Vintage Model Retrospective

[Don Boose]

You find some wodnerful stuff. Both the actual machines and the paper models.

Many thanks for presenting these wonderful models, for restoring them, and for describing them so deftly.

Don

[Paskal]

Very interesting !
These paper models tell us the story of unknown and very avant-garde projects.
Thanks for sharing.

[Goncalo Mendes]

Very interesting models!!!
Thanks for sharing!!!

[missileer]

Once again, thanks for sharing. I can see why the concept did not take hold. One large bird flying into the prop, causing an alignment problem at high speed and you have a cartwheeling tube full of people with no seat belts.

[Thumb Dog]

Hi All,

And thanks for the encouraging remarks. Just to round out the railcar post, I’m including four photographs of some other “wind-powered” failures. The first photo shows France’s Decauville Compagnie de Nord Autorail of 1937. I think we can all agree the awful Autorail is not a highpoint of French design.

The second picture shows the Russian Aerowagon of 1921. As a nod to 1920s aerodynamics, a wedge-shaped wooden body was placed high on a simple, freewheeling chassis. The earliest of all the railcars discussed here, the propeller driven car was invented by Valerian Ivanovich Abakocsky. Sadly, he, along with five Soviet officials were killed when the Aerowagon left the rails and crashed. More can be learned from the following article:

USSR’s first AEROWAGON - and the dark story behind it (PHOTOS + VIDEO) - Russia Beyond

Now, the real crazy begins. Seeing that every propeller-driven railcar has been a failure, why not replace the propellers with jets? The third photo shows the famous M497 Black Beetle of the New York Central Railroad. The two, tightly cowled engines came from a retired B-36 bomber and were attached above the cab of a Budd railcar. Screamingly loud and screamingly fast, the Black Beetle still holds the American rail speed record of 183.69 mph.

The Russians thought a jet-powered railcar was a grand idea, and they built their own version, seen in the last photo. Tested for a time, then laid up on a disused siding, this just may be the end of the “wind powered” railcars. But as Scarlett O’Hara says, “Tomorrow is another day.”

Score and fold,

Thumb Dog

[Thumb Dog]

Hi All,

It’s no surprise that the country that perfected poster art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries would extend their love of graphic design to all manner of things. Postcards, books, product packaging, handbills, bookplates, paper fans, magazines and billboards all took on a life of their own thanks to the French appreciation of color and entertaining design. And when French advertising was wed to paper models, anything could happen.

The 10 simple, cork-float models below were designed by I. Gougeon and published by the French firm that manufactured Blédine and Blécao. Blédine is an early form of baby formula, and is still produced today. Made from wheat, added vitamins and nutrients, the powered formula is to be mixed with water and fed to lactose intolerant infants. It has been known in its advertising as, “The Second Mother.” Blécao, which is no longer a separately marketed product, was the same powered formula with cocoa powder added, and was sold to adults as an instant breakfast or mid-day pick-me-up. The creative advertising produced in the name of these two products is remarkable in both its scope and appeal.

Today’s models, which show children engaging in adult activities, are meant to be quickly built and even more quickly destroyed in the local pond or bathtub. Though they appear to be easy enough for a child to build, a parent should step in and help in their construction, as cutting slots into corks is not a safe or easy thing to do. My models have mirrored sides applied to the white backs of the figures to add strength and finish. You can tell by their condition that they have never been close to water and hopefully never will be.

I found the scans in the (possibly defunct) Museum of Paper Craft site. The first image shows what an original card looked like and the second shows the back common to all 10 cards. The remaining scans show the cleaned-up downloads offered by the Museum of Paper Craft site. The photos are mine.

So there you have it, 10 floating paper models of energetic children created to hawk formula to French babies. Hope you enjoyed the toy show. And a special thanks goes to Tom Greensfelder for sending along a selection of internationally sourced corks.

Score and fold,

Thumb Dog

[Thumb Dog]

Hi Again,

Here are the last images.

Score and fold,

Thumb Dog

[Don Boose]

Fascinating insights into paper modeling and popular culture of a bygone day.

Don

[Philip]

Goodness me. Whatever will they think of next?

[Goncalo Mendes]

Originally Posted by Paskal

Hi all again !

These trucks were actually registered in the Netherlands.
Beginning in 1906, these numbered certificates were issued by province, so each number began with one or two letters to indicate the province. After the letter identifying the province, here the (G) for "Northern Netherlands", came a maximum of five digits. In the North and South Netherlands, a single letter became insufficient, so a (X) and later an (Z) were added after the (G).
Thus, for these 2 trucks the letters GZ or GX designate the province "Northen Netherlands". In 1956, this identification system was replaced.
link here to translate => Nederlands kenteken - Wikipedia
So no more doubt DougH !
Kindly your

The Persil truck on the image is a Fordson 7v. Not sure if this truck type was made/assembled outside UK. It could be a postwar export.