Radio Control: Scale
BUILDING TIME IS IN FULL SWING. Snow is falling just about everywhere it usually falls, and I'm not ashamed to be lashed to my bench once again. As you read this, I will have attended the Puyallup, Washington show for the first time over the weekend of February 3-4. Scale activity in the Pacific Northwest is plentiful, so I should be able to have several show photos and a report for you next month. The WRAM Show is also near, so stay with us for a close look if you can't get there in person. I've recently received a number of requests for information regarding my technique for finishing cloth-covered vintage aeroplanes. In truth, the method is so quick and easy that it may forever change the way you finish these types of models.
Radio Control: Scale
THE POWERS THAT BE were kind this year in allowing me to make my first trip to the Mt. Rainier RC Society's annual Pacific Northwest Exhibition in Puyallup, Washington. The show ran without a flaw February 4-5; exhibitors and attendees alike were treated to unparalleled courtesy and professionalism, and the sights were as good as it gets. This show is no small production; it offered many major exhibitors of every size and description. Static tables in every category were crammed with quality projects, a few of which I was able to photograph for you. Please forgive the lack of information about most of these airplanes. Few details were listed in their documentation (plenty of stuff on the full-scale versions, as you would expect, but little, if any, on how the model was constructed), and the club forms that accompanied the models didn't address items like finish, radio, engine, materials, and plan or kit source.
Radio Control Scale
THE WRAM SHOW in White Plains, New York is always a kick. Good people, good stuff. Several items of interest to Scale modelers were displayed in White Plains this past February, both in the 100-plus professional manufacturers' exhibits and on the crowded (but well organized) static tables. I sneaked away from our company exhibit [Coverite] long enough to get shoot a few rolls of film and meet with a great bunch of Scale modelers who had displayed their airplanes for the static competition.
Radio Control: Scale
I'M GOING TO BREAK form for this issue. No Docu-Search; no manufacturers' news; not even modelers' projects. I'll make this one all business and address a subject that's been something of a scaremonger for modelers down through the ages, especially with the increasing interest in WW II subjects for larger-than-.60 engines: fiberglassing an airframe. Nothing else could be quite so intimidating or quite so misunderstood. Let's face it: if you've never done it, fiberglassing an airplane is just plain scary. In fact, if you've tried it but botched the job, it's going to be even scarier.
Radio Control: Scale
THIS YEAR'S WEAK SIGNALS Expo in Toledo, Ohio was a very powerful show. The static models, Scale and otherwise, were magnificently crafted to the last. On the down side, I can't seem to find my Toledo film anywhere, so I'm unable to share the experience with all of you. There was plenty to see in manufacturers' exhibits as well as the static tables, but for me, two models stood out from the crowd: Terry Nitsch's F-86 had a metal finish that was not to be believed and Dennis Crooks' impressive Lear 35 finally received the First Place recognition it's always deserved. I'm partial to antique aeroplanes, but I always try to maintain objectivity; these two jets were top-shelf material.
