Anybody remember-

[justplugit]

the 10 cent balsa wood fighter planes with a piece of lead in the nose that we would have dog fights with for hours until the wing broke?
The wing always broke.

Then there was the rich kids model, 50 cents,
that had a prpoeller and rubber bands you would turn so it would fly.

Best was the piper cub balsa kits where you would strecth tissue paper over the frame and wings,
then apply yellow Testors dope to make the paper shrink.
Still remember that smell.

[BigBo]

Originally Posted by justplugit

the 10 cent balsa wood fighter planes with a piece of lead in the nose that we would have dog fights with for hours until the wing broke?
The wing always broke.

Then there was the rich kids model, 50 cents,
that had a prpoeller and rubber bands you would turn so it would fly.

Best was the piper cub balsa kits where you would strecth tissue paper over the frame and wings,
then apply yellow Testors dope to make the paper shrink.
Still remember that smell.

I think Testors plan was to get us high of that dope, thnking this was going to be the best plane ever to fly the friendly skies. You'd get her all finished and ready to fly, hit that fresh air. The high went away and the wing broke. It was all over inside of fifteen minutes.
I loved those balsa wood planes. I got one for my grandson last summer and it just wasn't the same. Can't say exactly why, but it just wasn't the same. Probably made in China?

[jimmy z]

lol I remember them.
When I was a kid, we had these wooden tops, where one would wind string around the top, from the base up. And we would whip out the top, pulling on the wound up string, causing it to spin. The tops had a pointed tip, or some had a ball bearing.

[Slingah]

I remember those...when I was little I always wanted to go wherever my older brother was going...he didnt always want me tagging along but he would bring me home one of those planes....they still catch my eye if I see one in a store...

[Clammer]

yeah // dave but I don,t thing it was lead /just clipped metal & the guys are right ../ the new ones suck ;;

How about ..sling shots / made with a metal clothes hanger / a elastic / & a band aid >>> shot B/B,s /did serious damages to street lights ;;


bean blowers ... but ya had to get that certain kind of bean to be in the running // I remember the local stores /always running out ;;


Kingers>>> last years horsechess nuts ..were the killers ;;


popilce sticks with smakk stones was a good weapon too ;;

or a rubber band // shooting bobby pins :::

this is the best >>> Reverse a bobby pin l thread it tight in reverse ... became a small bow >>> it would shoot the wooded matches / wicked >>>> shoot them thraight up at night & watch them hit the street & explode ;;
or get the same wooded match ... get your mothers sewing needles & rapped it like you would a eye on a fishing rod .. secure it with / a light base of airplane glue >>>>>>> good for shooting at all kinds of things ... but the best was . coboys/ indians & soldiers ><><><

hitting a roll of caps with a hammer ;;;

ANd those little rockets ya threw in the air that were loaded with one or two caps & they popped when they hit something solid ;;

steel pipe / dropped cherry bombs down the hatch / the wait a few seconds & then a golf ball . F #$%^&*( ball went to saw .. ya couldn,t even see it ;;

Come -on .. ya all got more ;;

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by Clammer

yeah // dave but I don,t thing it was lead /just clipped metal & the guys are right ../ the new ones suck ;;
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No Mike, it was real lead, that's what made them fly so good.
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How about ..sling shots / made with a metal clothes hanger / a elastic / & a band aid >>> shot B/B,s /did serious damages to street lights ;;
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Remember dreaming you could afford the $1.50 sling shot advertised in Field and Stream that could kill a rabbit at 50 yards.
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bean blowers ... but ya had to get that certain kind of bean to be in the running // I remember the local stores /always running out ;;
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Who could afford beans, we waited till the wild cherry pits could be picked.

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or a rubber band // shooting bobby pins :::

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OUCH!!!!!
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this is the best >>> Reverse a bobby pin l thread it tight in reverse ... became a small bow >>> it would shoot the wooded matches / wicked >>>> shoot them thraight up at night & watch them hit the street & explode ;;
or get the same wooded match ... get your mothers sewing needles & rapped it like you would a eye on a fishing rod .. secure it with / a light base of airplane glue >>>>>>> good for shooting at all kinds of things ... ><><><
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Ya, you needed those wide red rubber bands.

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hitting a roll of caps with a hammer ;;
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Ya, but not as dangerous as a Zip gun.
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ANd those little rockets ya threw in the air that were loaded with one or two caps & they popped when they hit something solid ;;
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Yup, they called them A bombs.
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steel pipe / dropped cherry bombs down the hatch / the wait a few seconds & then a golf ball . F #$%^&*( ball went to saw .. ya couldn,t even see it ;;
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Or one guy would hold the sling shot, the other would load the cherry bomb, light it and they'd let it fly.
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Come -on .. ya all got more ;;

Mike, see above.

[Swede]

Great thread! The balsa planes had a slot for the wing to fine tune the arodynamics..

One of My favorites was trying to shoot alleycats with paperclips. I would bend them in half so ya had 2 u shaped clips and then shot them with a good rubber band you would stretch between your thumb and middle finger. Deadly with a little practice!

[Tagger]

Originally Posted by justplugit

the 10 cent balsa wood fighter planes with a piece of lead in the nose that we would have dog fights with for hours until the wing broke?
The wing always broke.

Then there was the rich kids model, 50 cents,
that had a prpoeller and rubber bands you would turn so it would fly.

I had to put my arms out and run around going ,,bbrrrrrrr

[Clammer]

Bobby pins were better >U-nails were deadly ><<>><<

[BigBo]

Here ya go Dave. Enjoy the memories.

http://www.hobbyplace.com/aircraft/toyplanes.php

[Raven]

i used to stick the wooden stick matches into the BB gun barrel and shoot them out across the driveway and light them/ skip them around
at night.... that was fun...

yeah Dave one time one of those planes caught the wind just right...

it had the rubber band motor and it went so far we had to get on our bikes to go after it...

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by BigBo

Here ya go Dave. Enjoy the memories.

http://www.hobbyplace.com/aircraft/toyplanes.php

THanks Big Bo.

Almost as good as looking at plugs.

I'm likin that Sky Launcher model.

Now your really joggin my memory.

Friend of mine had a model he made that had an engine.
It had a battery that hooked up to the "glow plug" and you had to prime the engine with fuel then flip the prop over a 1,000 times to get a response before it kicked over and konked out.

Guys would stand around offering their advice: " your turning the prop the wrong way, needs a new glow plug, battery is too weak, fuel is bad".
Don't think that thing ever got off the ground.

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by Clammer

Bobby pins were better >U-nails were deadly ><<>><<

Clamma,how about staples ,or using marbles in your home made rubber tire tube sling shot.

[Backbeach Jake]

I was checking out the balsa planes in Michael's today. They have Estes rockets now, too. If you want to build a fearsome bottle rocket an Estes D engine on a dowel will nearly go supersonic...

[HESH2]

remember those from years ago when i was a youngster.also that dope sniff.have'nt heard or seen anything like those planes in years.the kids today have more hi tec stuff for alot of bucks and don't bother with things like balsa airplanes.

[fishaholic18]

I remember filling balloons with liquid paint stripper.....

[FishermanTim]

Glue a bottle rocket to the tail of a balsa wood plane, and when it dried, you lit it, flung it, and watch it go "Bye-Bye".

Or light a bottle rocket, toss it in the air over a pond, and have it either shoot into the water and explode like a depth charge, or skipp across the water like a smooth stone.

Filling a 'pringles" can with match heads and lighting it to create a mini fire-fountain.

[Swimmer]

Dewhurst lumber in East Bridgewater still sells them, two or three different models. Right there at the counter when the weather gets warm.

[MakoMike]

Ball bearing in the slingshots kept the local squirrels and alley cats on their toes.

[Saltheart]

Had all three you described. the kind with balsa frames and the paper covering could be made to fly for several minutes if you were careful with the build and adjusted the flaps for a slow but sure climb.

The cheapest ones I used to get would first break with the wings splitting lengthwise. We would reassemble them with pieces of the split wings. We would then reassemble with shorter , thinner wings until eventually the wings would be too short to give any lift.