At quarter scale, Michael Gross’s big Spad XIII (above left) used a DLE 30 gas engine. Amir Abtabi’s large A-10 (above right) needed two Rhino turbines for power. Its unusual paint scheme is reminiscent of D-Day invasion stripes.
Steven Tjaden’s e-power Albatros D.III (below left) spans 30 inches and came from an Aerodrome short kit. Thayer Syme scratchbuilt this Albatros B (below right), a Dave Johnson design, with a Rimfire 250. It spans 32 inches.
This year, in an effort to boost attendance
and the number of exhibitors the WRAM Show moved to a much more spacious, and more central location in northern New Jer- sey, the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, not too far outside New York City. It was a really good move because attendance soared, the number of exhibitors increased dramatically and most of all the number and variety of planes on display. A very welcome and very promising turn of events. Toledo, for many years housed in the spa-
cious Seagate Center, in the heart of down- town Toledo, Ohio, fared just as well as it has always. The booths crowded the floor and the static display planes almost had no room to fit. So once again we pay tribute to and rec-
ognize the craftsmanship of those who share their talent with us. It gives all of you a chance to “attend” in “virtual format”, and
maybe provokes a healthy nudge to those who live a distance from either place to plan a trip to either in the future. It’s something you won’t regret. And to kindle a little more of that nudge,
take a closer look at just a few of the models exhibited. First that comes to mind is the unique, something that’s always part of both shows. This year it came in the form of Rick Hamel’s Dragon. It caught a lot of people’s attention since its glistening green “scales” were hard to miss among the airplanes at Toledo. It would be easy to dismiss this bit of fan-
tasy as a gimmick. An up close look at it showed it was nothing like that. This is a true flying model in, granted, far from or- dinary guise. And looking at it some more showed that there was a huge amount of craftsmanship, engineering, and effort in- volved. Not only does it breathe fire, its
eyes light up. It has a V-tail that functions in the same way as a V-tail on a Beech Bo- nanza and also has ailerons. If you think that it’s still a hoax, go to You Tube http://
tinyurl.com/brkpwz9 for more details and watch it actually fly. So that’s one example of the exotic. How
about going to the much more traditional. The Latowskis, father and son, have brought some superb models to Toledo year after year. They are works of old time mod- eling art. They specialize in the time- honored silk/dope finish. There really isn’t any modern material or finish that can match the depth and elegant richness of this covering method. It is no easy task to do it, which is probably why it remains the province of just a few modelers. But it has to be seen to be appreciated. In a more modern vein, there were the jets. Not as numerous at either show as in
Entered in Vintage, John Haffner’s Aristocat (above left) came from an old Midwest kit, and used a vintage Enya .40 for power. Took him four weeks to build
FLYING MODELS
it. A Taurus(above right) is synonymous with vintage R/C and Mike Denest built his with a Veco .61 then covered it in silk and dope. Spans 70 inches.
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