in 1947 the asking price was $75, which included the Bullet "100" engine—the glow-plug version. It looks as though the model wasn't such a great-selling item. When it was advertised in 1949 as a "Spectacular Close-Out," the price had dropped to $14.95 without engine, and $19.95 with your choice of the Bullet or Torpedo Special engine. The following information is from the many letters I received, one of which contained information and photos from Richard Grandel—son of "Zip" Grandel, who was a machinist and manager at Miniature Motors. Zip was in charge of design and production of the twin-stack Torpedo and Bullet engines, as well as the Fly-A-Way P-51. Richard wrote that his father moved to California from Ohio in 1935, when he went to work at Bob Pemberton's Garage. Irwin Ohlsson, a customer at the garage, brought his Caddie in for service, and one thing led to another. He and Zip became friends. It didn't take long for Zip to start moonlighting, assembling model engines for Ohlsson on Alvarado Street in downtown Los Angeles. The chance meeting between Zip and Irwin is how Zip got hooked on model airplanes. He was a full-time machinist with Ohlsson until World War II broke out, then he went to work for Miniature Motors in the late 1940s. Richard Grandel submitted this month's photos. Zip is shown with a specially built all-aluminum P-51 that was based on the design of the model described in the advertisements I mentioned. Zip's all-aluminum model was hand-built and was approximately twice the size of the one detailed in the ad. Zip's model was of riveted construction, and, unlike the ad version that had Bakelite™ wingtips, it had aluminum wingtips. The engine used in the model (which Zip also hand-built) had a .65-cubic-inch displacement and was equipped with a gear reduction box and an extended propeller shaft. The gearbox allowed for clockwise rotation of the model's four-blade propeller. The photo of Zip with his P-51 was taken in 1948, just prior to a test flight of the model equipped with the extended-shaft engine. Because of the engine's extended propeller shaft, the position of the exhaust stack is back at the leading edge of the wing. The other photo shows two versions of the .65 engine Zip built between 1947 and 1949. The one on the right is equipped with the gearbox and extended shaft, and was used in the Grande! P-51. Richard noted that these engines ran very well but never made it into production. I have written about the Miniature Motors P-51 and the Zip Grande! P-51, but Doug Dahlke of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, provided information about an all-aluminum P-51 he has that was sold by Topping Models of Akron, Ohio. Doug's model was advertised in the January 1946 Model Airplane News for $10 without an engine. He pointed out that his aircraft has spot-welded wing and stabilizer trailing edges and the same Bakelite™-type wingtips. Doug wonders if there was some connection between Miniature Motors and Topping Models and the all-aluminum P-51 at the time that Topping Models went out of business. Other airplanes with metal construction emerged around this time. The Casalaire CL model manufactured by The Tison Bros, of West Los Angeles. California, was designed by Louis Casale: a World War II aircraft mechanic and three-time national Scale winner. According to an ad in the October 1946 Air Trails, the Casalaire had a wingspan of 45 inches; a length of 30 inches; metal cowling, fuselage, fin, and landing gear: a balsa and silkspan wing: and a solid-balsa horizontal tail. Power for this innovative model was a "B"- or "C"-type gasoline engine. Doug Dahlke noted that many modelers were shocked while starting the engine in one of these models, but Carl Stokes Jr. noted that the Casalaire flew real sweet with a hot .60. Space in the column doesn't allow me to relate all the comments I received, but thanks to all who took the time to drop me a line about Robert Madison's P-51. Very special thanks to Richard Grandel for the photos and information about his father, to Doug Dahlke, Carl Stokes Jr., Robert Sheets, Larry Maynard. Francis Ptaszkiewicz. Don Adriano, Jerry Chastain, William Dahlgren, Bob Gill, Joseph Valcnta, George Papini, and any others who responded. It was great hearing from all of you. Book Review: If the Spitfire is your idea of one of the greatest airplanes to model, there are two volumes of the Warbird Tech Series of books that you should obtain. Volumes 32 and 35 cover the Merlin- and Griffon-powered Spitfires. These books, with more than 100 pages each, cover the development of the Spitfire from its inception to the final versions powered by the Griffon engine. Author Kev Darling has not only provided the reader with a fine historical journey, but has also assembled a great selection of black-and-white and color photographs. There are many pages with technical cutaways, structural details, and some of the best photos I have seen, showing details of trim tabs, landing gear, engine exhaust stacks, access hatches, and. best of all, great shots of the cockpit instrumentation. Anyone who wants to build a model of the Spitfire shouldn't hesitate to obtain these books as a starting point for documentation and model details. I obtained my copies from Historic Aviation, 121 Fifth Ave. N.W. Suite 300, Saint Paul MN 55112-3220; Tel.: (800) 225-5575. The books sell for $16.95 each plus shipping and handling. Please send ideas, notice of upcoming CL Scale events, contest reports, and especially photos of CL Scale activity to me at the address at the very top of this column.
Edition: Model Aviation - 2002/10
Page Numbers: 126, 127
Edition: Model Aviation - 2002/10
Page Numbers: 126, 127
MYSTERY P-51 MUSTANG: In the June column I asked readers if they could provide information on an all-aluminum. Ready-to-Fly Control Line (CD P-51 Mustang that was in the possession of Robert Madison of Wickenberg, Arizona. All I can say is "wow." The response was great. Many of the old-time modelers, and perhaps some not so old. responded to the request by sending information/history about the model and manufacturer. Some of the replies were simply copies of the advertisement that was published in various magazines, and some of the responses indicated firsthand knowledge of how the P-51 and other metal models came about. The ad in the magazines read as follows: "A beautiful all-metal scale model—completely assembled, ready to fly. Powered with the dependable .275 Bullet model '100', it is complete with everything necessary to operate it. including a special nine inch X-cell Prop, spinner, control line, handle, battery etc. Just fill the tank with fuel, start the engine and take off!" Based on the copies sent to me. the ad appeared in various months of Air Trails between 1947 and 1949 and in the May 1947 Model Airplane News. The airplane had a wingspan of 27 inches and an overall length of 21 inches. The P-51 was manufactured by Miniature Motors of Culver City. California. When the model first came onto the market in 1947 the asking price was $75, which included the Bullet "100" engine—the glow-plug version. It looks as though the model wasn't such a great-selling item. When it was advertised in 1949 as a "Spectacular Close-Out," the price had dropped to $14.95 without engine, and $19.95 with your choice of the Bullet or Torpedo Special engine. The following information is from the many letters I received, one of which contained information and photos from Richard Grandel—son of "Zip" Grandel, who was a machinist and manager at Miniature Motors. Zip was in charge of design and production of the twin-stack Torpedo and Bullet engines, as well as the Fly-A-Way P-51. Richard wrote that his father moved to California from Ohio in 1935, when he went to work at Bob Pemberton's Garage. Irwin Ohlsson, a customer at the garage, brought his Caddie in for service, and one thing led to another. He and Zip became friends. It didn't take long for Zip to start moonlighting, assembling model engines for Ohlsson on Alvarado Street in downtown Los Angeles. The chance meeting between Zip and Irwin is how Zip got hooked on model airplanes. He was a full-time machinist with Ohlsson until World War II broke out, then he went to work for Miniature Motors in the late 1940s. Richard Grandel submitted this month's photos. Zip is shown with a specially built all-aluminum P-51 that was based on the design of the model described in the advertisements I mentioned. Zip's all-aluminum model was hand-built and was approximately twice the size of the one detailed in the ad. Zip's model was of riveted construction, and, unlike the ad version that had Bakelite™ wingtips, it had aluminum wingtips. The engine used in the model (which Zip also hand-built) had a .65-cubic-inch displacement and was equipped with a gear reduction box and an extended propeller shaft. The gearbox allowed for clockwise rotation of the model's four-blade propeller. The photo of Zip with his P-51 was taken in 1948, just prior to a test flight of the model equipped with the extended-shaft engine. Because of the engine's extended propeller shaft, the position of the exhaust stack is back at the leading edge of the wing. The other photo shows two versions of the .65 engine Zip built between 1947 and 1949. The one on the right is equipped with the gearbox and extended shaft, and was used in the Grande! P-51. Richard noted that these engines ran very well but never made it into production. I have written about the Miniature Motors P-51 and the Zip Grande! P-51, but Doug Dahlke of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, provided information about an all-aluminum P-51 he has that was sold by Topping Models of Akron, Ohio. Doug's model was advertised in the January 1946 Model Airplane News for $10 without an engine. He pointed out that his aircraft has spot-welded wing and stabilizer trailing edges and the same Bakelite™-type wingtips. Doug wonders if there was some connection between Miniature Motors and Topping Models and the all-aluminum P-51 at the time that Topping Models went out of business. Other airplanes with metal construction emerged around this time. The Casalaire CL model manufactured by The Tison Bros, of West Los Angeles. California, was designed by Louis Casale: a World War II aircraft mechanic and three-time national Scale winner. According to an ad in the October 1946 Air Trails, the Casalaire had a wingspan of 45 inches; a length of 30 inches; metal cowling, fuselage, fin, and landing gear: a balsa and silkspan wing: and a solid-balsa horizontal tail. Power for this innovative model was a "B"- or "C"-type gasoline engine. Doug Dahlke noted that many modelers were shocked while starting the engine in one of these models, but Carl Stokes Jr. noted that the Casalaire flew real sweet with a hot .60. Space in the column doesn't allow me to relate all the comments I received, but thanks to all who took the time to drop me a line about Robert Madison's P-51. Very special thanks to Richard Grandel for the photos and information about his father, to Doug Dahlke, Carl Stokes Jr., Robert Sheets, Larry Maynard. Francis Ptaszkiewicz. Don Adriano, Jerry Chastain, William Dahlgren, Bob Gill, Joseph Valcnta, George Papini, and any others who responded. It was great hearing from all of you. Book Review: If the Spitfire is your idea of one of the greatest airplanes to model, there are two volumes of the Warbird Tech Series of books that you should obtain. Volumes 32 and 35 cover the Merlin- and Griffon-powered Spitfires. These books, with more than 100 pages each, cover the development of the Spitfire from its inception to the final versions powered by the Griffon engine. Author Kev Darling has not only provided the reader with a fine historical journey, but has also assembled a great selection of black-and-white and color photographs. There are many pages with technical cutaways, structural details, and some of the best photos I have seen, showing details of trim tabs, landing gear, engine exhaust stacks, access hatches, and. best of all, great shots of the cockpit instrumentation. Anyone who wants to build a model of the Spitfire shouldn't hesitate to obtain these books as a starting point for documentation and model details. I obtained my copies from Historic Aviation, 121 Fifth Ave. N.W. Suite 300, Saint Paul MN 55112-3220; Tel.: (800) 225-5575. The books sell for $16.95 each plus shipping and handling. Please send ideas, notice of upcoming CL Scale events, contest reports, and especially photos of CL Scale activity to me at the address at the very top of this column.
