A few years ago I designed an air combat game played outdoors. The wargamer flew model planes and diced for hits. The die roll was done in a cup carried about the yard. The planes were gliders launched by tossing, and the glide path was the move. The game was fun, but the problem was the planes. They were Chinese-made plastic models which glided okay but did not look authentic. All aircraft parts were flat and even the side view had glaring errors in it. What was required was a full round model or a World War II fighter that would glide.
This may seem to be an impossible combination. For only $1200.00 or so I could buy a radio-controlled model with engine. Both my yard and my bank account are too small for it. Actually I have known about models that fill the bill perfectly, date back to 1944 and are still available. Today they sell for $2.95.
Back in 1944 I was a long way from the fighting, but the war was the dominant fact of my life. During World War II there was rationing, and all the news was war news. The movies and radio were full of war stories. One popular radio adventure program was “Jack Armstrong the All American Boy” sponsored by Wheaties. I was a loyal listener. That year Jack Armstrong offered his listeners model airplanes. We had to send in Wheaties box tops and 25 cents to receive two models. The announcer assured us that the models would glide 50 feet and fly as high as 25 feet. When they arrived, they were flat sheets of paper and cardboard. Assembly took serious cutting and gluing. At the time I was too young for such precise work, but my cousin Bud was a teenager. He set to work with a razor blade and glue, muttering to himself. After an hour or more of work, we took the assembled “Japanese Zero” out into our yard. Bud threw it straight up to test the claim about 25 feet. It failed by quite a margin, but later experience showed that these models did indeed glide pretty well. As time went on I got so I could build the models myself. My brother and I built and flew several models from the set. Some years later I designed and flew a number of models of my own design. When the war ended I went on to balsa-framed models and later plastic, but they were not as satisfying.
About fifty-five years later I discovered that the old Jack Armstrong models were still available. Single models are priced $2.95. If you buy ten or more they are $2.50 each. I have bought the whole set but so far only assembled one model. My “British Spitfire” model is a good glider. I spent about an hour and a half one evening putting it together. I couldn’t resist trying it out, so I went out on my front door step. The yard and street was lighted by streetlights, but all was quiet. I gave it an easy toss and the Spitfire gently glided away, then down, almost to ground level, it swooped along out of the yard into the middle of the street. In measured test flights it has gone as far as sixty-two feet, but a typical flight is more like twenty-five to thirty feet. In spite of a tendency to clip tree limbs, it is still in flying condition. So far I have not built the “German Focke Wulf” so I can do a dogfight.
There are a few practical considerations. When I built my first models in 1944, I used Lepage’s wood glue from the lumberyard. It doesn’t seem to be available. This time I used Elmers School Glue Gel. The models need to be balanced. In 1944, we used the U.S. one cent coin. Since then the coin has been changed. Now the instructions specify a penny that is pre-1983. Readers who do not have access to U.S. coins can write me and I will be happy to mail some. SWA members have helped me on several projects, so I feel I owe them. There are fourteen planes in the set.
1. American P-40
2. Japanese “Zero”
3. British Supermarine Spitfire V
4. German Focke Wulf
5. Grumman “Hellcat” F6F
6. Japanese Nakajima O1 Mk-1
7. British Fairey Fulmor
8. German Heinkel He 113
9. P-45 Thunderbolt
10. Russian “Yak” I-26
11. Bell Airocobra
12. Russian “Stormovick” IL-2
13. P-51 Mustang
14. Japanese Aichi “Val”
I have no idea what scale the planes are and I suspect that the scale varies from model to model. They are printed in full color and look good. Small details are printed on the paper. Guns, for example, are represented by black dots on the wings. These may not be fine scale models, but when they are gliding along, it’s hard to see the deficiencies.
A little research uncovered the history of paper models. They seem to be a European tradition dating back to the 1830s. There seems to be a number of companies producing paper models today. The Jack Armstrong planes were simply a case of a European tradition that was transplanted. In fact, the artist who designed them was British. There seems to be a revival of paper models going on these days. There are companies selling paper models in the United States, Canada, and Britain and the Internet has many sites.
For gamers interested in eras other than World War II or those who might be interested in paper ships or buildings, there are some excellent sources. One source offers free samples.
Fiddlers Green is a company that started in Britain and then moved to the States. It has a web site that does direct sales. This is one of the best web sites I have found. Fiddlers Green lists over 150 model planes - all are paper models. For each plane they have an entry on the history of the plane and help for modelers assembling their models. Since they cover World War I, World War II, jets and space and private planes, the result is a comprehensive history of aviation. They do not design these planes to glide, but they claim some of their jets will fly. They show a rig using wire and rubber band. The plane flies like an arrow, not like a bird.
They have a special wargamer site that offers a wide variety of paper buildings. You can buy a whole Western town in three scales. This includes a stagecoach, a covered wagon, an assay office, saloon, etc. They offer a compact disc with over 300 models of buildings on it. They also offer advice on selecting paper for models. All this is done with a sense of humor - not to mention the fact that scattered throughout are offers of free models. Just download and print them. Even if you have no intention of buying a model, the site is neat to visit.
I bought two models by Fiddlers Green, the F-117A stealth and the GEE BEE R-1 Racer. The F-117A Stealth Fighter model was rated easy. I struggled with it, but produced a model that my wife said looked good. The F-117A has a reputation as being a “wobbly goblin” to fly, so I didn’t even try to glide my model. I got the GEE BEE R-1 Racer mainly because I was interested in building a fixed landing gear aircraft. The model was not rated easy. The landing gear had eight parts, more than the number of parts for a whole model in some cases. The engine had several parts and the cowl was designed so it could be removed to admire the engine. Alas, I got carried away and glued the cowl in place. The model has excellent printed detail on it, so it clearly shows that I put the cowl on upside down. It is a very sturdy model, but the BEE GEE R-1 was just a large engine dragging a pilot around, so there was no hope the model would glide. Given my limitations, I am happy with both planes.
While you are on the web, you might want to poke around. There are many sites about paper models. For those who do not have web access, there are suppliers you can contact by mail. Paper Models International offers all the models I have mentioned plus a wide variety of others including ships, tanks, and castles. I bought all the models I mentioned above from them. In Britain, Markle Models offers a very comprehensive catalogue. In Canada, there is Hobby Factory. See my bibliography.
There is one danger in all this. Paper models are a lot of fun, and you could become addicted. This is a serious danger if you happen to start building your own paper models. All it takes is paper, glue, a pencil, a ruler and crayons or colored pencils. Balancing and trimming the models so that they glide takes a bit of thought but can be mastered. So far I have built a plane for each of the grandchildren. I let each select the plane I modeled. In addition I have built a few others just as experiments. I am not an addict. I can quit whenever I want. I’ve already quit a couple of times.
Bibliography/Address List
The Jack Armstrong Models. Tru-Flite Models 3720 Hessen Rd. Casco, MI 48064, U.S.A. or www.wheatieswings.com
Hobby Factory in Canada at www.hobbyfactory.com
Fiddlers Green at www.fiddlersgreen.net
A comprehensive catalogue Paper Model International 9910 SW Bonnie Brae Drive Beaverton, OR 97008-6045 or www.papermodels.net
Another comprehensive source Markle Models Turnagain Finch Lane Amersham, Bucks HP7 9NE England
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