Award Miniatures Glider Kits Question

[[email protected]]

Does anyone remember the 1970s balsa Award Miniatures glider desk
model kits?
I'm trying to indentify / locate the original owner of the company.
Also curious how many designs there were, and if anyone has any of the
old plans.
(Know of a Minimoa, 1-23, 1-26, 2-32, and a Slingsby Skylark 4)

Thanks.
Cam

[Alistair Wright]

> wrote in message
...
> Does anyone remember the 1970s balsa Award Miniatures glider desk
> model kits?
> I'm trying to indentify / locate the original owner of the company.
> Also curious how many designs there were, and if anyone has any of the
> old plans.
> (Know of a Minimoa, 1-23, 1-26, 2-32, and a Slingsby Skylark 4)
>
> Thanks.
> Cam

What scale were these models? I have a collection of balsa gliders at 1/72
scale which I made for myself. I have plans for these (at that scale). Of
the gliders you mention I have the Skylark 4 (and all the other marks) plus
other Slingsby gliders and both the EoN Olympias which were in series
producton (the 2b and the 463). There is a Polish oufit which does 1/72
plastic models of gliders - I have their Olympia2b but it really isn't all
that good.

Alistair

[sisu1a]

> What scale were these models? I have a collection of balsa gliders at 1/72
> scale which I made for myself. I have plans for these (at that scale). Of
> the gliders you mention I have the Skylark 4 (and all the other marks) plus
> other Slingsby gliders and both the EoN Olympias which were in series
> producton (the 2b and the 463). There is a Polish oufit which does 1/72
> plastic models of gliders - I have their Olympia2b but it really isn't all
> that good.>


Award Miniatures were 1/48 scale. In 1/72 scale there are about 140
commercially available kits I know of (I have most of them...), mostly
'cottage industry' resin cast stuff, with several examples of
injection molded (including the 6 Polish subjects that were made with
the same molds by at least 3 different companies; a shame the Jantar 2
is so inaccurate BTW...). http://www.72scale.com/aircraft/role/glider.htm
and http://www.72scale.com/aircraft/role/gliderGer.htm note-there are
many 1/72 kits that are not listed on that site, some new some old...

Of course there are the fantastic 1/48 scale Ardpol models
http://www.ardpolmodels.com.pl/produkty-en.php?idp=2 in 1/48, which
are very excellently detailed and very accurate, some of which even
have photo-etched seatbelts and panel. Planet models makes a very nice
resin line in 1/48 as well
http://www.luft46.com/Planet/132. html http://www.luft46.com/Planet/133.html
http://www.luft46.com/Planet/137.html http://www.luft46.com/Planet/138.html
(Planet also makes a British Viking and a Horten IV in 1/48)

Everyone knows of Revell's 1/32 scale K-21 and LS-8 and there are many
other glider kits out there in vac form etc, but all this is somewhat
off topic to the originator of Award Miniatures, and Cam is already
well aware of most if not all of these models.

If I am not mistaken, I believe Award even made a Sisu back in the
day...As to Award Miniatures kits, Jeff Byard has the best description
of it I've yet heard. What you got in a "kit" was a box with a block
of wood in it that came with directions that said something like:
"carve away anything that does not look like a 1-26" (or whatever kit
it was). They did at least come with a 1/48 scale 3-view and a thermo-
formed canopy, but the Martin Simons books has 1/50 scale drawings of
far better accuracy and if you can carve an Award Miniatures model
into the ship it was supposed to be, then the drawing is all you
need...(yeah yeah, Award Minis came with the fuse profile already cut,
but it was still a block of wood you basically had to carve yourself!)

-Paul

[Paul Remde]

Hi Paul,

Very interesting links! I sell a few glider model kits from my web site,
but I want to add many more options.

Does anyone have contact information for the Planet models so I can buy them
directly from the manufacturer?

Thank you,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com

"sisu1a" > wrote in message
...
>
>
>> What scale were these models? I have a collection of balsa gliders at
>> 1/72
>> scale which I made for myself. I have plans for these (at that scale). Of
>> the gliders you mention I have the Skylark 4 (and all the other marks)
>> plus
>> other Slingsby gliders and both the EoN Olympias which were in series
>> producton (the 2b and the 463). There is a Polish oufit which does 1/72
>> plastic models of gliders - I have their Olympia2b but it really isn't
>> all
>> that good.>
>
>
> Award Miniatures were 1/48 scale. In 1/72 scale there are about 140
> commercially available kits I know of (I have most of them...), mostly
> 'cottage industry' resin cast stuff, with several examples of
> injection molded (including the 6 Polish subjects that were made with
> the same molds by at least 3 different companies; a shame the Jantar 2
> is so inaccurate BTW...). http://www.72scale.com/aircraft/role/glider.htm
> and http://www.72scale.com/aircraft/role/gliderGer.htm note-there are
> many 1/72 kits that are not listed on that site, some new some old...
>
> Of course there are the fantastic 1/48 scale Ardpol models
> http://www.ardpolmodels.com.pl/produkty-en.php?idp=2 in 1/48, which
> are very excellently detailed and very accurate, some of which even
> have photo-etched seatbelts and panel. Planet models makes a very nice
> resin line in 1/48 as well
> http://www.luft46.com/Planet/132. html
> http://www.luft46.com/Planet/133.html
> http://www.luft46.com/Planet/137.html
> http://www.luft46.com/Planet/138.html
> (Planet also makes a British Viking and a Horten IV in 1/48)
>
> Everyone knows of Revell's 1/32 scale K-21 and LS-8 and there are many
> other glider kits out there in vac form etc, but all this is somewhat
> off topic to the originator of Award Miniatures, and Cam is already
> well aware of most if not all of these models.
>
> If I am not mistaken, I believe Award even made a Sisu back in the
> day...As to Award Miniatures kits, Jeff Byard has the best description
> of it I've yet heard. What you got in a "kit" was a box with a block
> of wood in it that came with directions that said something like:
> "carve away anything that does not look like a 1-26" (or whatever kit
> it was). They did at least come with a 1/48 scale 3-view and a thermo-
> formed canopy, but the Martin Simons books has 1/50 scale drawings of
> far better accuracy and if you can carve an Award Miniatures model
> into the ship it was supposed to be, then the drawing is all you
> need...(yeah yeah, Award Minis came with the fuse profile already cut,
> but it was still a block of wood you basically had to carve yourself!)
>
> -Paul
>
>



Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com

[Paul Remde]

Hi,

Never mind. I found their web site.

I'll see what I can do to make a variety of sailplane model kits available
on my web site. I have a few available already here:
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/models.htm

Good Soaring,

Paul Remde

"Paul Remde" > wrote in message
...
> Hi Paul,
>
> Very interesting links! I sell a few glider model kits from my web site,
> but I want to add many more options.
>
> Does anyone have contact information for the Planet models so I can buy
> them directly from the manufacturer?
>
> Thank you,
>
> Paul Remde
> Cumulus Soaring, Inc.
> http://www.cumulus-soaring.com
>
> "sisu1a" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>>
>>> What scale were these models? I have a collection of balsa gliders at
>>> 1/72
>>> scale which I made for myself. I have plans for these (at that scale).
>>> Of
>>> the gliders you mention I have the Skylark 4 (and all the other marks)
>>> plus
>>> other Slingsby gliders and both the EoN Olympias which were in series
>>> producton (the 2b and the 463). There is a Polish oufit which does 1/72
>>> plastic models of gliders - I have their Olympia2b but it really isn't
>>> all
>>> that good.>
>>
>>
>> Award Miniatures were 1/48 scale. In 1/72 scale there are about 140
>> commercially available kits I know of (I have most of them...), mostly
>> 'cottage industry' resin cast stuff, with several examples of
>> injection molded (including the 6 Polish subjects that were made with
>> the same molds by at least 3 different companies; a shame the Jantar 2
>> is so inaccurate BTW...).
>> http://www.72scale.com/aircraft/role/glider.htm
>> and http://www.72scale.com/aircraft/role/gliderGer.htm note-there are
>> many 1/72 kits that are not listed on that site, some new some old...
>>
>> Of course there are the fantastic 1/48 scale Ardpol models
>> http://www.ardpolmodels.com.pl/produkty-en.php?idp=2 in 1/48, which
>> are very excellently detailed and very accurate, some of which even
>> have photo-etched seatbelts and panel. Planet models makes a very nice
>> resin line in 1/48 as well
>> http://www.luft46.com/Planet/132. html
>> http://www.luft46.com/Planet/133.html
>> http://www.luft46.com/Planet/137.html
>> http://www.luft46.com/Planet/138.html
>> (Planet also makes a British Viking and a Horten IV in 1/48)
>>
>> Everyone knows of Revell's 1/32 scale K-21 and LS-8 and there are many
>> other glider kits out there in vac form etc, but all this is somewhat
>> off topic to the originator of Award Miniatures, and Cam is already
>> well aware of most if not all of these models.
>>
>> If I am not mistaken, I believe Award even made a Sisu back in the
>> day...As to Award Miniatures kits, Jeff Byard has the best description
>> of it I've yet heard. What you got in a "kit" was a box with a block
>> of wood in it that came with directions that said something like:
>> "carve away anything that does not look like a 1-26" (or whatever kit
>> it was). They did at least come with a 1/48 scale 3-view and a thermo-
>> formed canopy, but the Martin Simons books has 1/50 scale drawings of
>> far better accuracy and if you can carve an Award Miniatures model
>> into the ship it was supposed to be, then the drawing is all you
>> need...(yeah yeah, Award Minis came with the fuse profile already cut,
>> but it was still a block of wood you basically had to carve yourself!)
>>
>> -Paul
>>
>>
>
>
>
> Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> http://www.usenet.com



Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com