This is a model made from wood and card in 1951 of my beloved Piaggio ''Vespa' motor scooter .
A few assorted models
These are models that I have buit over the years, just as my interest grabbed me. They show various levels of skill and varying interests through the years
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The prototype was one of the first imported into the country and at 125 c.c. it proved to be a trojan. My wife and I travelled the country, 36 000 miles around the South Coast and Cornwall and in London,with petrol at two shillings and sixpence a gallon provided 120 miles of travel. I eventually added a sidecar for my wife and our first born child...magic !
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In the archives I found a copy of Model Maker dated 1954, this was the the main magazine for model enthusiasts of 'All convictions ' I found an article which earned me the princely sum of 2Gns. Excuse the poor old Image the magazine is 58 years Old ! |
I mentioned elsewhere my 2 dmensional cartoons for techical purposes, the following are from a selection of ' In the solid Cartoons ' made from odd scraps and offcuts using the now ancient bandsaw ,and some wire and a tube of Bostic adhesive. These items are all that are necessary to let the imagination run riot !
| Here we show what could well have been an incident in our early sailing days ! The third member of the crew is somwhere downstream ! |  |
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Here is tha sequel, the other member of the crew downstream clutching the second oar !This lot are all very stupid...of course you will have noticed by now that none of them are wearing lifejackets, perhaps these incidents will convince them to think again. |
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At some time of our lives
most of us have been told ' Stay in
the shallow end ' by one or other
of our elders. There is obviously a degree of motivation
in this case ! This ' Cartoon ' was gifted to a young woman who spends a great deal of time on ( and sometimes in ) the water, a young, Olympic hopeful friend of mine. |
| This boat will look
familiar to any model boat fans. A neighbour visiting my
workshop was intrigued to see a model of the boat the he
served on in World War 2 ! This is a boat that I built 40+ years agoto be enjoyed by my two sons it is actually from a kit for an R.A.F fire tender. it ran on a 6V battery powering a Meccano motor. It nearly planed but was fast enough to please two youngsters. Now with a more suitable power supply and a better motor it does plane ! |
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This is a proprietary
model of a Clyde Puffer, one of the three kit models in
my workshop. I love this model for its background on the Clyde and am impressed by the detail that the manufacturer makes available to all builders. It was given to me by an ex-navy friend many years ago and it still performs beautifully, the kit is still available commercially and can be thoroughly recommended. |
| This model is of my Laser
which I owned for several years, sailing it on the
Thames, the south coast and in Cornwall. A small
problem..it was possible to set out without the drain
plug installed, this would result in all manner of
problems with steering and stability ! I spent a good deal of time in the water in earlier days with it., it was ball of fire compared with the mirror dinghy that I had sailed 30 years before and the cruising boats in the interim ! The model which is static was simple to make and brings back many happy memories |
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Now for some Steam...............
| My first venture into
Model Engineering It was a good piece on which to
learn....... ..........and make mistakes without them
being too costly! It is what could be regarded as an ' Apprentice piece ' . It arrived in the post from Stuart models all contained on a shrink wrapped card, a little bit daunting in the first instance but it taught me how to use my shiny new Myford without damage to people or property. |
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The twin came next, the
Stuart catologue is to blame for this one, it seemed a
logical step from the first effort above Further along the learning curve, as will be noted from the solder joints on the oversize oiler, soldering was an art yet to be achieved. |
| A friend found the bones
of this one when clearing out a shed and knowing my
interests he passed it on to me. Larger yet than the previous pair and so powerful that this fellow, also a Stuart, would wreak a great deal of damage to a finger that strayed. This one arrived in very poor, incomplete order, probably an attempt discarded by a previous owner. It included different metals in it's construction to those of the previous two, so more lessons to had to be learned. |
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I will add further images as the archives yield them up
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