WWII Aluminum Fighter Aircraft to scale
Model aircraft are typically just a representation in miniature, designed to show the simplified workings of the aircraft they represent. I remember the simple plastic kit models I built as a kid and seeing my Dad’s friends building more sophisticated wooden or metal models. There always seemed be someone building a tougher model down the street. It was a friendly competition where we taught one another how advance your skills with someone more experienced.
Young C. Park is a retired dentist who started building models as a youngster. Born in Hawaii ten years before World War II, he saw many fighter aircraft whose speed and loud engines left a lasting impression. Excited by aircraft, he delivered newspapers to save enough to buy his first engine, a Vivall 35. That engine started him down the path of model building. An older friend was also a modeler and taught him to be patient and to do the best he could at each step. Park remembers his friend’s guidance in detail, saying, “Wait for the solder to turn dull,” or stopping me and saying, “Flat washers and nuts have a ‘face’.”
Park built models over the years, but in 1996 Park had the urge to build a serious model again. He ordered a Lockheed Vega kit with a nine-foot wingspan and a five-cylinder Sidel engine. He added some custom aluminum features and remembered he always wanted to build an aircraft model entirely from aluminum. Putting the Lockheed aside, he decided to build a Corsair’s tail fin with moveable trim tabs and rudder. He always loved the Corsair design.
The project was difficult and took over a month to complete but it stirred a deep interest in creating a full Corsair from scratch, in aluminum. Three years later, his cutaway model was virtually complete, although he continues to add detail to this day. He also discovered that to build the next model to the level of his satisfaction he would require some milling machines and other tools. He added them to his workshop and started a second more complete Corsair. It actually assembles and disassembles as the original aircraft does. Park said, “I have been asked many times what motivated me to build this unusual model, … I now realize that it is the pleasure that I get from the aluminum material and the interaction of these parts that has kept me motivated day and night for the last five years, and I hope it will keep me going for another five years at least.”
I urge you to visit the www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/park.htm to learn much more about the modeling Park has completed, including a Mustang. The photographs included in this article show the first Corsair model; wait until you see the second rendition. If you are inclined to modeling of any sort spend some time on The Internet Craftsmanship Museum, www.CraftsmanshipMuseum.com site. It represents an amazing collection of various types of models, with exceptional workmanship and its open 24 hours a day.
By John Cilio
