THE BIRDS (all things bird model related!)

[richkat]

Thanks John......Rich

[Tonyceri]

I also note that you say Malcolm's models originated in the 70's, or was that just when you first found them?
My Osprey has a 1983 copyright notification on it, but I clearly remember my Dad helping me build a few of them, quite some years before I joined the Army in 1962. Pretty damn sure they were by Malcolm, and distributed through the RSPB. Back then they were printed on paper and we had to utilize cornflakes boxes to stiffen them up.

Hi John.
Details of Malcolm Topp's life are very sketchy, being a private person and pre-computer age, but he began marketing the Birdmobile series in 1973 with the owl, kingfisher and swallow, which gained a Design Centre Award, with an update to the contents copyright in 1983, which by then included the osprey, which comes in with a whopping wingspan of 1.5 metres (though this would be a very small adult bird, which should have a span of two metres). All the Birdmobile series came printed on the correct weight card for the job, so it is unlikely you would have had to stick Malcolm's kits to extra card, particularly as the osprey appeared much later, I would be interested to know what you built with your father as far back as the mid-sixties as I find the non-computer age stuff so much more fluid and interesting. I wonder if there is a clue when you say you used cereal packet card to stiffen the design - back in the sixties, Kellogs produced quite a large range of card sculptures on their packets - I remember lion and tiger heads and 'Great Britains' such as Shakespeare and Henry the Eighth - does anyone have further info. on these? I think Diderick A. den Bakker, one of our hallowed carding colleagues, has a couple of photos from the Kellog's series on his excellent Flickr site. Keep up the interest in this stuff - it's great for a new generation! Love the bee-eaters - may be my next project... Cheers!

[Kevin WS]

Excellent presentation of the kingfisher as per Johans style.

Did you do the framing yourself?

[hatsudoki]

Originally Posted by Tonyceri

Hi John.
... back in the sixties, Kellogs produced quite a large range of card sculptures on their packets - I remember lion and tiger heads and 'Great Britains' such as Shakespeare and Henry the Eighth - ...

I remember, at that time, Kellogg's UK released a series of card model dogs' head sculptures on the backs of Corn Flakes packets; my elder sister made one up of a Spaniel. I have looked out for them over the years, but never found any.

Cheers,

Mike

[malc]

Many years ago I visited the The International Centre for Birds of Prey
in Newent, and was buying some of the Bird Mobiles that they sold, when a gentleman walked up to me and asked my opinion of the models I had bought, and if I built other paper models. It was Malcolm Topp himself and we had a nice conversation regarding paper models, in which he told me that he was working on a golden eagle model and how difficult it was proving to be to produce it. I've never seen it anywhere so I guess it was never finished. Shame as it would have been a fine model. My merlin has hung in my workshop for many years and keeps me company as I work.

[Tonyceri]

I think many of us oldn's will have fond memories of the excitement that went with building a Malcolm Topp kit and I think it wouldn't be too fanciful to suggest it is where a lot of us got our early influence resulting in our current obsessive pursuit of card modelling.
Malc, You were lucky to meet the designer himself - that doesn't' happen often - and Hatsudoki - I remember those dog heads, also formative in my history of card modelling - we must trawl and find those designs and give them a new lease of life - alert the community...!

[Kevin WS]

Nikki posted a Canon falcon here

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/o...ne-falcon.html

[gamera]

Originally Posted by Kevin WS

Excellent presentation of the kingfisher as per Johans style.

Did you do the framing yourself?

I just used thick poster board to make the box, and topped it with a matt from an art store.

[JohnM]

Originally Posted by Tonyceri

I would be interested to know what you built with your father as far back as the mid-sixties

Oh that I could ask him Tony, but we lost him just a four years back now. He made it to 99 and 8 months, but couldn't quite manage the Ton.

Dad's birds definitely weren't off cereal packets (That was my domain ... hundreds of Weetabix Cars all over my room). I'm pretty sure he got the birds through his RSPB membership.

There was a Kingfisher in a very similar pose to the current Woodpecker, a Little Owl in flight (that I proudly made), what I remember as a Martin ('cos I had martin nests just outside my window) but I suppose it could have been a swallow, and a small Osprey (complete with Salmon). Having recently built a half size version of Malcolm's Osprey, I was surprised to find that it came out much bigger than my Dads one. His was only about 18" wingspan.

He also had a huge collection of Micro-Models, many of which he made on fire-watch duty during the war. His bedroom was a treasure trove of wartime magazines, old clocks, Bird feathers, slides and photographs by the millions.

Regrettably I was serving overseas when he moved in with my sister and the old home was packed up, so I don't know where it all went. The big box of Meccano came my way though, and I still have it. Youngest Son claims it as his 'inheritance' but he's not getting it 'til I pop me clogs.

First three bee-eaters are now complete, bar their feet and mount. Some of the instruction pictures have "Tricky" stars on them, and he ain't kidding. Getting the heads to stick on right without crushing the whole thing took some real patience, I can tell you. I was severely tempted to go find some super-glue, but I persevered, and succeeded by performing a somewhat lewd act with my little finger.

Johnny.

[JohnM]

First three complete ... not so sure I need to add the other three now ...



Maybe another day when I run out of other "wanna do"s. Meanwhile, having seen a few pictures to convince me, and having had a check on ink and cardstock supplies, I've decided to go for it NOW. I shall spend the next hour or so printing out Canon's Bald Eagle.

Yeeehah, here we go ...

Johnny.