Paper Models as Propaganda During the Spanish Civil War

[THE DC]

What an amazing find! Thanks for sharing. I love the autogyros much too. They use to sell kits from NC for aluminum frame craft that you could build yourself (back before the days of bicycle helmets, child [adult]-proof caps, & practically everything else that is now banned, but was so much fun! Say P-O-T-A-T-O gun?).

You work on this is awesome. Is is a clean and yet attractive build; keeping respect with the original design. Much respect...

[THE DC]

Originally Posted by Thumb Dog

The model shown is my second attempt at building this biplane. There were a few fit problems, and these were anticipated in the second build. I usually try to eliminate the strut’s visible double-tabs and their position markings on the wings, as I think they are unsightly. But in this case, they were needed because once the two wings were attached by the struts, they needed to be manually pushed around until they looked their best. The strut’s position markings on the top and bottom wings don’t line up. The ugly tabs helped to keep things together when the wings were being forced into position.

Could you rescan this flat so we could replicate it?

Thanks! Nice float plane!!

[Thumb Dog]

Hi All,

And hi, Dartlynx. Before I started this project, I only knew the dates of the Spanish Civil War, and virtually nothing else. This has been a real education about a conflict that took place so long ago and so far away. As you’re in Spain now, you’ll have access to some undiscovered paper models. Let’s see them when you find them.

Thanks, Elliot.

Don, thanks for saying the autogiro looks perfect, but as you know, among the most important tools in a modelmaker’s kit is the ability to camouflage our mistakes.

And The DC, thanks for your comments. Here is a copy of the original scan of the Graficas Hidroavion as you requested. I spent some time at the computer cleaning up this image…repairing the dings and saturating the color. I can’t give you a copy of my finished work, as I do things on the fly, and stack random parts one atop the other to get the clean parts I need. Therefore, I don’t wind up with a complete copy of my alterations.

If you transfer this model to a friend, or exhibit a built-up model or photographs of it, please mention that it comes from the collection of Tom Greensfelder. Thank you.

Score and fold,

Thumb Dog

[Thumb Dog]

Hi DC,

I forgot the scan. Here it is.

Thumb Dog

[whulsey]

Love the autogiro. Great work.

[Thumb Dog]

Hi All,

I’ve always wanted one of these, but the price was never right, until now. I found this free paper model of a Máquina de Vapor Horizontal, or Horizontal Steam Machine, on the website operated by the Museo del Traje, Centro de Investigación del Patrimonio Etnológico, in Madrid, Spain. The Museo’s site shows many scans of vintage Spanish paper models, but unfortunately, the scans are for the most part very poorly done. But as luck would have it, this model, as well as two similar mechanical models by the same publisher, were properly scanned and can be downloaded, printed and built into interesting paper models.

Published by Construccion Gerarmar, the same firm that printed the Autogiro from last week, this card model faithfully replicates a typical tinplate steam engine of the type that has been around for well over a hundred years. Everything found on the original metal steam toy is found on the model, too. The base, boiler, steam engine, sight-glass, gauge, whistle and drip oilers are all here. And surprisingly, it can be made to operate…not by steam, but by sand.

I didn’t realize it when I first started construction, but not only can the flywheel and the power take-off be made to turn, but a paper turbine is also included in the drawings. If this turbine is installed with its blades under the smoke stack, fine sand can be poured into the stack to drive the turbine, the flywheel and the PTO. Amazing.

When looking at this paper steam engine, you may ask yourself why a model of this particular subject was designed and published. In the 20th Century, when a nation went to war, one of the first things to disappear from a store’s shelves were metal toys. Toy companies could no longer procure the metal they needed for their product, and the personal at the toy factory was needed elsewhere for war work. Here in America, children of that era still remember playing with wood and paper toys throughout the war years. And they looked forward to the days when colorful, durable metal toys could once again be found under the Christmas tree. The same held true for the children of Spain. Most steam engine toys of the time were produced in Germany. And while the German nation itself was not yet on a war footing, the metal products they were exporting to Spain were not playthings, but weapons of war. The paper models and toys produced by Spanish publishers during the Guerra Civil went some way toward reassuring young people that these privations wouldn’t last forever, and better days lay ahead.

Construction of the model was straightforward, with copious amounts of mat board to keep things square. To get my flywheel to turn, I simplified the connection between the cylinder and crankshaft. I eliminated the connecting arm and went with a single piston arm to drive the wheel. That’s not the best system in a real steam engine, but the printed connecting arm was too small to work with the brass crankshaft and rivets I was planning to use. The flywheel spins freely after a flick of the finger, and it offers up a pleasing ta-pocketa pocketa as it spins around.

The photograph of the underside of the base shows plenty of mat board. Also seen are the well for the flywheel and the large opening that allows the sand to exit the model after it has engaged the turbine. You’ll need to provide your own box to catch the loose sand, as none was provided in the model’s pages.

For the most part, the drawing is quite good, requiring a second look to confirm that the model is made of paper and not tinplate. However, things fall apart when it comes to the smokestack. I’ve done a little drafting myself, and for a tapering part such as this stack, I would use my large compass, ( I made one that will draw a six-foot diameter circle), find the radius and angle needed for the part, and use the compass to help me properly stack my bricks. Our unknown designer did none of this, as is evidenced by his catastrophe-waiting-to-happen smokestack. He freehanded the part, and a look at the seam at the back of the stack will reveal the folly of his ways. I think the best reaction to this error in judgement can be found in the worried expression seen on the back wall of the boiler house.

I’ve included a photo of the built-up turbine and the tolva, or chute, which acts as a funnel when placed in the smokestack’s top. It is meant to focus the fall of sand onto the turbine. After I finished the model, I came to the conclusion that a cleaner, more powerful power source would be air, blown onto the turbine through some Neoprene tubing. But, I’m happy with the finger-flicking method for now.

Rather than living with the white insides of the open-topped stack, I scratchbuilt an insert to fill the opening…something I seem to do a lot with these vintage models.

The few Construccion Gerarmar models I have seen and built stand apart from the offerings from other contemporary publishers. Their interesting subject matter and bold artwork build into models with a personality all their own.

Score and fold,

Thumb Dog

[missileer]

Really beautiful build. Thanks for including the kit. I found the site, but I did not see a translator and I don't speak the language. So, I was unable to figure out where to go to see the other models. Any chance that you could give me some guidance. I really enjoy the vintage models.

[Thumb Dog]

Hi All,

And hi, whulsey, thanks for your comments about the autogiro.

And hi, missileer, thank you, too. I know navigating around the Spanish Museum site can be difficult, and I hope the following can be of some help. I am no computer whiz, so my suggestions may be clunky, but they will get you where you want to go.

Firstly, the Spanish word for the images you are trying to find is, Recortables, or Cut-Outs.

Here is the address for the first page of the 60-plus pages of scanned images.

http://ceres.mcu.es/pages/ResultSear...staMuseos=null

Not all of the images are paper models, there are paper dolls, theaters, etc. But it’s all worth a look.

Let’s start with the first thumbnail on the first page of the address above. To the right of the image are the words, Ficha Completa, or Complete File. Click on Ficha Completa.

This takes you to a page with a complete description and a larger thumbnail of the image. In the upper right of this page, there are two grey boxes, one with the words, Crear PDF, or To Produce PDF. Click on Crear PDF.

To open the file, click OK in the box that appears in the lower right.
Now, to remove the annoying column of text to the right and expand the screen, click on the vertical bar with the right-pointing arrow in it.

Finally, you are at the page with the largest image of the scan. Scroll down until you see the scan. Disappointed? Chances are you have found one of the many bad scans on this site. The resolution is often terrible, and the poor cropping cuts off borders and chunks of paper parts.

However, there are some images worth having, and the site offers plenty of information on the publishers, dates, artists, etc. This written information has been the real value of this site to my thread about Spanish Civil War paper models.

Return back to the page where you clicked the words, Crear PDF. There is a line of green boxes near the top of the page. The darkest green box on the left contains the words, Busqueda General, or General Search. If you click on this box, and enter the name of a publisher, such as Construccion Gerarmar, all the images associated with that search come up.

If you are looking for an English/Spanish dictionary, I use

SpanishDict | English to Spanish Translation, Dictionary, Translator

I hope this information will be helpful to you, as the site does have an important value as a research tool.

Good luck,

Score and fold,

Thumb Dog

[ashevilleangler]

Thanks Dog!

This is simply the best of all these models to date. And It's one that is very rarely done in paper.

Curt

[Thumb Dog]

Hi All,

And thanks, Curt. It was a fun build, especially when I got the flywheel to spin properly. There's another model by this publisher with a similar theme, a Motor Diesel. I have it printed out, but I haven't started it yet. Soon, I hope.

Score and fold,

Thumb Dog