April 2001 77
AnOther twiLight Zone Story:
This column has become somewhat of a
“lightning rod” for “paranormal” stories
about model airplanes. I’ve passed on some
incredible experiences in this column
throughout the years, but this one might
rank at the top.
Warren Plohr of Ann Arbor MI relates
the following:
“I grew up in The Bronx, NYC. In the
late 1930s, flying rubber-powered models
in the streets, vacant lots, and small local
parks, was the norm. When gas engines
first appeared, a larger park was needed.
Van Courtland Park was the only real
choice in the borough. I saw my first gas
model fly from The Meadows Field in
V.C.P., bounded by Broadway on one side,
and trees on the other.
“Those early ‘gas’ models were large
and underpowered. It was always a guess
as to whether the model would clear the
ground on its first downwind turn. These
heavy models were perceived as potentially
dangerous to the public and were banned
from flying in the park. Modelers were
persistent though, and found that flying
time was available after the park police
went off duty at the end of the day.
“I was flying one of the newer smaller
models, an Ohlsson .23-powered Megow
Cadet, there in late 1939 or 1940. After
many flights, I had it well-trimmed to fly
left-left from its takeoff.
Just one more flight—even though the
only light was from Broadway in the
distance. I remember a group of observers
watching the takeoff, an occasional
glimpse of the Cadet against the glow of
the lights, the silence after the engine quit,
and the surprise of a smooth landing near
the starting box. I also remember the Cadet
getting a round of applause.
“Now let’s shift the scene forward to
September, 1944. It’s nighttime in a cold
English Quonset hut at Halesworth. A
group of B-24 combat officers of the 489th
D.B. Mathews
F l y i n g f o r F u n
909 N. Maize Rd., Townhouse 734, Wichita KS 67212
Release-paper backing is left after the sticky-backed labels are
removed. Manco brand mailing tape is shown in the photo.
Lay a smooth layer of transparent tape over the release paper.
This tape should extend past the edges of the paper.
Adhere the release paper to a full sheet of paper, then run it
through the copier, which prints the image onto the tape.
After the image is run on a full page, place release paper and
tape over it. Top layer of transparent tape protects image.
78 M ODEL AVIATION
Cut the image from the sandwich with sharp scissors, then peel
off the release paper as with any kit transfer.
Apply the sticky-backed graphic to a super-smooth surface,
using tweezers to position it before troweling out the bubbles.
Bill Schmidt’s rubber-powered Buster shows logos and lettering created with this
technique. These are small, but large graphics can also be developed.
bomb group, who had not known each
other before the war, are sitting around
passing the evening together.
“Many of my war buddies were modelers.
We would sit around and swap stories at
night, around an old potbellied stove. One
night, a story was told by one of the guys
about seeing a night flight of a Megow Cadet.
The storyteller was quite surprised when I
announced the story was about my Cadet. The
world was made a little smaller that night—-
thanks to model airplanes.
“I don’t remember anything about the
storyteller, or even his name, but we were
modeler kin. I wonder if he was as lucky as
I to be able to be flying models these many
decades later.”
Isn’t this incredible? Consider the odds
of two strangers sharing an experience in
the huge city of New York, becoming
flying officers in the Army Air Corps,
being assigned to the same B-24 bomb
group, and finally ending up in the same
Quonset hut on one of the many airfields in
England five years later.
Xerographed Model Graphics: The
modeling press has included several
excellent articles in the last few years
detailing how to create graphics for model
airplanes using a scanner, a personal
computer with a graphics card and
program, and an inkjet color printer.
Similar custom setup services are
available from some of the larger graphics
operations (at a cost) for those who lack the
proper equipment, but there is also a
simpler way.
We have a tendency to refer to any
markings applied to models as “decals,”
and that isn’t correct. True decals are
soaked off the backing material in water,
then slid onto an object’s surface. They are
retained on that surface by molecular
attraction; therefore, they do not stick well
to slick surfaces.
Decals are quite thin and fragile. Stickybacked
markings, as found in almost all
modern kits and available from various
graphics firms, are not decals by definition.
Bill Schmidt has developed an effective
and inexpensive technique for creating
adhesive-backed thin Mylar™ graphics
using a simple office copier. For pennies at
a copy store, one can develop scale
markings or other decorations with no
computer equipment.
The key to this method is the fact that a
copier can transfer an image, by
xerography, onto clear tape. If the copied
image is protected with another layer of
tape, it can be adhered to the surface of a
model to create a first-class graphic.
The trick is to position the tape over a
test image so that the copy will line up on
the tape and be removed from the
underlying paper.
The steps to this method are as follows.
1) Locate artwork or photographs of the
object you want to duplicate. Three-view
drawings, kit plans, aviation magazines,
and catalogs are good sources for usable
images. The Taylorcraft logo shown came
from an ad in a WAG Aero catalog.
Color copies are also easy to create, and
they can be used to develop graphics using
the same technique. It is even possible to
adjust the shade and/or chroma of the
original artwork on a copier.
2) Determine the size of graphic your
model needs and the percentage of
enlargement or reduction needed to
produce it. A two-inch original will need
to be enlarged 200% to yield a four-inch
product.
Most copiers have a limit of
enlargement. If you need a five-inch image
from the two-inch original, enlarge the
image 200%, then another 25%. Many
copy stores, such as Kinko’s™, will allow
you to do your own processing on their
machines at considerable savings.
The size of the graphic to be created is
limited by the width of the clear tape; four
inches is the widest tape I can find, and
111⁄2 inches is the maximum length a
copier can handle.
However, it is possible to splice
images by manipulating them onto the
model or applying the second tape layer
at right angles to the first.
3) Place the final artwork facedown
on the copier’s glass plenum, and run a
test copy. Centering the piece works
best, since the copier’s heat rollers can
peel far outside edges. Do not disturb
the artwork’s position on the glass once
you are satisfied.
4) Obtain a section of release paper,
such as the backing from computer or
mailing labels or Avery® multipurpose
labels available at office suppliers. This
release paper allows you to lift the
finished image cleanly off the paper.
Waxed paper and food wrap will not
work, since the xerography system uses
heat to make the copies.
5) Use the final test copy to position and
align the release paper and tape; this relates to
the master artwork to the copy being made.
Place a strip of clear plastic mailing tape over
the release paper. Manco brand tape from
Wal-Mart™, etc. is fine. This tape should
extend over the edges of the release paper to
hold things onto the large paper sheet.
6) Place the sandwiched sheet into the
paper feed tray of the copier (usually upside
down) and push the “copy” button.
The image printed (actually xerographed)
will come out onto the tape.
7) Carefully place another layer of
tape over the created image, to protect
it. Trim the graphic to its borders with
a sharp scissors.
Now you have an image on
adhesive-backed tape with a protective
layer of tape over it, similar to those
supplied in modern kits.
8) Remove the release paper and apply
to the desired surface. A light spray of
water mixed with a few drops of
dishwasher detergent will break the
surface tension and allow the graphic to be
moved slightly, if needed, and troweled
with scraps of balsa or the edge of a credit
card to remove any bubbles. MA
April 2001 79
