What could
be more appropriate to fly in than a bathtub?
Especially if you learn how to scrub yourself while making s turns, leaving a
trail of bubbly foam.
With a span
of 24’ and powered by a Henderson four-cylinder in-line engine it looks like the ultralight take for 1924. It was
replicated a number of times in more contemporary times by aficionados, either
because they wanted a simple plane or because they needed a bath.
The main parts (flying surfaces, engine and tub) for this project were made in
about three hours on a Saturday as I was cooking a delicious breaded cod,
Argentine way. That means that you replace the cod for some really good beef.
Just kidding.
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images below to see larger images
The photos
describe the steps taken, leaving out the inappropriate sound track.
Would you believe that the real plane won a trophy?
And so finishes this article, as small as the model it describes.
But to make up for it, here are some
Things to Amuse
Yourself
While
Building
Or
The Exciting Life of a Modeler:
- Make a puddle of
superglue to dip-in the needle used to attach a part. Immediately forget that
you did that and, while holding some delicate assembly, put you hand on the
puddle.
- Variation of the precedent: use the top of a container to put
some glue there. Forget about everything as previously described. Then place the
model to rest exactly on that glue spot. Go and have a sandwich. Come back and
lift the model, now with the attached container. Cry. Desperately try to figure
out a way to make a diorama that will include, for some obscure reason, that
container attached to the model. Cry again.
- Finish the most delicate part of a model; let’s say a very tiny
scratch-built engine. Contemplate it and congratulate yourself. Make a phone
call, probably to a fellow modeler to brag about it; discretely, of course. When
the moment arrives to install the engine look up for it in the finished parts’
container. Oh, that’s true, you left it somewhere else to make the call. Start
to look in all the other containers. Then on the floor, fighting valiantly the
carpet monster with your X-acto; then, cringing, look bellow heavy objects. In
despair, go and look in the fridge, because you went there at some point too,
remember? When midnight arrives and you have already dismantled your workshop
looking for that tiny engine, give up and take a seat. Oops, what was that noise
underneath your butt?
- Build several models at the same time. Ha!, this time you
finished them all. Start to take those pictures. While loading the images on
your computer, suddenly notice the strange size of the wheels, propellers and
the like on ALL the models. Scramble to detach the parts, swap them, and put
them in their correct models; after all, you were struggling to glue them in the
first place, remember? They kept falling off again and again. They may even be
loose. Well, guess what, now they are firmly glued. As you pull off that prop,
all the entrails of the model will come out attached to that prop. Oh well.
- Your building space is a mess. You decide to clean up. Ah,
satisfaction; finally a clean and neat working surface. Now, where were those
parts? Oh, they were there, where now there is nothing! Run desperately to
rummage the trash can. AFTER you are done with your rummaging, somebody will
tell you that the trash was already taken out. Run again outside your house,
only to hear the sound of the garbage truck as it meanders down the street,
blending with the crepuscular light that now sets on the scene.
Gabriel Stern
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images below to see larger images
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