Wonwings Diary-a blog with a difference. - Page 50

**wonwinglo** · 09-07-2006

Quite right Richard,but most airfields these days have specialist aircraft cleaners who preen and clean for a living with portable pressure washers etc,dont forget also that aircraft fly through relatively clean skies,not like our cars which drag their way through dirty towns and awful roads,sometimes I also wonder how mechanics can work on the dirty undersides of our cars ?

**wonwinglo** · 09-07-2006

In Honour of Wallis Rigby,Paper modeller designer supreme.

One important name stands out in the entire history of making models from thin card and paper,and that is the prolific work of artist and illustrator Wallis Rigby,Rigby started life as a sergeant in the British army during World War 1,this self motivated man must have produced literally thousands of card and paper models from 1939 to just after 1969 when his work for the 'Eagle' produced the 'Dan Dare book of spaceships' and the 'Presso book of Anastasia' lovingly coloured to produce real works of commercial artwork.
But the story of his beloved card creations goes back much further than that,his studio at 45 Valley Field Road,Streatham,London S.W.16 was to become a hive of activity for his overworked drawing board and poster colour paints,here he made models of contemporary fighter aircraft that nimble fingers folded and glued into rubber driven models that he flew and tested in nearby Green Park,constantly striving for a commercial outlet he demonstrated a delightful little model of Amy Johnsons Gipsy Moth G-AAAH to the Daily Mail newspaper,the result was the distribution of over half a milion copies of this small model,and thus boosted the sales of one of Britains then most popular daily newspapers.
The secret of Rigbys models lay in the design and construction,tiny tabs bent at right angles ensured that the models held together,all that was neded was a pair of scissors and a tube of trusty Seccotine,tiny stones were used as nose ballast which would be inserted during construction and sealed into place with sticky paper.
The boys comic publishing industry were soon getting Rigby to design other models that could be placed within the pages of weekly comics,to this end the 'Comic Weekly' ran a series whereby the card parts of a small monoplane was included week by week,additional items needed were a pepperpot for the nose cone and a propeller fashioned from tinplate with bearings made from beads of a necklace,my father built one of these small models which were powered with a rubber band motor,it flew reasonably well.
Shredded Wheat and other cereal manufacturers commissioned subjects,some including a set of 36 models.
During World War two Rigby moved to America where he set up his New York office trading under the name of American Telasco Ltd,a new series of U.S.Army and Navy airplanes were distributed across the country to servicemen,press and radio coverage ensured excellent publicity for these projects,even contests as well,card and paper modelling was booming due to the ban on the use of non strategic materials for use on models and other commercial goods.
Over 50,000 copies of his lithographed books were produced and his job in the advertising world helped him along to produce material for other sources,if it was not selling then a card model would help it along as a premium !
Rigby returned to the UK after WW.2 and once again kept up with the times producing models of subjects of the day,large liners,locomotives and jet powered boats and aeroplanes began to appear not only as cut out books but also in kit form.
One of the rarest kits today is the Jetex Javelin card model kit produced by Rigby,one can only but imagine how many got burnt through forgetting to add silver foil inserts into the structure to try and evade the flames !
In the heyday of the comic 'Eagle' with Frank Hampsons Dan Dare,pilot of the future,Wallis Rigby set about what was to be one of his final projects,card cut out books of spaceships the ' Dan Dare book of Spaceships' quickly followed by the 'Presso book of Anastasia'
With the comeback in card modelling it is interesting to relate how one mans dream was turned into reality,from a small premises in Streatham,London emerged a thriving industry utilising one of mans most basic of materials made from wood pulp-The humble card sheet.
Wallis Rigby really is the father of card modelling.

Rigby eyes up his latest model of a Yak 3 fighter.

Poster painting the stars onto Douglas Dauntless dive bomber.

Test flying a new design indoors.

The beautiful artwork on his post war series of books published by Brockhampton.

The construction of his fighters,this one has a balsa prop.

rjwood_uk · 09-07-2006

going back to the cleanliness of the planes...everytime i have been gliding we have to clean the glider down afterwards and it takes a good hour to clean off all the bugs and dirt splattered across the wings!!!

...so much for nice clean air!!

**wonwinglo** · 09-07-2006

Forgotton about those little nasties Richard,hope that your glider was not painted yellow ? the bugs really settle on that colour,and yes they do make a bit of a mess.

rjwood_uk · 10-07-2006

lol no its was white and orange...we used to use Vikings. and when we flew props we used Grobs

grob...

i tell you they were lovely litle planes for aerobatics!!

**wonwinglo** · 10-07-2006

Very nice aircraft the Grob G.109 & G.119,the only drawback with carbon fibre construction is field repairs ae not possible,very specialised,someone ran into the leading edge of one around here,it was months before they sorted out a repair scheme for it.

rjwood_uk · 10-07-2006

very true!!! i much preffure gliding though. no whine of the fule pump in your ears...etc just the silent breeze lefting you up!

such a relaxing and beautiful thing!

**wonwinglo** · 10-07-2006

Mike Smiths personal helicopter G-HKHM a well equipped Hughes 369 seen here at Wellesbourne on 08-07-2006,she was recently flown to Switzerland on a business trip,seen also at the Stoneleigh showground on 03-07-2006.

G-CDTE at Wellesbourne on 08-07-2006,the type is a Technam P2002-JF

Mr Slaters Coventry based Auster J/1 G-AJRE at Wellesbourne 08-07-2006.

Evans VP-2 G-BJVC discovered in the hangar with its wings removed at Wellesbourne 08-07-2006.

A long way from home and visiting Wellesbourne on 08-07-2006 was PA.28 OO-AIF,unusual in that it had its registration on the top surface of the wings.

Maintenance hangar at Wellesbourne on 08-07-2006 with Aztec G-AYMO and Horizon receiving attention.

G-ASMV PA-17 Vagabond,a lovely aircraft at Wellesbourne on 08-07-2006.

**wonwinglo** · 11-07-2006

Tonight on BBC.2 at 8 pm there was the first of a new series featuring that late wonderful man Fred Dibnah,this one which features unseen footage is called 'Fred Dibnahs world of Steam,Steel and Stone' for those who have followed him in his previous programmes this one is a little bit different,for a start it shows his last wife Sheila Dibnah,thankful curators of working museums,and his good friends who stood with him right up to his tour of Britain in his beloved traction engine talking about his love of machines,and in particular those powered by steam.
As he walked along a row of weaving machines his face lights up at the sight of row upon row of pulley belts hung overhead,health and safety would have had a field day,a stray piece of clothing and a limb placed in the wrong direction would spell instant disaster but the mill owners gave nbo compensation back then,there must have been many accidents.
He highlighted the dangers of boilers blowing up with the mill owners having little care for expensive boiler inspections that are required by law today,operators were expected to oil and maintain machinery if they were not to loose their jobs.
And how they guarded against becoming deaf is anyones business ? many did loose their hearing over a few years as the gears and pulleys rattled day after day.
Freds love of the industrial iron age knew no boundaries,one thing struck me as he walked amongst the engines and machinery,he looked the part,just as if a ghost foreman from the past was treading the walkways once again,in some ways he was just born too late,what others saw as a means to an end he saw things in a very different way and witnessed the final demise of the industrial evolution,the great age of steel,he looked at those oily gear wheels as things of great beauty and purpose,it is very true that Fred Dibnah was and still is a national institution,he has re-kindled the interest in steam for the masses and re-opened our industrial heritage with enthusiasm and great passion,and all of this was because he first appeared in a single pilot programme about his job as a steeplejack some thirty five years ago.
Who can forget the gleam in his eyes as he tries driving yet another machine,skillfully thumps a chain link into shape with a lump hammer or pops another hot rivet into the boiler of his restored traction engine ?
This latest offering serves as a fitting tribute to one of our countries most loved eccentrics,sadly there are not many left these days,but Fred has left his legacy forever,dont miss it.

**Bunkerbarge** · 11-07-2006

I watched it as well with the same love that I watch all of Freds TV programs.

Particularly interesting was the input from the Managing Director of Iron bridge and all the other living industrial museums mentioned.

I also loved the open crankcase engine which reminded me of a steam recip tug engine we had at college. You had to oil it by hand from an oil can as the engine was running!! I did it as it was ticking over slowly but in reality it had to be done at all speeds, without knowing what the engine was going to do next and in all sorts of sea conditions. Not surprisingly engineers in those days were lucky to retire with a full set of fingers.