A decent PT-19, a buggy Cox F4U top loader and a new to me Cox F4U side loader

bottomgun wrote:The side cylinder models came first. I had a Thompson Trophy corsair in 1971 that my mother got me from her S&H Greenstamps catalog.

Thanks, thought that might be the case.  When I was a youngster in the Navy and going to school in Norman Oklahoma I got to start one.  Unforgettable experience to see that big propeller rotating and feel the whole plane shaking.  



Won this parts auction last night for one of each.

The top one is a side cylinder from about the mid seventies when they repositioned the bell crank to exit out of the side of the fuselage instead of below the wing on the earlier models.

bottomgun wrote:The top one is a side cylinder from about the mid seventies when they repositioned the bell crank to exit out of the side of the fuselage instead of below the wing on the earlier models.

Thanks,  They look new.  I have enough engines to out fit them.  No mention of bell cranks though, but easy enough to fashion.  

Got these yesterday, I think they are Carl Goldberg models but I'm not sure.  Perhaps a P-40 and Piper Cub.  Pictured with a Walt Musciano hollow-log Stunt master that I got in similar condition, new tail, replacement wing parts.  Strange fuel transfer system.  

Sellers pictures




 


Lousy pictures taken with my Nikon Coolpix L120.  My old school Olympus uses Smart Media and the adapted sim card ready went on the fritz yesterday.

rsv1cox wrote:Got these yesterday, I think they are Carl Goldberg models but I'm not sure.  Perhaps a P-40 and Piper Cub.

The Piper is a Sterling Kit# S-36, Beginner's Super Cub (20.5" W/S). It is a later kit, don't know when they replaced the stamped 2 piece aluminum sheet metal engine mount and elevator control horn (and probably bellcrank) with nylon. When I bought my S-37, Beginner's E-III Eindecker in late 1972, it came with the aluminum engine mount, bellcrank and control horn.

Could be wrong, but 2nd may be a Midwest P-40 profile kit. Midwest liked to extend their profile fuselages to cover the underside of the engine with the cowling profile, plus AFAIK they used a plastic engine mount similar to Sterling Beginners series. Goldberg instead preferred to use a plywood bulkhead with balsa block fairings behind for a smoother look.

Carl Goldberg's profile kits seemed to be slightly more polished for a cleaner look, whereas Sterling and Midwest were more utilitarian.

Top Flite at the time went big with their form-a-balsa fuselage shell type full fuselage kits and curled steamed sheet wings for truer scale appearance. They were prettier but more for looks than stuntability, as they didn't have much of an elevator. Once finished, they looked competitive with the Cox and Wen-Mac RTF's. Back around 1968, I had their half-A Mitsubishi Zero.

The Piper is a Sterling Kit# S-36, Beginner's Super Cub (20.5" W/S)

Are you sure George? It's a profile, I don't recall Sterling building profile kits.  

I have never built a Midwest kit, and that P-40 is strange, the horizontal sits on top of the fuselage rather than mid-range.  Cold be a builder's error though.  

They are nasty, I'm having trouble finding proper wooden wheels for them 1 1/4".  There are some on ebay but the axle hole is too large, guess they will have to do and i will plug and redrill.

I thought they were made by the same manufacturer as the Bell cranks are identical.

rsv1cox wrote:The Piper is a Sterling Kit# S-36, Beginner's Super Cub (20.5" W/S)
Are you sure George? It's a profile, I don't recall Sterling building profile kits.

Absolutely. Sterling had a half-A series of beginner scale profile models since 1960's, wingspans nominally 21 inches, following is helps to provide a history.

1965 catalog showed the Beginners: S30 Ringmaster and S31 Mustang.

April 1970 Price List adds Beginners: S32 Ringmaster Bipe, list $2.95. S30 and S31 are $2.50 each.


By 1973, catalog added Beginners: S34 Spitfire, S35 Thunderjet, S36 Super Cub, S37 Eindecker, S38 Shoestring, S39 Thunderbolt, and S40 Cherokee.


By 1989, catalog added Beginners: S41 Fokker D-VII, S42 Hellcat, S43 Focke-Wulf, S44 Zero, and S45 Messerschmitt

fNote, this page duplicates Page 15 in the 1989 Catalog but is Page 11 from another.

History has unfortunately evaporated on the Sterling Company and its product lines, as several websites that kept meticulous documentation have disappeared into the rabbit hole of time fairly recently. According to one video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPZRSBFjGTw , the Sterling Company was sold to Estes in 1988 except for their boat line. Shortly after, a mysterious fire burnt the factory to the ground, ending many of the products. However, my 1994 price list still shows the factory in existence not mentioning Estes of Penrose, CO, so perhaps the ownership transfer and fire occurred after that.

Here is my 1994 price list, Kits S30 to S45 Beginner Series in the right column all list for $11.95 each:

Note, S33 Winder, an out of sequence 42.5" combat plane in 1973 catalog is discontinued.

Estes added several more kits to the Beginner series, renaming it to Quick Scale Series including Star Wars X-Wing and Y-Wing kits I have.

Here is a box of the S36 Cub found on the net (sold out):

Please note, by 1994, they renamed the kit from Super Cub to Piper Cub.

As you see, this is what you have.

rsv1cox wrote:I have never built a Midwest kit, and that P-40 is strange, the horizontal sits on top of the fuselage rather than mid-range.  Cold be a builder's error though.

Could be, or simply a non-scale simplification for easier building / die-cutting.

rsv1cox wrote:They are nasty, I'm having trouble finding proper wooden wheels for them 1 1/4".  There are some on ebay but the axle hole is too large, guess they will have to do and i will plug and redrill. I thought they were made by the same manufacturer as the Bell cranks are identical.

Or, the wheels and nylon parts were subcontracted out, the builder substituted parts from another kit, etc. They resemble the nylon parts used on my Top Flite half-A Mitsubishi Zero with full body, steamed molded balsa fuselage halves. However, Top Flite kit was nice as it came with rubber wheels with brass eyelet grommets.

rsv1cox wrote:

That's a pictorial education George.  Thanks.  

I have built some of those kits, a favorite is the Nieuport 17 which now hangs in my basement workshop.



I would spend time winding that rubber band and letting it go into tall grass.  

Bought those wooden wheels, only 1 1/4" that I could find, cheap enough on ebay for $1.76 a package, got two packages.  Will have to cement the axle in and re-drill.  Engines will get the Berrymans treatment, crock pot if they don't loosen, but they are as dirty as I have seen.  More fun projects more than anything else.

Would you be so kind as to weigh the models. I have been curious as to what the weight was of the COX plastic U-Control models
Thanking you in advance.
Dick

Dick Russ wrote:Would you be so kind as to weigh the models. I have been curious as to what the weight was of the COX plastic U-Control models
Thanking you in advance.
Dick

Happy to Dick.  I was curious to find out how the Wen Mac Corsair (in red no canopy) compared withthe Cox version anyway.  A mixture of Cox and Wen Macs.

Cox Corsair
Cox Helldiver
Wen P-26
Cox Stuka
Balsa P-40 Cox
Cox PT-19
Wen Corsair
Wen P-38
Cox Stuka
Wen Camel